Mutual Learning Between Knowledge Systems
KFPE and td-net organized this workshop that was held at the the International Conference ‘Endogenous Development and Bio-Cultural Diversity: The interplay of worldviews, globalization and locality’ (http://www.bioculturaldiversity.net/), 3-5 October 2006
Presenters of papers
Smita Premchander, SAMPARK, India
Niels Röling, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
A.V. Balasubramanian, CIKS, India
Maruja Salas, Thailand/Peru
Sirisena Attanayake, Brit, Sri Lanka
The Workshop aimed at critically reflecting on transdisciplinary, multi-level and multi-stakeholder approaches, currently used in development-oriented research. It also dealt with the question of how to organise dialogues within specific knowledge traditions and between different knowledge systems.
The Fact that partners of different background (scientific, social, cultural etc) collaborate in a participatory way or compete with each other offers opportunities and limitations which call for dialogues within specific ways of knowing as well as between different knowledge systems. Ideally this leads to mutual learning: the perspectives of different scientific traditions and disciplines, as well as of different representatives of society have to be made explicit, and if possible be combined and interconnected in such a way that an agreed balance of the different worldviews and ideologies involved can be achieved, also between women and men - or, that clarity emerges about aspects of knowing where an agreement cannot be reached. Case studies out of different cultural settings allowed for identifying enabling and hindering factors where mutual learning took place as well as on the prerequisites and means to facilitate such exchange.
The discussion focused on the following topics: Preconditions for mutual learning processes, recommendations and commitments
Preconditions for mutual learning processes
- Open attitude / openness
- trust
- mutual respect and interest
- recognition of need for / possibility of growth
- recognition that all knowledge systems are valuable constructions
- create space to interact where mutual learning is possible
- facilitation and translation
- code of conduct / norms for sharing knowledge (danger of exchange: biopiracy, patents)
- long term process
- awareness of inclusion / exclusion of different stakeholders
- awareness of scale >> up scaling (from grassroot to policy)
Recommendations
- pragmatic approach needed
- policy paper has to include a paragraph on traditional knowledge / integrate traditional knowledge
- allocation of resources for interaction needed
- curricula of formal education should reflect some basic understanding and include traditional knowledge
- adapt knowledge systems, starting from the needs of endogenous development, in stead of focusing on opposing existing / current knowledge systems
Commitments of participants of the Workshop
- next 4 years: make Dutch policy more ED-proof on the following subjects: HIV, Access to energy, gender (ETC)
- create a European network on endogenous development to enhance mutual learning between the South and the North (ETC)
- disseminate women’s worldviews in INDIA (SAMPARK)
- disseminate farmer’s worldviews in INDIA (GANDIGRAM)
- test innovation systems approach as a way of mutual learning (N. Röling)
- continue to include endogenous development in university curricula (Maruja Salas)
- comprehend and enrich the theoretical foundation of tradition knowledge systems in INDIA (Balasubramanian)