PENAMPANG: Indigenous communities across Borneo must strengthen unity and embrace artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies to shape their own future, said Borneo Dayak Forum (BDF) secretary-general Agustinus Clarus.
Agustinus said solidarity was essential if Indigenous communities were to advance in areas such as the economy, education, culture and technology.
“We want to shape our future, but we must shape it with solidarity because without solidarity and unity, it will not happen,” he said during the 2026 Sabah World Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration (Shoas) at the Koisaan Cultural Village (KCV), KDCA Hongkod Koisaan (Unity Centre), here, Saturday.
He was speaking as the representative of National Dayak Customary Council (MADN) president Marthin Billa at the event officiated by BDF president Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan.
Agustinus said the celebration’s theme, “Indigenous Peoples and AI”, should encourage Indigenous communities to consider how technology could be used to strengthen their future rather than allowing them to be left behind by changing times.
He said Dayak communities should aim to become “global Dayak” who are capable of mastering technologies associated with the fifth industrial revolution, including the internet, big data, the Internet of Things and AI.
“Human intelligence has been embodied in what we call artificial intelligence, and that intelligence can help humans,” he said.
He said AI could similarly be used to help Dayak communities develop and prepare themselves for the future.
Agustinus said Indigenous education should also go beyond preserving traditional practices by finding ways to connect cultural knowledge with coding, AI and other modern technologies.
He said communities needed to understand technological developments taking place globally and adapt to them while continuing to maintain their identities.
Agustinus warned that traditional knowledge and cultural heritage could disappear without solidarity, brotherhood and togetherness among communities.
“If all that disappears, Dayak will no longer have an identity, and without identity, people will have no future,” he said.
He said BDF was established following discussions among Dayak leaders more than a decade ago over concerns about economic, social, cultural and political issues affecting communities across Borneo.
Agustinus said the forum had since helped bring Dayak communities across Borneo together and strengthen awareness of their shared roots.
He said the next challenge was determining what communities should do after coming together, particularly in strengthening their position in education, technology, culture and the economy.
Agustinus also urged Indigenous organisations and stakeholders to work as strategic partners while strengthening their presence in media and digital platforms.
“Dayak must go public and go international, and Dayak must understand what artificial intelligence is,” he said.
He also called for greater unity across ethnic and religious differences, saying such differences should not prevent Indigenous communities from working together towards common goals.
Shoas 2026 Implementation and Coordination Committee chairperson Andrew Ambrose @ Atama Katama, meanwhile, said the gathering was not merely about remembering the past but also about creating the future.
Atama said the theme reflected the position that Indigenous peoples should have a voice in technological change, with technology used to protect their languages, strengthen traditional knowledge, respect consent and uphold their rights.
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