Happy New Year to all our donors and supporters! The start of a new decade seems the ideal time to update you on our current activities.

In October Kogi Mama Shibulata and translator Sylvestre flew to Sweden for the first presentation of projects to the new Unesco BRIDGES commission. The meeting took place in Sigtuna and the Kogi were invited for the occasion as Unesco’s special guests.

The visit to the Sierra coincided with a follow up meeting arising from the Cross diagnosis in Drôme, southern France last September in which the Trust collaborated with the French NGO Tchendukua. One of the science delegates Patrick Degeorges has been involved with UNESCO and a working party was set up with the aim of establishing a cross-disciplinary coalition (called BRIDGES: Building Resilience in Defense of Global Environments and Societies) to launch projects connecting academic and non-academic authorities that can develop more effective global strategies to combat climate change.

Thanks to everyone who helped us fund a vital meeting in the Sierra with the Kogi. This was called to agree an alliance to help ensure the defence and protection of the Kogi in the Sierra. Representatives of many of the organisations supporting the Kogi attended.

Alan Ereira was invited to attend a conference with UNESCO which was designed to create a sustainable framework that would shape global policy making and education. The conference ended with agreement to build a consortium to create a programme of learning that would integrate views on sustainability from unusual partners. With a working group created to look at sample sites. This was something which Alan took to discuss with the Kogi when Trustees met with them in the Sierra.

The Chairman of the Tairona Heritage Trust, Jean-Paul Mertinez, the Kogi-speaking anthropologist Falk Parra-Witte and Alan Ereira met for a long breakfast in London with the Cabildo of the Organisación Gonawindua Tayrona, José Santos Sauna.

We’ve been so busy since you last heard from us and have so much to share with you. So thank you for staying with us.

The Trust has participated in several international dialogues with the Kogi Mamas to share knowledge and information in an attempt to better understand how we can learn from their indigenous perspectives and to offer them support for new Kogi related projects or respond to their requests.

Alan kept a diary during the cross diagnosis event where the Kogi Mamas visited France to engage in discussions with Western academics. Find out what happened.