Indigenous Peoples' Pavilion at COP 21

The Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion at COP 21 was located in the Climate Generations Space, a publicly accessible space for civil society to gather adjacent to the “Blue Zone” of the UNFCCC 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) at Le Bourget, Paris, and served as a platform for hundreds of indigenous peoples from around the world to communicate key messages, facilitate knowledge exchange, and share innovative solutions to climate change. Representing the largest space in the Climate Generations Spaces, the Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion was planned and programmed by a team of indigenous representatives representing the seven regions of the IIPFCC—Africa, the Arctic, Asia, Latin America & the Caribbean, North America, the Pacific, and Russia & Eastern Europe—with facilitation and technical support from UNDP. The Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion drew high profile attention, with Heads of State, ministers and other high-level officials and policymakers, global media and members of the general public visiting the space and participating in its program.

The Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion hosted over 80 events, representing almost 300 distinct indigenous groups, networks and supporting organizations. Each region of the IIPFCC had a dedicated day of programming, with the remaining days featuring global and cross-cutting thematic programming. Events in the Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion (which were translated in English, Spanish, French and Russian) included debates, panel presentations and discussions, press conferences, film screenings, workshops and cultural performances. These activities facilitated the exchange of knowledge and experiences among indigenous peoples and local communities from different regions, contributed to a highly visible presence of indigenous peoples and local communities at COP 21, and provided a platform for the IP Caucus’ active engagement and advocacy efforts.

The Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion at COP 21 received high-profile visitors including:

• French President Francois Hollande
• President Anote Tong of Kiribati
• Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga of Tuvalu
• Mary Robinson, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General on Climate Change
• Vicky Tauli Corpuz, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• Nicolas Hulot, Special Envoy of the President of the French Republic for the Protection of the Planet
• Among many others!

The Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion was made possible through the generous financial support of the Government of Norway and the COP Presidency of France, who awarded the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus the largest area afforded to any group in the Climate Generations Space, building on the support of the COP Presidency of Peru, who provided space for the first Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion at COP 20 in Lima in 2014.