Grant competition to support the traditions of the peoples of the North
© RIA Novosti. Ramil Sitdikov

Grant competition to support the traditions of the peoples of the North

The Natural Resources Management Department of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area has announced a grant competition for projects and programs aimed at promoting traditional economic activities of the indigenous peoples of the North in the following categories: reindeer herding, foraging, fishing, and hunting.

The main competition criteria require that the project be designed to promote the traditional economic activities of the indigenous peoples of the North, to improve their adaptation to modern economic realities and to protect the native habitat and traditional lifestyle of the peoples of the North. Other key requirements are economic efficiency, the potential scope of application, the creation of new jobs, prospective viability, and the availability of additional resources.

"Projects like this will help preserve the traditional crafts and economic activities of the indigenous peoples, and also improve their self-sustainability and independence as agricultural producers," said Grigory Ledkov, president of the Russian Association of the Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East (RAIPON).

Competitors also need to be included in the autonomous area's register of organizations involved in the traditional economic activity of the indigenous peoples of the North. The submission deadline is May 22.

Preservation of cultural and linguistic integrity, indigenous traditions and crafts, and the economic independence of the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North are the issues on the business program agenda of the 2021 International Arctic Forum. Experts will also discuss important matters for the development of the Arctic such as new technologies, human resources, the economy of the Arctic zone development, the rational use of mineral resources and sustainable development.