T’ikary continued: Elevating the voices of Quechua youth

Using whichever medium they are most comfortable with, students will create a self-portrait of their identity that will be presented at a public exhibition in November 2023. The exhibition will publicise the importance of this work across Cusco.  To inspire continued student engagement, as well as public interest in decolonizing education, we are investing in projects that can be more widely disseminated. This includes the creation of a short film (estimated 10 minutes duration) documenting Mosqoy’s work and the publication of a short book, written by our students.

A documentary-style film will coincide with activities funded by the Collaboration, Learning, Sharing and Impact (CLSI) grant awarded by EdJAM. Students will be active participants in and producers of the film. The story will follow student workshops and the creation of their self-portraits until the final exhibition and public response. Documenting Mosqoy’s activities will allow us to show our students’ entire journey, rather than just the final step. It will document the importance of alternative forms of learning because many forms of traditional knowledge are being lost without interventions such as Mosqoy’s.

The proposed short book will be another means of sharing the T’ikary project with both local and global audiences. Students will ultimately have decision-making power on the book topic and may include photos, drawings, stories, and poetry.

The short film and book align with our first objective – giving Quechua youth continued opportunities to share and celebrate their heritage. These activities align with EdJAM’s CLSI aims of sharing and deepening its impact. These projects will keep our students engaged in this work by making them authors, illustrators, and filmmakers. 

After our exhibition of student self-portraits, we will finalise our academic investigation and hope to publicise our findings through conferences or public speaking engagements. We will network with local universities, non-profit groups, think tanks, and/or government agencies to register for speaking engagements or to schedule meetings with key individuals working within educational spaces. We believe it is important for our research to reach individuals capable of creating policy change.

Finally, we hope to build deeper connections, both locally and abroad, with organisations which share our aim of decolonizing education systems and revitalising Indigenous culture. Locally, there are a number of NGOs, small businesses, and think tanks that are engaged in this work on some level. We see potential to learn from these groups and also share our findings through speaking engagements, workshops, and/or cultural events. We also hope to build stronger connections within EdJAM’s network.

Meet the team: