This last issue of the Monitor in 1994 is a special issue on women's indigenous knowledge, and gender and indigenous knowledge. It has been produced by Dr Maria E. Fernández of the International Agricultural Centre in Wageningen (The Netherlands) and by Drs Akke W. Tick of Nuffic-CIRAN. The editorial board appreciates the inspiration and support provided by Maria Fernández, and would like to thank her for the job she has done as guest editor. Together the two editors prepared an introduction to this special issue.
This choice of theme for a special issue was inspired by the Fourth World Women's Conference that is to be held in Beijing. We welcome your comments as well as your suggestions for a theme for the 1995 special issue of the Monitor.
CIRAN experienced the year 1994 as an exciting but tense one. The increases in the flow of information and the number of positive reactions to the Monitor were very stimulating indeed. At the same time, however, 1994 confronted us with the need to develop a strategy for surviving financially.
To gather the information we need for making financial decisions we sent out a questionnaire in May 1995. The results, compiled by Guus von Liebenstein and published in Monitor 2(2):2-3, indicated that it is not realistic to expect the Monitor to survive on the basis of paid subscriptions. Most of the readers living in developing countries would be unable to pay for a subscription, partly because foreign currency is in short supply in these countries. At the same time, the high costs of administration and overheads make it difficult to reduce the price of the publication.
In order to continue producing the Monitor in 1995, we are still looking for financial resources in addition to those provided by Nuffic. We will do our best to distribute the Monitor free of charge in 1995, particularly among our readers in developing countries. Apart from financial support, the future of the Monitor is also dependent on input from our readers. We greatly appreciate your contributions--again, especially those from developing countries. So please keep sending us your information, comments and articles. Your efforts are indispensible if we are to achieve a true exchange of information.
We are very happy to announce that we are now testing the electronic version of the Indigenous Knowledge
and Development Monitor. It will be available on-line in due course through the CIESIN Kiosk. The
CIESIN Kiosk is a one-stop electronic distribution centre for documents on global change and the
environment. It is available on the Internet through e-mail, Gopher, WWW and FTP. We are also looking
into possibilities for bringing the Monitor on-line through other centres. Any suggestions are most welcome
and greatly appreciated.