Vatican Radio REPORT August 9th is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. First proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1994, this year’s International Day is focusing on Indigenous Media, Empowering Indigenous Voices. The Senior Specialist on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples’ Issues at the International Labour Organization, Albert Barume told Vatican Radio that access to work, job training and fair treatment at work continue to be important issues for indigenous communities around the world. “Indigenous people are still representing a proportionately large number of people who have no access to jobs,” he said. “One of the reasons is the inaccessibility of indigenous people to vocational training.” 370 million indigenous people live in more than 90 countries across the world, from the Arctic to the tropical forests. Indigenous people constitute approximately 5% of the world population but up to 15% of those living in extreme poverty.
Comments