In the framework of the regional forum of reindeer herders, organized by the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) on 15-18 March 2013, andthe International Workshop EALLIN: Reindeer Herding and Youth, on 15 March 2013 the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education together with the Association of World Reindeer Herders held a round table for the UNESCO project “A Networked System of Open Indigenous Knowledge Resources for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Polar Regions”.
The main objective of the project is preservation of traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples related to climate and environmental change adaptation in Polar Regions of the Russian Federation in the form of multimedia resources. Svetlana Knyazeva, Chief of the Section of Higher Education and Pedagogical Technologies of UNESCO IITE, delivered the presentation “ICT, Open Education Resources and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Mitigation”. UNESCO IITE experts Olga Balalaeva and Ludmila Bogoslovskaya delivered reports on climate change adaptation of indigenous peoples inhabiting Chukotka and Western Siberia. The Round Table provided a platform for dialogue and exchange of opinions and best practices between representatives of local communities and experts in the field of ethnography, ecology and information technologies. Representatives of indigenous peoples NGOs and executive and legislative authorities of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) took part in the round table discussions.
On 16 March Svetlana Knyazeva chaired the plenary session “Traditional Knowledge and Modern Research: Co-Creation and Use of Knowledge” in the framework of the International Workshop EALLIN: Reindeer Herding and Youth and delivered a report on UNESCO, UNESCO Office in Moscow and UNESCO IITE activities in the field of climate change adaptation, cultural and linguistic diversity, education and traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples.