Unesco Chair in CBR & Social Responsibility in Higher Education

12/03/2026

Join us for the next and last session of the Regional DECODE Webinar Series!

Waste Pickers in Tunisia: Navigating Social Inequality and Ecological Responsibility

This Arabic-speaking webinar will take place on March 23, 2026.
Details and registration are available through the QR code or at decodeknowledge.org.

10/03/2026

On , we reflect on a challenge that has persisted for decades: strengthening the institutional and managerial capacities of civil society organisations.

As early as 1990s, Pria India recognised that while training programmes for NGO staff were being conducted across , there remained a serious gap in systematic infrastructure for institutional development and management education. In collaboration with the Institute for Development Research, Boston, in 1993, Pria India initiated a study to assess:

* The need for Development Management Education for senior NGO staff and leaders in India and South Asia
* The range, type, and accessibility of such education in the region
* Strategies to address critical gaps in management capacity

The study engaged nearly 70 professionals and saw active interest from organisations such as ActionAid, Oxfam America, Unnati and Sahbhagi Shikshan Kendra - SSK Lucknowndra.

Read the study here -https://www.pria.org/knowledge_resource/Development_Management__Need_for_Capacity_Building_in_Community_Based_NGOs.pdf

Unesco Chair in CBR & Social Responsibility in Higher Education VIEWS India WOTR- Watershed Organisation Trust TGIRD - Rural Development Telangana Swayam Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence

04/03/2026

📢 Reminder: Join us this Thursday, March 5 for the webinar:
“Local Knowledge for Climate Resilience in Bliéron’s Fishing Communities.”

Please note the webinar will now start at 9:00 AM GMT.

Register below to access:
https://lnkd.in/g2-_BK6x

25/02/2026

The UNESCO Chair, in collaboration with the University Grants Commission (UGC), launched a six-day residential Faculty Development Programme (FDP) on Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) on 23 February 2026 in Raipur. The programme is organised under the UGC–SEG Curriculum Reforms and Educational Institutions’ Social Responsibility initiative as part of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan.

Hosted by the Malviya Mission Teacher Training Centre at Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, the FDP brought together 39 faculty members from higher education institutions across eight states for a practice-oriented learning experience. The Centre also serves as a Knowledge-for-Change Global Consortium (K4C) Hub, contributing to building the capacity of the next generation of CBPR practitioners.

The programme was facilitated by Dr. Rajesh Tandon, Ms. Nandita Pradhan, Dr. Yogesh Kumar, and Dr. Reeta Venugopal, K4C Mentor and Coordinator of the Sangwari Hub at PRSU.

Since 2022–23, the UNESCO Chair has conducted seven such Faculty Development Programmes and is currently implementing five more across India, strengthening faculty capacities in community-based participatory research and advancing the social responsibility of higher education nationwide.

23/02/2026

Join us for the upcoming DECODE Webinar on Local Knowledge for Climate Resilience in Bliéron’s Fishing Communities, happening next Thursday, March 5 2026, at 9.30 am GMT.

This french-language hybrid event will explore how the Kroumen fishing community of Bliéron, in the Ivory Coast, draws on ancestral knowledge to respond to the impacts of climate change.

Access tinyurl.com/decodeknowledge to register!

30/01/2026

We are honoured to share that our Chair was invited as one of only five UNESCO Chairs globally to be on a panel at “The Global Network of UNESCO Chairs and UNESCO@80: Dialogue with the Director-General of UNESCO”. ✨

Professor El-Enany began by reminding us what a powerful intellectual asset the UNESCO Chairs truly are.

During the panel, Co-Chair Dr Rajesh Tandon shared the journey of our Chair, which began in 2012 as the first-ever co-chair arrangement, anchored at the University of Victoria in Canada (Prof. Budd Hall) and at PRIA India. Now in its fourth term, the Chair has consistently worked to advance UNESCO’s mandates in meaningful ways.

Over the years, this has included contributing to two global reports with GUNi, focused on the role of universities in advancing the SDGs and in enabling knowledge for social change. The Chair also played a significant role in creating the UNESCO Recommendations on Open Science, co-convening 11 global dialogues, foregrounding public engagement and community and Indigenous knowledges.

Our collaboration with UNESCO colleagues Sobhi Tawil and Keith Holmes led to a series of workshops and a dedicated sessions on Indigenous Knowledge and Higher Education at the Third World Higher Education Conference in 2022. We also actively supported the UNESCO–African Union Commission Conference on Transforming Knowledge for Africa’s Future, held in Addis Ababa in 2024.

At the heart of our ongoing work is the Knowledge-for-Change Global Consortium (K4C), now comprising 30 partnership hubs across 18 countries. Through this network, we are working with students, researchers, and practitioners to strengthen capacities in CBPR and to generate context-specific, actionable knowledge. Alongside this, the Chair has contributed to shaping national policies and programmes on the social responsibility of higher education, globally.

Further to this, Dr Tandon also reflected on how UNESCO can better harness the collective potential of the Chairs. He highlighted the positive impact of the Futures of Learning & Innovation team in strengthening engagement, and proposed two further priorities: more active facilitation of collaboration among Chairs wor

24/01/2026

30/12/2025

On Day 5, the DECODE team shared its work at the AASREC Conference held at the Royal Plaza Hotel, marking an important moment of dialogue and engagement beyond our internal reflections.

DECODE was represented through two interconnected contributions. The first was a paper presented by Rabi Raj and Saanya Sodhi, which examined the systematic marginalisation and devaluation of the humanities, situating this trend within broader struggles over knowledge hierarchies, power, and the narrowing of what is recognised as “useful” or legitimate knowledge. The paper reaffirmed the centrality of the humanities to democratic inquiry, ethical reasoning, and socially grounded research.

This was followed by a panel discussion, moderated by Dr Rajesh Tandon, which brought together lived experiences and regional perspectives from the DECODE project. The panel featured representatives from the India case study, Paloma Aguilar, DECODE’s Latin America Regional Coordinator, and Saanya Sodhi, UNESCO Chair Coordinator, representing the Apong case study from Malaysia. Together, the discussion highlighted how community-based and Indigenous knowledge systems continue to challenge dominant epistemologies while offering grounded, actionable pathways for social transformation.

The session reflected the ethos at the heart of DECODE: knowledge as relational, plural, and deeply embedded in community realities. Engaging with the AASREC community allowed us to situate DECODE’s work within wider academic and policy conversations, strengthening our collective commitment to knowledge democracy and socially just futures.

24/12/2025

✨ We were honoured to engage in a session with the DECODE representatives at COP30; our Latin America Coordinator, Paloma Aguilar, and our DECODE Project Manager, Olivia Andrade Almeida- who shared reflections on just and localised nature-based solutions and on locally led climate action across diverse knowledge systems at COP.

🌿 Drawing from the emerging learnings of the DECODE project, the session invited us to think critically about how knowledge travels, how it is recognised, and how it is governed in different contexts.

The representatives brought back a deepened understanding of how Indigenous knowledge is held, protected, and governed in Brazil, illuminating that these systems are not only sources of solutions, but living, relational practices rooted in place, history, and collective responsibility.

The representatives especially noted that being in Belém- a city that has long been a powerful centre of culture, art, food, and dance across the many Amazônias, added a layer of meaning that extended far beyond the formal programme. Throughout the week, the city pulsed with community organising, and the strength and breadth of Indigenous and social movements were visible and deeply felt. Indeed, this became one of the most meaningful legacies of an event.

Paloma and Olivia returned strengthened and recommitted to advancing community-driven research and academic practices that remain grounded in place and accountable to the worlds they seek to serve. We are deeply grateful to our representatives for carrying the message of DECODE far and beyond.

Our commitment is renewed: to foreground knowledge systems that have long been ignored and marginalised, and to continue building pathways for their recognition, protection, and leadership.

15/12/2025

The Co-Chairs, Dr Rajesh Tandon and Dr Budd Hall, alongwith the DECODE Project Manager, Olivia Andrade De Almeida, came together at the IDRC New Delhi office for a Roundtable on Community and Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Resilience.

The roundtable invited collective reflection on the current state of the global knowledge landscape and the responsibilities of DECODE- and of all knowledge workers- to centre place-based knowledges in research, education, and action.

It was discussed how universities and research institutions can play a meaningful role in supporting community and Indigenous knowledge systems, particularly through careful synthesis, ethical dissemination, and long-term partnerships rooted in trust.

Key conversations focused on the importance of open knowledge networks and community knowledge centres, the potential of open science, and the need for new ways of working that recognise multiple knowledge cultures.

While local problems require locally grounded solutions, the processes and models that enable communities to generate these solutions can travel, adapt, and inspire across contexts.

The roundtable also underscored that community and Indigenous knowledge does not sit in opposition to academic knowledge; rather, when approached with respect, it can complement and enrich it. Building trust through recognition of distinct knowledge cultures, establishing co-governance and co-management mechanisms, and engaging in open dialogue on ownership, sharing, and benefits from the very beginning are essential for meaningful collaboration.

Overall, this roundtable, grounded the reflections in the larger question of how knowledge is produced, valued, and mobilised in a rapidly changing world. ✊

15/12/2025

✨ Day 3 of the DECODE visit was dedicated to learning, listening, and shared understanding.

The DECODE team had the opportunity to engage deeply with the work of the Martha Farrell Foundation (MFF), particularly their long-standing efforts alongside domestic workers.

Together, both teams visited MFF’s field site in Tigri, where domestic workers and DECODE delegates came together to learn from one another- about their contexts, struggles, strengths, and ongoing work.

The field visit was truly wonderful and deeply warm. Despite language barriers, conversations flowed with ease; gestures, laughter, stories, and silences carried meaning where words sometimes could not.

There was a shared understanding that transcended language;an understanding of each other’s hearts, realities, and commitments. ✊

Moments like these remind us why participatory, community-anchored work matters so deeply. Knowledge is not only exchanged- it is felt, lived, and built together.

We are grateful to the Martha Farrell Foundation and the domestic workers of Tigri for their generosity, openness, and trust.

12/12/2025

"From Photo Voice to symbolic artefacts, the circle reminded us that when words fall short, art becomes knowledge-revealing pain, resilience, hope and the desire for change." ✨

On Day 3 of the DECODE Reflections, we were honoured to be a part of a Learning Circle organized by and facilitated by Dr. Catherine Etmanski on the use of Arts- based Methodology in Research!

This was an invigorating session as we discussed 'our hope for the world' with the use of the photovoice method.