9th Meeting of the Advisory Committee on science and technologies for ACP agricultural and rural development

22-26 November 2010. Johannesburg, South Africa. 9th Meeting of the Advisory Committee on science and technologies for ACP agricultural and rural development.

Indigenous knowledge encompasses all forms ofknowledge; technologies, know-how, skills, practices, beliefs, teachings and the wisdom that enable a community to overcome constraints in their natural environment, carry out their activities and/or earn their livelihood. It is accumulated through experience and passed on from generation to generation through verbal communication, art, dance or practice. It is location and culture specific and rooted in tradition and evolves by learning and doing. It is not acquired through formal learning processes and presupposes that there has not been any influence from other knowledge systems. Indigenous knowledge can also be referred to as ‘traditional’ or ‘local’ knowledge and is not formally registered or published but embedded in the heads of the people, who own it, and can thus be classified as tacit knowledge AC 2010

• Presentation by Judith Ann Francis, senior programme coordinator for S&T strategies at the CTA, It gives the background and objectives of the AC meeting, and details its key messages.
• Presentation by Dr. Yonah Seleti, Chief Director, National Indigenous Knowledge Systems Office, South Africa. It detailled the challenges and opportunities of incorporating indigenous knowledge in the bio-economy.