| Posted: April 28 2005,14:49 |
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PROGRESS: Has your organization seen
progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of
action and in your constituency during the first half of the Decade? |
Yachay
Wasi (from Quechua: House of Learning), as an Indigenous NGO based in
Cuzco, Peru and in New York City, USA, has not seen any changes in its
domain of action during the past five years as it was not really
involved in conflicts and violence.
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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ACTIONS: What actions have been
undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the first half of the Decade?
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Actions
undertaken by Yachay Wasi from 2001 thru 2005 are actions which were
needed in the course of its work. They may indirectly promote a culture
of peace and non violence, but they mostly illustrate cooperation among
various segments of humanity and a will to further the cause of
Indigenous peoples.
Some highlights:
In June 2001, Yachay Wasi
organized its first Encounter of Indigenous Communities in the High
Andes in the Andean village of Acopia, Dept of Cuzco, Peru with the
participation of a representative of the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights who was Mary Robinson at that time. Goal
of Encounter was to inform remote Indigenous communities in the
Peruvian Andes of the newly established United Nations Permanent Forum
on Indigenous Issues (PFII). Indigenous participants came from as far
as Taiwan and Greenland to meet the Quechua speaking participants.
----
On
21 May 2003, during the 2nd Session of PFII at UN Hqrs in NYC, Yachay
Wasi collaborated with UNESCO to organize the first World Day for
Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (May 21). This event
featured the President of the Economic and Social Council, a vice-chair
of PFII and the NYC Commissioner for Immigrant Affairs, along with the
Main Representative of UNESCO to the UN and Yachay Wasi President. It
is too bad that this promising World Day was not really promoted in
2004, at least not at UN Hqrs.
----
In November 2003, Yachay Wasi
had its second Encounter of Indigenous Communities in the High Andes
and Amazon, this time in the Andean village of Mosoqllacta, Dept of
Cuzco, Peru. The PFII Chair, a Sami, came from Norway to address his
brothers in the Land of the Inkas. This event significally took place a
couple of days before the visit of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to
Cuzco and Machu Picchu.
---
From mid-2004 thru current, Yachay
Wasi has been promoting its RECOVERY OF THE CIRCUIT OF FOUR LAKES in
the Peruvian Andes, a Partnership now registered with the United
Nations Commission on Sustainable Development.
This environmental
and educational project addresses the growing contamination of four
lakes in the Peruvian Andes and will benefit some 38 Indigenous
communities.
Yachay Wasi, an Indigenous NGO based in Peru and USA,
has partnered with a NGO in Australia, local Indigenous associations
and local authorities. This demonstrates cooperation with peoples in
two world locations, needed in a Culture of Peace.
This project is
an example of prior and informed consent as Yachay Wasi has informed
the leaders of the communities affected. The project leader, who is
also the President of Yachay Wasi, resides in Cuzco, Peru, speaks
Quechua and is native of one of the villages affected.
Information
to communities in order to avoid this problem in the future will also
be given. This is a positive way to empower local communities in their
own destinies, which should also be an ingredient of a Culture of Peace.
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ADVICE: What advice would you like to
give to the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to promote a
culture of peace and nonviolence during the second half of the Decade? |
The advice from Yachay Wasi to the Secretary-General is:
Preservation
of the Environment is most important and crucial to the future
generations. Listen to the Indigenous and local communities in rural
areas. They are aware of what is needed to preserve the environment.
Wealth is dissipated in unfinished projects and studies geared to the
choices of the donors, not to the need of the recipients.
The
Environment is critical because sustainable development and
conservation have taken a backseat to security. Without the Earth to
sustain humanity, a Culture of Peace will be short lived.
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PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
Partnership for Sustainable Development:
RECOVERY OF THE CIRCUIT OF FOUR LAKES
A Partnership registered with the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence in the second half of the Decade (2005-2010)? |
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Postal address of organization
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708 West 192nd Street # 6B, New York, NY 10040 - USA
La Conquista 3 Puerta, Saphi, Cuzco - PERU
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E-mail address of organization
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yachaywasi@nyc.rr.com
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Website address of organization
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www.yachaywasi-ngo.org
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Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Sustainable development
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Second priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Free flow of information
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Highest priority country of action (or international)
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Second priority country of action (or international)
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