Launch of the Intellectual Network for the South (INSouth)

Source: South Centre
South Centre, the Geneva-based intergovernmental organization of the developing countries (with over 50 Member Countries) working on issues, among others, related to trade, finance, IPRs, internet governance, climate change and global governance, has launched the Intellectual Network for the South (INSouth).

The key objective of the network is to draw attention to institutions and individuals in developing countries who are working on issues currently under debate and negotiations in the international policy arena.

The network focuses on intergovernmental organizations and think tanks, south-south cooperation agreements, and eminent intellectuals and negotiators from the global South to provide a platform where research and analysis, and commentaries coming out from these sources gets highlighted to build bridges between the Northern and the Southern perspectives on wide ranging issues.

INSouth.org also welcomes intellectuals amongst developing and developed countries be it from academic, research, media, NGOs or international development or diplomatic commmunity to register with it, so that joint North-South projects, partnerships and dialogues can be initiated through this platform.

We are also looking for partners who can support and build up this initiative. Your suggestions and feedback are most welcome.
More information on South Centre is available from www.SouthCentre.org

Accessing research information: Views from the South

The EADI Information Management Working Group organised a session on research communication at the recent EADI General Conference in Geneva.

Pinkie Mekgwe of CODESRIA opened by suggesting that the Internet is becoming a place where only the knowledgeable meet, benefiting a select few. She went on to consider the implications for African scholarship.

Whilst many initiatives now put African academic materials online, she observes an increase of new types of publishing. Zeleza.com is an example where scholars set up their own blogs; the Pambazuka Newsletter is widely read, while Thoughtleader provides opinion from African academics. Some of the new technologies overcome traditional barriers. However, commercial pressures mean that scholars in the south are in danger of selling their copyright. Many web pages appear to be useful but can be asking for payment of research, for example sites like academia-research.com, writers.com (a private university) and gradesaver.com where students can buy answers to set tests. These ways of buying answers to exams and progressing by paying discriminate. She was further concerned that people currently using the Internet have no say in its development. Openness is not necessarily good for knowledge production and requires a special approach to interrogate the Internet to ensure more balanced results from the sources available.

Pinkie Mekgwe on communicating research:

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Vikas Nath began by explaining the special position of the South Centre in supporting the G77 countries in Geneva. The South Centre has embraced new media, it runs a digital tv channel and several blogs. But Vikas is concerned that knowledge portals still talk about the old development paradigms, and these ideas are still being reinforced. He wonders how much space there is in the public domain for alternative approaches. How independent can development research be when it is funded by the donors. Moreover, policymakers in the South continue to be educated in the North and have the viewpoint of North. The Internet appears to be used to reinforce paradigms. There is also the question of who speaks for the south? Are they in fact just voices of the south that the North wants to hear.

Vikas Nath on breaking Northern hegemonies on knowledge:

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by Chris Addison

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