Did You Know?

“Indigenous Peoples’ territories encompass 28% of the surface of the globe and contain 11% of the world’s forests. They are guardians of most of the world’s remaining biodiversity.” – Source: International Labour Organization

The Telegraph India reported in a column in 2021 that The Tribal Design Forum emerged during the pandemic as a platform for designers and creative professionals from India’s diverse tribes.

31 Days, 31 Sessions

Art, Culture, Design, Films, Music and Technology

According to the TDF’s website, the month-long event schedule has been curated and organised by designers and professionals from tribes of India. Organising such an event provides the ideal platform to present the contemporary reality of Tribes in Transition.

For each day in August 2024, an online session has been arranged with designers, artists, filmmakers, animators and tech professionals. Participants are even allowed to ask questions at the end of each session.

Sudhir John Horo, the Convenor of TDF, believes that:

“This is the first-ever month-long online event conceptualised by members of the tribal communities. For a change, we are not romanticising the event from a cultural anthropological lens but addressing contemporary issues and realities through art, design and technology. We would like to invite the world to join in from August 1 to August 31, 2024.”

How To Read The Poster

The poster is colour-coded based on the artist’s expertise. It includes the artist’s region in India and their tribe, followed by their name and the session title on the right.

To view information on the sessions click the poster below:

Puncturing Homogenous Understanding Of Tribes

Over the past three years, Tribal Design Forum has engaged with esteemed artists, designers, professionals, scholars, domain experts, researchers, and students from India and over 35 countries. During 185 sessions, they have shared their work, insights, and experiences related to tribal and indigenous cultures both in India and globally.

One of the TDF sessions was to celebrate Richard Walakira who hails from the ethnic group native to Buganda, a subnational kingdom within Uganda. Richard works as a program manager at the Alliance of Democracies Foundation based in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Reflecting on the session he said “I am a proud Muganda and I shared my story, reflecting on the many different communities that have shaped who I am today, to inspire theirs. I reminded them that we all stand on the shoulders of giants who have paved the way before us. I also engaged them in an activity from the poem “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon“.

Richard clarifies that this activity was introduced to him by President Obama’s sister, the kind and loving Maya Soetoro-Ng, whom he met through the Obama Leaders Network, Obama Foundation.

“Hearing one of the attendees read out their “Where I’m From” poem gave me goosebumps”

Why should people in Denmark and the Nordics even care about the survival and existence of these communities?

Richard emphasises that it is incredibly inspiring to observe how tribal communities like TDF are discovering new methods to organize and educate themselves, especially amid the current online noise. Self-organizing communities could learn from and support their efforts.

He also asserts that “Globally, including in Denmark, people should pay attention to the condition of tribal communities. These groups not only preserve their rich cultural heritage but also lead innovative ways to thrive in the contemporary world. Supporting them can ensure their unique perspectives and wisdom continue to enrich our global society”

Speaking online from India at the Oslo Innovation Week, an event organised by Design and Architecture Norway – DOGA, The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) and Medinge Group in September 2023, Sudhir delivered a message. To express a contemporary idea of who and what is a “Tribal” with the tribes themselves exercising their right to self-determination.

In this age of Anthropocene, modern systems have disrupted the natural cycle of things. And this disruption of the natural circular processes are particularly threatening the existence of an often ignored and invisible section of humankind – the indigenous peoples

“The presentation provided a rich illustration of how the Tribal Design Forum builds the capabilities of Indigenous designers and helps to create a sense of community”, wrote the Medinge Group group in their review of Sudhir’s appearance at the Oslo Innovation Week.

Indigenous Practices are essential to reaching the United Nations SDG Goals

Despite these communities occupying only 20% of the Earth’s surface, making up 6% of the global population, and comprising 15% of those living below the poverty line, their traditional knowledge and practices are crucial. The ILO and UN, along with its various agencies, emphasize that “Indigenous Peoples and their traditional knowledge and practices are essential to reaching the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and to climate change mitigation.”

Sudhir, who belongs to the Munda tribe—one of the 705 officially recognized tribes in India and among the 4500+ indigenous communities worldwide—emphasized that these communities, with their 5000+ indigenous languages and distinct cultures and knowledge systems, offer invaluable insights and solutions for sustainable development and climate resilience.

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

Tribal Design Forum hopes that this series of talks will help the world recognise tribes in transition and highlight the intellectual and creative capabilities of communities that have long been perceived as primitive and backward and also locate the current design pedagogy concerning the tribal and marginalised communities in India.

So while the world will celebrate The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9, Tribal Design Forum will celebrate the occasion through a month of online talks and interactions to present the contemporary side of tribal communities of India and celebrate the contemporary tribal imagination over a period of one month.

Practical Information

You can register for the sessions here: https://tribal-futures.com/sessions/

When: Aug 1 – Aug 31

Where: Online, All the sessions start at 4:00 PM CET, 7:30 PM IST

Website: https://tribal-futures.com/, https://www.tribaldesignforum.com/

LinkedIn: Tribal Design Forum

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tribaldesignforum/?hl=en