Table of Contents
As a result of the project Revitalization of Indigenous Languages in the Peruvian Amazon, led by UNESCO Peru and the Ministry of Culture through the Directorate of Indigenous Languages (DLI), with the support of the AJE Group and within the framework of the Global Action Plan of the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022–2032, the publication Awawantea’ke Taushiro Yaku, The Book of Those Who Speak Taushiro: Language, Culture and History of the Taushiro People was presented.
During a panel discussion held at the 2026 Lima International Book Fair (FIL Lima), government authorities, specialists and private-sector partners came together to reflect on and raise awareness of the importance of preserving Indigenous languages and the country’s cultural diversity.
The book -the first publication jointly produced by UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture with the support of the AJE Group- is the outcome of a linguistic documentation process that brings together the history of the Taushiro people, their worldview and way of life, as well as an alphabet, basic vocabulary, everyday expressions, and guidance on writing and pronunciation. This process was made possible by the perseverance and remarkable memory of Amadeo García, the only fluent speaker of the Taushiro language, who has worked with specialists over the past 40 years to record and document his language.
A dialogue to revitalize Indigenous languages
The panel discussion brought together linguist Luis Enrique López-Hurtado; Alberto Suárez, Manager of Amarumayu at the AJE Group; and sociologist Yukiko Méndez, one of the publication’s eight authors. The discussion was moderated by José Salazar, Culture Programme Officer at UNESCO Peru.
The panellists emphasized the importance of documenting, recovering, revitalizing and transmitting Indigenous languages across generations in order to prevent the loss of knowledge systems, traditional knowledge and cultural practices. They also highlighted the essential role of continuing to support community-led language transmission processes, as was done with the Taushiro language through the leadership of Amadeo García and collaboration among the government, academia, international cooperation organizations and the private sector.
During the presentation, the Minister of Culture, Alberto Beingolea Delgado, underscored the importance of strengthening efforts to protect the country’s linguistic and cultural diversity. “As the Ministry of Culture, we recognize this publication as a fundamental part of Peruvian identity. This book represents an important step towards keeping alive one of the languages of our diverse country,” he stated.
Amadeo García: Guardian of Memory
The publication was made possible by the living testimony of Amadeo García, who has been recognized for the past two decades as the last speaker of the Taushiro language and as a key figure in efforts to preserve one of Peru’s 48 Indigenous languages.
His memory, knowledge and commitment have made it possible to document essential aspects of the transmission of Taushiro culture, making him a central figure in efforts to revitalize this critically endangered language.
“Indigenous languages such as Taushiro are vehicles of ancestral knowledge intrinsically linked to biodiversity. They preserve a profound body of practical knowledge about flora, fauna and ecosystems, offering vital solutions for conservation and sustainable development. The extinction of a language is equivalent to the loss of an irreplaceable library of biocultural knowledge,” added Jose Salazar of UNESCO Peru.
Revitalizing Languages Is a Shared Commitment
According to UNESCO’s World Atlas of Languages (WAL), of the 7,000 languages spoken worldwide, nearly 2,500 could disappear. Since 1950, 250 languages have become extinct, and the number of speakers continues to decline.
Against this backdrop, the project Revitalization of Indigenous Languages in the Peruvian Amazon has promoted the intergenerational transmission of the languages and cultures of the Ikitu, Kukama Kukamiria and Taushiro peoples through participatory strategies aimed at strengthening the identity, leadership and autonomy of their communities.
This initiative was implemented through a partnership with AMARUMAYU, an AJE Group movement that works to develop sustainable value chains involving products from Amazonian communities, and with technical assistance from Peru’s Ministry of Culture in the communities of San Jorge, San Antonio and Intuto, located in areas adjacent to natural reserves in the Loreto region.
“For the AJE Group, supporting the revitalization of the Taushiro language through Amarumayu is a concrete way of giving back to the Amazonian communities with which we work. We know that when a language is lost, unique knowledge about the land and biodiversity is also lost. We will therefore continue to support partnerships such as this one, which strengthen the cultural identity of the peoples of Loreto and contribute to sustainable development with and for local communities,” added Alberto Suárez of the AJE Group.
The project forms part of the activities carried out under the Pact for Culture towards 2030, a platform that seeks to build strategic partnerships with the private sector and international organizations in support of cultural rights and sustainable development.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-peru-ministry-culture-and-aje-group-join-forces-revitalize-language-and-culture-taushiro?hub=701
