Autumn School 2025

DATE: Wednesday, 3rd (online)September

TITLE: Indigenous Knowledge and Practice: an optimistic response to the global funding crisis?

VENUE: Online

Register here: Autumn School 2025

On 3rd September 2025, DSAI will host an Autumn School on the theme of Indigenous Knowledge and Practice: an optimistic response to the global funding crisis.

The development community at present is profoundly shaken by the cuts to development aid budgets and the negative implications of these cuts for humanitarian organisations, partner agencies and communities in the Global South. These cuts come at a time of growing need in the face of conflict, food insecurity and displacement. Our sector is perhaps struggling to find ways to respond.

This series of crises however may re-open our eyes to 'doing development' in a different way; development that is driven not by funding and donor-led priorities but by indigenous knowledge and practice, encompassing and guided by traditional, place-based knowledge generated by local people over generations. These development systems are deeply intertwined with the unique culture, values and worldviews of indigenous people. Might an increased understanding and engagement with indigenous practices help us to meet contemporary challenges?

The DSAI Autumn School provides a focused 1-day programme of talks, seminars and workshops exploring research methods for development. The event will engage NGOs, policy makers, and academics both as contributors to the programme and as participants. Connecting research, policy and practice in the field of Indigenous knowledge and Practice; the programme will bring together international experts during interactive sessions to enhance the professional development of participants. The Autumn school will use a blended format with 3rd September online. True to the spirit of the theme of the school, we are proposing to adopt a participatory approach, with workshops designed to maximise the sharing of knowledge and

practice. The attendees will work in teams to develop their own research methodology under the guidance of academics and practitioners and will together create proposals for innovative research methods that may be applied in the field.

DSAI Autumn School

Wednesday 3 September

Online Programme

9:30 - 9:45

Welcome & Opening

Catherine Corcoran

09:45 - 10:30

‘Ireland’s Role in Securing the Future of Indigenous Languages: Digital Tools for Preservation and Participation’. Paul Murphy

10:30 - 11:15

‘Community Collaborations and Social Biographies of Museum Collections from Colonial Contexts: Meaning of Zulu Beadwork’. Dr. Njabulo Chipangura

11:15 - 11:30

Tea Break

11:30 - 14:00

Interactive Session followed by Lunch Break

An interactive session will take place on the theme of water.

Paul Keating will lead an interactive session on Indigenous knowledge and water. We are all completely dependent on having a water source near us to meet our basic needs. This might be a well, a river, a lake, a municipal water service or a source unknown. We may also associate water with spiritual sites such as holy wells, sacred rivers or fountains. Sometimes we are aware of and closely connected to these sources; sometimes not. For this exercise, we will be encouraged to pick a water site that means something to us; that source can be nearby or in our imagination. Paul will guide us through a transect walk to explore these water sources and the issues associated with them.

14:00 - 14:45

‘Emotions and human rights education in early childhood: insights from young children in Rwanda’. Carmel Ward

14:45 - 15:30

‘Interculturality and the Rights of Nature: A Global Citizenship Education and Decolonial Framework to Counter the Climate Crisis’ María D'Jalma Torres Sánchez

15:30 - 16:00

Thanks & Closing Catherine Corcoran

Here is a glimpse of our catchy introduction followed by a packed presentation from Paul Murphy and the team!