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Towards an Indigenous Vision for the Information Society

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Title: Towards an Indigenous Vision for the Information Society


1
Towards an Indigenous Vision for the Information
Society
  • Indigenous Media Network
  • Presentation

2
The Information Society as a Cultural Concept
  • Information is processed against an existing body
    of knowledge, which defines its meaning and value
  • Information is as diverse as individual, social
    and cultural diversity
  • The concept of knowledge is as diverse as the
    idea of information
  • Communication is shaped by and depends on
    culturally defined regulations

3
Indigenous Knowledge
  • Linked to relationship with ancestral territories
  • System of knowledge and practices
  • Provides philosophy defining the place of humans
    in the web of life
  • Includes inherent ethics for interaction between
    human, natural and spiritual worlds

4
Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous Ethics
  • Traditional knowledge includes Indigenous ethics
    towards
  • - Utilization of resources for human use
  • - Application of knowledge for human purposes

5
Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous Customary
Law
  • Indigenous customary law provides for
  • classification of different types of knowledge
  • Proper procedures for its acquisition and sharing
  • Rights and responsibilities which attach to its
    possession

6
Summary What is Indigenous Knowledge?
  • Deeply holistic
  • Collective in nature
  • Contains an entire worldview
  • Rooted to a particular place
  • Some of its aspects are sacred and secret
  • Includes social and political relations
  • Includes regulations for its use and
    dissemination
  • Managing principles 1.Stewardship
    2.Guardianship 3.Intergenerational responsibility

7
Guardianship over Traditional Knowledge
  • Elders and other traditional authorities
  • Certain or all males/females
  • Certain clans/families
  • Specialists
  • Age specific
  • Gender specific
  • Social and individual responsibilities

8
Traditional Knowledge and Information
Communication
  • Sharing and acquiring knowledge involve specific
    procedures to be observed
  • Exchange of information, with appropriate
    protocols to follow, highly depend on the given
    communication situation and its actors
  • Information communication is bound to the ethical
    and cultural obligations related to the shared
    knowledge
  • Teachings are specific in time and place, and
    adapted to the respective recipient(s)

9
Oral Transmission of Indigenous Knowledge
  • Allows adaptation to the context of the situation
    and the maturity of the receiver(s)
  • Allows adaptation to readiness of recipient(s) to
    use the given information responsibly
  • Allows fullfilling ethical obligations related to
    the communicated knowledge and information

10
Indigenous Knowledge in the Economy of the
Information Society
  • Traditional knowledge is increasingly reduced to
  • an important resource
  • valuable raw material
  • for the knowledge - economy
  • of the Information Society
  • Indigenous knowledge, cultivars and inventions
    are mainly utilized by
  • agri-business (to improve commercial food and
    fibre crops)
  • - pharmaceutical industry (production of new
    drugs)

11
Commercial Exploitation of Indigenous Knowledge
  • Scientific estimates indicate that Indigenous
    Peoples possess as much as 99 of existing
    knowledge about usable species
  • Commercial exploitation of traditional knowledge
    and inventions often takes place without
    authorization and consent of Indigenous Peoples
  • Digitalizing Indigenous knowledge and
    disseminating it as local content, places it in
    the public domain and thus makes it vulnerable to
    exploitation

12
Traditional Knowledge and the Public Domain
Concept
  • Public Domain
  • Developed in the framework of European economic
    philosophy
  • Includes knowledge and information that is
    considered shared, disclosed or generally known
  • Is considered a common resource
  • Viewed freely available for economic utilization
  • Traditional Knowledge
  • Is not recognized as a valid economic, legal,
    ethical and philosophical framework
  • Is denied its holistic concept including related
    protocols for sharing and dissemination
  • Is considered a res nullius and is appropriated
    from Indigenous Peoples
  • Is denied its ethical implications and related
    cultural obligations

13
The Public Domain as a Backbone of the
Information Society
  • Access to a vibrant public domain is the backbone
    of the envisioned global Information Society
  • At the same time, Indigenous Peoples need to
    assert their rights and obligations towards their
    traditional knowledge

14
Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) A Solution
for Indigenous Peoples?
  • IPRs
  • temporary protection of a creative work against
    commercial use by third parties
  • often require disclosure of related knowledge and
    thus placing it into the public domain
  • are an instrument to reap economic benefits from
    a commercial creative work by granting the owner
    temporary private property rights
  • Traditional Knowledge
  • protection of knowledge as such against
    unauthorized use and commercial exploitation
  • permanent removal from the public domain, unless
    authorized by Indigenous Peoples
  • commercial exploitation is often problematic,
    since creation is considered a gift with human
    owners as custodians and future generations as
    strong rights-holders

15
Challenges and Potentials for Indigenous Peoples
  • For Indigenous Peoples, two essential questions
    emerge regarding their participation in the
    Information Society
  • Is it possible to share their knowledge and
    information without violating their cultural
    obligations and customary laws?
  • Is it possible to utilize ICTs within their
    cultural contexts without risking to lose their
    cultural identity?

16
Towards an Indigenous Vision for the Information
Society
  • Indigenous participation must be rights-based
  • Its implementation and applications must be
    culturally appropriate
  • It must include Indigenous philosophies and
    ethics

17
Adequate Rights of Indigenous Peoples
  • Equal participation of Indigenous Peoples in the
    Information Society requires
  • New standard setting activities to develop
    adequate Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the
    Information Society
  • Recognition of existing Indigenous Rights

18
Creation of Adequate Legal Instruments
  • Full ownership, control and protection of
    Indigenous cultural and intellectual property
  • Alternatives to the application of the public
    domain concept to their knowledge and cultural
    expressions
  • Alternatives to the application of current IPR
    regimes to their knowledge
  • Recognition of Indigenous culturally diverse
    concepts and provisions of their customary laws
    in defining the term intellectual and cultural
    property
  • Recognition of Indigenous cultural obligations
    towards communication and dissemination, use and
    application of their knowledge
  • Legal protection must recognize
  • 1. collective nature of knowledge
  • 2. culturally diverse concepts of ownership and
    ethical implications
  • 3. multi-generational view

19
ICTs andIndigenous Communication
  • ICTs are a cultural expression of the society
    that has developed them
  • ICT-applications for Indigenous Peoples have to
    be culturally appropriate and must adapt to
    Indigenous modes of communication
  • Indigenous Peoples must be able to determine
    ICT-utilization in their communities on their own
    terms

20
Recognizing Existing Indigenous Rights in the
Information Society
  • Recognition of existing Indigenous Rights is
    essential to
  • allow Indigenous Peoples to participate in the
    Information Society without losing their cultural
    identity
  • support the survival of their living cultures
    without risking their museumization

21
Essential Indigenous Rights
  • Rights to ancestral territories
  • Rights to transmission of cultural values and
    customary laws
  • Rights to educational systems and traditional
    knowledge transmission
  • Rights to Indigenous languages
  • Rights to the integrity of Indigenous health
    systems and healing practices

22
ICTs cannot replace elements of the living
Indigenous culture
  • ICTs cannot replace traditional elements of
    Indigenous cultures, such as
  • interaction with ancestral territories for
    generation and preservation of knowledge
  • inter-generational knowledge transmission

23
Participation of Indigenous Peoples is vital
  • Indigenous Peoples must control and determine
    ICT-utilization in their communities
  • Involvement of Elders and other traditional
    authorities in related decision-making processes
    is important
  • To identify
  • culturally appropriate content
  • culturally appropriate forms of digitalization of
    Indigenous cultural elements
  • culturally appropriate e-applications

24
Indigenous Peoples are affected by the Digital
Divide
  • Lack of basic infrastructure
  • Availability of servers
  • Lack of knowledge on operating and maintaining
    ICTs
  • Lack of electricity and telephone services
  • Lack of equipment
  • Lack of financial resources for necessary
    acquisitions

25
Overcoming the Digital Divide
  • Indigenous Peoples have the right to bridge the
    digital divide on their own terms
  • Avenues to take include
  • 1. Design of culturally appropriate ICT
    capacity-building programs by Indigenous ICT
    experts
  • 2. Indigenous-Indigenous co-operation programs
  • 3. Support for Elders-and-Youth Initiatives to
    develop strategies for bridging the digital
    divide

26
ICTs could become a useful Complementary Tool
  • If all these pre-conditions are met, ICTs could
    become a usefull complementary tool for
  • Preservation of Indigenous cultures and languages
  • Indigenous education (especially through distant
    learning)
  • Indigenous language training
  • Health assistance for remote Indigenous
    communities
  • Environmental education and monitoring
  • Support for traditional ways of life, for
    instance nomadic communities

27
Other Important Applications
  • Other important applications include
  • E-business
  • Establishment of Indigenous Media
  • Intercultural education and combating racism and
    discrimination against Indigenous Peoples

28
Indigenous Research is vital to develop
Indigenous ICT-approaches
  • Promotion of Indigenous research to explore
    Indigenous aspirations of Indigenous Peoples
    towards the Information Society and challenges
    and potentials they perceive
  • Support for Indigenous Studies to develop
    strategies of Indigenous Peoples how to bridge
    the digital divide in their regions on their own
    terms and ensure affordable access solutions
  • Design of culturally appropriate
    capacity-building instruments on ICT-use by
    Indigenous experts to allow for informed
    decision-making of Indigenous Peoples on their
    ICT-needs
  • Support for Indigenous research on the effects of
    ICT-utilization on the survival of Indigenous
    cultures, languages and identities

29
Intercultural Communication on the Evolution and
Implementation of the Information Society
  • Intercultural communication between Indigenous
    and non-Indigenous actors of the Information
    Society is essential to
  • allow for equal participation of Indigenous
    Peoples
  • include Indigenous visions and philosophies in
    the process of its evolution and implementation
  • develop respect for Indigenous cultural
    obligations and protocols

30
Mechanisms of Intercultural Exchange
  • Establishment of a high-level mechanisms that
    brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous
    actors
  • Promotion of exchange between Indigenous and
    non-Indigenous practitioners to foster mutual
    understanding and develop solutions that respect
    Indigenous approaches

31
The Web of Life and the Global Net
  • Q What is the Indigenous Vision of the
    Information Society?
  • A The Global Net as the Embodiment of the
    Web of Life
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