African Regional Workshop on Participatory Research, Mzumbe, 2nd - 7th July 1979

Abstract

This summary presents key discussion points raised by Group 1 during the African Regional Workshop on Participatory Research. The focus of the discussion was the language used in participatory research, debating the use of everyday language versus academic language when engaging local communities in Tanzania. The dialogue highlighted the challenges of translating complex ideas into accessible terms while considering the cultural and intellectual context of rural participants. Topics included the need for developing new terminology, bridging language gaps for solidarity among different community groups, and providing access to foundational texts to prevent elitism in knowledge production. The group emphasized a dialectical approach to language in research, aligning it with participatory methods to democratize knowledge creation.