Epiphane Adjadji

KM Specialist | Local Knowledge Preservation Communications Specialist and Local Knowledge Preservation Activist Benin Republic

1) My vision of knowledge for sustainable development

A society where every person has full and equitable access to collective
knowledge, irrespective of their educational background, economic situation,
political views, religious beliefs, race, or physical conditions. A society that values local, indigenous, and traditional knowledge systems, while also promoting scientific research, innovation, and the responsible dissemination of knowledge to address global challenges such as climate change, poverty, and health crises.

2) Knowledge-related challenges we are facing

Around the world, 773 million people adults are illiterate whose two thirds are women. Moreover, the digital divide persists with 2.7 billion people still offline worldwide. The compound of these two situations is excluding scores of people, mostly women from the collective knowledge. We have to address these challenges to make our knowledge society an inclusive one.

3) Actions to be taken

• Create more opportunities for everyone to have access to Internet and knowledge bank.
• Establish system that recognize and value local/indigenous knowledge.
• Create mechanisms for local knowledge holders to earn a Return on Contribution (ROC) from sharing their tacit knowledge to the world.
• Institutionalise the use of local knowledge in addressing societal challenges (health, climate change, criminality etc.

Keywords: Local Knowledge, Equal Access, Return On Contribution, Sustainable Development, Collective Knowledge