Yoreka Atame / Support to the Ashaninka People (Acre, Brazil)

 

Context:

For a number of years, we participated in the forest people support network created in the 80s by Chico Mendes, Ailton Krenak, David Yanomami… In 2007, a partnership was consolidated with the Ashaninka community in the state of Acre, Brazil, one of the peoples supporting the project.

 

Synthesis:

After several meetings in Brazil and after Danielle Mitterrand’s visit in Acre, we invited Benki Ashaninka, the community’s spokesman, to go and present his projects in Paris as well as his people’s vision of the world. We organised a week of activities and meetings with the press on topics around Yoreka Atame (forest knowledge), the struggle against biopiracy and social conflicts in the region adjacent to Peru.

There were many reports on France Libertés, including a page in the French newspaper Le Parisien and an interview of Benki and Danielle Mitterrand on France 3 television news.

Benki also participated in the international environmental film festival organised by le Conseil Régional d’Ile de France.

 

Partners:

The Apiwtxa association, Rede dos Povos da Floresta, Acre State Government, Conseil Régional d’Ile de France.