News

Call for case studies on mountain culture

26.07.2016

Your case studies are invited for the factsheets currently being created by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) for International Mountain Day (IMD), which will take place on 11 December 2016. “Mountain Cultures: celebrating diversity and strengthening identity” is the theme chosen for this year’s celebration of International Mountain Day.

The concept of traditional heritage, culture and spirituality is intrinsically linked with peoples’ livelihoods in the mountains, where it is often traditional lifestyles that determine the way people make a living and subsist. Many mountain areas host ancient indigenous communities that possess and maintain precious knowledge, traditions and languages.

We are looking for contributions and case studies that express the uniqueness of mountain culture. Examples could include: folk, musical and crafts traditions, spiritual practices that reflect their heritage and indigenous identity, specific ways of life (including agricultural techniques) that show how mountain communities live in harmony with their environment and are connected to the land. Other examples could describe economic enterprises such as sustainable ecotourism activities. We are also seeking good quality photos (high resolution, at least 300 dpi, in jpg format) that depict these activities as well as portraits of mountain dwellers.

The fact sheets and other communication materials will be made available on the FAO IMD website in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish (the six official United Nations languages).

During the International Year of Mountains, in 2002, 11 December was designated IMD by the United Nations, and has been celebrated every year since then. It is an occasion to mark the importance of mountains for life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints to mountain development and to build alliances that will bring positive change to mountain peoples and environments around the world.

You may also submit a description of your plans for IMD 2016 for the IMD website and interactive map 

Please email case studies to Samantha Abear at [email protected] by 16 August 2016. You may also send her information about your upcoming IMD events from now until 11 December 2016.