ABSTRACT
GDKS’ particular model of K4D rests on both the presumed paucity of information on gender and development and the relative inaccessibility of existing information for individuals and organisations attempting to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. The assumption is not simply that there is not enough information, but that the information that is available is inaccessible, for various reasons, to the vast majority of people, notably Southern audiences. GDKS aims to overcome such limitations by producing original research and disseminating existing information on gender and development through its printed information and on its websites. It aims to increase accessibility through the application of a range of corrective measures designed to alter and simplify both the nature of the information and how it is communicated and disseminated. The application of these mechanisms, GDKS believes, results not only in the wider dissemination of information from North to South, but in more open, democratic, consultative knowledge systems, which ensures that the North also engages in dialogue with, and actively learns from, the South. This chapter begins by considering how GDKS’ more progressive information-production practices, as summarised in point 1 of Table 4.1, address information accessibility concerns. The analysis then moves on to consider the extent to which the New Delhi-based collective case study organisations employ these practices, and with what effects, focusing in particular on how these organisations address language diversity, given the number of languages and dialects spoken in India.
