Project ATUPAMA

The ATUPAMA project, supported by the Normandy Chair for Peace, aims to raise awareness among students in the Normandy region about the Sapara cause, an indigenous people of the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon, classified as a UNESCO intangible heritage. An educational kit is currently being prepared to accompany a future intercultural meeting between a young Sapara indigenous leader, students and the general public through a cultural exhibition in the Normandy Region. Agathe Neveu, at the origin of the project, shares her story.

“During an internship with the NGO Fundación Pachamama, I went to an indigenous community: the Saparas. Faced with the difference and the richness of their way of life and their culture, I wanted to launch a youth exchange between Normandy and the Sapara community.”

Since then, his project is carried by 7 people, and is associated with the Normandy Chair for Peace. It is no longer just a youth exchange of young people but a more global awareness of the Sapara culture, today in danger. A great success that will lead to several events soon in Normandy.

The exhibition

From March 2 to 23, the exhibition “Sapara Culture in Danger another possible dream” will be held at the Maison de la Recherche en Sciences Humaines in Caen. An introduction to their way of life based on the respect of living beings. It is also an opportunity to understand the dangers that weigh on this community, between a declining culture and exploitation of the territories by the oil industry.

The exhibition will also be at the Bibliothèque de la Maladrerie, Caen, from March 30 to April 20, 2020.

What’s next ?

On March 3rd, the film Terra Libre will be screened at the Caen Campus of Science Po Rennes. The screening will be the occasion to exchange with Gert-Peter Bruch, director of the film. A nice continuity with the screening of the same film by the Normandy Chair for Peace on December 5th.

Cesar Grefa, a young student from the Sapara community, will also be visiting to Normandy in the coming months to share his story and his struggle with high schools and colleges.

A story to follow on the Normandy Chair for Peace website or the ATUPAMA Project Facebook page.

If you wish to participate in the financing of the project : https://www.helloasso.com/associations/les-decaentes/collectes/atupama