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Pre-COP26 Webinar Series: Higher Education, Knowledge Democracy and Sustainability

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Date(s) - 11/10/2021
7:30 pm

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What are the challenges facing higher education in the context of the climate crisis? Central to the new discourse on social responsibility of Higher Education Institutions is the recognition, appreciation and valuing of diversity of knowledges, their underlying epistemologies (ways of knowing) and knowledge cultures (norms, values, principles). Historically, the higher education community has defined academic knowledge as the only valid, scientific knowledge. However, each society has its own diverse meanings and concepts related to knowledge, its purposes and praxis. The importance of multiple sites and forms of knowledge is now increasingly recognized by Higher Education Institutions. There is a growing movement towards the integration and co-production of multiple forms of knowledge through respect for diverse epistemologies.

Based on the book Socially Responsible Higher Education: International Perspectives on Knowledge Democracy, this webinar focused on two themes: knowledge democracy and place-based learning. The webinar was a joint initiative between the UNESCO Chair in Community-based Research and Social Responsibility, the Centre for Research and Development in Adult and Lifelong Learning (University of Glasgow) and the Low and Middle Income Countries Research Network (University of Glasgow).

Dr. Tandon stated that never before in our generation did scientific research come under such scrutiny. This discourse was never in the public arena before. The practice of sustainability needs to be seen in the local context, and locally relevant curriculums can help achieve that. Perspectives on knowledge democracy are important for finding community-led solutions for bringing in sustainability.

Sebastian Fuentes stated that we need to expand legitimacy of extension programs which can often take a paternalistic approach, and integrate perspectives where community members are also seen as “teachers”. Catherine Odora Hoppers stated that HEIs use supply driven approaches instead of reciprocal ones for problem identification and solutions. The notion of learning regions needs to be expanded from a spatial demarcation to a consciousness as to the content or integrity of agenda that informs the linkage.

Nabiela Naily stated that there are many promising potentials, including commitment from national and local stakeholders for community engagement works that can be published. Dr. Budd Hall narrated a poem Map Song of the Sandhill Cranes by Laura Tohe, poet laureate of the Navaho System, ending with the words of the poem “I stand in the cold wind in awe and humility because they have made this journey for me too…”

Hilligje van’t Land from IAU asked: Reconnecting different kinds of knowledge system is what we need to think about. What forms of knowledge do we favour while we teach and conduct research? Are we really open to diff forms of knowledge?

Find Dr. Tandon’s ppt here:

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