As part of the meeting and working sessions of the Presidency, Executive Secretariat, advisors, and members of the Ecclesial Commissions of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), held from September 22 to 25 in Manaus, a special recognition was given to the Amazonian Intercultural Bilingual Education Network (REIBA) for its six years of service and support to the indigenous peoples of the Amazon.
The recognition took place during the Mass on Tuesday, September 22, as a gesture of gratitude for the path REIBA has taken in promoting an education that recognizes and strengthens the languages, cultures, identities, and ancestral knowledge of the Amazonian peoples.
The plaque of recognition was accepted on behalf of REIBA by Sister Marbelis Monroy, General Coordinator of the Network, and Ana Gabriela Jiménez, Coordinator of Intercultural Bilingual Education (EIB) and Communications.
In the recognition, signed by Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, president of CEAMA, and Marcelo A. Lemos, executive secretary, the Ecclesial Conference states:
“We wish to express special recognition for your contribution to culture, unity, and the appreciation of the richness of each language and identity.”
Likewise, CEAMA thanks REIBA for helping to “validate the voice of our brothers and sisters in the Amazon,” making it possible for the learning and dissemination of ancestral wisdom to be shared as a contribution to the world and as a way to preserve a cultural and evangelical heritage of incalculable value.
The recognition also highlights one of the fundamental challenges of the Amazonian synodal journey:
“It is necessary to promote alternative forms of communication for Indigenous peoples based on their own languages and cultures.”
An Education Rooted in the Territories
The Amazonian Network for Intercultural Bilingual Education (REIBA) carries out its mission from an intercultural perspective, promoting educational and communicative processes that highlight the languages and cultures of Indigenous peoples.
For CEAMA, this service is deeply linked to the call to build a Church with an Amazonian face, capable of listening to the voices of the peoples, recognizing their knowledge, and accompanying their processes from within their own territorial and cultural realities.
The recognition of REIBA took place at the very beginning of a week of work during which the Presidency, Executive Secretariat, advisors, and representatives of CEAMA’s Ecclesial Commissions shared spaces for listening, discernment, prayer, and planning, with the aim of giving continuity to the Synodal Pastoral Horizons 2026–2030 and strengthening service to the particular Churches, peoples, and territories of the Amazon.
In this context, celebrating REIBA’s six-year anniversary also means recognizing that intercultural bilingual education, communication in indigenous languages, and the valuing of ancestral knowledge are fundamental paths toward an Amazon where every people can strengthen their identity, dignity, and active role.
CEAMA thanks REIBA for these six years of shared journey and renews its commitment to continue supporting initiatives that make possible a Church that listens, learns, and walks alongside the peoples of the Amazon.
