Nepono Cultural Project

This project, although it begins with the construction of a hut for its offices, is a combination of programs, which allows companies individual participation in their projects. Emberá Népono is the non-governmental organization in charge of promoting the sustainable development of the Emberás and Wounaans, which is why it has an Educational Program, a Cultural Program, a Sports Program, a Traditional Program, and a Sustainable Development Promotion Program, which are explained below.

• Administrative Program: Consists of the construction and maintenance of its administrative offices. It will be a small hut, where the offices of the Board of Directors will be installed, their files and other memories will be preserved, and their meetings will be held. It has an estimated cost of B/.17,000.00 – Seventeen thousand Balboas, and includes its equipment. The company will place a donation plaque and participate in the Opening Ceremony for public recognition. The Plate will be valid for a minimum of five years.

• Educational Program: consists of the provision of scholarships for higher education studies, in the areas of tourism, medicine, architecture, systems engineering, law, economics, Secondary Education, Planning, at undergraduate, postgraduate or master’s levels, within or outside the country, according to the possibilities of the company that sponsors it. The company will opt for a Full Scholarship, Half Scholarship, or Educational Aid, the latter for a monthly amount of no less than B/.200.00 – two hundred Balboas.

• Cultural Program: Consists of the promotion of basic cultural events and mechanisms for the conservation of culture. The first will be the publication of an Annual Magazine related to the Emberá Culture for distribution in the Village. Another mechanism will be the financing of research on culture, worldview, botany, architecture, disused uses and customs and other key topics aimed at the Emberá cultural rescue. These will be disseminated on the Internet, through a virtual magazine. The third activity is the holding of an Emberá cultural event every six months, sponsored by a company. The sponsoring company or companies of the Annual Magazine will be recognized on the front and back covers of said magazine; the sponsors of the research, on the respective website, although if you wish you can print them with your logo, giving a part to the community. Companies that sponsor cultural events can use them in their advertising.

• Sports Program: consists of the sponsorship of a team in the Indigenous Soccer League, held annually by Emberá Népono. As a sponsoring company, you can maintain the team’s activity during the year, at company events, covering your presentation costs. You can also be a Sponsor of the Event, with the closing party, the teams’ trip to another country as ambassadors of the company, and with other ideas that you may have. The idea is to promote understanding and cooperation among the indigenous peoples of Panama.

• Traditional Program: Consists of partial sponsorship of the Emberás Ancestral Indigenous Games, or the Panama Ancestral Indigenous Games, or partial sponsorship of the athletes who will represent us in the World Ancestral Indigenous Games. The company may use such sponsorship in its advertising or as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility program. The respective budget will be made at the time.

• Sustainable Development Promotion Program: This is small support for business entrepreneurship, both for residents in Emberá Querá, and for others outside the village who require financial assistance. For each case, the corresponding feasibility study will be carried out and Népono will monitor it, as well as the sponsoring company, in order to guarantee the proper use of the contribution.