Effective intercultural communication with the indigenous peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean involves integrating linguistic, cultural and diverse local realities. The most important thing in all cases is an active and protagonist participation throughout the creation process. At the Inter-American Development Bank, we work together with indigenous peoples and governments to develop communication materials and strategies that improve the effectiveness of communication in and with indigenous communities.
The indigenous peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean speak 420 languages. At the community level, this linguistic diversity is variable. There may be people who are monolingual in an indigenous language, monolingual in Spanish, or bilingual with varying levels of spoken and written fluency. Communication at the community level must:
- Consider local linguistic diversity
- Emphasize visual materials for people with varying literacy levels
- Limiting text or technical language to reach a wider community audience
Likewise, it is essential to incorporate the indigenous people’s own culture: their own stories, values and traditions. This serves as an invaluable resource for the elaboration of messages that have greater meaning and understanding.
The following is an example of good practices in Panama. These materials, developed in a community and participatory context, are valuable for guiding intercultural communication strategies with indigenous peoples throughout the region.
Languages and local culture: essential for creating meaningful messages
In Panama, the booklet “Anmar Nega: Our Home: Values for our well-being in Isberyala” is a communication tool for change management for the island community of Gardi Sugdub (Gunayala Comarca) that is voluntarily resettling in Isberyala, a new community on the mainland, due to climate change and overcrowded conditions.
The booklet incorporates storytelling, i.e. it tells their own stories. For many indigenous peoples, this is an age-old tradition of transmitting values and stories that generates a sense of relevance and collectivity. In the case of Isberyala, the stories selected have to do with community change. This includes the story of where they come from as a community, their process of continuous adaptation in the past and the story of the “Isber” tree that represents the qualities of the future community where they wish to live/be.
It is very important… it sensitizes the Guna people not to lose their values, their dignity, their spirit of solidarity… drawings appear… it is very attractive for school children… and likewise, the community members, because it appears in both languages… it is very didactic material…”
Atilio Martínez, teacher and local leader in Guna culture matters
Empathy: connecting with the reality and feelings of the community audience.
Effective communication should seek to be empathetic to the audience’s reality. What information is useful to convey? In what format can it be most functional? How do you connect with the community’s feelings to address issues from their perspective and worldview?
To identify these elements, it is essential to dialogue with local actors. In the case of Gardi Sugdub/Isberyala, community leaders identified areas of knowledge of interest to the community.
With the purpose of providing useful, practical and pedagogical guidance on the new organization of community life, awareness-raising videos were developed for the community, local institutions, and government agencies involved in the voluntary resettlement process.
The videos were developed thinking about the community reality facing the unknown process of a resettlement to a community very different from their own: the questions that families would have, the predictable scenarios that could occur in the use of new services, or the practical advice for the good use and maintenance of new services.
Based on these scenarios, each video contained relatable stories with specific pedagogical objectives, practical and well-structured content. Community actors and actresses were incorporated throughout the production. Thus, the videos reflected the community in a new medium, the audiovisual, carrying out the new activities and facing challenges in a positive and successful way.
…. that’s why these materials, visuals, didactic brochures are so important, that way the Gunas, in this case in Gardi Sugdub, feel included, that’s the most important thing, the most humble family wants to be heard too… then what better than that one’s culture, in this case as a Guna, can be embodied, can be used in different strategies to strengthen local governance internally…”
Elliot Brown, local leader in the resettlement process
Participation and Representation
These resources were developed by and for the Guna people, specifically, the Isberyala community and their complex resettlement process. But this experience can be useful to other teams in the region that must go through complex communication processes. It is crucial to understand that representation is not limited simply to the inclusion of visual images or cultural iconography.
It goes further by integrating in a deep and meaningful way the indigenous peoples’ own cultural resources. This takes into account their deep-rooted values, ancestral histories and traditional mechanisms of information circulation and decision-making within their communities. Such integration not only enriches communications materials, making them more authentic and relevant, but also strengthens cultural identity and social cohesion. This ensures that indigenous voices and perspectives are respected and valued at every step of the communication and community development process.
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