Quest for 'something deeper'

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
Learning Curve: Perspective
New Sunday Times - 06-4-2014

IN the book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson brought the world's attention to the way the ecological system is systematically being destroyed.

She also raised several profound questions in her book, The Sense of Wonder, published posthumously two years later in 1964.

"What is the value of preserving and strengthening this sense of awe and wonder, this recognition of something beyond the boundaries of human existence? Is the exploration of the natural world just a pleasant way to pass the golden hours of childhood or is there something deeper?" she asked.

Today, some 50 years later, these questions still ring fresh as the 2014 Conference on Blending Higher Education with Traditional Knowledge for Sustainable Development co-organised by the International Association of Universities recently opened in Iquitos, the Amazonian capital of Peru.

The choice of Iquitos further illustrates its relevance, given the pristine Amazon rainforest -- albeit under constant threat -- with many "secrets" that are yet to be explored, discovered and understood as "something deeper".

Universidad Cientifica del Peru, the conference collaborator and local knowledge centre in the region, has long been associated with not only Iquitos, but also the richness of the Amazon rainforest, aptly described as nature's living laboratory.

Indeed, the venue offers a unique chance for higher education leaders to sample the lush rainforest as well as learn how the Andean tradition and wisdom are integrated to support the community in striving to better blend with higher education as espoused by the conference themed education for sustainable development.

The fact that this year is the end of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development launched in 2005 makes it imperative that sustainable development is part of mainstream higher education.

This is important, not only for our institutions, but also for our students who will be key players in ensuring that future generations will not be compromised because we failed to educate them to live sustainably.

Indeed, the conference itself posed vital questions such as "what future do we want?", "what is the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) in sustainable development?" and "how can we influence the post-2015 agenda as a framework for education and HEIs?".

Traditional knowledge is yet another source of inspiration that has not been fully utilised in higher education to promote sustainable development.

This column has always maintained that sustainable development is an age-old concept that advocates quality lifestyle and practices rooted in many, if not all, indigenous communities underpinned by their wisdom and knowledge based on sustainability as a philosophy of harmonious living with nature without disrupting the fine balance that sustains the ecosystem.

Therefore, it made convincing argument to be in the vicinity of the Amazon basin and learn the practice of indigenous knowledge and wisdom in the quest for "something deeper" as posed by the late Carson.

More so when Unesco, in 2000, recognised that: "Sophisticated knowledge of the natural world is not confined to science. Human societies all across the global have developed rich sets of experiences and explanations relating to the environments they live in.

"These 'other knowledge systems' are today often referred to as traditional ecological knowledge or indigenous or local knowledge. They encompass the sophisticated arrays of information, understandings and interpretations that guide human societies around the global in their innumerable interactions in the natural milieu, 'including' strategies to cope with the fluctuating environments."

The blending of higher education with traditional knowledge for sustainable development is a timely proposition and a valid move in forging a convergence that is bound to enrich the transformation of higher education as a sustainable endeavour that provides for a more meaningful future.

The extent to which this is feasible will depend on the articulations of "something deeper" aligned with the Iquitos statement issued at the end of the conference (see IAU Iquitos Statement on HESD for comments and suggestions at iau-hesd.net/en).

As Carson reminded: "I am sure there is something much deeper, something lasting and significant. Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life."

This is indeed so as we complement Carson's work as voices that resonate in many high level discussions worldwide before the end of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, and in transforming the education agenda post-2015 in deeper and sustainable ways.