With support from the Council on Australia Latin America Relations, we undertook a two-way learning exchange on Indigenous and cultural policy with Peru, Colombia and Mexico in September 2019.
A delegation from AIATSIS visited Mexico between 2 and 7 September 2019. This unique opportunity to exchange best practices and discuss public policy of mutual interest resulted in a collaboration network that will continue to exchange knowledge into the future.
Visits to Peru and Colombia followed, from 14 to 30 September 2019. In both countries there is strong interest in Australian laws and policies relating to prior consultation for development on Indigenous lands, and land-based economies such as carbon farming and land and sea rangers.
Other areas of common interest include Indigenous ecological knowledge approaches to truth-telling, constitutional recognition, and legal recognition of cultural and linguistic diversity. The trip culminated in the Regional Congress on Indigenous Languages for Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Cusco, Peru, from 25 to 26 September 2019, where Dr Lisa Strelein gave presentations on language revitalisation and research ethics.
As co-chair of the UNESCO steering committee for the International Year of Indigenous Languages our CEO, Mr Craig Ritchie, led a delegation to Mexico City in February for the UNESCO high-level event on ‘Making a decade of action for indigenous languages’ and International Congress of Endangered Languages at Risk. On this visit, Mr Ritchie signed an MoU with Mexico’s National Institute of Indigenous People.