August-2019
Dear Friends
Presenting another edition of the UNESCO Chair newsletter, filled with exciting developments from around the world on building next generation of Community Based Researchers, advocacy for the role of higher education institutions to help achieve Sustainable Development Goals, and the Chair’s support to building knowledge democracies.
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COVER STORY
Mentor Training Program, Face to Face Training, MS TCDC, Arusha Tanzania: March 31st, 2019- April 10th, 2019
A face to face residency mentor training program was organized for the third cohort mentors of the Knowledge for Change consortium. The objective of the training program was to build institutional capacity to provide learning opportunities for the next generation of young students and community workers to learn the theory and practice of community based participatory research. The Arusha residency was hosted at MS-TCDC, Arusha. The mentors in this training represented the following hubs: Nyerere Hub, Arusha; Limerick Hub, Ireland; Surabaya Hub, Indonesia; Mizen Hub, Malaysia; Mzumbe Hub, Morogoro & Dar es Salaam and Gulu Hub, Uganda.
Some of the major highlights of this residency training were the interaction with intellectuals and organizations working with and for the indigenous populations. The K4C has historically placed an emphasis on the importance of indigenous knowledge. We have drawn in previous residencies on Indigenous scholars Lorna Williams, a Lil’wat Ul scholar and Ndawula Wangoola, a Busoga scholar. In Arusha we were fortunate to have the opportunity to hear from Saningo Milliary and Alias Ole Morindat, two Maasai intellectuals who were forced as youngsters to attend Western schools, but who both maintain their homes in their villages bomas. In addition the training also consisted of Panels on Community Based Research and SDGs, various art based methods of Community Based Participatory Research and Advocacy were also taught during the training. A detailed report of the Residency training is available here.
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UNESCO CHAIR EVENTS
Keynote Address at Azim Premji University: April 20th, 2019
In 2018, Azim Premji University launched a “Stories of Change: Case study challenge” inviting detailed analytical case studies from state and civil society organisations on social interventions enhancing human, social or sustainable development outcomes. The motivation behind this exercise is to recognize some of the excellent works being done towards social change, and to recognize the value of knowledge from such interventions for wider dissemination, among practitioners and for use in academia.
Dr. Rajesh Tandon, founder of PRIA, and Co-Chair, UNESCO Chair on Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education was invited as the key note speaker for the ceremony. In his keynote address, Dr. Tandon mentioned the importance of practice and knowledge creation at sites of social interventions/ action. He also said that higher education must be for public good and for that to happen, disciplines can’t remain isolated from the real world. That is why, Universities like Azim Premji University must work closely with organizations who are working with communities and capturing ‘Stories of Change’ is a right step towards that direction. More details available here
Dr. Budd Hall Teaches at the University of Sassari: May, 2019
Between May 7 – 21, Dr. Budd Hall (Co-Chair, UNESCO Chair on Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education) was a guest professor at the University of Sassari. Sassari is the home of one of the UNESCO Chair’s first Knowledge 4 Change hubs. Dr. Budd met with social work students learning about community based research, paid a visit to an important community development project in rural Sardinia and was part of a panel on Human Rights and Hate Speech in contemporary societies.
Pathways to Transformation Conference: June 20th-21st, 2019; Brussels, Belgium
A joint conference was organized by two important Horizon 2020 Projects named Nucleus Project and RRI Practice Projects on June 20th and 21st in Brussels, Belgium. The overarching theme of the conference was to generate insights from global institutional experiments in Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). RRI, which is primarily a European centric concept of Research and Innovation in sciences, is a fairly new concept in India. The chair is currently a partner for one of the Horizon 2020 Project called Responsible Research and Innovation Networking Globally (RRING) Project.
The conference was attended by us on as a partner of the RRING project. The main objective of this important conference was to conclude the operations of the NUCLEUS and the RRI Practice Projects and to deliberate and communicate the learnings of these two unique projects with a wide variety of stakeholders. The overarching idea of the conference and these RRI principles were in fact, to discuss the social responsibilities of Higher Education Institutions and other stakeholders. More details are available here.
Seminar-Workshop on the Role of Universities in Envisioning Participatory Smart Cities in the Global South : 28 May 2019- 29 May 2019 :University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland
A joint seminar and workshop was organized by the UNESCO Chair and University of Glasgow to explore how Universities as centers of learning and social responsibility, can contribute to an equitable learning ecosystem for the sustainable development and productive integration of marginalized populations living and working in these smart cities. Universities should ideally provide the crucial institutional space to realize the concept of the ‘learning city’ which is being promoted globally by UNESCO in emerging economies. This was followed by half day workshop on Participatory Research methodologies titled Knowledge for Change: Trajectory of Participatory Research Methodologies. More details of the seminar are available here.
Talk on Higher Education in New Castle, England: June, 2019
Dr. Rajesh Tandon was recently invited to Northumbria University to give a talk on ‘Higher education, youth engagement and social justice: Emerging lessons’ on June 4th, 2019 from 12 pm to 1pm. The video of the talk is available at the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8qvryqice7vpcqp/AAAk4riez0V2no67VdT5Kk8Pa?dl=0. The talk was preceded by a lunch with the engagement team of the University https://www.ncl.ac.uk/who-we-are/engagement/. More details available here
UNESCO Chair Activities featured by Canadian Association for Studies in International Development (CASID): June, 2019
On June 6 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at the University of British Columbia, UNESCO Chair activities in building capacity for community-based research in the global South were featured in a presentation organised jointly by the Canadian Council on International Cooperation and CASID.
Let the Languages Live! An International Conference on Indigenous Languages-June 23-25
Dr. Budd Hall has volunteered in support of a remarkable conference organized by Indigenous language champions for Indigenous language champions. First People’s Cultural Council and the First People’s Cultural Foundation co-hosted a conference of 1000 Indigenous language champions from 20 countries. The Conference was addressed by HEH Prince Charles, by Prof Lorna Williams, National Chief Perry Belgarde and scores of mother tongue language speakers on the importance of keeping the global treasury of Indigenous languages alive and revitalized.
IN THE NEWS
Dr. Budd Hall receives David H. Turpin Gold Medal for Career Achievement in Research
Dr.Budd Hall, Professor emeritus with UVic’s School of Public Administration and UNESCO co-chair with the Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Ed portfolio was awarded the David H. Turpin Gold Medal for Career Achievement in Research.
We at UNESCO chair heartily congratulate him for this wonderful achievement.
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BLOG
In case you missed the blogs by UNESCO Co-Chairs:
The Question of Rankings: Once More with Feeling
Co-authored by Dr(s) Budd Hall and Rajesh Tandon talks about the ranking system in higher education and how it has had a detrimental effect on the sanctity of education institutes. The benchmark of excellence is being assessed through ranking systems which is a flawed and excludes the global south. Dwelling deeper into the nuances of academic excellence, the authors critically analyze the politics of the ranking system in higher education. They draw attention back to the questions of epistemic justice, knowledge democracy and decolonization of higher education and shed light on this huge discourse which is now sweeping through almost all parts of the higher education world. Full text is available here.
Revisiting Gandhi: What does the life of Gandhi mean for the world today, for higher education, and Knowledge Democracy?
Gandhi throughout his life has written, spoken and emphasised extensively on the importance of education and learning. On this 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi, we will introspect on what Gandhi means for the world today, with a special emphasis on Higher Education and Knowledge Democracy. A GUNI article written by Pooja Pandey, India Coordinator of UNESCO Chair in CBR and Social Responsibility of Higher Education emphasizes on Gandhi’s contemporary relevance to Higher Education today. The article is available here.
OTHER RESOURCES
Social Responsibility and Higher Education: A Call for Chapter Proposals by UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility of Higher Education Institute
The UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education is editing a book with a working title of Social Responsibility and Higher Education: International Perspectives on Knowledge Democracy. The book is being prepared as a contribution to the 2021 UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education. To know more about the book and to contribute , please check the following Call for Proposal.
International Conference on Sustainable Development Goals: Higher Education and Science Take Action March 5th-6th, 2020; Barcelona Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI)
After a successful first edition of the International Conference on SDGs: Actors and Implementation, GUNi will be holding the second edition of the GUNi International Conference on Sustainable Development Goals: Higher Education and Science Take Action on the 5th and 6th of March 2020 at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in Barcelona. This second edition will put the spotlight on how higher education institutions are embedding sustainable development in their core missions, and will focus on showcasing, explaining and sharing scientific research, innovative practices, projects, programmes and initiatives that university communities are carrying out with the aim of implementing the 2030 Agenda. These will include different perspectives and approaches: from research to teaching, institutional leadership and student initiatives. Taking a pragmatic and multidisciplinary approach, this International Conference will bring together scholars, university professionals, students, experts and practitioners from all around the world.
Call for contribution can be accessed here
Rethinking adult learning and education – Asian perspectives
Edited by Uwe Gartenschlaeger, the 77th edition of International Perspective in Adult Education has been published. An initiative of DVV International, the current edition is a collection of case studies and examples on Adult Education practices in Asia. The issue critically analyses the state of Adult Education and Life Long Learning in the Asian context. The edition includes cases from India, Central Asia, Laos, Japan and several other Asian countries. The full edition is available here.
New network on higher education and the SDGs launched July 11th, 2019
A new network to boost the contribution of universities to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been launched by the Association of Commonwealth Universities(ACU). The new network will support university efforts to directly engage in the SDG agenda – for example, through integrating sustainable development into their operations, sharing SDG learning content and materials, or developing SDG-focused research strategies. It builds on the ACU’s longstanding role as a champion of the importance of higher education in sustainable development, experience of convening networks that tackle global challenges, and engagement with existing initiatives such as the SDG Accord, SDG: Learn, and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The network was launched during the UN High-level Political Forum (HLPF), where the ACU is working in partnership with the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) and the International Association of Universities (IAU) to promote the critical role of higher education in sustainable development.
The UNESCO Chair is a member of the network and messages by the UNESCO Chairs are available here
RRING PROJECT
The Responsible Research and Innovation (RRING) Project aim is to bring the principles of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) into the linked up global world to promote mutual learning and collaboration in RRI. This will be achieved by the formation of the global RRING community network and by the development and mobilisation of a global Open Access RRI knowledge base. RRING will align RRI to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a global common denominator.
UNESCO Chair in CBR and Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) are actively assisting the RRING Project in India. For more details about the RRING Project, please visit: http://www.rring.eu/
UPCOMING EVENTS
Education the Mind, Body and Heart International Conference on Gandhi and Higher Education Today September 18th-20th, 2019
This year is marking the Sesquicentennial birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi is known in different circles for his different statures. He was a leader, a preacher, a practitioner but most importantly an educator. Gandhi throughout his life has written, spoken and emphasised extensively on the importance of education and learning. On this 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi, UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education in partnership with International Development Research Centre (IDRC), UNESCO New Delhi Cluster Office and Association of Indian Universities (tbc) is hosting a three day international conference on Gandhi and higher education today. Titled “Educating the Mind, Body and Heart”, the conference will bring together practitioners, academicians and Gandhian philosophers to explore the relevance, applications and impacts of Mahatma Gandhi’s theory and practice on education, learning and knowledge to higher education in India and the world. Please stay tuned to our UNESCO Chair website for more details or write to [email protected] for any queries.
We are Inviting applications for potential partnerships from the global South to consider applying to become a hub in the K4C Global Consortium
The Chair is inviting academic organisations and civil society practitioner organisations to apply to create a K4C Hub and join the movement to build the next generation of community based researchers. If you are interested in becoming a K4C hub, send in your application, in writing to Walter Lepore ([email protected]).
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