FROM ALL DIRECTIONS
INDIGENOUS AND REGIONAL CULTURES
AND WORLD MARKETS
News from Bronitsky and Associates
Bringing Together Indigenous Peoples and the World Since 1992
Dr Gordon Bronitsky, President, Bronitsky and Associates, 216 Edith SE, Albuquerque, NM 87102, cell 505-238-3739; e-mail
European Office:
Dirk Steitz, Hofackerring 11, 79206 Breisach 3, Germany; Tel: +49
7664-408 972; e-mail
a bi-monthly newsletter from Bronitsky and Associates about events and people from indigenous and regional cultures in the international scene - festivals, funding, conferences, publications and current issues.
Correspondence, subscription/unsubscription, opportunities, talent news, etc. should be directed to the United States office
Circulation: 5071
Our News - what's keeping us busy!
Breaking News--Bronitsky and Associates, Executive Producers/Origins Festival of First Nations
Gordon Bronitsky interviewed about ORIGINS™ by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
We're Blogging!
Jerry Harmon tops the bill at the 2nd Kilcar Folk, Blues and Bluegrass Festival, 1-3 May, Ireland
African-American Storyteller Ilene Evans Toured to the Arabian Peninsula and to Colombia
Inuit Throat Singer Lois Suluk to Mexico
White Cockatoo—From Arnhem Land, Australia, to Mexico
For Your Diary
Events
Festivals
Funding
Conferences
Publications
Call for Submissions and Papers
News
Sites of Interest
Our News - what's keeping us busy!
Breaking News--Bronitsky and Associates, Executive Producers, ORIGINS™ Festival of First Nations
ORIGINS™ is the UK's Inaugural Festival of First Nations creative arts, with Bronitsky and Associates (USA) as Executive Producers and Michael Walling of Border Crossings (UK) as the Artistic Director. From May 4-17, 2009, Origins will bring together groundbreaking artists from the indigenous cultures of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA.
At venues across London, the festival explores First Nations experience in the twenty-first century through theatre, film screenings, spoken word, comedy and participation. For more information, please click here (385 KB - Adobe Acrobat PDF).
We hope to see you in London!
Dr. Gordon Bronitsky, President
Bronitsky and Associates
Gordon Bronitsky interviewed about ORIGINS™ by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
"Speaking Out" is a national half hour radio program covering Indigenous news, current affairs, culture and lifestyle issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. It was the first program of its kind in Australia when it was launched on ABC Local Radio on July 1, 1990.
Find out more about the inaugural "Origins: Festival of First Nations" in London which is bringing together indigenous creative artists from across the world including Australia.
Tune in Sunday night from 9:30pm (or 7:30pm in WA) through your local ABC radio station, listen online at http://abc.net.au/sydney or download the program (posted on Monday after the program airs) from http://www.abc.net.au/speakingout/ (you can also find it on ITunes)
We're Blogging!
We've begun a blog so we can begin to share some of the more personal aspects of the business and start a dialog with all of you out there. Check it out at www.bronitskyandassociates.com/wordpress - there's also a link to it on the menu bar of our main web site.
I leave for London May 2 and I'll definitely be blogging from ORIGINS™ in London - ever onward!
Jerry Harmon tops the bill at the 2nd Kilcar Folk, Blues and Bluegrass Festival, 1-3 May, Ireland
Jerry Harmon is a native of the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. He started his musical career in his teens. Among his early influences were Flatt and Scruggs, Hank Williams, and Ray Price. After years of local and regional performing, his first big break came in 1998 when he was invited to appear at MerleFest in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. He has shared festival stages with some of the biggest names in bluegrass and country music including Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice, Earl Scruggs, Dolly Parton, and Marty Stuart. He has toured throughout the USA, Canada, and Europe.
Jerry Harmon will start his latest European tour with a performance at the Kilcar Folk, Blues and Bluegrass Festival on Saturday night, 2 May, in the Parish Hall at a concert commencing at 8.00 p.m. Jerry will be sharing the stage on Saturday night with two of Co. Donegal's finest musicians; accordion and harmonica player Tom Byrne and fiddle player Martin McGinley.
Please add that we are still looking for additional shows for the summer and autumn tours. Inquiries about Jerry's availability and conditions should be directed to Dirk Steitz at .
African-American Storyteller Ilene Evans Toured to the Arabian Peninsula and to Colombia
Ms. Ilene Evans, based in Thomas, West Virginia, has recently completed a successful tour of the Middle East sponsored by the US Department of State and hosted by the various US Embassies and Consulates.
As part of the celebrations for Black History Month, Ms. Evans toured to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait giving performances of African American folk tales, poetry and her one woman show about the life of Harriett Tubman.
"It was an honor to be selected by the State Department to represent the voices of Black America in a part of the world that is so keen to hear the stories and understand the culture and history of our great nation", said Evans
The tour took her to a range of cities including Jeddah, Riyadh Dammam, Bahrain City and Kuwait City and provided opportunities for Middle Eastern audiences to experience the exciting and educational performances that Ms. Evans has been providing locally to schools and communities in Tucker and Preston Counties for many years. Ms. Evans tours extensively across West Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky and the Appalachian region.
In March Ms. Evan travelled to Columbia, with the US Embassy hosting the visit as a part of their celebrations for Women's History month. This tour took her to Bogota and Medellin and Cali giving performances as well as workshops with local schools, teachers and theater groups.
Inuit Throat Singer Lois Suluk to Mexico
Lois Suluk was a big success at the Cumbre Tajin Festival (www.cumbretajin.com) in Veracruz. Cumbre Tajin is a celebration of the identity of the Totonac people, whose ancestors built the pyramids at the site of El Tajin. The Totonac were also the discoverers of vanilla, and were the main suppliers of vanilla until the 1860s.
Lois' performances and workshops were attended by large crowds and made a great impression. Her activities included
- workshops and demonstrations
- participation with the men from White Cockatoo (Aboriginal Australian traditional dance group) in their workshop and performance of a few "throat singing" songs with Archie the didgeridoo player from White Cockatoo from Australia
- performance for Don Juan Simbron, the leader of the Totonaca Supreme Council and members of the Totonaca Supreme Council
- meeting with Don Juan and members of Totonaca Supreme Council to discuss language preservation, climate change and the environment
White Cockatoo - From Arnhem Land, Australia, to Mexico
Bronitsky and Associates worked with the Cumbre Tajin Festival of Identity (www.cumbretajin.com) to bring the White Cockatoo Performing Group to this year's 10th anniversary Cumbre Tajin. This unique performing company comes from Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. The artists are a group of senior Aboriginal men from the Mialili, Guningu, Rembarrnga, and Burrara language groups, who share the same social and family affiliations. Their corroboree is a part of one of the earth's oldest unbroken artistic traditions, and their country is the traditional birthplace and home of the Australian Aboriginal musical instrument the Didgeridoo. The men are the exponents of fine 'classical' aboriginal music and dance.
We were especially proud that Cultural Attache Jeffery Houston of the Australian embassy in Mexico, attended a performance by White Cockatoo at this year's Cumbre Tajin festival.
The White Cockatoo tour to Mexico and to the Cumbre Tajin Festival was funded through the first round of the Going Global program of the Australia Council for the Arts and was supported by the Australian Embassy in Mexico. In June this year we are additionally working to bring a delegation of Totonaca performers and artists to The Dreaming Festival in Queensland.
For Your Diary
If you would like to list an event, activity or publication with us, please forward details to before the 28th of each month to ensure its inclusion in the next FROM ALL DIRECTIONS newsletter.
Events
American Indian Singer Performed with the Israel Kibbutz Chamber Orchestra in 2009
Bill Miller (Mohican-Mahicanuk) performed with the Israel Kibbutz Chamber Orchestra in a program called "The Last Stand" between March 14-21, 2009. "The Last Stand" which he wrote with the composer Christie Wilkilson, a candidate for the "Golden Globe" award, tells the story of the battle of "Little Bighorn", presenting different aspects of the battle and its message for future peace and healing. A special single performance on March 20, 2009 took place at Kibbutz Maagan Michael and was dedicated purely to his Native American repertoire. Miller is one of the most admired figures in Native American music and has won two Grammy Awards and six Native American Music Awards.
For further information contact: or visit http://www.kibbutz-orchestra.co.il/
WOVEN MEMORY: A tapestry of story,
sound, and movement
American Indian Repertory Theatre launches a new production
LAWRENCE, KS: The American Indian Repertory Theatre (AIRT) will present a new play, Woven Memory, by noted Native American playwright, Dianne Yeahquo Reyner at the Lawrence Arts Center on Friday May 1 and Saturday May 2 at 8:00 PM.
Grandmother Spider and Coyote are two Native American beings who have existed since the Creation. They left the earth when the world of human beings was established. Woven Memory traces the journey of Grandmother Spider and Coyote as they travel to our world to decide if the time has come for them to return. Reyner uses story weaving, blending both traditional Native American stories and contemporary experiences, to draw the audience into the intimate space that exists when myth merges with the reality of modern life. Mixing comedy, poetry, dance and music into the story of the contemporary Grandmother Spider and Coyote, the production is a tapestry of story, sound and movement.
"The fabric of memory exists far beyond our own recognition. It is mingled in the poetry and pain of distant bonds. Woven Memory brings the relevance of our cultural ties into a modern world and dares us to reach beyond pain and move forward with the strength of our past." - Dianne Yeahquo Reyner.
Dianne Yeahquo Reyner is a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma. Her play, Weaving the Rain, is included in the newly published Performing Worlds into Being: Native American Women's Theater by Miami University Press.
AIRT is a national touring company based in Lawrence, Kansas and one of few Native American theater companies in the United States. AIRT is dedicated to producing work by Native American theater artists and sharing their voices with communities across the country. Members of the company have worked and represented Native Theater with UCLA Project HOOP, NYC Public Theatre, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, National Endowment for the Arts, Obie award winning playwright Ping Chong, the Lied Center of Kansas, and numerous national and local conferences.
Festivals
Ainu Moshiri Ichimannensai
August 15-20, 2009
Asahi, Hokkaido, Japan
Originating in its current public form thirteen years ago, the annual event draws nature and music lovers from across the world. The festival is an opening for outsiders to learn about Ainu culture. It is also a means for the Ainu people to help themselves. Welfare related problems and land rights, combined with long running discrimination and persecution, have left many Ainu or part Ainu people without identity. The Ainu Moshiri Ichimannensai is designed to help foster Ainu identity, hope and pride. A big portion of the festival is directed towards educating Ainu children.
Heiva Festival, Tahiti, French Polynesia
July 2009
Heiva is French Polynesia's most important festival which takes place every year in July. It's a colorful display of traditional costumes, skills and music of the pounding drums, a celebration of life and traditionally preparation for war.
The highlight of the Heiva is the Mr. and Miss Tahiti competition. Unlike other beauty contests, it's not just about brawn and good looks but also skill and intelligence; part of the contests involves cracking open 10 coconuts in record time! The Mr. Tahiti competition is strongly traditional with an emphasis on the knowledge of ancient Polynesian skills like palm tree climbing. The toughest round is lifting stones--contestants have been known to lift weights up to 300 pounds.
Funding
Native Arts and Cultures Foundation
Established to Sponsor Native Arts
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/arts/22native.html?hpw
Even as arts groups around the country are cutting back because of
declining endowments and donations, the Native Arts and Cultures
Foundation has been established to support the work of American
Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native artists is being
established with an initial $10 million from the Ford Foundation.
Program Bridges Information Resource Gap
for Microlenders
Consultative Group to Assist the Poor: Information Systems Program
CGAP, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, is committed to
advancing access to financial services for the world's poor, and
hopes to achieve this goal by helping to create local,
deposit-driven markets. CGAP launched the Information Systems
Program, a joint initiative with the EU/ACP Microfinance Programme,
in 2004 to assist microfinance institutions (MFIs) in making
technology decisions. One component of the program is the IS Fund,
through which MFIs from around the world are eligible to receive
financial support to hire independent consultants to address various
aspects of incorporating technology - from development of a strategy
to its implementation. The Fund provides up to $15,000 to the MFI to
hire consultants for their first assignment (up to $10,000 for a
second assignment). CGAP now offers an overview of the IS Program in
English, Spanish, and French. To learn more about CGAP and the IS
Program, visit the website provided above.
Small Grants Available to NGOs in Africa
and Asia
IREX: Small Grant Fund for Africa and Asia
The International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) offers
leadership and innovative programming to nonprofits and
nongovernmental organizations that focus on improving the quality of
education, strengthening independent media, and fostering
pluralistic civil society development. IREX administers a number of
different funding opportunities to further its goals. The Small
Grant Fund for Africa and Asia provides grants of up to US$10,000 to
local private NGOs based in and serving Africa and Asia for projects
that are designed to promote excellence in independent media through
journalism training, media advocacy, and institutional development
of media and media-related institutions, including equipment and
operational costs. Letters of inquiry are accepted on a rolling
basis for this program. For additional information, visit the
website provided above.
Global Funding Opportunity for
Documentary Photographers
Open Society Institute: Documentary Photography Project
The Open Society Institute is accepting proposals for the
Documentary Photography Project. This program offers grants ranging
from US$5,000 to $30,000 to documentary photographers from
throughout the world who have already completed significant bodies
of work in the realm of social justice. To be eligible,
photographers must work in tandem with an appropriate organization
(i.e., nonprofit organization, NGO, or community-based
organization). Through these collaborations, the photographer and
the organization will explore innovative strategies for the use of
photography as a tool for positive social change, up to and
including distribution of the work to specific populations expressly
for the purpose of advocating social change. Preference will be
given to work that aligns with Open Society Institute's current
areas of interest and geographical foci. Proposals must be received
by June 19, 2009. Visit the website provided above for detailed
program information.
Canadian Foundation Encourages Global
Citizenship
Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation
The Global Citizenship Programme of the Walter and Duncan Gordon
Foundation is designed to increase opportunities for Canadians to
seek innovative and constructive ways to have an effect on the most
pressing global challenges. The Foundation provides funding to
support two distinct objectives: The Youth Engagement objective
seeks to build the capacity of youth-driven initiatives to
understand key development, governance, and security challenges and
relevant policies; and to engage in the pursuit of practical, just,
and sustainable solutions. Priority is given to projects that engage
young adults between the ages of 18 and 30. The Diaspora and
Transnational Communities objective funds research and feasibility
studies on the opportunities afforded by the engagement of Canada's
diaspora and transnational communities in promoting Canada's role in
the world and the implications for public policy. Interested
Canadian organizations should contact the Foundation prior to
submitting a brief letter of inquiry. Letters of inquiry are
accepted throughout the year; funding decisions are made on a
quarterly basis. For additional information, visit the website
provided above.
Seed Funding for Small Projects
Addressing Women's Issues
World YWCA: Women and Development
The World YWCA describes itself as a global network of women leading
social and economic change. National YWCA offices are located in 125
countries worldwide. Through the Women and Development Fund, World
YWCA offers grants of up to US$6,000 as seed funding for small
projects that address women's development needs. Activities that
address women's problems and needs in realistic and concrete ways
will be given preference. Examples of project areas include income
generation, adult education, literacy, primary health care, and
women's sexual and reproductive rights, among others. Applicants
should articulate how the project will improve the standard of
living and/or quality of life for a specific women's population. The
Fund is designed to get projects up and running in the belief that
this seed funding will provide the proper foundation for projects to
continue to grow. Project applications may be submitted by national
YWCAs around the world on their own behalf, on behalf of their local
branches, or in partnership with other relevant organizations.
Applications are accepted throughout the year. Visit the website
provided above for application guidelines and forms.
Global Opportunity to Support Vulnerable
Children
World Childhood Foundation
The World Childhood Foundation was founded by Her Majesty Queen
Silvia of Sweden ten years ago in response to the pervasive
suffering of the world's most marginalized children. The Foundation
focuses its work on girls, particularly those who are living on the
street or in institutions, on young mothers, and on sexually abused
children. The Foundation has active projects in fourteen countries:
Brazil, China, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland,
Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, Ukraine, and United States.
Applications will be considered from organizations for projects that
focus on helping children in vulnerable situations around the globe.
Project proposals are accepted twice annually, and must be received
by April 25 or November 1, for review by the Foundation's Swedish
Board of Directors. Application guidelines are available on the
website provided above.
Conferences
Joint Conference for Economic Developers
IASP 2009 World Conference on Science and Technology Parks & 2009
IEDC Technology-Led Economic Development Conference
The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) has partnered
with the Spanish-based International Association of Science Parks
(IASP) and The Research Triangle Park to present the IASP World
Conference on Science and Technology in the United States for the
first time. (The 2009 IEDC Technology-Led Economic Development
Conference will be held in conjunction with the IASP conference.)
The theme for IASP's 2009 conference is "Future Knowledge
Ecosystems: The Opportunity for Science and Technology Parks, Places
and Partners." Conference attendees will learn more about tapping
into innovative, forward-thinking best-practice strategies to
address today's challenges and anticipate solutions for future
issues. The conference will be held from June 1-4, 2009, at Research
Triangle Park in Raleigh, NC, USA. For detailed conference
information and to register, visit the website provided above.
Publications
The Lakota Way
published in Hebrew
The book The Lakota Way (in its
15th US edition) by bestselling Native American writer Joseph M.
Marshall III (Sicangu Oglala Lakota) was recently published in
Hebrew (Kibbutz Maagan Michael Publishing). This is an additional
Native American authored book published in Israel and will be used
in the continuing education workshop programs for Israeli educators
about Native folklore and history. A previous book,
The Wind Is My Mother by Marcellus
Bear Heart Williams (Muskogee Creek), has entered its second
printing last month, quite a surprise for a country the size of
Massachusetts. The first book published was by Marcia Keegan from
Santa Fe, Southwest Indian Cookbook.
For further information contact:
Call for Submissions and Papers
"Generating Community": Arts, Community
and Governance National Conference
September 2- 4 2009, RMIT University, Melbourne
hosted by the Globalism Research Centre, RMIT and the Cultural
Development Network
Call for Papers and Presentations Now Open
The ˜ReGenerating
Community" Conference is about ways in which global issues are being
addressed locally through collaborations between artists,
communities and local government.
Papers are invited on the conference themes:
- addressing global issues locally through collaborations between artists, communities and local government
- the links between creative communities and civic engagement
- the ways creative processes can mobilize communities for positive social change
- cultural citizenship and cultural rights, as an aspect of a broader human rights agenda
Closing date for second round of
presentations: Thursday April 30, 2009.
Conference website:
www.cdn-generations.net.au
Enquiries: Kim Dunphy
News
New Artistic Director for Yirra Yaakin Theater Company, Perth Australia
The Board of Yirra Yaakin Aboriginal Corporation is delighted to announce Kyle Morrison as the new Artistic Director of Yirra Yaakin (http://www.yirrayaakin.asn.au). The twenty seven year old Perth based actor and director has worked in television, film and the theatre industry for more than 15 years.
Chairman Clem Rodney said Mr. Morrison was selected from a highly competitive field of candidates. "Kyle impressed the selection panel with his energy, enthusiasm, experience and his determination to put Yirra Yaakin back on the performing arts map." Mr. Rodney said.
Kyle has had a long association with Yirra Yaakin, working on many of the company's major productions as either an actor or director. During the past year Kyle has worked as an Assistant Director for The Sydney Theatre Company, Black Swan State Theatre Company, Company B Sydney and Deckchair Theatre.
"I'm very excited and honoured to have been given this opportunity. It's a good time for Aboriginal theatre and I can't wait to get started." Mr. Morrison said.
Yirra Yaakin's appointment of Mr. Morrison as Artistic Director heralds the start of a new chapter in the company's history.
"The company is committed to getting back to basics - commissioning new works and producing world-class Aboriginal theatre." Mr. Rodney said.
Chief Justice
backs Aboriginal treaty in Australia
http://www.smh.com.au/national/chief-justice-backs-aboriginal-treaty-20090327-9e79.html
THE Chief Justice of the High Court, Robert French, has dismissed the legal argument used by the former prime minister John Howard against the reaching of a treaty with indigenous Australia. Justice French disagreed with the view that a treaty was impossible because Aboriginal Australia was not a sovereign nation - or as Mr. Howard put it in 2000, that a nation "does not make a treaty with itself".
The Mabo decisions and the Native Title Act recognized indigenous rights without undermining Australia's sovereignty and could provide the basis for an agreement, Justice French said in a speech at the University of Melbourne Law School. "Such an agreement could recognize and acknowledge traditional law and custom of indigenous communities across Australia, their historical relationship with their country, their prior occupancy of the continent and that there are those who have maintained and asserted their traditional rights to the present time," he said.
"This is a cultural reality which can be accepted without comprising, symbolically or otherwise, Australia's identity as a nation." Although Aboriginal notions of sovereignty would belong in a different "universe of discourse", he said, "it would be sovereignty under traditional law and custom".
Experts said the statement was a significant step in a debate that continues. The director of the Treaty Project at the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law at University of NSW, Sean Brennan, said Justice French was "a black-letter lawyer of the highest standing and in effect he is repudiating the scare tactics frequently used to shut down constructive debate about a treaty or agreement".
The director of the Indigenous Law Centre at the University of NSW, Megan Davis, said Aboriginal people would be relieved that an agreement could yet come out of the "massive disappointment" of native title laws.
Australia has so far resisted an agreement with its indigenous people, unlike nations such as New Zealand and Canada. It is Labor Party policy to pursue a treaty, but the Rudd Government says it is a lower priority than reaching its targets for improving Aboriginal life expectancy, child mortality and employment
"Government of Canada is Delivering on its
Economic Action Plan for Aboriginal People and Northerners,"
Marketwire, Indian and Northern
Affairs Canada. April 8, 2009. © 2009 Marketwire, Incorporated. All
rights reserved. Full text available at:
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Indian-And-Northern-Affairs-Canada-972565.html
"The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Metis and Non-Status Indians, reported today on the concrete steps taken as a result of Canada's Economic Action Plan. ‘With the measures we have taken up to now, our government is effectively responding to the short- and long-term challenges facing Aboriginal and Northern Canadians during these uncertain economic times. We are committed to ensuring that Aboriginal and Northern Canadians play an even greater role in the Canadian economy now and in the future. The $1.9 billion in investments being made with this Action Plan will go a long way to making this happen' said Minister Strahl. Canada's Economic Action Plan invests $515 million over the next two years for ‘ready-to-go' First Nations community infrastructure projects. This investment focuses on three priority areas: schools, water and critical community services…"
"Native
Women's Association of Canada: Indigenous Leaders to Provide Plan of
Action to 5th Summit of the Americas," Native Women's
Association of Canada.
April 17, 2009. © Copyright 2009 Native Women's Association of
Canada. All rights reserved. Full text available at:
http://www.nationtalk.ca/modules/news/article.php?storyid=19616
"Panama City, Panama (April 17, 2009) - Indigenous leaders from across the Americas met April 14-15, 2009 in Panama City, Panama to take part in the 3rd Indigenous Leaders Summit of the Americas (3rd ILSA). The meeting provided an opportunity for Indigenous leaders to conduct discussions on issues related to the work of the Organization of American States (OAS) and, particularly, the work to be conducted during the 5th Summit of the Americas to take place in Trinidad and Tobago, April 17-19, 2009. The Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) and the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) co-hosted the event with the assistance of the Organization of American States (OAS) and various Indigenous organizations throughout the Americas.
During the meeting a Declaration and a Plan of Action were developed to promote the aspirations of Indigenous Peoples and to outline actions necessary to accomplish these goals. As noted by NWAC President Beverley Jacobs, "The [3rd ILSA] Plan of Action provides achievable actions for states to undertake in order to ensure that Indigenous Peoples' rights are implemented in their respective countries. The goal of ensuring that our human rights are respected and protected can only be achieved if nation states commit to take action." The Plan of Action outlines key activities for states to ensure the implementation of Indigenous rights related to six areas to be deliberated during the 5th Summit of the Americas. A delegation of 10 Indigenous leaders will attend the 5th Summit of the Americas, including NWAC President Jacobs and, on behalf of the AFN, Grand Chief Edward John. The delegation will meet with OAS State Ministers and will bring forward the 3rd ILSA Declaration and Plan of Action at a meeting on April 17th, 2009 leading into the 5th Summit of the Americas…"
Colombian Indians Flee as Drug Violence
Spreads
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/world/americas/22colombia.html?hp
Up and down the rivers of western Colombia, a new breed of criminal armies is pressing deeper into the jungle, fighting with guerrillas who have been long in the Chocó region for control of the cocaine trade, and forcing thousands of Indians to flee.
As Colombia's war for control of the drug trade intensifies in frontiers like this one, with new combatants vying for smuggling routes and coca-growing areas where Indians eke out a meager existence, it is adding to the already grave toll on the nation's indigenous groups. At least 27 of the groups are at risk of being eliminated because of the country's four-decade conflict, according to the United Nations, and human rights organizations worry that the new violence is pushing even deeper into the Indians' ancient lands.
Sites of Interest
For more information please contact:
World Summit website launched today
We are delighted to announce the launch of the website for the 4th
World Summit on Arts and Culture
www.artsummit.org. The website will be the key source of
information about the Summit, which takes place on 22-25 September
2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The
Big Idea | Te Aria Nui launches new online home
The Big Idea | Te Aria Nui is proud to launch the new online home
for New Zealand's creative community--http://www.thebigidea.co.nz/
"It's very exciting to see how the new site draws attention to the depth and strength of New Zealand's creative talent, innovation and diversity," said Elisabeth Vaneveld, on behalf of The Big Idea Trust.
"We're thrilled that at long last and with the help of some extraordinary people, The Big Idea community now has access to essential digital information and communication tools that really deliver."
The Big Idea |Te Aria Nui is proud and excited to launch its new online space for creative New Zealanders. With new functionality, tools and content the revamped site provides inspiration, networks, opportunities and tools to help creative people seed and sustain their big ideas.
If you would like to contribute an item to FROM ALL DIRECTIONS, the monthly e-newsletter of Bronitsky and Associates, please forward your listing before the 28th of each month to .