Audio program brings information related to the Covid-19 pandemic to traditional peoples and communities and family farmers across Brazil.
By Méle Dornelas – ISPN Communications Advisor
An experience that tells how family farmers in the interior of Minas Gerais managed to continue generating income and, at the same time, guarantee quality food for families in more vulnerable situations during the Covid-19 pandemic is one of the stories that can be heard in Canto of the Owl Community.
Weekly audio program, this initiative is aimed mainly at traditional peoples and communities and family farmers from all over Brazil. The program covers health guidelines for preventing Covid-19, sharing experiences and strategies for communities to generate income in the midst of the crisis, as well as clarifications on political proposals that address the safety of traditional populations.
“This is a very important communication tool to give visibility to the agenda of people and communities. Promoting information and inspiring with experiences is essential for us to think about protecting these groups”, says Dionete Figueiredo, manager of the Sustainable Family Agriculture Cooperative based on Solidarity Economy (COPABASE), a civil society organization that supports farmers in Minas Gerais.
Employees of the ISPN, researchers and, mainly, representatives of traditional peoples and communities and family farmers. This guarantees plurality in information for political and social formation. The voices of the people are also amplified, building a perspective of communication made for and with these groups.
Canto da Coruja Comunidade is developed by Society, Population and Nature Institute (ISPN) with support from Philanthropy Network for Social Justice (RFJS). The programs, lasting three minutes each, are circulated on Whatsapp, community radio stations and social media of the organization and partners. It is these platforms that are able to communicate better with populations, in addition to having greater potential to disseminate Canto, strengthening the democratization of access to information.
The context for Canto da Coruja Comunidade to take place could not be different: in 2020, the planet was faced with the biggest health crisis of the 21st century. The discovery and rapid spread of the new coronavirus has already compromised thousands of people in several countries. And those in the most vulnerable situations, with less access to health materials, water and even guidance and information, are the most impacted.
In Brazil, we find many of these groups in rural areas. They are quilombolas, indigenous people, artisanal fishermen and several other traditional peoples and communities and family farmers who, in addition to facing the Covid-19 pandemic, are still experiencing a complex political moment for their realities. And it is precisely to them that Canto wants to reach.
According to a study carried out by the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (Coiab) and the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), the average mortality rate from Covid-19 among indigenous people is 150% higher than the national average. Among quilombolas, the chance of a person belonging to one of these communities dying from the disease is four times greater than that of a white, urban person, according to Fiocruz.
Given this complex context, the importance of investing in and supporting processes that prioritize social transformation, strengthening the protection and guarantee of rights and democracy itself is evident. It is a period when opportunities arise to strengthen and expand, for example, philanthropy for social justice.
“It is at this moment that we realize the importance, for example, of RFJS, which managed to provide a rapid response to the needs of the people in the form of emergency support projects for nutrition and health in communities, and also in the transfer of important information to overcome this challenge for them”, comments Fábio Vaz, executive coordinator of ISPN, which integrates the RFJS.
By democratizing access to information, Canto da Coruja Comunidade subsidizes communities for political action and the fight for rights, also supporting the strengthening of community articulations and organizations.
The Covid-19 pandemic came like an earthquake. However, there are those who are in the political, social and philanthropic movement to overcome this moment, with investment in actions and initiatives that increasingly guarantee access to rights. And the more people with guaranteed rights, the closer we will be to a society with equity and social justice. Let us make the Singing of the Owl echo so that the people have the right to fly over the earthquake.
Access the editions already released here: https://ispn.org.br/canto-da-coruja-comunidade/
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