Los Diálogos of Knowledge (Dofk)

Los Diálogos of Knowledge (Dofk) is a methodological approach to fostering democratic engagement and decision-making processes within communities, rooted in Mayan oral traditions and storytelling.

​This methodology aims to create spaces where all voices are valued equally, and where the process of dialogue itself becomes transformative, expanding participants' understanding of both personal and communal realities.

At its core, Dofk emphasizes the importance of participation in democratic processes at all levels of governance, from local to national. By bringing discussions out of formal institutions and into everyday spaces like kitchens, universities, classrooms, and streets, Dofk seeks to provide an alternative methodology to engage in order to ensure that those most affected by inequities are actively engaged in shaping policies and solutions. With true participatory dialogues, we believe that more holistic proposals will arise.

Research on DofK is made possible by a grant from the UC Berkeley Global Democracy Commons, which aims to stimulate and understand democratic practices around the world. Global Democracy Commons seeks to go beyond the university to recognize conceptions of democracy that go beyond politics. The DofK project is particularly germane to their goal of deepening and broadening the democratic imagination in its research of the bi-national and multinational methodology of the dialogue circles.

Since its inception in the Spring of 2023, students and members of the DofK project have participated in dialogue circles at UC Berkeley, with Mayan organizations in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood, and in Guatemala.