Knowledge in the Next Generation

Major Challenges regarding the Future of Indigenous Cultures

Ms Kristin Clemet, Minister of Education and research

University of Tromsø, 29 September 2004

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As Minister responsible for coordinating UNESCO affairs in Norway, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to this conference organized by the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Norwegian National Commission for UNESCO. The conference is graciously hosted by the University of Tromsø.

The conference will discuss UNESCOs main priorities: cultural diversity and cultural heritage, Education for All and Information for All, science and traditional knowledge systems – all in an indigenous perspective. The conference also aims at assessing the results achieved during the International Decade for Indigenous Peoples from 1995 to 2004, but the main focus will be on future challenges.

First of all, I would like to say that this university is a natural arena for a conference which deals with indigenous cultures and “Knowledge in the Next Generation”.

Research on Saami and indigenous issues is a special thrust for The University of Tromsø. Its education and research activities have an international and comparative profile while being deeply rooted in Saami culture. There are circumpolar projects, as well as cooperation projects with indigenous groups in the south, for instance in Botswana, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

Naturally, as Minister of Education and Research I am very proud of this. However, I am also indeed proud of the Saami University College in Kautokeino, which promotes and preserves Saami language, culture and community life. The Saami University College was founded in 1989 to meet the needs for higher education and research of Saami society. It serves Saami areas in Finland, Sweden, Russia and Norway. The instruction is mainly given in Saami language. These two institutions complement each other and constitute vibrant and creative arenas for education and research in the fields this conference will discuss.

During the last decade, the global society has adopted action plans and normative instruments of great significance to indigenous peoples. I take the liberty of mentioning some of them:

- The World Conference on Science held in 1999 and organised by UNESCO and the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) adopted an action plan for traditional knowledge which resulted in the project, Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems”.

- The Declaration on Cultural Diversity was adopted by UNESCO in 2001.

- The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003.

Norwegian legislation in this area reflects Norway’s recognition of the very special position of the Saami people in this country. This is based on the fact that our state was established on the territory of two peoples – the Norwegian people and the Saami people. This is first and foremost reflected in the constitutional amendment of 1988 when a new section was added to the constitution as section 1110A with this wording:

"It is incumbent on the governmental authorities to take necessary steps to enable the Saami population to safeguard and develop their language, their culture and their social life".

This obligation is in principle binding for all authorities at all levels.

We have seen a new awareness grow both in local communities like Gaivuotna-Kåfjord, which you will visit on Thursday afternoon, and at county level, where the counties of Finnmark and Troms may be mentioned as the best examples. These counties have signed specific agreements with the Saami Parliament aiming at cooperation to fulfil the intentions in the constitutional amendment.

During the last 10 to 20 years a remarkable development has taken place in Saami communities in the cultural field; Saami artists are recognized at national level, and many have been awarded prizes for outstanding achievements.

With the establishment of the Saami Parliament (Samediggi ) in 1989, a process of developing Saami cultural autonomy was initiated in several fields: education, the cultural field (literature, music, theatre and others), management of cultural heritage and small scale industries. A curriculum for Saami education was developed during the 1990s which is quite advanced compared to what many other countries offer their minorities and indigenous peoples.

I would also like to tell you that we are currently working to solve the long disputed question of land rights of the Saami people. The Government presented a legislative proposal to the national parliament (Stortinget) last year, and the parliamentary committee is now consulting the Saami Parliament before a final decision will be taken by the national parliament. The Government is well aware of the strong connection between indigenous cultures and the foundation for these cultures: the communities, the land and the environment.

As to the media, let me mention the extraordinary development we have had in the field of radio and TV in recent years, where The Saami Radio, which is part of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, has extended its programmes in the Saami languages considerably. This has been followed up by a very positive development in the written media.

The Government sees language as a core element of culture and intends to promote the use of Saami both in education and in research.

Saami participation in research is important. In countries where traditional cultures are represented, society needs to acknowledge traditional knowledge. For generations, reindeer herdsmen in the northern areas have accumulated knowledge about arctic ecology and natural phenomena. This knowledge is not available for our modern society today, simply because a lot of it lies hidden in the specific terminology on reindeer herdsmanship, climatic conditions and natural phenomena in arctic and circumpolar areas. To date, such tacit knowledge is not written down to any significant degree, even though it is very much alive among herdsmen in the circumpolar area.

In 2001 the Norwegian Research Council launched a 5-year programme in the field of Saami research. The programme aims to contribute to capacity building, recruitment and multi-disciplinary approaches. Special attention is given to the development of Saami language as a language of science. When this programme is reviewed in the near future, we intend to follow up on the above mentioned issues in some form.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Norway has established a principle of positive discrimination based on the human rights covenants from 1966.

As I believe you are well aware of, Norway has also recognized the Saami people as an indigenous people in accordance with the principles in The International Labour Organization’s Convention 169, Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries from 1989, which Norway was the first country to ratify in 1990. And by establishing institutions like the Saami University College, Norway fulfils other obligations in the same ILO Convention.

The Norwegian government has supported the recognition of indigenous peoples in international instruments. The last time this happened, was a week ago at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris where the Draft Convention on the Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Contents and Artistic Expressions was discussed. We will hear more about this draft convention during this conference.

A Nordic convention aiming to promote Saami culture is being developed by a working group consisting of representatives of Saami and national authorities in Finland, Sweden and Norway. The intention of this convention is that the Saami should be seen and treated as one people by national governments in the three Nordic countries where Saamis live. This is in accordance with their own wishes expressed in the Saami political programme developed during the 1970s and adopted in 1971 and 1980. Norway has also ratified other conventions aiming to promote minority and indigenous cultures.

We have solved many disputes and problems in dialogue with Saami representatives, and we intend to follow this up by strengthening the partnership with the Saami Parliament as the main representative of the Saami people. We also want to support the international engagement of Saami organisations and the Saami Parliament.

Norway will continue its efforts in the Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the hope that a compromise may be reached after so many years of hard work.

You are all familiar with the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, chaired by Professor Ole-Henrik Magga. I believe the Forum has a potential to play an important role on the global level in safeguarding indigenous peoples’ interests.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As mentioned initially, one of the aims of this conference is to assess the results of the UN Decade for Indigenous Peoples. We already know that less has been achieved than we had hoped for. I am afraid that one cause of that may be indifference.

My hope for the outcome of this conference is that it will help you challenge policy makers at local, national and international level to take seriously the legal instruments their governments have adopted.

How can we incorporate the rights of indigenous peoples into legal instruments such as the draft convention on cultural diversity? Does the Education for All Programme really mean anything if your mother tongue is a minority language which is not being used in teaching?

I wish your work here will give us all the impetus to reinforce action towards strengthening the indigenous perspective in our societies and to be more vigilant in the future.

I wish you all the best of luck in your efforts to develop and secure knowledge in indigenous contexts.

Thank you.