Abdul
Gani
Guwahati:
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed recently between the Institute
of Research and Documentation of Indigenous Studies (IRDIS), Assam and Stanford
University, USA at the office premises of IRDIS in a bid to widen its field of
study. IRDIS is a centre of multi and interdisciplinary research and
documentation on the diverse ethnic communities of Assam in relevant fields.
The efforts taken up by the centre is also
collaborative and comparative in nature since indigenous studies are
multidisciplinary. The Centre for Comparative Studies on Race and Ethnicity
(CCSRE), Native American Studies (NAS), and the Woods Institute for the
Environment (WIE) at Stanford University, USA are the signatories to this MoU
with IRDIS. Based on this MoU, collaborative and comparative initiatives
devoted to interdisciplinary studies of issues directly impacting ethnic people
in places across the world and Assam in particular, would be taken up.
Deepa Dutt, executive director of the institute
stated that such endeavours would greatly benefit ethnic people by empowering
the communities with knowledge and help a deeper understanding of the shared
interests and the common challenges confronting ethnic people around the world.
“We are looking ahead. It’s a globalization of the
ethnic or the first nation people through research. Their people will come over
here to research on the ethnic communities and the vice versa. It will
definitely work for betterment for the people involved,” Dutt told Seven
Sisters Post.
She further said that research and documentation
initiatives on a wide range of areas such as indigenous culture, socio-economic
studies, health, education, indigenous and traditional knowledge, and
population numbers would be taken up through this collaboration.
The MoU will also aim at encouraging students and
researchers to obtain cross-cultural research training with a view to advancing
knowledge about ethnic people all over the world and to participate in
discussions and symposia on topics relevant to the indigenous communities,
while also encouraging scholarly exchange programmes. The IRDIS was inaugurated
by Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on March 21 in the presence of Matthew
Snipp of Stanford University. (Seven Sisters Post)
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