Sharing Knowledge with me and others (a course!)

I am currently a participant in a workshop on knowledge sharing (KS) techniques supported by CGIAR and facilitated by four great individuals. A professional development opportunity!! Wonderful.

For this workshop I personally have two goals: to develop my understanding of good KS and my ability to apply KS tools; and, to expand my network of professionals working in the KS/KM field. I want to improve myself and be able to do a better job at my work, but I also know that I can never do it all nor do I work in a vacuum. (But it does get lonely out here some times!) The network of professional friends is what really brings it all together in the end.

The success of this could be judged through my application of the things we learn in my work and hopefully through the identification of some common interests (maybe even specific projects?) with others who are taking the course with me.

The course is run in a space on the net created with Moodle. This in itself is a learning experience for me, as I know about this application from our IMARK team, but have not actually experienced it first hand! The learning space is choc (hey, that’s a Nancy White term isn’t it?!) FULL of stuff and we’re just though our first week. It’s fascinating and a bit overwhelming at the same time. All the things I don’t know laid out in front of me … and then there’s trying to balance this opportunity to learn new things with the day-to-day demands of my regular work. I will mange :-D

LEARNING! Never stop learning.

(This is the first of several posts that I will be making during the online KS workshop.)

Collaboration and Advocacy Techniques Course Online

Never stop learning! Opportunties to learn at our own pace and for free, to upgrade our own skills and knowledge are increasing. This is one excellent opportunity for people working in development, especially related to food security.

"Collaboration and Advocacy Techniques," a new e-learning course including resources for trainers and practical guides, has been released by the EC-FAOFood Security Programme in collaboration with the Overseas DevelopmentInstitute's (ODI) Research and Policy in Development (RAPID) Programme andWomen Thrive Worldwide.

This course illustrates a wide range of tools and techniques that can be usedto improve collaboration and knowledge sharing, and provides guidance onconducting collaborative food security assessments. The course alsointroduces the concept of advocacy and the various advocacy techniquesrequired to influence different audiences.

The course is available free of charge on-line and on CD-Rom.

How to Access the Course and Related Materials

To access the e-learning course on-line, go to:
http://www.foodsec.org/DL/dlregistration_en.asp
To download the resources for trainers, go to:
http://www.foodsec.org/tr_res_07.htm
To access the practical guides, go to:
http://www.foodsec.org/pubs_km.htm

If you have problems with on-line access, order a CD-Rom at:
http://www.foodsec.org/DL/dlorder_en.asp?modulecode=FK&modulelang=en

e-Agriculture and Public-Private Partnerships Forum

I’ve been lucky enough to meet quite a few dynamic, intelligent, dedicated people in my life. There were a whole lot of people with these qualities at the GKP Event on the Future, Third Global Knowledge Conference (GK3) last December in KL. Through events like the special panel on “e-Agriculture: Continuing Dialogue to Action” there were many ideas that began to form and one is now ready to be launched!

e-Agriculture.org is hosting an online forum "Making e-Agriculture Work through Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Asia" 10-28 March 2008. It is open to everyone and I encourage you to join, participate, voice your thoughts, share your experiences, and take in the ideas and experiences of others dedicated to ICT4D in the region.

The forum has a super team of experts and moderators including Dr. M. Asaduzzaman from BIDS, Bangladesh; Amit Dasgupta, General Manager of IBM Global Services India; Philip DesAutels, Academic Evangelist at Microsoft; Naimur Rahman, Director of OneWorld South Asia; Sunit Shrestha, Director of TNR Institute; Manish Pandey of Katalyst; and Charlotte Masiello-Riome, WSIS focal point for e-agriculture. Oh, and me too! A little bit of self-promotion is ok isn't it? ;-)

For more information and sign-up go to http://www.e-agriculture.org/