Is Sustainable Transport Knowledge Inclusive?
VIRTUAL COFFEE BREAK (RECORDING)
The paradigm of sustainable transport and mobility is very recent. The importance of the transport sector in sustainable development was first recognized in the 1992 United Nation’s Earth Summit and later unanimously recognized by world leaders at the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20) [1]. There is evidence of a paradigm shift from the current paradigm that puts automobiles in the center of our city and transport planning to the sustainable transport paradigm [2].
The shift of paradigm also happens in Indonesia. However, it remains a challenge. The government has started to adopt the paradigm in public policies, but the progress is slow. One of the apparent causes of this problem stems from the limited knowledge and skills in sustainable transport planning among government officers, practitioners, operators, and academics.
One of the major knowledge sources in Indonesia is still dominated by foreign publications or courses that are published by the development agencies in English or other languages, some of that which has been translated into Indonesian sometimes are not publicly accessible. The use of foreign languages becomes a barrier to understanding for learning and the internalization of new knowledge. The Indonesian case of the adoption of a sustainable transport paradigm shows that current knowledge has yet to be inclusive and accessible for diverse people with different backgrounds and knowledge levels. The effort to shift the paradigm towards sustainable transport and increase its adoption needs to ensure that sustainable transport knowledge is inclusive and accessible for wider and diverse communities.
This talk will explore and delve into the problem of knowledge inclusivity in the transport sector based on Indonesia’s case. Join us and discuss with Sukma Larastiti and other Germany alumnae and alumni!