Cultural and Ethnic Power in Local Knowledge Organization Movement and Inheritance of Wisdom from Local to Region

Abstract

This article is a result from the research project titled “Local Knowledge Organization Movement in Ethnic and Cultural Wisdom Inheritance from Local to ASEAN”, funded by The Thailand Research Fund (TRF), Research for Locals Division. Qualitative research methodology and participatory action research were employed. The project results showed that the local knowledge organization movement has been implemented since 2007 by The Youth for Wisdom Inheritance Organization Network, which is an example of ‘The New Social Movement’, to reflect the linkage between the community, the locals and regionally mutual contexts. The project aimed to significantly develop more extensive network from the communities to the locals and the regions. This resulted from the adaptation from the concepts of ‘original grassroots’, ‘community culture’, ‘local wisdoms’ and ‘community-based learning management’ that were mutually employed and integrated into the new paradigm of “cultural primordialism - inherit wisdom - community-based learning” for local knowledge organization movement and inheritance of wisdom with an aim aligned with current situations of social movement to manifestly sustain ethnicity, ethnic identity and cultural identity, and to understand multiculturalism in communities and locals for living among changes  with the approach of communities of practice.