Indigenous Knowledge and
Development Monitor, November 2000 Indigenous Knowledge and
Development Monitor, November 2000
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CONFERENCES
Information technologies in educational innovation for development:
Interfacing global and indigenous knowledge
Bangkok (Thailand)
12-15 December 2000
UNESCO's Asia-Pacific Centre of Educational Innovation for Development (ACEID) - in collaboration with the Office of the National Education Commission of Thailand, the Hong Kong Institute of Education, and the Center for Learning and Teaching Styles, the Philippines - is organizing the 6th annual International Conference on Education. This year special attention will be given to indigenous knowledge and its interface with global knowledge. The purpose of the conference will be to address the role of information technologies in educational innovation for development and to explore their implications for the content of education and teacher education.
The conference has three themes, each with sub-themes. Four subjects will cut across all the themes: community participation, quality, equity, and sustainability. The themes and sub-themes are:
- Interfacing global knowledge and IK for learning
- Interfacing global knowledge and IK in the curriculum
- Interfacing global knowledge and IK in evaluation and assessment
- Interfacing global knowledge and IK for teacher education and training
The conference format will be varied. There will be keynote addresses, plenary panels, roundtables, meetings of Special Interest Groups (SIGs), concurrent paper and poster sessions, and a youth forum.
The conference language will be English. Special Interest Groups (SIGs), formed spontaneously at the conference , will meet on the afternoons of 13 and 14 December. These meetings will run concurrently with paper and poster sessions, all of which are scheduled for 90 minutes. Thus far SIGs are expected to form around the topics 'ICT', 'IK', 'Thai wisdom', and 'Education and business'.
For more information, please contact: the Acting Chief of ACEID, Sixth
UNESCO-ACEID International Conference on Education, UNESCO-ACEID, P.O. Box 967,
Prakanong Post Office, Bangkok 10110 Thailand.
Tel.: +66-2-391 0577 ext: 210.
Fax: +66-2-391 0866
E-mail: nz.zhou@unesco.org
http://www.unescobkk.org
Linguistic and interdisciplinary approaches as critical resources to
development
Mysore (India)
12-14 July 2000
To celebrate its 5th birthday, the Centre for Advanced Research on Indigenous Knowledge Systems (CARIKS) at Mysore, India, had organised an international seminar on Linguistic and Interdisciplinary Approaches as critical resources to Development, jointly with the Centre for Co-operative Research in Social Science (CCRSS) at Pune and the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) at Mysore. The seminar recommended the incorporation of Folklore Studies in the Social Sciences and Development Studies. The goal of the seminar was to evolve a research methodology for the integrated study of oral traditions and development. The seminar was made possible by funding from the Indian Council of Social Science Research (New Delhi) and the Central Institute of Indian Languages (Mysore).
The keynote address was delivered by Dr D.P. Pattanayak, former Director of the CIIL and founding-father of CARIKS. Dr Pattanayak discussed the prevailing concepts of development and the problems of their measurement. He stressed the need for interdisciplinary study of mind, brain, cognition and perception which is essential for the understanding of Man. He stated that cultural and linguistic heterogenity is a critical resource for development. Heterogenity necessitates communication. In this context, language is not only the medium of communication, but also the message, particularly in the case of indigenous knowledge studies. Whether in oral or written form, instant and deferred communication are features of all communication.
Theme 1 'Linkages oral tradition and development' was introduced by a position paper presented by Dr Jennifer Bayer (CIIL, Mysore). She made a strong case for finding the missing link between research and development. She showed how three lines of communication have to be improved if development has to be fruitful for all, especially for the voiceless people. First of all, communication between research and researcher should be improved through 'shared participation' of the concerned; next, communication between researchers of different disciplines through interdisciplinary studies; and third, communication between researchers and change agents, notably the State, through epistemological approaches for understanding the interface between the modern (state used) and indigenous knowledge.
The position paper for Theme 2: 'Critical analysis of oral tradition and specific development questions' was presented by Dr Jan Brouwer (CARIKS, Mysore). He critically revisited some development projects for artisans of Karnataka looking at them from the point of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS). He compared the concepts behind the project designs with the concepts behind the practices of the beneficiaries. The artisans' oral tradition was one of the main resources for his study. He stressed that an holistic approach is essential for success.
Theme 3: 'Research methodology' was introduced by the position paper presented by Dr Guy Poitevin (CCRSS, Pune). He emphasized the need to ground development processes on people's own intangible heritage of oral traditions.
The seminar was concluded with a panel discussion on the position papers and the reports presented by the session rapporteurs. The panel considered that the various levels of linguistic analysis contribute directly or indirectly to development; that the analysis of oral tradition complements the findings in social sciences; that such knowledge and understanding can only be reached through co-operative and interdisciplinary research; and that a beginning of development of an integrated research methodology for this purpose can now be made. It was recommended to publish a volume on research methodology on the basis of the seminar proceedings, and to plan a series of seminars focusing on critical areas that the seminar identified. In order to bridge the rift between experts and informants, it was recommended that future research projects should include participation of people concerned at the research level itself.
The seminar was a fine example of collaboration between governmental and non-governmental research institutions. The organizers have to be complimented for their efforts which made this interdisciplinary meet an international success.
(Jan Brouwer, Director of the Centre for Advanced Research on Indigenous
Knowledge Systems. E-mail: cariks@bgl.vsnl.net.in)
Ethnobiology, biocultural diversity, and benefits-sharing
7th International Congress of Ethnobiology
Athens, Georgia (USA)
23-27 October 2000
This was the 7th international congress of ethnobiology and the first time the congress was held in the United States. In keeping with the tradition of past congresses, scientists, indigenous peoples and activists met to hear about the latest research and to discuss pressing issues affecting indigenous peoples worldwide. Of particular note was a session led by Gary Martin entitled 'Innovative wisdom', which dealt with the impact of local knowledge on science, conservation, and development. These issues are being debated in organizations such as the International Council for Science and the United Nations, especially with regard to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Participants in the conference session were asked to consider the implications of these debates and to discuss whether traditional knowledge systems are partly scientific or at least compatible with global science. Other sessions examined the transmission and acquisition of traditional ecological knowledge; the loss and persistence of traditional ecological knowledge; benefits-sharing and bio-prospecting; prior informed consent; health and traditional peoples; indigenous self-determination in plant genetic resource use and conservation; and the Human Genome Project and its implications for indigenous peoples. In all, over 180 papers were presented by participants from over 35 countries.
The congress resulted in a white paper called the Athens Declaration, which presents ethical positions on the contentious issues of bio-prospecting, indigenous intellectual property rights and benefits-sharing, and offers alternative solutions. The conference proceedings will be published by the University of Georgia Press in the summer of 2001. For more information please contact the programme chair and editor, John R. Stepp, at the address below. (John R.. Stepp, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA)
The next International Congress of Ethnobiology will be held in Ethiopia in the fall of 2002. Additional details about the congress and the International Society of Ethnobiology are available at http://guallart.dac.uga.edu/ISE
John R. Stepp, Department of Anthropology, Baldwin Hall, University of
Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-1619 USA.
Fax: +1-775-305 5233.
E-mail: rstepp@uga.edu
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