Report: First World Summit of Afro-Descendants in Honduras


© Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs
In August (17-21, 2011), La Ceiba, Honduras, hosted the first ever World Summit of Afro-Descendants—a gathering of over 1,000 people from 44 countries in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. The Organización de Desarrollo Étnico Comunitario and the International Civil Society Committee organized the event to commemorate the United Nations and Organization of American States’ International Year for People of African Descent.

The cultural and institutional invisibility of the Afro-Descendant population in the Americas was an overarching theme of the summit. This is a particular challenge in countries where black identity does not form part of the collective national identity. If a state does not know how many, where, and in what condition Afro-Descendants live, how can it formulate a public policy agenda to serve these communities?

The violence against women was also adressed. Afro-Descendant women face unequal access to health care, employment and education. For example, Afro-Descendant women in Brazil are given less anesthesia during childbirth, compared to non-black Brazilians. This, they argue, constitutes a form of violence against women: a systematic denial of equal opportunity and access to state resources and services.

Read full story: Afro-Descendants Deserve to Be Counted

See photos of the event at www.flickr.com

The group The Lo Frequency made some footage and interviews from the opening ceremony of the World Summit of African Descendants. The interviews are with the Carifuna people.



Because Carifuna people are in the previous video, this video will explain some of the images and signs.


And a video about the 'Primere cumbra mundial de afrodescendiente'

2 Comments

  1. Love this post, the 2nd video too me is truly amazing. I had never heard of the Garifuna people. The 1st video is ruined by the interviewer asking the interviewees the same questions.

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  2. Thanks for this informative presentation.

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