The International Traditional Knowledge Institute (ITKI) and The Maria Nobrega Foundation is delighted to announce the launch of ITKI UK, as part of the West Midlands National Park Lab.
ITKI is the hub of an international proposal for the inventory, preservation and dissemination of innovative traditional knowledge. The WMNP is uniting the people of the West Midlands of the UK with their territory, culture and heritage. Its purpose is to create a better quality of life, jobs and environment for the future with thriving, healthy and resilient communities from a radically new perspective, providing an overarching context for a range of post-Covid recovery interventions, the route to a zero-carbon regional economy and a roadmap to increased and inclusive regional prosperity, spatial and environmental justice and growth.
The West Midlands National Park is a 30 year spatial vision and catalyst for the transformation of the region. A new kind of urban national park, it “exists as a way of getting people to act and think differently” that was applauded and strongly supported by the UK Government’s review of Landscapes (2018). It is based on pilot studies including the Black Country Urban Park (2005) and HS2LV, presented at the International Protection of Landscapes Conference introduced by HRH The Prince of Wales, on the occasion of the establishment of the International Traditional Knowledge Institute (ITKI) in 2012, in partnership with UNESCO and the public administrations of Tuscany, the Italian Ministry of Environment, private foundations and non-profits, international experts and scholars.
The mission of West Midlands National Park Lab, located within Birmingham City University, is a significant underpinning and extension of ITKI’s own mission: to create an international network to study, promote and protect traditional knowledge and its innovative use to improve ecological integrity, social cohesion and economic wellbeing.
The International President of ITKI, Sra Elizabeth Nobrega de Araujo Tsakiroglou is a Member of the West Midlands National Park Lab Advisory Board. Kathryn Moore, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Director of the West Midlands National Park Lab has been appointed as Director of ITKI UK. Professor Moore will be joined by Dr Robin Daniels, Managing Director of innovation business, Redpill Group Ltd., as Co Director.
ITKI UK has identified a number of early projects, as part of the West Midlands National Park to be launched over the weeks and months to come.
For more information please visit the West Midlands National Park page and the links below.
Further information:
The International Traditional Knowledge Institute;
The West Midlands National Park;