Age of Union Announces USD $287,000 Commitment to The Juma Institute for New Knowledge Centre and Amazon Rainforest Protection

MONTREAL, December 4th, 2024 – Age of Union, the non-profit environmental organization led by Emmy-award-winning executive producer and environmental activist Dax Dasilva, is proud to announce a USD $287,000 commitment to The Juma Institute over two years. The institute’s mission is to promote the human rights, heritage, and territories of the Indigenous people and traditional communities in the Brazilian Amazon as well as the central role they have in the defense of the forest. Age of Union’s funding will support the construction of a new headquarters and Juma Institute Knowledge Centre, whose aim is to protect and share Indigenous knowledge and traditions essential to safeguarding the Brazilian Amazon forest, and which will include the Jane Goodall Roots&Shoots program. 

Located in the Kaarimã village, on the Xipaya Indigenous Land in Altamira, Pará, Brazil, the project operates in an area known as Terra do Meio, part of a vast mosaic of protected lands. The region has faced severe threats, including deforestation, illegal mining, the colonization process, and the construction of large infrastructure projects like the Belo Monte Dam. Over the last three decades, Brazil has lost over 65 million hectares of native vegetation, with Indigenous lands, including Xipaya, facing some of the greatest pressures.

“The Amazon rainforest is the lungs of the earth, and protecting it is essential for the global ecosystem and well-being of future generations. The Juma Institute’s work in this region is crucial, and we are honoured to support their efforts,” says Dax Dasilva, Founder of Age of Union. “This partnership allows us to deepen our commitment to protecting critical ecosystems while collaborating closely with Indigenous communities leading the project to safeguard their invaluable traditional knowledge.”

This partnership will honour, preserve, and pass down ancestral knowledge deeply rooted in the territory. With a vision of empowering a new generation of young Indigenous people, the project focuses on promoting environmental education and cultural activities over an initial two-year period.

How The Juma Institute will Use Age of Union’s Funds:

Juma Institute Headquarters:

• Establish a new space, the Juma Institute headquarters, in Kaarimã village, designed to honour traditional architecture. 

• This space will host educational activities, traditional medicine teachings, community events, and gatherings for indigenous communities.

Community Partnerships:

• Engage the Kaarimã community, nearby villages, and other local communities, along with two regional non-profits and key representatives (such as universities and governmental agencies) to initiate essential discussions for planning the project’s program of activities, with a focus on preserving cultural heritage and the environment.

Empowerment of Change Agents:

• Support the development of youth and women to empower them as advocates for environmental projection and local rights.
• Offer programs that encourage impactful actions, recover and share ancestral knowledge, and prepare them as future community leaders and agents of change.

Ranger Program:

• Strengthen and promote indigenous territorial management and protection efforts to support environmental conservation, reduce illegal activities that threaten the territory, and enhance community security.
• Promote sustainability through collective decision-making and inclusive governance.

“The Juma Institute is dedicated to safeguarding not only the forest but also the rights and heritage of its people. With this support from Age of Union, we will be able to solidify our infrastructure, enhance our ability to defend our territory, and invest in the long-term stability of our work,” said Maria Lúcia Xipaia, President Director of The Juma Institute.

Age of Union’s collaboration with The Juma Project builds on its unique experience in the region. In October of 2023, and after joining The Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation’s Council for Hope, Dax Dasilva journeyed with Jane Goodall into the Amazon Forest to visit with Juma Xipaia and grow a relationship into what is today’s partnership focused on strengthening the Juma Institute institutionally to guarantee future effectiveness and improvement of projects aimed to value, retrieve and share ancestral knowledge rooted in the territory.

Age of Union
Age of Union is a non-profit environmental alliance that supports and makes visible a global community of changemakers working on the ground to protect the planet’s threatened species and ecosystems. Launched in October 2021 by tech leader and environmental activist Dax Dasilva in Montreal, Canada, Age of Union seeks to ignite a flame within every person through conservation efforts that solve critical environmental challenges around the world and inspire high-impact change by showing the positive impact that every individual can make. Age of Union is also actively involved in environmental documentary filmmaking. The organization has produced impactful short and feature documentaries that delve into the stories of dedicated changemakers. One such production, “Wildcat,” earned acclaim as the “Outstanding Nature Documentary of 2023” at the prestigious 44th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards.

For more information, please visit: AgeofUnion.com

On social media: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter

About The Juma Institute

The Juma Institute was created in October 2020 by the Indigenous leader Juma Xipaia. It is a non-profit organization focused on the protection of the forest, human rights, heritage, intellectual property and territories of Indigenous peoples and traditional communities within the Brazilian Amazon. The Juma Institute’s mission is to preserve the Amazon Forest through strengthening the Indigenous worldview. 

For more information, please visit: institutojuma.org

On social media: Instagram, LinkedIn

About The Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation

The Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation was established in June 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland to create an endowment to ensure the future security of Jane Goodall’s lifetime of work so that future generations can be the beneficiaries of a healthier and more prosperous planet.  It is governed by a board chaired by Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE supported by an Executive Director.

For more information, please visit: Janeslegacy.org
On social media: LinkedIn

Media Contacts:

Olivia Hallis, NKPR | [email protected] | (647-504-9074)