KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 27
The first ever historical international conference on Indigenous-led research and education was held in Nepal.
The United States Department of State, in collaboration with Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Research and Development, US Embassy Kathmandu and Kathmandu University School of Education together organised an international conference on 'Indigenous-Led Research and Development' in Kathmandu on September 26 and 27.
The event was held with the objective of scaling up Indigenous people-friendly research, education and development policies for the protection and promotion of Indigenous peoples' traditional knowledge, traditions, livelihoods, cultural values and skills that form a basis for sustainable resource management, climate change resilience and rights-based conservation.
Ram Bahadur Thapa Magar, chairperson of the Indigenous Nationalities Commission, Dean R Thompson, the US ambassador to Nepal; Bhola Thapa, Vice-Chancellor of Kathmandu University and other university professors from the United States, Thailand, Canada, Bangladesh, Fiji and Nepal as well as representatives from government and non-governmental bodies and researchers participated in the programme.
Prof Dr Kyle Whyte, US Science Envoy, White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council Member and Professor at the University of Michigan, USA and Dr Pasang Dolma Sherpa, Executive Director of CIP- RED facilitated the programme.
At the outset, different panel discussions were held on global practices and Nepal's experience on Indigenous-led research and education, and investment in fostering Indigenous research and education with investments from different development partners.
During the discourse, the speakers stressed that Indigenous leadership and participation is crucial when it comes to conducting research and development on the issues and concerns of Indigenous people, reinforcing the belief 'nothing about us without us' to ensure that research and development activities are carried out with full consideration of Indigenous peoples' rights, aspirations, identity, culture, norms, ways of life and self-governance systems as a foundation for a sustainable future. The speakers and presenters also stressed the need to follow research methodology that respects the traditional knowledge and cultural values of Indigenous people to mitigate the current global crises, including climate change.
Persistent use of western-based research methodologies and educational materials fail to accurately capture the contributions of the Indigenous people and their important role in conservation leading to policies and programmes that fail to address the issues and concerns of the Indigenous people.
Similarly, indigenous experts discussed the pathways to further strengthen Indigenous knowledge systems, contributions to rights-based conservation and climate change resilience.
Participants also worked to build alliance coordination among the research institutions, development organisations and governmental bodies to promote Indigenous-led research and education.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 28, 2023, of The Himalayan Times
