Dear KM4Dev members from or working in Africa,

We are pleased to announce that our group, KM4Dev Ethiopia/Addis Ababa, has been awarded the “KM4Dev Innovation Fund 2012” for a proposal that concerns all of you. We are organizing an “African KM4Dev Community Week” for all members of KM4Dev across Africa (i.e. all Africans or other people working in Africa).

The community week consists of:

-          A buddying process (where two people from different KM4Dev African communities connect, share experiences and learn about each other, their KM interest/work and perception of how KM4Dev could be made more useful to them (1)) which will culminate in one intensive week from March 25-29 2013

-          A three-hour synchronous event (using online video-conferencing facilities) on 28^th of March, 2013 where we will share our perspectives and propose some ways forward to make KM4Dev a more Africa-friendly community

The buddying and conversation will be useful to share ideas, insights & resources on some topics  and to document insights which will be brought back in the main online event on 28 March.  Topics which might be relevant for the buddying could include:

• What African KM4Dev members benefit currently and what could they benefit from KM4Dev to be more relevant?
• Day-to-day KM challenges faced by African KM4Dev members
• Possibilities to get involved in KM4Dev and finding better orientation?
• Organizing a KM4Dev event in Africa (who and how?)
• Novel approaches in managing KM4Dev meetings and events
• Practical examples on contribution of KM4Dev events in solving real problems
• Development of simple & accessible knowledge sharing tools for better integration

But of course any topic that members think relevant can also be shared during the week. So the main event will be used as group platform to bringing together the experiences from the buddying conversations.

We are sincerely hoping you – members of these African KM4Dev communities - will be part of this wonderful experience.  Let us know if you would like to join the buddying process and/or the synchronous event at soonest (and 10 March at latest) by indicating it on the KM4Dev for Africa group or by email to Elias Damtew (elodamtew[at]yahoo.com) or Metadel Lemma (metilem[at]yahoo.com).

Thank you and speak to you soon!

Elias Damtew & Metadel Lemma on behalf of the Ethiopia/Addis Ababa KM4Dev group

(1)   These include: KM4Dev for Africa, KM4Dev Burkina Faso, KM4Dev Dakar, KM4Dev Nairobi,KM4Dev Ethiopia/Addis Ababa,Knowledge Management Nigeria, SA-GE Burkina, SA-GE KM4Dev Francophone.