Update of Social Science workshops held in 2007
The social science program coordinates workshops every year,
covering a diverse range of issues. In various ways they all seek
to integrate knowledges, share innovative research methodologies
and expand networks. The primary purpose of the workshops and focus
groups held in 2007 was to redevelop the existing Indigenous
Intellectual Property protocol (IIPP). The IIPP states that it is
‘able to be updated and improved over time with input from
Indigenous stakeholders’ and ‘continually
improved’ to reflect ‘ongoing development of ethical
standards for defining and handling Indigenous IP’. A number
of other resources were also developed out of this process (see the
earlier 2006
workshop program).
In scoping the best way to gain Aboriginal input into updating
the IIP Protocol it was decided that small groups would be the best
way to allow people the freedom to speak and share their
experiences. In July we held three focus groups (at the University
of SA Uniapon School in Adelaide, with Tangentyere and Waltja
executive members in Alice Springs). Each focus group was
structured with an information session first that outlined the
various IP laws (such as copyright, patents, trademarks and
designs, etc) and their strengths and limitations in protecting
various types of Aboriginal knowledge. We engaged an expert in this
area of IP and Indigenous knowledge (Michael Davis) and we had
developed nine plain English briefing papers (which also appear on
the DKCRC web) to assist, as handouts. This session also provided
an opportunity for people to gain some expertise in this area, and
also to ask specific questions that could assist them in this
space.
These focus groups were extremely instructive for gaining
perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of the protocol from an
Aboriginal perspective. However, as anticipated, we could not cover
the extent of the issues in each one-day focus group – so it
was decided that a follow-up focus group was needed before the
larger and final workshop, held on 12 September with
representatives from each of the focus groups.
The workshop on 13–14 September was attended by all of the
focus group representatives as well as a broader range of DKCRC
researchers. The purpose of the one-and-a-half-day workshop was to
enable discussion on and further input to the revised protocol. The
aim was for researchers working in this area to share their
experiences, issues, and challenges of managing Aboriginal
knowledge in research projects. To this end we had a number of
presentations. An important part of the workshop was also a
presentation on the various areas of intellectual property
(copyright, trademarks, designs, etc) and their relevance in
managing and/or protecting Aboriginal knowledge. In this way the
workshop clarified where formal IP tools were helpful in managing
Aboriginal knowledge and when ethical research practice is a more
appropriate management tool.
The three PowerPoint presentations that were developed to assist
in the deliberations of the focus group and final workshop are
below in the section Review of Aboriginal Intellectual Property
Protocol.
In November we got together a working group of 10 Aboriginal
people (almost half of whom had been involved in the earlier focus
groups and workshops) to prepare a submission to the United Nations
Standing Committee on Indigenous Issues Report on Indigenous
Traditional Knowledge. See our submission and the informative presentation to the working group prior to developing up
the submission.
