0.9 Activism  (Page 9/11)

Santa cruz de la sierra statement on intellectual property, bolivia, 1994

The Coordinating Body of the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin (COICA) organized the International Consultation on Intellectual Property Rights and Biodiversity held at Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia in September 1994. The  COICA Statement  echoed the self determination theme of the Mataatua Declaration. It declares that

"For members of indigenous peoples, knowledge and determination of the use of resources are collective and intergenerational. No ... individuals or communities, nor the Government, can sell or transfer ownership of [cultural] resources which are the property of the people and which each generation has an obligation to safeguard for the next."

"Work must be conducted on the design of a protection and recognition system which is in accordance with ... our own conception, and mechanisms must be developed ... which will prevent appropriation of our resources and knowledge."

"There must be appropriate mechanisms for maintaining and ensuring the right of Indigenous peoples to deny indiscriminate access to the [cultural] resources of our communities or peoples and making it possible to contest patents or other exclusive rights to what is essentially Indigenous."

Julayinbul statement on indigenous intellectual property rights, australia, 1993

The Conference on Cultural and Intellectual Property held at Jingarrba adopted the  Julayinbul Statement on Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights . The declaration reaffirms the right of Indigenous Peoples and Nations "to define for themselves their own intellectual property, acknowledging ... the uniqueness of their own particular heritage ...." It states that "Aboriginal intellectual property, within Aboriginal Common Law, is an inherent, inalienable right which cannot be terminated, extinguished, or taken ... Any use of the intellectual property of Aboriginal Nations and Peoples may only be done in accordance with Aboriginal Common Law, and any unauthorised use is strictly prohibited."

Action by indigenous groups to protect tk

In addition to agitating for legal change, indigenous groups have recently begun to act -- sometimes on their own, sometimes with the aid of other organizations -- to protect their traditional knowledge. Some examples follow.

Training about ip rights and technology uses

In 2008, two members of a  Maasai  community from Laikipia, Kenya and an expert from the National Museums of Kenya traveled to the American Folklife Center (AFC) and the Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) in the United States for intensive, hands-on training in documentary techniques and archival skills necessary for effective community-based cultural conservation. WIPO provided  IP training . In August 2009,  WIPO  provided the Maasai community in Kenya with digital technology to record their cultural heritage. WIPO trained attendees, providing them with requisite technical skills, a digital camera, sound recording equipment and a laptop to document and digitize their cultural heritage on an on-going basis.