Colombia’s Wayuu indigenous group will be officially added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list on November 15 in Nairobi, Kenya, El Informador reports.
The Wayuu are being recognized by UNESCO, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, for their mediation process in solving conflicts.
“It is a great recognition for the indigenous mediators who have been using words to resolve conflicts which is an example for humanity,” said Guillermo Ojeda Jarariyu, coordinator of the group’s Board of Mediators.
According to the indigenous mediators, the UNESCO list is the starting point for the creation of an organization that aims at preserving the traditions of the Colombian and Venezuelan indigenous population.
Jarariyu said that the advantage of the Wayuu people is their dynamic social interaction with other cultures which over time has enriched their own culture.
Colombia is currently represented by four items on the heritage list; Pasto’s Carnival of Blacks and Whites (2009), the Holy Week processions in Popayan (2009), the Carnival of Barranquilla (2008), and the cultural area of Palenque de San Basilio (2008).