Mapmakers on Mapmaking

This article captures some of the thinking of spokespeople of several approaches to Action Research (AR) as they were preparing to represent their approach to the International Congress on AR/Participatory Action Research (PAR) held in June 1997 in Cartagena, Colombia. I was charged with facilitating a dialogue among them and collected insights about how experts puzzled over how to present their expertise briefly yet comprehensively, honestly yet disciplined. The experience was enriched by a collective desire to share personal perspectives to help demystify knowledge-making which is the democratizing imperative of PAR and other branches of AR.