Task: Report - Community Case StudyYou may choose one of the networks/institutions/organizations that you identified as sites for information in relation to Indigenous knowledges/perspectives in...

Introduction
The International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of Tropical Forests is a global network of organisations that serve indigenous and tribal peoples that live in tropical forest regions (Africa, the Asia-Pacific and the Americas). The Alliance was established in 1992 at an indigenous conference in Malaysia, where the Alliance's Charter was approved, and has been fighting for indigenous and tribal peoples' rights ever since.
Objectives
The organization's mission is to promote complete recognition of indigenous and tribal peoples' rights and territories; to promote indigenous and tribal peoples' growth and involvement in decision and policy making; and to create successful networks between indigenous peoples at the regional and international levels (Forest Peoples Programme, 1992). It also looks after sharing knowledge and experiences to encourage Alliance members to campaign for the interests of indigenous and tribal peoples, allowing them to influence processes within the dynamic UN framework, as well as the policies and judgement of policy guideline and multilateral development banks, and to foster global unity among tribal and indigenous peoples.
Structure
The Alliance is structured into nine autonomous communities that are coordinated and assisted by a Technical Secretariat. The Alliance's membership, which is made up of indigenous and tribal peoples organisations in geographic networks, is the network's highest policy-making body. Policy is developed at the Alliance's International Conferences, which have been organized every 2 - 3 years since the Alliance's inception in 1992. The far more recent occurred in November 2002 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Alliance is organised between some of these assemblies by an International Coordinating Committee (ICC), which meets at least two times a year to oversee the Alliance's work. The Committee is made up of nine Regional Coordinators (Forest Peoples Programme, 1992). Each Regional Coordinator serves one of the Alliance's nine regions and is supported by a regional secretariat and the International Technical Secretariat. Regional Coordinating Committees (RCC), comprised of regional national coordinators, organise work in each of these areas under the guidance of Regional Coordinators (RC).
Cultural Rights
Indigenous culture and intellectual property (ICIP) rights are the rights of Indigenous peoples over their cultural heritage. Indigenous peoples' heritage is a living heritage that includes artefacts, information, myths, music, dances, and photographs focused on that heritage that are produced today or in the future. Indigenous heritage material is of such a kind or usage that it is or appears to be passed on from generation to generation. It is often considered to belong to or originate from a certain Indigenous community (or groups) or territories. Indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights include the right of Indigenous people to possess and manage Indigenous cultural and intellectual property, as well as the right to be recognized as the primary guardians and interpreters of their communities. This raises questions of representation and the interpretation of stories and facts. The right to permit or forbid the use of Indigenous cultural and intellectual property in accordance with Indigenous customary law, to keep Indigenous culture as well as other cultural traditions secret, and to be properly credited for sharing their heritage.
Protocols, Laws and Ethics    Comment by olamide omoba: Ethics in utilising indigenous knowledge needs to be added
The interface between copyright law and ICIP has been the subject of much discussion, with three published Federal court decisions on the subject. Indigenous authors, as producers and carriers of Indigenous identity, must strike a balance between copyright and cultural responsibilities. Indigenous protocols must be used in any model of ICMRs. Nearly two decades into the twenty-first century, which supposedly heralded the “knowledge/information society,” societies in Sub-Saharan Africa continue to rely on indigenous knowledge to gain access to information that they use to make important decisions and solve day-to-day critical problems. Indigenous awareness may be the only source of information that cultures and individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa have power over and are comfortable with in the information age. Indigenous awareness is recognized as having importance to the people of Sub-Saharan Africa's everyday lives, economic growth, cultural sustainability, and political change, which may contribute to poverty reduction in the region. Indigenous guidelines are being developed within the arts and culture industries to recognize certain ICIP rights in Indigenous peoples, including the question of dignity and attribution. The model should try to make these protocols usable as a guide in response to the reasonableness test. Ethics refers to rules...