Knowledge Democracy

Knowledge democracy rests on the principle that knowledge, in all its diverse forms and expressions, must be accessible and usable for the public good. It recognises that knowledge is produced not only in universities but also in communities, civil society, and social movements, through a range of methods. Respecting this plurality, knowledge democracy calls for open, value-based, and decolonized systems where knowledge is shared freely across borders and generations.

This digital platform is a part of that vision. It brings together the rich legacy of Participatory Research (PR), from its early beginnings in the 1970s to its continued practice today, into an open access repository. By digitizing rare writings, reports, and audio-visual resources scattered across personal archives and institutional libraries, and making them easily searchable and globally accessible, the platform provides a living resource for researchers, students, practitioners, and communities alike.

In line with the global Open Science framework, this platform strengthens the movement toward making knowledge transparent, inclusive, and accessible to all. The repository has been intentionally designed to be easy to navigate and explore. You can browse the Communities section to discover the different themes and areas of work represented in the collection. You can also search the knowledge materials using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), language, or region to find resources relevant to your interests and context.

This is not a finished archive, but a living and evolving resource that will continue to grow as new histories, experiences, and contributions are brought into the collection. We invite scholars, researchers, practitioners, communities, and institutions to become a part of this movement by contributing their own work and helping to build this shared global resource. If you would like to contribute your work to the repository or learn more about how to do so, please get in touch with us at [email protected].

Communities in DSpace

Select a community to browse its collections.

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Recent Submissions

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Participatory Research in Asia
(1980) Tandon, Rajesh
This volume represents a major step in the Participatory Research Project (PRP) in Asia and is the first publication of its kind in the region. It has now been a little over two years since the project was started by the International Council for Adult Education. The PRP has been implemented through the creation and strengthening of five regional networks, and I have been acting as the coordinator of the Asian Regional Network for the past 18 months. A statement of the objectives of the Participatory Research Project and Network is included as an appendix. This volume draws together emergent theoretical concerns of Participatory Research (PR) in Asia, a set of case studies illustrating some of the under-lying principles and methodologies, some short discussion notes, and key reports from regional and sub-regional meetings. The purposes of this volume are manifold: first, this volume will present to the members of the network as well as those interested in PR, the current 'state of the art' in PR: it is intended to initiate a series of such volumes in Asia which will reflect the evolving character of PR as a concept and methodology: second, this volume is intended to stimulate further writing on and documentation of PR. I believe that a significantly greater amount of work is going on in Asia than is represented here. This is a weakness of the present volume: it is heavily biased in favour of some countries, especially India, than others. I do believe that other countries of Asia have a lot of exciting material to contribute to PR. I hope this volume will stimulate a more active circulation of already existing materials. Finally, this volume is intended to be a report on what has been happening in PR in Asia through exchanges across the region. Already four meetings/workshops have been organized on PR in Asia, and it is planned to hold many more within and across the region in the coming years.
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Participatory democracy and participatory research
(European Political Science Review, 2025) Asenbaum , Hans; Bussu, Sonia; Escobar, Oliver; Harris,Clodagh
While normative theories of participatory democracy and practical experiences of participatory research share a common democratic commitment, the two fields have emerged and to date exist in isolation from each other. This article bridges this divide and asks what participatory democracy and participatory research can learn from one another. It argues that participatory democracy can learn how to realize its own democratic ideals within its research practice and participatory research can deepen its normative commitment by connecting its practices to a larger participatory vision. The article illustrates this by engaging with three examples in which participatory democracy researchers conduct participatory research projects. It finally reflects critically on how the shared participatory commitments of both fields can be realized within the neoliberal university embedded in competitive market economies.
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Book review of Che on My Mind by Margaret Randall
(2014) Hall, Budd L
If you only read one book about Che Guevara, this is the book that I strongly recommend. Margaret Randall, one of the most compelling and articulate voices of freedom, feminism, revolution and love begins her book with these lines.
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