In 2024, EADI initiated a conversation on “Decolonising Knowledge for Development”. This began with a published reflection on the evolution of Development Studies as an area of study and an exploration of the shifting of mindsets that have accompanied this evolution over time. Participants in the initiative, convened by a Task Group, have since then engaged in conversations about future efforts to decolonise knowledge as part of an ongoing transformation of development studies. 

Given the complexity of the issues involved and the many debates around decolonisation, including amongst EADI’s wide membership and interests, the initiative sought to be invitational of diverse views and perspectives. Its methodology has involved surfacing and sharing stories of what decolonising knowledge has meant in practice for individuals, and institutions. This approach has offered an opportunity for story-tellers within a wide range of contexts to not only share their personal experiences, but also to reflect deeply on what they have learned through processes of change. The stories, available online as text narratives and recorded podcasts, provide fascinating lessons on what changing of mindsets really means in practice, and offer valuable insights for wider processes of transformation of development studies through processes of knowledge decolonisation.

This roundtable will also help inform the further evolution of this dynamic, reflexive engagement, and support EADI’s ongoing efforts to decolonise knowledge in the field of development studies.

Speakers:

• Prof. Peter Taylor - Institute of Development Studies
• Prof. Laura Camfield - King's College London
• Dr. Eyob Balcha Gebremarian - King's College London
• Prof. Nita Mishra - University of Limerick
• Prof. Jennifer Joy West - Norwegian University of Life Sciences