KM4Dev for Africa

The group invites wider community in KM4Dev to contribute to the debate on challenges and opportunities that focuses on African development. We continue to explore innovative practices in sectors of agriculture, education etc with focus on ICT4 dev.
  • Dean Mulozi

    Hi all,

    Have sent invitations to the Zambian ICT community and hope they will contribute and explore other areas in KM that enrich our status. 

    The KM community in many countries will bring out challenging and postive issues that will make benefit from each other.   

  • Balaba Peter

    Well farmers need to be given a platform to share their exeperinces we have tried it in Nakaseke whereby farmers are given one  hour in day in a week ( Friday) to share  thier experinces over  the Community Radio.

    the impact is very postive however, they also need to be guided by some technical person like a vet doctor  or the agric. extension officer.

    Farm radio, can  employ all strategies , like use of community radio since they  belong to farmers.

  • Dean Mulozi

    Hi Karen,

    Sorry for late response.

     

    Farm radio programmes are very important in dessimination of information for agricultural development. The community radios are more important as they are community located and involve farmers in progamming and they are closer. Farm radio programmes are more important as they give opportunities to farmers to share  their expriences and participate in radio programming. So farm radio programmes helps  farmers to interact among themselves and increases knowledge sharing among themselves and this is critical for improved and better farming practices techniques.

    Involving farmers in radio programming will give extension officers and public service providers with information on the needs of the farmers so as to improve their services and linkages with farmers.  This will also constantly improve programming for the benefit of the farmers.  

     

    I hope these few ideas will help escalate others to chip in.

     

    Thanks

     

    Dean Mulozi

    SATNET & Connect Africa,

    Lusaka, Zambia

     

     

     

  • Balaba Peter

    Indeed farmers should be allocated time on Community Radio  at least once or twice  in a week.
  • Dean Mulozi

    Dear members of the group,

    We are moving towards the middle of the group and as you can recall we had the last activity during the first quater 2011.

    If you have some interesting topic or ideas we can share, you are welcome to send to the group.

    In Africa we have witnessed a number of events and activities happening in and outside Africa in the area of politics, commerce, natural disasters etc. these events have had an effect on the lives of many African countries.

    But knowledge management empowers us to share and learn from each other.

    Let us hear each others voices,

     

    Best of you all,

     

    Dean     

  • Patrick Cardiff

    I've just given KM4Dev for Africa it's 30th member!

    My daughter's geography book for grade 5 says there are "two Africas" 1) North Africa with its Arabic influence and 2) East & South Africa with its colonial past. Maybe that is all teachers in the US expect 11 year olds to remember.  Of course Dad knows the situation is much more complicated than that.

    I lived in Cairo for two years and in Tanzania for 4 years.  I still believe humanity's salvation will come from Africa.  This is no way religious.  I mean that the diversity of the continent and the way Africans use resources will result eventually in PEACE for the planet.  I believe that from difficulties come the best practices. 

    One of the problems I still see with the people of Africa is this deference to people with power.  I see people abusing power by forgetting their neighbors.  The most obvious time this happens is when people confuse having money with having something they do not have - like knowledge or importance.  Tradition has really harmed Africa's development in many ways.  Women's place is subsidiary.  Old customs to not fade away quickly.  These are my opinions, and you can disagree.

  • Patrick Cardiff

    I write about my opinions from generalities which some people call stereotypes.  To deny that some generalities are true is to make an error.  We say tribalism was associated with the Rwanda/Burundi genocide, for example.  Is not tribalism a traditional thing?  To have peace it is sometimes necessary to fight against tradition. 

    I go outside on a clear day and look up and I say "blue" sky.  Most people call the sky blue.  Some people call the sky some other color.  It is my experience which names the thing.  I start from there.  It is what I have, and it is truth for me. 

  • Patrick Cardiff

    Ebakisse,

    I think your contribution regarding individual cases and generalities is an extremely important one, and I am not patronizing you.  The fact is, we need to find out for ourselves what we can, in order to make any inference.  I am paid to make inferences, it's my job, I have to do it.  Rationally, when a case repeats itself, I have to conclude that this is the way it OFTEN is, and I might even predict that it will happen again.  But I constantly have to watch myself to see whether I am concluding something based on preference (bias) or based on data.  I hope you were not referring to me when you referred to "people that fight so hard to use bad stereotypes."  I am against stereotyping, and I have made my life's work trying to avoid improper conclusions from data.  I am assuming that this is how you make conclusions as well.

     

    I am not sure what the reference to "sad angry child, forest monkeys" is?

  • Shepherd Mulwanda

    Hello all am now back fulltime on this page sharing for development

     

  • Patrick Cardiff

    I would like to reintroduce this debate about traditions.

    Please do not dismiss me just because I am Western.  If you disagree it may mean that I am wrong (and I would appreciate you telling me why), or it may mean that you misinterpreted what I so ineloquantly tried to say, or it may be something else.  In all senses, let me give you my opinion: unless development policies can be applied correctly they will not work.

    Consider pastoralists and consider the present drought in the Horn.  Is it right to keep allowing people to come to the brink of death because they are not willing, not able, or not quickly able, to increase their own agricultural stock? 

    I think saying "let the Turkana (for example) alone, they have subsisted for centuries" is giving them a death sentence.  It may mean that if they take up agriculture over a long time that's a different kind of cultural loss, and a loss of tradition, but at least it saves people from dying, not to mention the betterment that self-sufficiency brings to their way of life.

    I am totally against tradition when it causes people to die for no other reason.  I am for life when it means even keeping humans alive through the loss of tradition.

  • Carl Jackson

  • Marc Lepage

    I'm setting up a space for KM4Dev Dakar. stay tuned

  • Peter J. Bury

    A KMteam for WASH in West Africa will see the light soon

    I'm glad to announce that IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre has now signed the contract with the Florida International University on a multi-year programme to further sustainable WASH services supported by building in region KM capacity. We will concentrate on Burkina FasoNigerMali, and  Ghana.

    More here

  • Dean Mulozi

    Hi Peter,

    We welcome new members to the group. It is interesting we are getting new information, new ideas and progressive issues around African development.

    I would like to know the context of your WASH programme you are mentioning. Kindly drop me an email: deanmulozi@gmail.com.

    Will appreciate

    regards

  • Carl Jackson

    Thanks for the invitation to the KM4Dev Africa events. I'd like to join on 28 March for the main online event. Great initiative :)

  • Nanabanyin Brown-Addo

    Hi to all, I am happy to join the KM4Dev for Africa. Sure this platform will help us join forces and push for the institutionalisation of knowledge management in Africa. I really want to push the KM agenda in Ghana and will be counting on all of you in this regard.

  • Gorata Ame Mosweu

    In my country Botswana they are major concerns being expressed about the difficulties being experienced by new graduates in obtaining jobs.From the employers perspective,concerns were raised about the immediate utility of graduate they employed and and the need to provide further on job training to make them work ready to my suprise with solution to this they introduced intenship programme which does not have value as we speak  because valuable graduate are now slaves in organisations and not hired. I think the government should come with new policies on how these graduate should be treated and their job responsibilities. thanks

  • Tebogo Masole

    how can tacit knowledge be benefecial to small organizations

  • Carl Jackson

    Staff in small organisations often have to cover a wider range of responsibilities outside of their formal job descriptions because they are less likely to have separate departments for central management functions (planning, evaluation, human resources, IT, etc). In such situations the tacit knowledge that staff have (including that gained in previous jobs and in family / civic life) of these management functions, can if made available to the wider organisation, help smaller organisations to better achieve their goals. For example a staff member may have knowledge of organisational governance from their voluntary work with a local civil society organisation, but have no responsibility in their employing organisation for governance issues and so don't share this knowledge. A knowledge sharing initiative within the organisation could enable them to make this knowledge more widely known to their colleagues.

  • Juliana Ohumaegholem Abude

    The Emergency Transport Scheme

    Thanks to a unique initiative launched in 2012 by PATHS2 which has brought rural communities and Nigeria’s powerful transport unions together, thousands of pregnant women are being saved from death. 5,695 as at January 2014.

    The Emergency Transport Scheme, simply referred to as the ‘ETS’ is implemented in partnership with the Nigerian government and other stakeholders in Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa States. It hinges on Nigeria’s powerful and well-organised transport unions to work with taxi drivers as volunteer ambulance drivers, using their own vehicles to get pregnant women to a hospital or clinic during an obstetric emergency.

    Under the ETS, taxi drivers are trained on safe driving practice and on understanding the danger signs in pregnancy. This helps them to keep women calm and safe during the trip, which is often hastily arranged after a panicked midnight call to the driver’s mobile phone. In return, drivers who volunteer get special privileges in their day jobs, such as being promoted to the front of taxi ranks by union supervisors. Stickers for taxis are also provided, which identify their status as Emergency Transport Scheme members, and there’s also special headlight signalling which enables soldiers guarding checkpoints on dangerous roads that are subject to curfew to recognise them. – Read more: http://www.paths2.org/blog/blogDetails/13#sthash.AO1pvIcU.dpuf

    Dear colleagues do you have some experience improving access to quality health care for pregnant women? Please share here, and on the following page: http://www.km4dev.org/group/knowledge-management-nigeria

  • Ewen Le Borgne

    Hello folks,

    A friend of mine sent me this info - she's looking for a comms specialist in Ghana: 

    " I’m looking for someone independent who we can outsource photography/videography and as a separate service manage media for a day (getting media to attend and cover an event, managing them on the day and then managing them post event).

     

    It is for a high profile event we are part of (very soon) in Ghana. I want to find someone local preferably."

    Please let me know if you know such a person!

    I'll connect them,

    Cheers,


    Ewen

  • Dean Mulozi

    Dear KM4Dev for Africa,

    I developed some positive thoughts on pontetial impact  of the Social media on Africa's developemt.  There is a growimg need not only to communicate through social media but also share knowledge and resources.  Importance of promoting social media in Africa should be promoted, not only among the youth but also to policy makers,  political players etc.

    My silent thoghts further touched the issue of limited access to ICTs in many rural areas, limited infrastructure in terms of wireless broadband and limited use of smart phones or mobile tools that have access to internet among the rural people.

    Therefore the use of social media can be affected by digital devide in many of our countries. 

    The challenges are immense but can be overcome through the use of relevant techologies

    Any similar thoughts?

  • Tumediso kgotlayame

    Social media is the key nowadays in everything, so I agree with what Mr Mulozi is saying because this is where majority of  people spend most of their time sharing and exchanging information, trainings are needed especially for those who don't know the significance of using social media, hence sharing of knowledge and resources will be made easier. The challenging part is the infrastructure as he stated,but i think with the equipment that is available a difference can be made.

  • Tumediso kgotlayame

    How is knowledge management important to the IT professionals??

  • Tumediso kgotlayame

    How is Knowledge Management important to you as an individual?

  • Balaba Peter

    Thank you Dean for your critical observation. I think  something has to be done on affordability of Internet, Mobile phones to the poor countries in Africa if we are to catch up with the developed countries in the west. Otherwise  we will continue to experience  information and knowledge sharing gaps in Africa.

  • Tumediso kgotlayame

    True that Mr Peter,internet connectivity is vital

  • Tumediso kgotlayame

    I agree with you Mr Jackson, in May I was on attachment for two months being my first time to experience the work environment,to my observation apart form an organisation being small or big, knowledge sharing is something that is not considered, only work issues, for example when there is a project initiative the will be meeting  about that project and not giving time to knowledge sharing which is imperative in an organisation. Again Knowledge sharing help build relationships among employees.

  • Tumediso kgotlayame

    Doing a Computer Based program in school(University Of Botswana ) we are more interested in our course even though we are exposed to other courses like economics, management and mathematics, i have realized that KM is an important course and that most of us as tertiary students we need it as we are about to be part of the industry world, so my point is every student have to be taught about knowledge Management.

  • Madalitso Kasinje

    Knowledge management plays a big role in the development of ICT in africa. This is so because the more you gain more knowldge, the more you are able to come up with diferent ways of solving problems that we encouter in africa; whether in agriculture, economics, science et.c. Hence there is need to acquire more knowledge through friends, in school or internet to accomplish this.

  • Jindra Cekan, PhD

    Dear K M for dev Africa
    in terms of knowledge management I have just returned from West Africa doing a post- project sustainability evaluation (rare! See www.ValuingVoices.com) and I found the knowledge management around retention of knowledge and access to knowledge for fiture analysis and learning weak. This is of both the past project data as well as how to retain knowledge of the post-project sustainability evaluation: where all it should be left, who should have access to it for future design, etc. It is frustrating as the evaluation showed remarkable success of some of the activities and we need to learn from those most successful as well as stop doing by all means those that communities did not sustain (three years after the project in this case) as well as learn how to foster participation of partners to take over the activities after doner funded implementers leave.

    So I'm wondering if anyone on the on the site knows of great examples or has ideas for how knowledge should be retained about projects in their countries and how thry can best be accessed and how we can start to learn lessons from comparing evaluations ... And how well we embed participation with The focus on handing over sustainable projects anyway ! thank you very much
    Jindra
  • Tumediso kgotlayame

    Yes Mada that's true the reason being that social media is the in-thing nowadays especially for sharing and exchanging information and Knowledge, so KM plays an important role in the development of ICT in Africa.

  • Madalitso Kasinje

    Sometimes knowing how much to share and how much to keep is what hindering us because its not everything that you need to share and at the same time not everything that you need to keep. Moreover,  Making everything secret is self-defeating and also prevents someone from benefiting from your knowledge, as it say sharing is caring

  • Tumediso kgotlayame

    True that Mada...not everything can be shared, but i believe those who have knowledge about vital things can always share if they are given the platform.

  • Madalitso Kasinje

    Tumediso i concur with you, but there are some people who have vital knowledge that they can share to the world but they keep it to themselves, is there a way you can make these people to open up to share their knowledge to others?

  • Tumediso kgotlayame

    Thank you Mada..for these people to open up i think they have to know the importance of sharing knowledge, just being taught how fundamental it is to share what they have, not all can do that but im sure with being told the importance many of them can come out of their shells and share their knowledge.

  • Madalitso Kasinje

    That's a good point tumediso, thanks so much

  • Tumediso kgotlayame

    Welcome Mada...

  • Dean Mulozi

    Dear all,

    I am glad the African community in this network appreciates and sees a value in belongig to the community.

    I have just seen a national ICT survey copy for 2015 for Zambia.  A very intresting postion we have in terms of access and utilisation of ICTs in the country. We are still moving at a slow pace really.

    Do we have completed national ICT surveys in other countries in SADC region? If so, can someone send me a copy? 

    Dean Mulozi

    Lusaka

    Zambia  deanmulozi@gmail.com