Knowledge Democracy

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    Land and people No. 3, July-September 1988
    (Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 1988-09) Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA)
    This report covers the third issue of Land and People, a PRIA newsletter on land ownership and alienation, published between July and September 1988. It opens with the Supreme Court's August 1988 ruling ordering the closure of limestone mines in the Doon Valley after nearly three decades of local resistance. It examines India's National Water Policy, questioning whether its emphasis on river-basin planning and large-scale groundwater recharge benefits marginal farmers or reinforces their exclusion. The focus article revisits land reform four decades after independence, highlighting the gap between legal provisions and the land held by small and tenant farmers. A review of Vijay Paranjpye's study of the Tehri Dam questions official estimates of economic returns, displacement, and ecological risks. It also reports on protests against the Narmada Valley Project in Bombay, a fast at the Sardar Sarovar dam site, and a march in North Bihar over recurring floods and drinking water scarcity. It concludes with a letter from Thailand's Project for Ecological Recovery on the shelving of the Nam Choan dam following sustained cross-border solidarity, and a report on the first International Rivers Network conference in San Francisco.
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    50th anniversary edition of pedagogy of the oppressed
    (2020) Hall, Budd L
    Why has Pedagogy of the Oppressed remained one of the most influential works in educational thought for more than five decades? In this review, Dr. Budd L. Hall critically examines the 50th Anniversary Edition of Paulo Freire’s foundational work and explores the reasons for its enduring global impact. Drawing on personal recollections from his time in 1970s Tanzania, Hall reflects on how Freire's philosophy shaped early radical adult literacy initiatives. The review emphasizes that the strength of Freire’s work emerged from its close connection to the experiences of marginalized communities and literacy movements in Brazil, where dialogue and collective reflection became tools for understanding and challenging oppression. This is further enriched by contributions from Donaldo Macedo and Ira Shor, whose writings in the anniversary edition highlight the continuing relevance of Freire’s ideas in a world marked by inequality and political polarization. Ultimately, the review concludes that Freire's work remains significant because it demonstrates how education can enable marginalized communities to understand, challenge, and transform oppressive social conditions.
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    Mobilizing community and academic knowledge for transformative change: The story of the UNESCO Chair in community based research and social responsibility in higher education
    (The Canadian Commission for UNESCO’s IdeaLab, 2017) Hall, Budd L; Tandon, Rajesh
    What role can higher education play in advancing knowledge democracy and fulfilling its social responsibility? This paper co-authored by Dr. Budd L. Hall and Dr. Rajesh Tandon reflects the establishment, evolution, and contributions of the UNESCO chair in community-based research and social responsibility in higher education. Established in July 2012 as a unique co-chair partnership bridging the University of Victoria (Canada) and Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA, India). This paper outlines the effectiveness of a distinctive global North-South co-chair method in connecting academic institutions with grassroots practitioners to promote knowledge and democracy. The paper explores how universities should collaborate with communities in the co-creation of knowledge to promote social responsibility, inclusion, and sustainable development. Through its three core domains, knowledge mobilization, policy advocacy, and capacity building, the chair has generated substantial, systemic impact. Through global reports, policy dialogues, and training programs, the Chair has influenced higher education policy, fostered international networks, and contributed to embedding engagement and participatory research into the everyday functions of universities. This paper demonstrates how universities can contribute to social change by working closely with communities, promoting sustainable development, and strengthening their social responsibility.
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    Seeing like a citizen’ re-claiming citizenship in a neoliberal world. November 28-29,2005
    (Institute of Development Studies, 2005-11-29) Gaventa, John
    What does it mean to be a citizen, and how is that meaning shifting under neoliberalism? In this paper, Prof. John Gaventa discusses how citizenship has increasingly moved away from a rights centered approach towards a more consumption-based approach. Depoliticised notions of citizenship have taken precedence under neoliberalism, where individuals are framed as consumers, users, voters, or beneficiaries rather than as rights bearing actors in their own right. He situates this shift within broader transformations of the state as well, which is not simply withdrawing but is being reconfigured to actively advance market logics, often weakening its role as a guarantor of rights. Through this paper, Gaventa proposes “reversing the telescope” by centering the perspectives of citizens as actors in development processes. This approach foregrounds what he terms thick forms of citizenship, where participation, contestation, and collective action are central. Moving beyond market, state and democracy first forms of citizenship, he argues that placing citizens first enables a re-politicisation of citizenship, strengthening claims to rights, accountability, and more meaningful democratic engagement.
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    Knowledge, action and hope: A Manifesto
    (2021-04-06) Hall, Budd L; Tandon, Rajesh
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    Knowledge democracy: Reclaiming voices for all
    (2014-08-26) Tandon, Rajesh