On October 12, 2026, the Asia Young Indigenous Peoples Network (AYIPN) joined the first day of the Feminist Festival of Resistance & Alternatives in Bangkok, Thailand, organized by the MENAFem Movement alongside the opening of the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings.
Elisabeth Simanjuntak, Chairperson of Barisan Pemuda Adat Nusantara (BPAN), the Indigenous youth wing of AMAN in Indonesia, served as one of the speakers in Parallel Session 2, “Sovereign Economic Visions, Beyond Private Capital: Workers, Peasants, and Indigenous Peoples Speak Out,” organized by Ibon International.
Elisabeth emphasized that Indigenous self-determination means reclaiming control over ancestral lands, resources, and culture. Despite legal recognition, Indigenous Peoples in Indonesia continue to face land dispossession and extractive projects that threaten their identities, histories, and connection to their communities.
She highlighted BPAN’s Homecoming Movement, which encourages Indigenous youth to return to their ancestral communities, preserve ancestral knowledge, defend Indigenous territories, and build collective livelihoods. Drawing from the struggle against the pulp industry in Tano Batak, she stressed that reclaiming land must go hand in hand with economic independence and community-led development.
She calls on Indigenous youth to actively lead the struggle for self-determination and build communities that are politically sovereign, economically independent, and culturally dignified.
As part of the Global Day of Action against the IMF and World Bank, participants ended the session with a powerful and militant chant calling to “Shut Down the IMF and the World Bank!”
