What if we could shift from “codification” to “embodiment” of research ethics? That is, move from words on a page that describe how we ought to conduct ourselves, to connecting with the intention of those principles and practices in concrete, meaningful ways. This was the topic of a workshop organized by IPinCH Steering Committee member Kelly Bannister in collaboration with Felice Wyndham of Oxford University, as part of the 14th Congress of the International Society of Ethnobiology in the Kingdom of Bhutan, which took place in 1-7th June 2014.
The interactive session, entitled “Cultural and Philosophical Approaches to Creating Ethical Space,” explored the concept of “ethical space” described by Indigenous philosopher Willie Ermine as an invitation to deepen our understanding of ethical thought and practice. Through a combination of presentations, discussion and participatory activities, and using the International Society of Ethnobiology’s Code of Ethics as a reference point, participants shared diverse cultural and philosophical approaches to creating ethical space, inspiring one another to think about research and research relationships in new ways.
The international congress brought together 400 delegates from over 50 countries and 6 continents on the theme of “Chi Nor Zom Bu Ling – One Earth for All” as a meeting of minds of people from diverse cultures around the globe to understand, safeguard and promote the conservation of rich ancestral heritage and to preserve the vital links between human societies and the natural world.
