For two weeks in November, I journeyed to Australia and Papua New Guinea for film screenings at the IUCN World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia and in rural Papua New Guinea. The journey began at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, where Altaian leader Danil Mamyev (at left) and I explored how sacred sites are co-managed by Aboriginal Traditional Owners working with government park professionals. At the World Parks Congress we hosted two sessions on Sacred Natural Sites along with two film screenings and there were many spirited debates about the best ways forward to protect sacred lands. A congress highlight was a new campaign to declare sacred places as “No Go Areas for Mining.” My journey came to a wonderful conclusion in Papua New Guinea with a visit to Mindere village and a screening of Profit and Loss in Madang. A dozen Bosmun men traveled eight long hours to attend the screening and were full of stories about how the filming process helped them revive their traditions of chanting and transcendental flute playing. Very nice to know that the films are having a positive impact.

Please check out my slideshow report.

Thanks to Gleb Raygorodetsky for tireless translation for Danil—and for the photo!