Two women, an indigenous lawyer and cyberactivist, and a master on ethnic-journalism visit 08 indigenous communities in Northeast Brazil, to conduct workshops on ethinicjournalism, women's rights and indigenous rights. One network already exists through the project “By Indigenous Women” which develop women meetings inside Thydêwá NGO headquarters. The women asked for workshops within their communities. We are going to do about 40 hours workshops on Rights and Ethnic-journalism in each community, directly affecting 160 indigenous women and indirectly 80,000.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Pau Brasil-BA, Ilhéus-BA, Porto Seguro-BA, Prado-BA, Tacaratu-PE, Porto da Folha-SE, São Sebastião-AL, Porto Real do Colégio-AL
Describe the specific population with whom you will be working.
Indigenous women has been silent for centuries: being indigenous in a society structured by non-indigenous, being women in a patriarchal and sexist society. Digital initiatives for strengthening indigenous people has not faced the issue of gender differences and historical oppression of women.
Through the project “By Indigenous Women projects”, they expressed the need to help empowering other women locally through workshops.
Many women had their first contact with the technology through their children. The youth use mobile and internet for email and social networks. The idea is to potentiate this usage in favor of women’s rights. See the project born two months ago – www.mulheresindígenas.org and a network that already has 10 years of autonomy and sustainability: www.indiosonline.net.
Who else will be on your team to help implement the project?
Ivana Cardoso (indigenous name Potyra Tê Tupinambás) is a lawyer and began in 2000 her work as a lawyer and cyberactivist on indigenous issues in the Índios On-line network, a news network authored by indigenous initially designed by Thydêwá NGO and that currently is managed entirely by the indigenous themselves. Link to articles published in the the Índios On-line network – http://www.indiosonline.net/author/ivanacardoso/. Link to Lattes Curriculum: http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.do?id=K8737333D9
Joana Brandão is a journalist, with master degree on Journalism. Developed her dissertaion on indigenous ethnic-journalism and received in 2013 the Adelmo Genro Filho Award for best dissertion on Journalism in Brazil. http://lattes.cnpq.br/1315429698475192
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
We believe in enabling free expression in a space of conversation and sharing for women to express their demands, their vision of what it means to be indigenous women nowadays, what means to be an indigenous woman leadership, what needs improvement in their community and in the world to create a better environment for women, how is the life of indigenous women, what she does in her everyday life. Also issues such as domestic violence against women, economic hardship, early pregnancy, social and emotional helplessness, and cultural machism might be addressed. Other topics we might discuss: social gender relationships, gender and ethnic identity, which is the autonomy that indigenous women live, and which is the economical autonomy of indigenous women in their families.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established or plan to establish that will contribute to the success of the project.
The Secretary of Politics for Women (SPM-PR) is partner through BY INDIGENOUS WOMEN project which empowers 16 women as women rights agents, through 05 meetings and 400 hours of distance learning, between 12.2014 and 07.2015. The action envolves meetings, economic empowerment and ciberativism in a blog (www.mulheresindigenas.org/blog) and a Multiethnic Online Community. Tablets with Internet is also provided.
The workshops can strength more women to collaborate in this network. We aim to build awareness on women rights and the potential of indigenous women within their culture, community and in the world. The Associação de Mulheres Indígenas Xokó (AMIX), a local association of indigenous women from the Xokó ethinicity is also our partner mobilizing local women to participate in the network
How many participants do you think will be trained in your project?
We will directly empower 40 women – 05 for community – as ethinicjournalists on indigenous women rights. Besides, we will offer lectures for approximately 160 women, 20 per community.
The 40 will join the ongoing training being held under BY INDIGENOUS WOMEN project and assist other women locally.
Indigenous from Thydêwá’s Council will support mobilization. The Association of Xokó Indigenous Women will also support the continuous empowerment process.
Through BY INDIGENOUS WOMEN these women will have continous support untill July 2015. There is a Online Multiethnical Community and By Indigenous Women blog to discuss on different topics. The On-line Community intends to outlive this period, and be a continuous network for sharing and exchange of experiences protagonized by indigenous women.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
We will use tablets provided by BY INDIGENOUS WOMEN project, camera and computer provided by the Culture Points, a project managed by Thydêwá with support of the Minister of Culture. The videos, photo and texts will be published on By Indigenous Women Blog and the Multiethnical Online Community.
The women can use these media to rebuild the image of themselves, influencing and breaking stereotipes about indigenous women.
As journalist specialized in ethnic-journalism, I present how information is a powerful tool for advocacy. I am trained on feminist methodology to work with women groups respecting their potential and possibilites. Thydêwá has a long history of digital empowerment of indigenous people, based on open participatory methodology, creating autonomy through popular education.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
There are 02 tablets available for each of the community, with internet acess between 512 kbps and 2 megabytes speed. In each of the Indigenous Culture Point, financed by the MInister of Culture from the Brazilian government, there are between one and three computers, and two photo cameras,a nd one projector. There is also internet connection with satellite antenna, with speed between 512 kbps and 2 megabytes.
What is your current relationship with the community with whom you plan to work? What makes you the most appropriate individual or organization to implement this project?
I coordinate the BY INDIGENOUS WOMEN project and support the participants on the ethnical-journalism production and on building local women group. We had our first meeting in February, and the next will be in May in the Thydêwá NGO headquarters in Ilhéus (BA). After the conclusion of this project, these women will be reference in their community regarging women rights, and will have an active and autonomous Online Multiethnical Community of indigenous women.
Thydêwá received several awards helping to develop and strengthening indigenous autonomy in digital world. Among them: Human Rights Award- Promotion of Racial Equality (2007) (Special Secretariat for Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic-SEDH); Media Free Award from the Culture Ministery (Brazilian Government – 2009, 2010).
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
One of the difficulties is to reach communities that mostly is geographically distant and with difficult access – roads in bad conditions and scarce transport services. Part of this difficulty has been overcome during other projects developed by Thydêwá. But specifically when working with women there is always the difficulty of showing the woman her right to express her wishes and her voice due to a history of submission and oppression to which they are subjected. Through the feminist methodology of dialogue and sharing, women gradually express themselves, revealing their fears and concerns, and strengthening to gain confidence in their potential, and also knowledge about their rights.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
Success is greater awareness of the value and potential of indigenous women, publication of reflective content about being indigenous woman in the Blog and Online Community, the creation of a women network reflecting on women rights and improvements to their lives in villages and beyond.
We will evaluate, for participants, online publications and the creation of local women's groups; regionally, networks created with other women or institutions, actions of economic empowerment and its interaction with solidary economy actions; globally, the circulation of information on indigenous women valuing and respecting diversity.
During the two last By Indigenous Women meeting, in Mar. and June 2015, we will make a questionnaire and discussion with 16 women with a review of the Community Workshops
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2014?
July/14 – Pre-prodution, research.
Aug-Sep/14 – Participants of By Indigenous Women project invite women in their villages for the meetings already being held locally. They present the workshop proposal, develop activity to collect concepts of self-image, self-identity, demands and expectations.
Oct/14 – Studying the material colected. Selection of participants.
Nov/14 – III By Indigenous Women meeting (Planning with participants the workshops in their communities).
Dec/14 – Workshops and lectures in 4 indigenous communities (in north part of Notrtheast Brazil)
Jan/15 – Workshops avaliation. Support of women who participated on the first stage.
Feb/15 – Workshops and lectures in 4 indigenous communities (in south part of Notrtheast Brazil)
Mar/15 – Workshops avaliation. Support of women who participated on the first and second stage. IV By Indigenous Women meeting.
Apr-May/15 – Support and following up the actions.
Jun/15 – V By Indigenous Women meeting. Final avaliation.
Detail a specific budget of up to $2,500 USD for operating costs.
Financed by Rising Voices:
Car rental for community visits:
Quantity/Unity – 30 days
Unit value – $25,00
Total – $750,00
Gasoline:
Quantity/Unity – 333 liters
Unit value – $1,50
Total – $499,50
Team food:
Quantity/Unity – 30 days
Unit value – $40,00
Total – $1200,00
Total financed by Rising Voices: $2.449,50
Financed by Counterpart:
Project Coordination/Facilitator in Ethinic-journalism:
Quantity/Unity – 1 month
Unit value – $1.250,00
Total – $1.250,00
Project Coordination/Facilitator in Citizenship and Rights
Quantity/Unity – 1 month
Unit value – $1.250,00
Total – $1.250,00
Total Counterpart: $2.500,00
Total amount of the Project: $4.949,50
Besides the microgrant funding, what other support can Rising Voices provide for your project to ensure its success?
Facilitating contact and exchange with other projects on Indigenous rights and women rights. With the presence of professionals to collaborate on the workshops, support empowering the women with the use of technology and media. Providing pedagogic material, like manuals, videos, etc, which can support the indigenous women in the learning process. Joining the network of indigenous women and inviting and motivating other actors – other indigenous people from other part of the world or other defensers of women rights, for example, participating on the network on Brazilian Indigenous Women and Multiethnical Online Community. Translating the content produced by the indigenous women so it can reach a wider public around the world.
Contact name
Joana Brandão Tavares
Organization
Non-governamental Organization Thydêwá
