KM4Dev for Africa

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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.

Members: 90
Latest Activity: May 6

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Dear KM4Dev members, Following our exciting “African KM4Dev Community Week”, we have been sharing all…Continue

Started by Elias Damtew Assefa Apr 22.

Content summary of ‘KM4Dev African Community Week’

The first ever ‘KM4Dev African Community Week’ took place in the week of March 25-29 and culminated in an online synchronous event…Continue

Started by Metadel Lemma Apr 22.

Very good experience "African Community Week" 1 Reply

Dear KM4Devers, We just had our “African Community Week” last week! It was a worthwhile trial and wonderful experience. It is our solemn belief that sharing our experience with the wider KM4Dev…Continue

Started by Elias Damtew Assefa. Last reply by Dean Mulozi Apr 12.

Come participate to the African KM4Dev Community Week from March 25-29 (and special Day on 28) 1 Reply

Dear KM4Dev members from or working in Africa,We are pleased to announce that our group, KM4Dev Ethiopia/Addis Ababa, has been awarded the “…Continue

Tags: SA-GE, week, community, Africa

Started by Ewen Le Borgne. Last reply by Agyemange Mar 25.

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Comment by Nanabanyin Brown-Addo on April 9, 2013 at 1:36am: 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.

Comment by Carl Jackson on February 22, 2013 at 6:36am: Thanks for the invitation to the KM4Dev Africa events. I'd like to join on 28 March for the main online event. Great initiative :)

Comment by Dean Mulozi on March 13, 2012 at 11:22am: 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

Comment by Peter J. Bury on March 13, 2012 at 3:21am: 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 Faso, Niger, Mali, and Ghana.

More here

Comment by Marc Lepage on November 29, 2011 at 4:58am: I'm setting up a space for KM4Dev Dakar. stay tuned

Comment by Carl Jackson on October 7, 2011 at 3:46am: KM4Dev Meet-Up in Nairobi:

http://www.km4dev.org/events/km4dev-meet-up-in-nairobi

Comment by Sandra on August 10, 2011 at 10:44am: I come back to give you an example in my country.

There is a village in the Far-North Region were women and young girls have to walk many kilometters to find water.

A development project decided to help them with the construction of water supplies near of the houses, but curiously nobody used it. Why?

Simply because the time to go and take some water permitted them to discuss with friends, see other peoples of the familly, of the other villages...Briefly socialise.

The lack of the project was simply due to the fact that it didn't take in to account that aspect it didn't knew. It's the same think for all development projects, wether for technical or financial assistance. You must first ensure that it fits with the needs of peoples, their will and culture ie tradition.

Comment by Sandra on August 10, 2011 at 10:25am: My dear Patrick,

You are so insisting in this debate! Ok, some few minutes of my day will not kill me...

I never meant that coming from a Western country is a sufficient reason to exclude somebody from a debate, and I don’t think it is the right place to mention such ideas that are out of our topic.

"unless development policies can be applied correctly they will not work.": I am surprised that you work on things you don’t believe in. You work for development in Africa but you don't believe it could work? What are you doing there? Must I think it's just a market place for you, like for many people for whom improving people's quality of life doesn't really matter?

What do you mean by correctly applied development policies? If you take a look at the definition of development given by UNESCO (1982; 2000), you'll understand that development is really far away from a simple technology transfer. In fact, it’s a holistic concept, it “must be founded on the will of each society and express his profound identity”. What do you thing identity is? What are its links with culture, tradition? Are all western traditions good?

Just to say that as far as development agencies just put their energy into transferring western technologies to African countries, nothing will work. Even though that aspect is important, we should notice that the first step is about the participation of communities in the definition of policies that are elaborated for them. They must identify what are their needs, which solution best fit those needs, which elements can be locally founded and which one must be imported.

You can not just ask people to erase their traditions to ensure development; it is not simple as like that. Even when a traditional practice is bad, people themselves must realize it and change the way they do things (and there I am not just talking about African countries), and your role as a development agent is just to facilitate that process.

Look at the five principles of Paris declaration 2005, why do you thing Aid principles have changed? Simply to be more efficient.

To come back to your proposition in the agriculture sector, don’t ask people to just let their traditional tools, try first to understand why they still use it despite technology progress (that mean you must go on the field discuss with them and learn to know who they are). Help them to identify positive and negative aspects due to the use of those tools, help them to see what is locally or internationally proposed to solve their problem, and then you will do nothing else because I think it is them who will propose you the best solution.

Sincerely,

Sandrine

Comment by Patrick Cardiff on August 10, 2011 at 8:24am: 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.