About the 3 day event to commemorate #IMGDay2022
CCFU is set to support more than 20 Indigenous Minority Groups (IMGs) from Uganda to join the rest of Indigenous peoples in the world to commemorate the International Day of Indigenous peoples on 9th of August 2022. Indigenous Minority Groups including the Ik, Batwa, Lendu, Kebu, Ngokutio, Nyangia, Tepeth, Ethur and Basongola among other groups from across the country will share updates and progress on cultural rights advocacy strategies and will have an opportunity to interface with relevant government human rights duty-bearers.
The event which will also bring together cultural rights custodians, government representatives, leaders of cultural institutions and civil society actors will be held in Kasese from 8th to 10th of August, 2022
During the 3 days event, Indigenous Peoples will showcase their unique cultural resources in an exhibition (some of their products will be on sale and we invite the general public to visit and support them) and will be trained on cultural entrepreneurship to build their capacity to use their cultural resources to improve their livelihoods and income-generation.
Uganda’s Indigenous Minority Groups (IMGs)
Of the 65 ‘indigenous communities’ in Uganda, 21 are small groups, with fewer than 25,000 people, according to the 2014 Census figures. The groups collectively represent about 1% of the national population numbers alone, however, do not adequately define an indigenous minority group. No precise definition of an indigenous minority group exists, in part because it depends on who defines a minority.
Nevertheless, indigenous minorities share a number of common characteristics: being a non-dominant group (often dominated by majority attitudes and practices), with common ethnic, religious, socio-economic or linguistic characteristics which are distinct from those of the majority population.
These characteristics often single them out as marginalised groups, frequently living in a remote geographical location, in small communities, poorer than the average population, with limited political representation and lacking access to basic social services. Although there have been some efforts by NGOs and the government to promote their welfare and recognise their social and economic rights, indigenous minorities generally suffer from an unequal distribution of national resources.
Many have lost their cultural resources, land and other means of survival, due to civil strife, assimilation and stereotypes or to government policies on forest and wildlife conservation, while very limited alternatives have been provided.
CCFU’ efforts to promote the rights of Indigenous Minority Groups in Uganda
CCFU has over the years implemented different interventions to promote the cultural rights of the indigenous minorities by; developing status reports and engaging district authorities on their cultural rights. The Foundation is also active in documenting oral histories, supporting advocacy platforms at the regional and national levels; and developing cultural resource centres and community museums as spaces for cultural rights expressions and sustainable cultural enterprises. To date, CCFU has supported the establishment of the IMG Coalition to strengthen its efforts to promote the rights of Indigenous Minorities in Uganda. The coalition consists of members such as the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development, the Equal Opportunities Commission, Foundation for Human Rights Initiative and the Minority Rights Group International
https://crossculturalfoundation.or.ug/ccfu/2022/07/20/coming-up-international-day-of-the-worlds-indigenous-peoples-celebrations/