Off To India

There is a new delegation of folks from UB heading to India for the first Annual International Conference on Society, Technology & Sustainable Development. The conference’s focal theme is: Indigenous Practices, Technology & Policies. UB’s School of Social Work and India’s Amrita University Social Work department began a research partnership UBARI last year. Part of the two school’s relationship was developing a health related conference. So, having traveled to India last year, we are off again to reunite with our friends in India and participate in this conference.

Part of the exciting thing for me about working in India, are the issues related to indigenous knowledge. For instance, last year while there we discussed how the indigenous folks were the first to “know” about the 2005 Tsunami that hit Kerala India. We were able to tour the area devastated by the Tsunami and met with a family that lived and rebuilt their home in the same location, just about 100 yards or so from the Indian Ocean. The Social Work department is located in Kerala. It seems India’s indigenous Peoples and a few animals were the only ones with prior Knowledge.

This was our group in 2010 visiting a site that honored those who were impacted by the Tsunami

If you are interested in studying and/or working with us (e.g., our India partners and the Native American Center for Wellness Research) please contact me.  There are many opportunities to learning more about indigenous knowledge in India. Our friends in India are wonderful folks and very willing to work with us.  Although the 20 hours on an airplane is not much fun, the opportunities in India are many. I will certainly provide an update on all the activities of our work and maybe a few photos as well!

Peace, DAP