Every year Ledarna puts together a list consisting of 75 managers who are young and women.
On May 16, the entire list will be presented, but it is already clear that Sáminuorra’s chairman, Sara-Elvira Kuhmunen, will take a place on the list.
“So fun and honored to be on the Leaders’ list,” she writes on Instagram.
Is in New York
Right now, Kuhmunen is in New York, where she is participating in the UN’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which runs until April 26. Indigenous representatives from all over the world meet and gather there.
– It is important to raise our opinions and that young people take their place here. You also meet other indigenous peoples in the world with whom you can collaborate and exchange experiences, she says.
The theme for this year is “Enhancing Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination in the context of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: emphasizing the voices of Indigenous youth”.
– This year, like last year, we are collaborating with Norway and Finland. It has been important to highlight self-determination and how the Sami are treated in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
“We are the future”
At the end of last week, Kuhmunen gave a speech during the forum.
– We had written the speech together and it is precisely about Sami youth and that we are the future. But despite that, no one wants to listen to us, she says and continues:
– The Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish governments have given a joint speech and told how important it is to raise the Sami issues. In our speech, we drew attention to the fact that this is not really the case with us. The states are not for us but against us, says Sara-Elvira Kuhmunen.