1
The Rutu Foundation for Intercultural Multilingual Education
The Rutu Foundation is a new initiative. It is a not­for­profit,
non­governmental organisation established to enable access
to the highest standard of education for all children, in
accordance with international human rights principles.
Rutu in a nut shell:
We believe that all children, regardless of their ethnic
background, financial status or geographic location, should
have access to the highest standards of education provided in
a culturally appropriate manner, in a language they can
understand and with respect for the environment in which
they live.
a) to support the realization of the right
to a good quality education for all
children;
The problem
Building schools is not enough
We recognize that great advances have been made, allowing
more children to attend school than ever before. But building
schools is not enough. Millions of children are taught in a
language they do not understand, about topics that have no
relevance to their lives.
Forcing children, or adults, to attend schools that use a
language they neither speak nor understand hinders
rather than helps them to develop their potential as
productive members of society. When lessons
constantly focus on the world outside their community
and ignore all that they know and have experienced,
the not­so­hidden message is that their own language,
culture and experiences have no value. This is how
schooling causes children to lose respect for their
community, their parents and themselves (Unesco
1
2007).
Mother tongue based education material is critical
Governments are often unwilling to provide the educational
resources for geographically remote communities or for ‘small
languages’ because of the perceived high costs involved. Yet,
the benefits of mother tongue based education far outweigh
the financial costs that are initially needed.
Because children actually enjoy going to school and both
parents and children feel that what is learnt in school is
Our objectives:
b) to protect and encourage the use and
transmission of languages and
traditional knowledge of indigenous and
tribal peoples and minorities.
Our activities:
� Designing intercultural multilingual
education material and making it
freely available to teachers and
community members who can
adapt it to their own languages and
cultures, using simple, open source
computer technology.
�
Training, research and ICT support
for teachers and communities to
adapt the material themselves and
to lobby with their governments to
incorporate their traditional
knowledge and languages into the
school curriculum.
�
Creating a database of intercultural
multilingual education materials for
teachers and community members
to exchange ideas and gain
inspiration.
Rutu means ‘roots’ in Sranan, the lingua
franca of Suriname, which is where we
started.
We are a non­profit, non­governmental
organization, registered as a foundation
(stichting) in the Netherlands (KvK nr.
52345084)
[email protected]
www.rutufoundation.org
1
UNESCO Advocacy Kit for Promoting Multilingual Education: Including the Excluded. Booklet for Policy Makers, Unesco, Bangkok,
2007, pg. 3.
2
relevant, the results are lower drop­out and higher completion rates. Also, children’s self esteem is nurtured through an education which reflects and reinforces what they see around them and takes into account the culture of the community of which they are a member. Essentially, a ‘sense of self’ and a good relevant education are key elements enabling children to face the challenges of the modern world. Revitalizing languages and traditional knowledge
There is increasing recognition that ‘indigenous languages hold the knowledge of how to protect and sustainably use some of the most vulnerable and biologically diverse ecosystems in the world’.2 Languages are rapidly disappearing however.3 Before the end of this century, an estimated 3000 languages will have disappeared. With the disappearance of language, important knowledge ceases to be transmitted from one generation to the next, and communities become fragmented. The modern world constantly brings new challenges to these, often small and often remote communities. These include the effects of global warming and the loss of biodiversity. It is important that children be able to communicate with all members of their community; and it is also important that they be equipped to deal with the challenges of the modern world. To confront these issues, many indigenous and tribal communities around the world have started to develop their own bilingual and intercultural education methods. But as the UN Expert Group on Indigenous Languages pointed out, “language programmes are frequently underfunded, while smaller language communities struggle to receive any funding at all”. 4 2
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Indigenous Languages in the Context of the Convention on Biological
Diversity, UN Doc PFII/2008/EGM1/11, 2008. 3
UNESCO, Safeguarding endangered languages. http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00136 4
UN Permanent Forum on indigenous Issues, Report of the International Expert Group Meeting on Indigenous Languages, E/C.10/2008/3 (2008), at para. 33. 3
What we do
Providing Free Open Source Education Methods
We design high­quality intercultural multilingual education material which local teachers, artists and community members adapt themselves to their own languages and local context. The material is freely accessible via internet or can be provided on a CD. It can be downloaded easily by even the oldest computers with outdated software. It can be printed and photocopied, to ensure a minimum of costs. We will monitor use and require feedback to ensure we are providing the highest quality materials. Our bilingual math method ­ “Maths, Naturally!” ­ is developed in close partnership with the Kari’na indigenous community of Galibi in Suriname and is currently used in two schools. 4
Training, research and generating support
If necessary, we provide training, computers, printers and scanners for teachers and community members so that they can adapt the material to their own languages and context. Further, equal access to high quality education for all children provided in their own languages and in a culturally appropriate manner, is ultimately the responsibility and obligation of governments. We assist communities to collect the basic facts and strengthen the skills of local groups and individuals to lobby their governments to include the methods in the national curriculum and in the national education budget. Database of intercultural multilingual education materials
Our website will provide access to intercultural multilingual education materials from around the world, to encourage exchange of ideas and teachers, parents and other community members can draw inspiration from each other.
Our values
Human Rights
The Rutu Foundation uses a rights based approach. This means that international human rights norms form the foundational principles of our organisation. In particular, we strive towards equal rights for all and we respect the right of indigenous and tribal peoples to free prior and informed consent to all activities affecting them. Open Source/Creative Commons
We believe that education should be free for everyone. The Rutu Foundation works primarily with open source materials. That means our materials can be downloaded, adapted and used for free. In return we ask teachers to show us what they have made and upload the results on the Rutu Foundation ­website, so others can draw inspiration from it. We also collect and upload intercultural and bilingual education school books and other materials from cultural and communities around the world, which teachers and community members can browse to get ideas and gain inspiration. Effective participation
Many teachers are enthusiastic about their work but have limited training and lack resources and support. A little bit of inspiration goes a long way, and effectively we are sowing the seeds that teachers can grow with. We believe that teachers genuinely care about their students. But the material they are currently working with often prevents them from being effective teachers. Involving teachers in the customising of their teaching material both motivates and engages them in their chosen profession, generating a rewarding outcome. Elders, parents and leaders are indispensable to ensure that the content is culturally appropriate and aligned with the values and priorities of the parents and the local community. 5
Who are we?
Staff: Executive Director: Graphics Designer: Education Expert: ICT Expert: Dr. Ellen­Rose Kambel has worked for over 15 years with indigenous peoples in Suriname as a human rights trainer, researcher and consultant. She received a law degree and a PhD in Social Sciences from the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. Julie Sutton is a graphics designer and illustrator from New Zealand where she has worked with indigenous peoples and the Department of Nature Education. She is based in Amsterdam. Hans Hensen is a Dutch mathematics and science expert who has published over 25 mathematics and science books for Dutch schools. While working for the Open University, Hans initiated an open source education portal which provides free education material for teachers in the Netherlands. Bas Middelkoop spent 5 years in Dublin where he worked as a manager/project manager for a large IT outsourcing company. Steering Committee:
Carin Biegnolé Sabine Severiens Justine Chang Pan Huo Educated as a human resource manager and in­company trainer Carin Biegnolé has over twenty years of experience working for multinationals and organizations and is owner of the publishing company Conversion Productions. Sabine Severiens is Professor of Education at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, with a special focus on diversity. She is managing director of Risbo (www.risbo.nl/uk), an independent research institute at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam Justine Chang Pan Huo is a registered accountant and manager Planning and Control at FMO, a Dutch international development bank. International Advisory Committee: Carol Anne Spreen Professor of Education, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, U.S.A. Deena Hurwitz Director Human Rights Program and International Human Rights Law Clinic, University of Virginia, USA. Jeremy Enriquez Independent Social Development Consultant, Member of the National Garifuna Council, Belize. Jenne de Beer Executive Director Non­Timber Forest Products­Exchange Programme, Manila, the Philippines. Nisha Thapliyal Professor of Education, Department of Educational Studies at Colgate University, USA. Ronald Mon­Kau Director of Sales, Mayfair hotels, Vancouver, Canada. Salim Valley Senior Researcher, University of Johannesburg/Coordinator Education Rights Programme, South­Africa 6
Background
Rooted in Suriname…
The name “Rutu” means ‘roots’ in Sranan, the lingua franca of Suriname. This former Dutch colony in South America, which is home to approximately 70,000 indigenous and tribal people, is where the Rutu Foundation originates. In 2006, eight indigenous (Amerindian) communities in East­Suriname completed the documentation of their traditional knowledge about their ancestral territory and the natural resources they have occupied and used.5 Although they were pleased that this knowledge was now recorded, they were concerned that much of their knowledge was no longer transmitted to the children. Partly to blame for this is the education system introduced by missionaries. Still operating today, this system continues to exclude local knowledge and languages. In an effort to revitalize traditional culture, the communities organized an Indigenous Education
Festival in 2008. More than 300 indigenous children participated in workshops where they were taught traditional arts and crafts by their grandmothers, fathers, aunts and uncles. This became the starting point for local teachers and parents to get together and start the process of integrating their language and knowledge into the school curriculum through a bilingual math method called “Maths, Naturally!”(in Dutch: “Natuurlijk, Rekenen!”) 5
The report is available in Dutch, English and Spanish at http://www.forestpeoples.org/fr/partners/organisation­kalina­and­lokono­
marowijne­klim 7
After a successful pre­pilot, “Maths, Naturally!” is currently used and tested in two indigenous schools (Galibi and Donderskamp). In 2011 the method will be expanded to 2 other schools where a different indigenous language is spoken. Also, Saramaka Maroons, the descendants of escaped African slaves who settled in the Interior of Suriname, have requested to participate in the pilot. This means that the method will be available in three different languages (Kari’na, Lokono and Saamaka) and used in 8 schools by October 2011. The pilot project is carried out by the Association of Indigenous Village Leaders in Suriname (VIDS) in cooperation with the Catholic Education Board, with financial support from SKAN Fund, Stichting Kinderpostzegels Nederland and the Zeister Zendingsgenootschap (ZZG). Ellen­Rose Kambel, Julie Sutton and Hans Hensen, who co­founded Rutu Foundation have been closely involved in all above mentioned activities and continue to lend their support to the development of “Maths, Naturally!”. … and branching out to the world
While we remain rooted in Suriname, the Rutu Foundation is established to ultimately provide access to high quality multilingual education around the world. By providing the material in easy­to­use software which can be downloaded from the internet, or sent as a CD, local teachers and community members can translate and adapt the material themselves. Teachers from Coffee Bay, South Africa, who viewed a sample of the method, immediately started translating the indigenous language into Xhosa and urged us to send them the material. A video can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGUd3bi9Y1s 8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Contact information:
R.J.H. Fortuijnstraat 185
1019 WK Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Telephone:+31 20 7892562 * Fax: + 31 20 4100892
[email protected]
www.rutufoundation.org
Rutu is registered as a foundation (Stichting Rutu) in The Netherlands
KvK nr. 52345084
Bank account nr. 6043020 (ING Bank) t.n.v. Stichting Rutu
15
���������������������������������������������������������������������������
���������������������������������������������������������������������������������
�����������������������������������������������������