Amazon You're Beautiful!
Echoing the Voices of the Forest
Education by:
Enchantment
Amazonian Protagonism
Living well in the forest
Our first original project is also our starting point in this great encounter with the Amazon. We believe that transformation begins with education and the protagonism of the peoples of the forest. Therefore, we want to promote educational processes with the youth of the Amazon, strengthening the knowledge of their rights, the appreciation of their cultural identities and ancestral knowledge.
Young Amazonians will be protagonists in the creation and dissemination of educational content that tells, in their own voices, the stories of their peoples, territories and world views.
Through workshops, experiences and training in Peoples' and Forest Rights, Identities, Communication and Audiovisual, young people will be invited to investigate, record and share their knowledge, memories, challenges and cosmologies. This content will be disseminated in schools, public and private educational institutions, digital platforms, social networks and other educational spaces, expanding access to knowledge about the Brazilian Amazon in a lively, authentic and plural way.
The Process
1. Choosing the territory and approaching the Amazonians;
The Walk
2. Dive into their realities, stories and roots;
3. Valuing identities and developing skills and competencies of local youth;
4. Knowledge of the Rights of Peoples and the Forest;
5. Strengthening the struggle for the protection of the forest and the well-being of its people;
4. Production of creative content in their daily lives;
7. Distribution to schools, companies, projects and other channels.
Our first dive takes place in the heart of the forest: the Javari Valley, a territory of great cultural wealth and biodiversity, where Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira lost their lives defending indigenous peoples and the forest. Where they tried to silence voices, we chose to make legacies echo.
In partnership with Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (UNIVAJA), we have started a training cycle focused on Indigenous Rights and community audiovisual production, encouraging youth protagonism, strengthening local identities and protecting territories. This initiative, which began in the Javari Valley, could expand to other Amazonian territories, replicating methodologies and experiences of cultural appreciation, critical education and transformative communication.
Photos: ©Paulo Santos
When they tried to silence the voices of the forest, its people and its caretakers, we chose to listen. The Sua Linda Amazon Project is our response: a living alliance between Amazonian youth, ancestral knowledge and transformative education – because echoing these voices is protecting the future of all of us.
Telma Toledo – Vice-President of the Dom Phillips Institute
