Namibia | 05 – 18 September 2025
What & How
What
A co-organised two-week summit of Indigenous minority
representatives from each continent to share their wisdom
on environmental resilience and the well-being of humans
and other species in the era of digital and other complex
transformations.
The aim of the gathering is to facilitate the sharing of
valuable Indigenous knowledge and to create strong
alliances between Indigenous communities across the
globe, to develop strategies to tackle local and global
challenges and to deliberate on new forms of more
inclusive and pluralistic modes of knowledge creation and
dissemination.
This event will be a live prayer, bringing together practices
from around the globe, dedicated to honouring and
activating ancient ways of being in reciprocity with the
Earth.
How
Co-organized, led by host communities, international organizers and bridges, and with input from Indigenous delegations
Intercultural exchange; crafts, culture,
and storytelling Workshops on soil, natural building,
syntropic & regenerative agriculture
Earth offerings & pagamentos (spiritual payments)
Presentation of community-led digital preservation of culture and knowledge by attending communities.
Gifting of ancient heritage grain seeds
back to communities
All funds for the project will be spent in local communities (ie for food services, transport, etc)
Format
Activities will include, prayers, community meetings, walking together, earth offerings, ceremonies, rituals, artistic expressions, presentation of digital representations, interactive demonstrations, workshops, speeches, and dialogues.
Why
Hon. Royal Kxao /Ui/o/oo, deputy minister of marginalized
people in Namibia, an ethnic !Kung, reminded fellow minority
community members of the significance of representing
themselves and ensuring their voices are heard in an effort to
counter systemic marginalization*
Indigenous community members ought to contribute to
scientific knowledge systems and decision making in their
own terms using their own languages and means of
knowledge management.
In a world where everything and everybody is connected and
where local actions and decisions have global impact,
Indigenous minorities across continents, now more than ever,
are needed to directly contribute to knowledge creation and
the dissemination of information to further actions and
decisions for a sustainable, just, fair and inclusive future.
Why
For example, in the era of digital transformations, it is essential that Indigenous minorities determine their own digitalisation processes, ensuring authentic representations
of their cultural heritage and knowledge. Himba communities that have been engaging in community led digitization processes have highlighted their desire to engage in dialogue with other Indigenous peoples about this method of community-led cultural conservation.
As Indigenous peoples face climate change and other pressures on our ways of life, gathering together as Indigenous peoples is critical for these types of dialogues particularly in ways initiated by and for our communities. It is through intercultural dialogue among elders and our communities that we can join together to share knowledge on how to ensure the survival of our peoples, territories and
ways of knowing for future generations.
