Cultural diversity not only strengthens economic growth but is indispensable for fighting poverty and achieving sustainable development.
Recognition of cultural diversity implies understanding and dialogue between civilisations, respect and mutual understanding.
In 2001 the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity was adopted and in December 2002 the United Nations General Assembly declared 21 May as the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.
The Iberarchivos cooperation programme has been working since its creation to promote ethnic and cultural diversity in Ibero-America. Among the priority lines is the “promotion of the multicultural perspective” in which it is positively evaluated if the projects contribute to respect the Ibero-American ethnic and cultural diversity, if they identify needs and solutions of ethnic/racial groups or if the applicant institution acts in defence of these population groups.
Some of the projects related to the promotion and protection of ethnic and cultural diversity that have been supported by the Programme are:
– 2007/043 and 2008/089 “Creation of the Historical Archive of Indigenous Communities in the Colombian Amazon. Phases I and II”. Colombia. The aim of the project was to collect written information on the cultural traditions of the indigenous communities of the Amazonian Amazon in the departments of Casanare, Caquetá and Amazonas.
– 2007/052. Given the need to strengthen and preserve values, cultural memory, territory, autonomy and self-government, the Cabildo Indígena de Totoró, Cauca (Colombia) requested the help of Iberarchivos for the project “Organisation of the Indigenous Documentation Centre of the Totoroéz People, municipality of Totoró”, as a complement to other processes of teaching their own language, education, music, organisational life, recovery of uses, customs, mythology, legends and autonomy as a people. Colombia
– 2010/173 “Digitalisation and cataloguing of a photographic archive of indigenous culture in the Chiapas Highlands: the gaze of Vicente Kramsky 1950-1970”. Mexico. Vicente Kramsky Coello (1929-2010) was a photographer from Chiapas whose photographs reflect the daily and social life of Chiapas.
– 2010/175 “Conservation and cataloguing of the ethnic and indigenous photographic archive of Rosa and Miguel Covarrubias owned by Casa Luis Barragán”, which seeks to conserve and disseminate the photographic archive of Miguel and Rosa Covarrubias on ethnic themes, indigenous festivities and typical costumes. Mexico
– 2012/021 and 2015/022 “Preservation and access to the Historical Archive of the Missions of Araucania. Phases I and II”. Chile. The documentation of the Historical Archive of Villarrica allows us to visualise the forms and state of the indigenous communities in the process of colonisation, territorial reduction and evangelisation. They also provide an account of historical events that occurred in the localities, natural disasters, the founding of cities, events of public appreciation, together with documentation of the different mission stations.
– 2016/144 “Project to safeguard the archive of Paraguayan anthropologist Miguel “Gato” Chase Sardi”. Ecuador. Miguel Chase Sardi spent a large part of his life studying the indigenous partialities of El Chaco and was one of the most committed researchers in the defence of indigenous peoples.