March-2019

Dear Friends
Here’s 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.

COVER STORY

Consultation of UNESCO Chairs in India December 10th- December 11th, 2018


The first of its kind, a consultation of UNESCO Chairs in India was jointly organized by UNESCO India and Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA). The two day consultation was hosted from December 10^th to December 11^th, 2018 in New Delhi.  The consultation was attended by all 11 UNESCO Chairs in India. The consultation was primarily facilitated by Mr. Eric Falt, Regional Director (UNESCO New Delhi Cluster Office) and Dr. Rajesh Tandon (Co-Director of UNESCO Chair on Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education). The primary objectives of the consultation were:

• To build a more informed and active network of UNESCO Chairs in India
• To brainstorm and share ideas on the role of UNESCO Chairs in strengthening work of UNESCO.

A welcome reception was scheduled on December 10^th, 2018 at the UNESCO House, Delhi. The main consultation was held on December 11^th, 2018 at 9:00 am at the offices of PRIA (Participatory Research in Asia). This consultation set a precedent to many similar forthcoming networking meetings. This initiative was applauded by all the UNESCO Chairs and the need to do similar knowledge sharing at continuous intervals was expressed by everyone. A detailed comment on the consultation is available here.

UNESCO CHAIR EVENTS

Webinar on Participatory Research: InSPIRES Project. December 19th, 2018

Dr. Rajesh Tandon, Founder-President of the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) and co-chair of the UNESCO Chair on Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education gave a webinar on Participatory Research under the InSPIRES EU Project. Sharing his insights with a special focus on health-related projects; Dr. Tandon facilitated an interactive virtual discussion on different facets of Participatory Research.  This was followed by an interactive discussion amongst the participants. Details are available here.
 
Dialogue on Institutional Social Responsibility of Higher Education Institutions: January 31, 2019 UGC New Delhi


A round table at University Grants Commission was convened with social and technical experts from academia, think tanks government departments and Simon Fraser University, Canada. The main objective of the conference was to have wider consultation on different aspects of recommendations enumerated in the national framework document under the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0. The dialogue was chaired by Dr Pankaj Mittal; Additional Secretary; UGC. The framework was shared by Dr. Rajesh Tandon; President; PRIA.  Prof. Andrew Petter, President and Vice Chancellor of Simon Fraser University, Canada shared SFU’s practice of ISR in HEIs from the international perspective.

This meeting resulted in some important deliberations and suggestions on the Social relevance of Higher Education institutions. Contributions by multiple stakeholders are expected to enrich the nuances of the final recommendation report of the UGC under UBA 2.0. A detailed report of the dialogue is available here.
 
Global Inequalities in Knowledge Distribution and Production: Implications for Higher Education


A Talk by Dr. Budd Hall at the London headquarters of the Association of Commonwealth Universities
February 12, 2019

At the invitation of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), Dr. Hall shared his observations about global inequalities in knowledge distribution and production. While we are aware of the inequalities in economic terms, in health terms, in food security terms and other sectors, the inequality in knowledge production and distribution when examined on a global basis. Dr. Hall made some important comments on Epistemicide, University ranking systems, research funding, market driven academic publications and language vulnerabilities as reasons which deepen these inequalities. The Knowledge for Change Consortium on Training for participatory research was cited as a direct response to the stark evidence of dominance of knowledge production by Europe and the USA. Details about the event and the presentation are available here.
 
Surf on Paulino: Reflections and Stories about Paulo Freire by Dr. Budd Hall


Dr. Budd Hall gave a talk on Paulo Freire on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Pedagogy of the Oppressed: Special Issue of CONCEPT on February 14th and 15th, 2019. This was at the University of Huddersfield. More details can be accessed here
 
Talk on Social Responsibility of Higher Education at Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth (MGKV), Varanasi

Dr. Rajesh Tandon, Founder-President of the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) and co-chair of the UNESCO Chair on Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education gave a talk on Social Responsibility of Higher Education at MGKV, Varanasi on February 21^st, 2019. The talk was presided over by the Vice Chancellor Prof. TN Singh and was followed by an active discussion by the faculty and the students.

BLOG

In case you missed the blogs by UNESCO Co-Chairs Prof Budd Hall and Dr. Rajesh Tandon:

Count your Futures: Why Girls in India Should Study Maths

Dr. Rajesh Tandon writes about the skewed pattern of study of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) amongst women in India and abroad. Arguing for greater gender equality in STEM education and professionalization, he asserts the need for knowledge society which is go-governed by women and men. The hyperlink of the article is available here: http://unescochair-cbrsr.org/index.php/2019/02/11/count-your-futures-why-girls-in-india-should-study-maths/
 
Decolonization: not just a buzzword…

Dr. Budd Hall reflects on his visit to universities in London and writes on the discourses of on his visit to decolonisation and epistemic justice in his recent blog. The hyperlink to the article is available here: http://unescochair-cbrsr.org/index.php/2019/02/04/decolonization-not-just-a-buzzword/
 
VIDEO RESOURCES

Two talks on Paulo Freire was organized at the University of Huddersfield.  The events were organised by the Huddersfield Centre for Research in Education and Society (HudCRES) in tandem with SCUTREA (Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults).  The special guest ‘in conversation’ was Professor Budd Hall. During the events, Professor Hall outlined the life and theories of Paulo Freire and furnished a sequence of reminiscences that illustrated his distinctive style of lecturing and engaging with audiences around the world.  He also read his poignant poem Surf on Pauliño, written to celebrate the Birthday of Paulo Freire in the year after his death, 1998. The video recording of the event is available here.
 
OTHER RESOURCES
 
The struggle for Epistemic Freedom and Decolonization of Knowledge in Africa

An paper on ‘The dynamics of epistemological Decolonisation in the 21st century: Towards epistemic freedom’ by Sabelo J Ndlovu-Gatsheni published in Strategic Review for Southern Africa, Vol 40, No. 1 (University of Pretoria)

‘The connection between the ‘colour line’ and the ‘epistemic line’ is in the racist denial of the humanity of those who became targets of enslavement and colonisation. The denial of humanity automatically disqualified one from epistemic virtue. This conceptual study, therefore explores in an overview format, how Africa in particular and the rest of the Global South in general became victims of genocides, epistemicides, linguicides, and culturecides. It delves deeper into the perennial problems of ontological exiling of the colonised from their languages, cultures, names, and even from themselves while at the same time highlighting how the colonised refused to succumb to the ‘silences’ and fought for epistemic freedom’. Full text of the paper is available here.
 
Why publishing in open access books and journals is a priority for action research practitioners

Florence Piron of Laval University gave a talk on the need of open access publications of journals and books for action research practitioners. More details about her arguments for Open Access Publication of Action Research materials 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
 
Third Mentor Training Program, Knowledge for Change  Face to Face learning Residency; April 1^st-12^th, 2019; Arusha, Tanzania


The third phase of the Mentor Training Program (MTP) under Knowledge for Change (K4C) is beginning from February 20^th, 2019 and running till July 17^th, 2019. The face-to-face learning residency will take place in Arusha, Tanzania from April 1^st to 12^th, 2019. The residency  is going to bring together  19 mentors from 5 different countries/CBPR training hubs (Indonesia, Ireland, Uganda, Malaysia and Tanzania), for a two-week rigorous training program for building capacities in Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR). The two-week residency will be hosted by MS-Training Centre for Development Cooperation (TCDC).
 

Workshop on Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) at Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla University (PRSU), Raipur 
 
PRSU and Participatory Research in Asia are jointly organizing a workshop on CBPR from March 6^th-7^th, 2019. PRIA and PRSU are jointly running Knowledge for Change (K4C) Hub in India. In its first stage of operation, the Hub is going to train over 20 students on understanding and practicing CBPR methodologies. The workshop will help the students in the stages of data analysis and community sharing of the outputs of their respective researches. The outcomes of the research will be further presented to the State Planning Commission (SPC), Raipur who have actively partnered in this initiative.