Increasingly, Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) are being recognized as inherently encompassing most of the aspects and principles of SDGs. The Centre in Indigenous Knowledge Systems (CIKS) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa, in collaboration with the Sikh Human Rights Group, use their multi-and transdisciplinary, cultural and community-based nature, to promote the role of traditional medicine, food security, biodiversity, environmental management and curriculum studies and development (with emphasis on non-western paradigms), human rights and justice, for sustainable community livelihood and development, through research, human capital development, knowledge brokerage, networking and community engagement.

The governance of the CIKS is structured as follows: The CIKS Steering Committee as an advisory board, providing strategic direction to ensure the Centre’s alignment with its strategic focus areas of research and human capital development; The CIKS management committee is responsible for the operational activities of the Centre. It is comprised of representatives of the partner institutions, including the Director and Research Manager; CIKS Scientific Committee as a multi and transdisciplinary team composed of researchers, IK-holders and practitioners from within and outside South Africa. These assist the CIKS to drive its research and scientific agenda in its thematic areas based on their expertise and knowledge. Some of its members assist the CIKS in postgraduate research supervision and as reviewers of IKS research outputs for research publications.

The multi, inter, trans- disciplinary nature of IKS for sustainable development, requires that CIKS, is supported by teams of intellectually and professionally capable national and international IKS scholars and researchers to enhance its excellence and involvement of community IK-holders and practitioners for community relevance. They play an active role in CIKS governance, and its mandated activities as research supervisors, examiners, reviewers and editors. The national and international profile of CIKS partner institutions, including the active participation of IK-holders and practitioners, has enabled CIKS to initiate research, human capital development and community engagement exchange programmes involving researchers and postgraduate students. This is exemplified by the increasing number of CIKS researchers invited as guest lecturers, visiting professors, and keynote speakers to various international platforms including conferences, workshops, and colloquiums. The CIKS and its partner institutions publishes research papers, information sheets and books; organizes national and international conferences, conferences, workshops, and colloquiums in its focus areas on sustainable development. It works with both the public and private sector organizations from within and outside South Africa as part of its knowledge brokerage, networking, and service rendering and community engagement mandate. It has been working with the SHRG since 2012. The SHRG will take this rich IKS expertise to UN events as well as in other countries in Africa through regional workshops. Through SHRG, the CIKS will engage with projects in other parts of the world for knowledge transfer in both ways.

The Centre in Indigenous Knowledge Systems (CIKS) was established in 2014. It is a partnership of five higher education institutions in South Africa, i.e. UKZN as the hub and Secretariat of CIKS, North-West University (NWU), University of South Africa (UNISA), University of Venda (UNIVEN) and University of Limpopo (UL). It is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), South Africa, through the National Research Foundation (NRF).The process of building the CIKS involved recognition of complementing potentialities of the partner institutions: The NWU, has been a champion in IKS curriculum development since 2001; the UL and UNIVEN have a rich bio-diversity including traditional medicine and African IKS-based rural communities; UKZN and UNISA had already identified IKS as a tool of transformation in their core business of research, teaching, learning and community engagement. The existing IKS related activities at the CIKS partner institutions provided an important base for the establishment of its research and human capital development focus areas. Most of the CIKS partner institutions are located in predominantly rural provinces where majority of the people depend on their IKS for livelihood in terms of healthcare, food security, biodiversity and environmental management, including climate change adaptation and mitigation. The CIKS has since its inception recognized that in order to ensure the transformative sustainability of IKS, there is need to integrate it in the educational system at all levels. This was also to facilitate the building a critical mass of IKS human capital for IKS development. The Sikh Human Rights Group brought importance of human rights and justice in sustainable development. The Secretariat at UKZN, as the coordinating unit is composed of the Director (Prof Hassan Kaya), Research Manager, Senior Administrative Officer (Finance) and a multi-disciplinary pool of postgraduate research assistants.

SIKH HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP, Centre in Indigenous Knowledge Systems (CIKS) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa