As part of its contribution to this year’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Baha'i International Community created a photo essay highlighting the diversity and contributions of indigenous peoples to the betterment of our world. This initiative sought to give voice to the attendees of the Forum and, through their words, to promote understanding and a spirit of solidarity among all nations and peoples. The photo essay features individuals representing the Pinuyumayan (Taiwan, Province of China), the Maasai (Kenya), the Quechua and the Ayamara (Peru), the Sami (Norway), the Cherokee (Canada) as well as peoples from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (Bangladesh) and Acaxochitlan (Mexico).

View Photo Essay: Portraits of and Ever-Advancing Civilization. In an interview during the Forum, the Baha'i International Community’s delegate to this year’s meetings, Prof. Steven Gonzales, discusses the importance of indigenous cultures and insights from this year’s Forum. In in 11^th Session, the Forum considered the theme of the “Doctrine of Discovery,” and discussed indigenous people’s right to food as well as the 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples.