First Indigenous Media Zone attracts broad interest

First Indigenous Media Zone attracts broad interestThe first-ever Indigenous Media Zone attracted dozens of Indigenous media producers during the annual session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York.

The Indigenous Media Zone provided a much-needed work space for indigenous media producers and also featured live interviews, discussions and press conferences with human rights defenders and Indigenous experts. It was co-hosted by the Department of Public Information (DPI) and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) in cooperation with Indigenous media organisations in the UN Correspondents Association lounge on the third floor of the Secretariat from 24 to 28 April.

“I very much welcome this space,” said Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine, the Chairperson of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, speaking at one of the panels in the media zone. “It is important for us Indigenous Peoples to have a platform to tell our stories in our own voices and through our own channels.”

Participants in the media zone included Indigenous radio and TV producers from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States, among others.

Live interviews and discussions took place with Indigenous experts from countries (Australia, Bangladesh, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, Finland, Mali, Peru, Russia, Tanzania and Uruguay) on topics ranging from the tenth anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to land rights and natural resources, violence against women, the Sustainable Development Goals, and issues affecting Indigenous youth.

Five discussions—one per day—were streamed live on UN DESA’s Facebook page and can be viewed HERE.

Some twenty other interviews and discussions were streamed on Facebook by Notimia, a news agency of Indigenous and afro-descendant women, who partnered with DESA and DPI to organize the Indigenous Media Zone: https://www.facebook.com/pg/notimia/videos/?ref=page_internal.

News |
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU WIDER) will launch the World Social Report 2025 on Thursday, 24 April at 12:00 p.m. EDT…
News |
Joint Letter by the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples- April 2025In our capacity as Expert Members of the United Nations…
News |
The 18th session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP18) will take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 10 to 12 June 2025. As one of the world’s largest gatherings…