Meutia F. Swasono. Many countries have different population compositions. In some countries, newcomers go beyond indigenous people, both in numbers as well as in social-economic advantages. In others the composition is balanced, while in still other countries, the indigenous people represent the majority.
Indonesia with its five large islands, Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan (Borneo), Sulawesi (Celebes), Irian Jaya (west of Papua Nugini) and thousands of medium-sized and small islands, is a country more...

'Thamel.com is a Nepal-based marketing and development company that has tapped the resources of the diaspora to create new opportunities for Nepalese workers, generate cultural value, and help move local businesses in a new direction.

The Thamel.com model combines a number of key practices that have allowed it to succeed, including localization, cultural marketing, innovative use of technology, and providing a high standard of customer service. The company’s unique combination of e-commerce more...

'This publication is the five-year-milestone of the Indigenous Knowledge for Development Program in the Africa Region of the World Bank. The main goal of the program is to learn from the knowledge embedded in the practices of local communities.'

Amazon Conservation Team is working in partnership with indigenous people in conserving biodiversity, health, and culture in tropical America. The work of the Amazon Conservation Team is based on ethical relationships with its indigenous partners.

Widows who submit to purification rituals are obliged to have unprotected sex three times a day over the course of a week. The practice is thought to purify a woman and her home after her husband's death and is common among members of the Sena ethnic group in Sofala, Mozambique. Officials say it may be dueling HIV prevalence rates in the area as high as 25%.

A book review of the recently published Reinventing the Lacandon discusses how indigenous peoples representations have changed over time.

'Migration is a global phenomenon affecting ever greater numbers of people, many of whom often migrate very long distances. Current migratory processes are massive and global in nature, sometimes involving whole countries or regions. Indigenous migration forms a part of this process, sometimes the most important part if a majority of the migrants are indigenous.
The articles in this issue of Indigenous Affairs bear witness to various aspects of the phenomenon of indigenous migration, its featur more...

According to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) – or living heritage – is the mainspring of our cultural diversity and its maintenance a guarantee for continuing creativity. The Convention states that the ICH is manifested, among others, in the following domains:

• Oral traditions and expressions including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage;
• Performing arts (such as traditional more...

The expressions central to the performing arts include especially vocal or instrumental music, dance, and theatre, but there are indeed many other traditional forms such as pantomime, sung verse, and certain forms of storytelling. Performing arts include a diversity of cultural expressions that together testify to human creativity and that are also found in different degree in many other domains of intangible heritage.

Twenty States* have now ratified the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, which therefore will enter into force on 2 January 2009, three months after the deposit of the 20th instrument of acceptance.

“This is a very important step in the history of the safeguarding of cultural heritage,” declared Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO. “This represents an essential addition to UNESCO’s standard-setting apparatus. From now on, it will be possible to more...