Neram N’Dok is a Bijagó expression that means “take it and keep it with you” and it is also the motto of a new documentary by IMVF, Tiniguena and the University of Aveiro as part of the project “Urok Osheni! Conservation, development and sovereignty in the Urok Islands” in Guinea-Bissau.
Filmed in the Urok islands, Neram N’Dok is a documentary that presents a particular view on the Protected Marine Area of the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau, an area created and managed by the people that live on it.
Worried with the damages to their marine resources and the progressive shortage of fish and other subsistence goods, the inhabitants of the three islands part of the Bijagós archipelago took into their own hands the defence of the future of their communities and territory.
Neram N’Dok portrays the creation of a unique model of governance and autonomous participative management of this space, based on rules that allow for the conservation, development and promotion of culture, guaranteeing the quality of life of its inhabitants in a balanced environment.
Promoting the conversation of the natural resources but also social and economic development of the Urok Islands, the documentary is a production of Instituto Marquês de Valle Flôr and local NGO Tiniguena, partners in the execution of “Urok Osheni! Conservation, development and sovereignty in the Urok Islands”, in close collaboration with the University of Aveiro.
Co-financed by the European Union and Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language, I.P., the project in the Bijagós archipelago, developed between January 2010 and March 2013, contributed to the preservation of the historical, cultural and traditional heritage of the island by valuing the biodiversity products and strengthening the participative governance processes.
The Neram n’Dok documentary is available here