Family Futures

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dvancing

ocial

ntegration

and

ntergenerational

olidarity

One of the main elements in this intervention in ethnic

families is the quest for social integration and intergenera-

tional solidarity. This is the only guarantee of the cultural,

linguistic and racial survival of these peoples. It is a strength

in the face of cultural absorption and a mechanism to build

new opportunities for social inclusion, inter-ethnic dialogue

and relations between the communities and state agencies.

In order to satisfy these needs ICBF, in coordination with

its regional offices, is implementing the project ‘Support for

Strengthening the Families of Ethnic Groups’, engaged in areas

of welfare, culture and the social strengthening of indigenous,

black, afro-descendant, palenquera, raizal and rom communities.

One of the most important actions of the project is to engage

the traditional authorities in areas of action that strengthen

intergenerational relations through dialogue and wisdom.

This will enable the elders to share and provide guidance to

the children and young of their communities based on their

experiences and visions of the cosmos.

In Departments such as Arauca, Putumayo, Nariño, Guajira,

Cesar and Meta, among others, there have been successful

experiences in intergenerational issues. One example is Mocoa,

capital of Putumayo, in the Yunguillo Reservation of the Inga

communities, where work has been done on the ‘Strengthening

and transmission of ancestral wisdom for the permanence of

cultural identity’. Another is the Inga Council of Valledupa,

Cesar, which focuses its proposal on the strengthening and

preservation of cultural roots and material culture through the

establishment of a cultural protection plan. Both communities

are using workshops to improve educational and ethno-cultural

processes and the transmission of craft knowledge to children

and the young, enhancing their identity as Inga people.

Each ethnic group has its own particular way of organizing

itself along father-son or mother-daughter lines, which in turn

defines how power is exercised. Inmost cases, however, there are

two figures whose authority stands out: the shamans, who are the

traditional doctors – old men who wield spiritual authority –

and the Indigenous Governing Council and its members, who are

the political and administrative authorities. So, in many of these

peoples, there is a struggle against the loss of spirituality and the

relationship with the gods and nature, a battle that is fought by

rescuing their own forms of medicine and the ancestral rites of

their authorities. In the Department of Arauca, the Association

of Traditional Councils and Authorities engages in ‘Promotion,

strengthening and learning of traditional practices in medicine

and the intercultural approach between the Sikuani people’s

reservations’. Boys, girls and adolescents engage in ‘nursery’

groups for systematization, traditional medicines and traditional

plants. This has brought about improvements in some commu-

nity health problems and the dependence on some substances

that are harmful to their ethnic development.

These activities in dialogue between generations seek to hand

down knowledge of the wisdom of the elders, such as the sense

and meaning of traditional crafts and, in cultural areas such as

music and dance, the recovery of native rhythms. Further, in the

area of food sovereignty, one of the most important actions has

been to recover and preserve traditional foods and encourage

the young to discover, cultivate and consume their own foods.

In this regard the Department of Nariño is pursuing a proposal

to strengthen and recover indigenous wisdom through the oral

traditions of the elders, seeking to transmit the culture, principles

and values to the new generations of their communities of the

Eperara Siapidaara. Spaces for encounter between the elders and

the young are arranged in order to strengthen cultural identity

and recover historic memory tough the oral traditions of these

pillars of wisdom of their communities. These experiences bear

witness to ICBF’s work among ethnic families in which there are

reflections on the relationships of power between genders and

generations. The result is recognition of the capacities of women,

men, children, adolescents and the elderly and their roles in the

family group, as defined by their vision of the cosmos and the

way they are related to the world around them.

In respect of the use of free time, the project involves boys,

girls and the young in intergenerational integration activities.

Workshops are held to sensitize them to knowledge of their

ancestral trades and the importance of the oral tradition.

The work done with ethnic families includes reflection on

the relationships of power and gender and between generations

within families. The capacities of women, men, children, adoles-

cents and the elderly are all recognized, with their roles in the

family group defined by the vision they have of the world and

the way in which they relate to their immediate surroundings.

The interaction between family and community has

acquired special relevance in the ethnic peoples. In some

sensitive issues, such as child-rearing, there is a very subtle

dividing line between family and community, because the

community takes the lead in actions for care and protection.

This demands strong articulation between the two elements

in daily life and work, with an emphasis on the family as the

agent of local and community development, while at the same

time being the quintessential protective environment.

Colombia is a multi-ethnic country that does not forget its

roots; a country with major challenges in the protection and

development of its ethnic communities. With initiatives such as

those mentioned here we are moving forward along the road to

guarantee social inclusion and prosperity for thousands of fami-

lies who struggle to preserve their culture. They are finding that

intergenerational dialogue is a secure and sustainable means to

hand down ancestral traditions to future generations.

Family roles are defined by the vision people have of the world and the way

they relate to their immediate surroundings

Image: Families and Communities Direction from the ICBF