Aymara from Bolivia visit Center

A delegation of education and cultural leaders from Bolivia sponsored by the US Department of State People-to-People Program met for a briefing at the Center for World Indigenous Studies on 3 July 2012. Dr. Rudolph Ryser, Dr. Leslie Korn and Marlene Bremner met the delegation.As a part of an ongoing collaboration between the Center for World Indigenous Studies and the World Affairs Council (in cooperation with the US Department of State) the Center’s Chair, Dr. Rudolph Ryser, engaged in a two hour colloquy with members of a delegation visiting the United States from the Plurainational State of Bolivia. Traveling to venues throughout the United States, the delegation included representatives from Ayamara and Quechua communities concerned with the development of relations with Indian nations in the US and exploring methods for improving hemispheric cooperation. The talks ranged from discussions about the Museo Nacional de etngrafia y Folklore in La Paz, to intercultural cooperation and the Saririn Suma Wiñay Thaqipa , preventing the loss of native languages, and cultural research in the Andes.Members of the Bolivian delegation included: Milton Eyzaguirre Morales, Head of the Cultural Promotion and Dissemination Office, National Museum of Ethnography and Folklore; Ms. Marianeta Machiacado Machiacado Educator for Sariri Center for the Studies of Andean and Amazonic World Views, La Paz from the Comunidad Sariri); Gregorio Callizaya Apaza Professor, School of Linguistics, National University of San Andres, La Paz; and Ms. Iris Anabel Ortega Balboa, Educator and Researcher at the Sariri Center for the Studies of Andean and Amazonic World Views and Marcelino Machiacado Montano, General Project Coordinator, Jatha (Seed) Cultural Group in La Paz.It was agreed after exchanging gifts that the Center and the various Bolivian organizations will continue to exchange and seek opportunities for collaboration in the future.