The UNESCO Knowledge for Change (K4C) — Mentor Training Program (MTP) continues in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. K4C mentors, professors, lecturers and representatives of partner organisations from various countries are taking part in this international programme.
The training sessions are led by Professor Mahazan Mutalib, head of the Mizan K4C Hub, and Professor Rajesh Tandon, a prominent Indian scholar, social researcher and civil-society activist. They gave lectures on CBPR (Community-Based Participatory Research) — a research approach based on community participation — its significance, and the role of higher-education institutions in it.
The lectures focused on strengthening cooperation between higher education and society, and on developing scientific research as a process that brings direct practical benefit to community life, not only within academia. It was also noted that the “Communiversity” idea — the concept of uniting the university and the community into a single system — has today become the guiding principle of K4C centres worldwide.
Professor Rajesh Tandon is one of the global leaders in the field of CBPR and is considered one of the founders of UNESCO's “Knowledge for Change (K4C)” programme. In 1982 he founded PRIA (Participatory Research in Asia) in India, and for more than 40 years he has contributed to developing civic engagement and the democratisation of scientific knowledge. In 2017, together with Canadian scholar Professor Budd Hall, he created UNESCO's global K4C network.
Today the programme operates in more than 20 countries, training mentors who conduct research in partnership with communities and supporting the establishment of new K4C Hubs.
