International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

The year 2026 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the mandate, which is an important milestone that invites reflection on achievements, challenges, and opportunities for the future. This moment provides a unique opportunity to take stock of progress made in advancing the rights of Indigenous Peoples while acknowledging the persistent and emerging threats they continue to face . Against this backdrop, a side event at the 2026 session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) will provide a timely and strategic platform to commemorate the legacy and impact of the Special Rapporteur's mandate. The event aims to bring together current and former mandate holders, Indigenous leaders, government representatives, UN agencies, and experts to reflect on how the mandate has shaped global advocacy and protection efforts. Participants will explore the major accomplishments and contributions of the mandate, celebrate the leadership and resilience of Indigenous Peoples, and highli...

 The Virtual commemoration  International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2025 entitled “ Indigenous Peoples and AI: Defending Rights, Shaping Futures ”  will take place on August 8th from 9:00 - 10:30 AM EST/New York The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is celebrated globally on 9 August. It marks the date of the inaugural session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982.1 To commemorate the International Day, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) is organizing a virtual commemoration on Friday 8 August 2025 on the theme: Indigenous Peoples and AI: Defending Rights, Shaping Futures. The virtual commemoration will take place online. It will include an opening segment and statement from the Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. A moderated panel with invited speakers will consider and discuss how Indigenous Peoples rights can be ensured in the age of AI , and debate on the associated challenges and o...

  AI technologies are built and trained on vast amounts of online data. When Indigenous Peoples’languages, knowledge, and cultural materials are included in such datasets without transparency and their FPIC, it risks perpetuating patterns of exploitation and appropriation that Indigenous Peoples long have resisted. The data that AI models are trained on also frequently excludes or misrepresents Indigenous Peoples, their knowledge and voices. AI algorithms also tend to be biased by the worldviewof the developers . Such AI models are thus likely to reflect and may even exacerbate existing inequities. For example, with increasing use of biometric and facial recognition technologies, this can contribute to further misidentification and profiling of Indigenous Peoples. Moreover, AI systems depend on immense computational infrastructure with data centers that require significant amounts of electricity for their operations, water for cooling, raw materials for manufacturing electronics. T...

This Side event is being held to follow the human rights dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples at the twenty-fourth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. It aims to generate discussions to contribute to the Forum's theme of " Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples within United Nations Member States and the United Nations system, including identifying good practices and addressing challenges ". Related Documents:  Concept Note . Watch the indigenous-led solutions to climate change and water-related health challenges (UNPFII Side Event)!

This yearly overview serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced throughout 2024 and includes a special focus on Indigenous youth. In the context of the main theme of the 24th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, particularly on the status of the implementation of UNDRIP, The Indigenous World 2025, with its focus on Indigenous Youth , provides important insights into their crucial role in advancing Indigenous rights. The annual launching of The Indigenous World provides a unique opportunity for IWGIA to organize a panel with Indigenous leaders, UN mechanisms and other key stakeholders to address some of the core trends and developments with regards to Indigenous Peoples rights over the past year. Related Sites and Documents:  Concept Note . Watch the Indigenous World 2025 Launch Event (UNPFII Side Event)!