Льыоравэтльан - Presentation of Publication “Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous Peoples”

The L’auravetl’an Information & Education Network of Indigenous Peoples (LIENIP) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have joined their efforts to develop a publication “Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous Peoples” launched on 27 May 2009 during the VIII session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
Traditional knowledge is an important element of the intellectual and cultural heritage of indigenous peoples. It forms part of their social and historic identity and significantly contributes to their well-being and sustainable development.
The following speakers intervened on that occasion:
1. Mr. Kenneth Deer, Member of the Indigenous ICT Task Force, Mohawk representative in Kahnawake (Canada);
2. Mr. Rama Rao, Officer-in-charge, WIPO Coordination Office, New York;
3. Mr. Roberto Borrero, President and Chairman, NGO Committee on the UN International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People, United Confederation of Taino People, New York;
4. Dr. Jane Anderson, Visiting Scholar, New York University;
5. Ms. Anne Gilliland, Professor and Chair, Department of Information Studies, University of California at Los Angeles and Director, Center for Information as Evidence, UCLA;
6. Ms. Sonia Martinelli-Heckadon and Mr. Ramiz Alakbarov, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Permanent Mission of Russia to the UN in New York, and indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation and other countries also took part in the presentation.
In 2007 LIENIP organized a series of educational conferences aimed at fostering greater understanding of the unique nature and field of study of traditional knowledge and encouraging mutually-beneficial relationships among representatives of indigenous communities, academia and international organizations. They were the seminar ''Traditional Indigenous Knowledge'' organized by LIENIP and held during the 6th session of UNPFII and the debate on traditional knowledge issues during the 60th Annual Conference of International Non-governmental Organizations, accredited by the UN Department of Public Information. Both events took place in the United Nations Headquarters, New York in 2007.
The present bilingual publication is in Russian and English. The Russian version will be provided in autumn 2009. One can get it in LIENIP’s regional centers. The publication (in pdf) is available on WIPO website at http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/tk/en/documents/pdf/lienip_publication.pdf
Press center of LIENIP