G20 Brasil Communication and the Federal University of Grande Dourados, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, have entered into a partnership to produce radio bulletins in the indigenous Guarani language. The content produced by the G20's team of journalists will be translated into the indigenous language and distributed to radio stations across the country via the National Radio Network run by Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC). The bulletins will also be published on the website.
The rector of the University of Grande Dourados, Professor Jones Dari Goettert, believes that both the G20 and indigenous peoples have a lot to gain from the partnership. The forum becomes more democratic and participatory by including original peoples in its context. To the indigenous people, it means the possibility of taking their culture to Brasil and the world. "After all, they are part of the Brazilian people and therefore also of the G20," highlighted the professor.
According to Goettert, it is important to think about communities and societies as a whole, as well as about the ways of life that characterize the G20. In the case of indigenous people, these are ways of looking at life that have always existed and can now be reverberated outside their territories. "So it's a very important experience, and I'm sure that the indigenous students are really enjoying this chance to be heard in Brasil and around the world," he said.
Teacher Rossandra Cabreira, who belongs to the Guarani-Kaiowá ethnic group, has been teaching at the Jaguapiru village school in Mato Grosso do Sul for ten years. She is one of the translators of the journalistic content. Rossandra said she was pleased to have become a translator because the initiative values her mother tongue.
"To me it's an honor to take part in this G20 project. It means valuing and strengthening the Guarani. And I'm happy to be able to help those who don't understand Portuguese properly and will now hear the news in their own language," she said. Rossandra believes that broadcasting G20 radio bulletins in Guarani on the national network also brings visibility to the Guarani-Kaiowá culture beyond their territory, as well as recognition of the indigenous identity of their community.
The project's coordinator, Professor Andérbio Márcio Silva Martins, says that the initiative began with the idea of giving visibility to Brazilian indigenous languages.
"We're concerned about making the translations as comprehensible as possible to anyone who has some command of the Guarani language, whether it's spoken here or in Paraguay. , with this project, we are contributing to the development of the linguistic and communicative skills of the indigenous people involved."
Broadcasters in Brasil and around the world can access and download the audio on the following websites: redenacionalderadio.ebc.br and g20.org.
Valuing indigenous languages
On April 18, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received a G20 e-book in the indigenous Guarani language. The translation gives worldwide visibility to the language-currently spoken by more than 26,000 people, and part of the Tupi language tree. Guarani is one of the more than 100 indigenous languages spoken in Brasil.
"To me it's an honor to take part in this G20 project. It means valuing and strengthening the Guarani. And I'm happy to be able to help those who don't understand Portuguese properly and will now hear the news in their own language," she said. Rossandra believes that broadcasting G20 radio bulletins in Guarani on the national network also brings visibility to the Guarani-Kaiowá culture beyond their territory, as well as recognition of the indigenous identity of their community.
