[Jungle drums. “Defending the Amazon”] Opening COICA, the On-line School, as part of the Community Communication Training Programme

SDC opened the Community Training Programme in Communication and Leadership for Amazonian Youth on 5 June, World Environment Day. The programme will strengthen young people’s professional capacities in the field of communication so that they can design, develop, assess and manage communication products and services for the benefit of their communities.

For Gregorio Mirabal, director of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin Coordinator (COICA), promoting youth participation is an important strategy for the continuity of the Amazon peoples, and the Coordinator’s activities are geared to achieve this.

Gregorio Mirabal, COICA Coordinator Director

The IV Amazon Summit was held in Macapá in Brazil in 2018 and agreed on the MACAPÁ Mandate. States party agreed to carry out specific activities to make the struggle of indigenous peoples visible, to defend their lands and to strengthen their governance of their lands at all levels.

The Mandate’s motto “Living Amazon, Safe Humanity” highlights the importance of protecting the Amazon ecosystem as the planet’s green lung and important carbon sink, and this becomes the central axis of the institutional strengthening strategy. Key to this is the renewal of cadres of new young and women leaders, provided with training and management tools and communication management for advocacy to address climate change.

Swiss Cooperation recognizes the role youth plays and the importance of their being well prepared to face new challenges. In 2019, at COICA’s behest, SDC started a small project for strengthening the strategy of internal knowledge management and the external communication of COICA with youth inclusion and leadership, initiating the Amazon Youth, Leadership and Communication Programme.

“Young people today represent not only the future, but also our present. The present, because much of what young leaders can encourage in their adult years will depend on the values, capacities and skills they form now,” Martin Jaggi began in his speech.

SDC emphasized that this community formation platform will not only facilitate more young people’s access to practical mechanisms, experiences and tools, and ideas to strengthen their capacities and abilities, but will also create the conditions for them to  strengthen values and alliances for solid collaboration, based on practical knowledge and experience to the benefit of the indigenous community.

Martin Jaggi, SDC Cooperation Director

“SDC recognizes COICA’s dedication and commitment and its timely work in operating the leadership programme and to highlight this community training platform as one of the first strategic steps.” concluded Jaggi.

Graciela Sánchez, from FUNDER, presented the Training Programme, which consists of six modules:

  • Module 1: Research for communication: Research and reporting techniques, for intercultural communication.
  • Module 2: Text writing: Writing strategies and journalistic genres
  • Module 3: Photojournalism: Visual language, editing, narrative.
  • Module 4: Audio-visual Production (Participatory Video) Participatory consultation / Video scripting, filming and editing.
  • Module 5: Designing, implementing and evaluating communication campaigns: Basic concepts of communication strategy for community organizations.
  • Module 6: Holding thematic campaigns: Applying communication strategies to human rights, environmental rights and climate change campaigns
Training Programme Presentation
Graciela Sánchez, FUNDER

The Communication and Leadership Community Training Programme is 100 per cent on-line. This is the first class, and will train 100 young people over a period of six months.

Learn more about the Training Programme, through the participants themselves in the following video.

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La Agencia Suiza para el Desarrollo y la Cooperación (COSUDE) es la entidad encargada de la cooperación internacional dentro del Departamento Federal de Asuntos Exteriores (DFAE). Con otras oficinas de la Confederación, la COSUDE es responsable de la coordinación general de la cooperación para el desarrollo y de la cooperación con los Países del Este, así como de los programas de ayuda humanitaria suizos.