EnglishSome 80 representatives of indigenous peoples, civil society organisations, universities, mining and mining services companies, government and IM4DC participated in the 2013 Oxfam Mining Symposium in Melbourne on 17 May.
The theme was Sustainable mining – indigenous peoples, community rights and mining: free, prior and informed consent.
Participants heard about why land rights matter, various global and regional standards on free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), and the perspectives of mining companies and investors.
The presentations of indigenous representatives and company case studies underlined the challenges as well as highlighting successful approaches to engagement of communities.