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Abstract |
Aboriginal communities have been over researched in the past. They are looking at new ways to regain and recapture their culture, language and identity and are in the process of taking ownership of research processes, concepts and tools. In an attempt to revisit participatory-action research approach and adapt it to aboriginal contexts, we have developed research collaborations with 13 communities from Northern Canada (Cree and Inuit) and Northern Scandinavia (Saami) and organised 20 workshops using collaborative research techniques and tools developed by Chevalier and Buckles from Carleton University. This approach and the tool kit we produced prove to be useful and timely. We were able to address the concerms and challenges that the communities have to face, develop research collaborations between the Cree, the Inuit and the Saami, study community engagement processes in tourism projects and explore new aboriginal research metholodogies. At the same time and during this 3 year Marie Curie research fellowship, we have been exploring the possibilities of developing collaborative research on line via the web 2.0 and ITC. We uploaded 200 aboriginal tourism initiatives represented in the “Aboriginal Destinations” Guidebook, connected their authors in a Content Management System SPIP (www.aboriginal-ecotourism.org), incorporating a variety of integrated technologies: Google Maps™ to provide the geographic placement of the communities; a web-based survey to produce dynamic statistical data to translate the information provided in the narratives/articles into statistical data; discussion forums to add qualitative comments to the quantitative data. |
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