LAIMA

Laima was founded as a tribute to Marija Gimbutas, a scholar who proposed new interpretative tools for reading prehistory and human origins, intertwining archaeology, symbolism, and myth.

The association intends to contribute to the construction and dissemination of more balanced models of existence on a cultural, artistic, social, and educational level, promoting a matricentric culture that places the values of care, mutuality, and relationship at its center.

Laima promotes multiculturalism and enhances the customs and traditions of ethnic minorities, creating opportunities for encounters among peoples and communities that recognize a spirituality deeply connected to the Earth and to Nature.

At the same time, the association promotes the study and practices of ancestral spirituality and traditions linked to Mother Earth, and explores prehistory and ancient peaceful societies as sources of inspiration for the present: not as nostalgia, but as a laboratory of ideas for rethinking education, coexistence, imaginaries, and community practices.

In this path, art and creativity represent central tools: concrete ways to open new languages, generate shared visions, and transform culture into experience. Laima promotes meetings, initiatives, and public moments of in-depth exploration in order to cultivate research, dialogue, and education.

Between 2012 and 2016, the association organized three international conferences on “Indigenous Cultures of Peace,” public moments of study and encounter that intertwined anthropology, pedagogy, matricentric studies, and cultural testimonies, with the aim of offering concrete examples (historical and contemporary) of societies founded on cooperation, care, gender balance, and relationship with the Earth. On these occasions we hosted representatives of the Moso (China), Khoesan (Africa), Juchitec (Mexico), and Mapuche (Chile) peoples, together with scholars from various countries.

After a break of several years, the association has decided to resume its activities in 2026, organizing trips, meetings, and cultural pathways that foster sharing and exchange with Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, with particular attention to cultures that maintain a deep and responsible relationship with nature and that, on a symbolic level, can enter into dialogue with certain imaginaries of Ancient Europe.