Raising the Roof: Voices for the Amazon

On Wednesday 10 November in Glasgow, we held an evening of talks, music and films about the Amazon rainforest and the role of Indigenous peoples in its survival and future prosperity.

The recording of the COP26 event from the New York Times Climate Hub is now available.

The night showcased the talent and artistry of Brazil and the Amazon. Musicians, filmmakers, Indigenous leaders and artists, climate experts and other leading thinkers came together to highlight the importance of the Amazon to the planet and the role of Indigenous peoples in its survival and future prosperity.

Find short video highlights from the event, with further information below.

The Amazon is the largest tropical forest in the world with over three billion years of history. It houses the greatest concentration of biodiversity on Earth and absorbs 5 per cent of global annual CO2 emissions. Today the rainforest and its Indigenous peoples and local communities are under immense pressure from a storm of crises.

Deforestation in the Amazon is at its highest level in over a decade – just as the world redoubles its efforts to tackle the climate and nature crises at COP26 in Glasgow.

Event speakers:

• Carlos Rittl, Brazilian Climate Specialist and Senior Policy Advisor at Rainforest Foundation Norway
• Célia Xakriabá, Indigenous leader of the Xakriabá people of Brazil
• Erika Berenguer, Brazilian Senior Research Associate at the University of Oxford and member of the Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA)
• Juma Xipaia, Xipaya leader, medical student, the first woman to become a Chief in the Middle Xingu, and founder of Instituto Juma
• Sônia Guajajara, Indigenous Leader and Executive Coordinator of the Brazilian Articulation of Indigenous Peoples (ABIP) and of the National Articulation of Ancestral Warriors Women (Anmiga)
• Plus images, films and music from:
• Carlos Rennó and Nando Reis, in partnership with Greenpeace Brazil and more than 30 Brazilian artists
• DJ Eric Marky, Indigenous journalist from Mídia Índia
• Domenico Lancellotti and Ricardo Dias Gomes, Brazilian musicians currently living in Portugal, creating soundscapes for the voice of Ibã Huni Kuin, Huni Kuin singing master, part of the MAHKU – Artistic Movement of the Huni Kuin
• Gisela Motta, Isabella Guimarães and Mariana Lacerda (Barreira Y)
• Olinda Yawar Tupinambá, journalist, filmmaker, performance artist and environmental activist
• Takumã Kuikuro, Kuikuro Indigenous filmmaker from the Xingu Indigenous Park
• Victor Moriyama, Brazilian photojournalist, regular contributor to The New York Times