DM2009 Siberia Winner Reports on Indigenous Peoples' Progress

The 40 Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia, and Far East in Russia have had to struggle mightily -- not only against a hostile environment but also what they see as sometimes arbitrary governmental action. But they're making fresh progress, according to this emailed report from DM2009 winner Rodion Sulyandziga (holding award in photo at right), Director of the Center for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North (CSIPN), which has spearheaded recognition and -- more important practically -- enforcement of Indigenous Peoples' rights:

"On April 14-15 in Moscow the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON) -- the umbrella organization that includes CSIPN -- will be hosting (in partnership with the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation) the Arctic Indigenous Leaders Summit, with the main focus on climate change in the Arctic. The participants are international experts, academia, Arctic states, regional governments, business, and Indigenous Peoples. The Summit will create a good basis for our future activities and networking. It's vital for us to involve federal, regional governments, and business from the scratch.

"We are also invited to the high-level international meeting "The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue" on April 22-23 under Russian Premier Putin to make a presentation on behalf of Indigenous Peoples. This is a good progress."

The Aprill 22-23 conference’s key goals will be: finding new forms of international interaction in turning the Arctic into an area of peace and cooperation, attracting international media attention to key problems in the Arctic, and establishing a venue for expert level discussion to encourage serious analysis and the exchange of opinions on the most pressing problems in the Arctic.

Meanwhile, CSIPN, according to Sulyandziga is "working hard on design and methodology and assembling partners and a network of experts" to take its DM2009 education project to implementation.