A group of actors representing several prominent organizations active in generating and enabling use of information, knowledge, skills and technology met on 4 and 5 December at Maputo, Mozambique to discuss how to improve knowledge sharing and exchange, agricultural education and learning in communities especially through partnership and collaboration. This meeting was organized by GFAR along with CGIAR, COL and YPARD.
Previous pathways to new information and knowledge from universities and research institutions for agricultural communities were linear, passing from scientists to extension agents onto farming communities. New information and communications technologies have demonstrated potential to change knowledge pathways for these communities. These pathways can now be as in a network with multiple sources of new knowledge beyond the local university or research institutes and their platform. This has potential to usher new systems and processes for knowledge sharing and exchange, not only from scientists to agricultural communities but vice versa, enabling blending of knowledge from various sources and making the knowledge more relevant and useful.
The Workshop considered the needs for improving knowledge sharing and exchange from research institutions such as the CGIAR Centres and universities with the ultimate goal of enabling agricultural communities to learn and innovate. The Workshop recommended that universities generate these new skills in its alumni.
This workshop also generated fresh ideas for better connectedness and led by example via another fresh and effective tool coined as “social reporting” for allowing participation of those in the Workshop who could physically be at Maputo.
As described by Josien Kampa, who coordinated the online reporting, “Social reporting is where a group of participants at an event interactively and jointly contribute to some form of reporting, in text, photos, images or video. The resulting ‘social report’ is made accessible, usually online, as soon as possible, sometimes as a half-product.
This allows others to join in, to extend, to adjust or remix.”
Hours before and after the workshops' start, there were already blogs made and pictures and videos posted. This type of up-to-the-minute communications style is gaining more popularity in the world of agricultural research for development.
More information on this Workshop can be found here.
Previous pathways to new information and knowledge from universities and research institutions for agricultural communities were linear, passing from scientists to extension agents onto farming communities. New information and communications technologies have demonstrated potential to change knowledge pathways for these communities. These pathways can now be as in a network with multiple sources of new knowledge beyond the local university or research institutes and their platform. This has potential to usher new systems and processes for knowledge sharing and exchange, not only from scientists to agricultural communities but vice versa, enabling blending of knowledge from various sources and making the knowledge more relevant and useful.
The Workshop considered the needs for improving knowledge sharing and exchange from research institutions such as the CGIAR Centres and universities with the ultimate goal of enabling agricultural communities to learn and innovate. The Workshop recommended that universities generate these new skills in its alumni.
This workshop also generated fresh ideas for better connectedness and led by example via another fresh and effective tool coined as “social reporting” for allowing participation of those in the Workshop who could physically be at Maputo.
As described by Josien Kampa, who coordinated the online reporting, “Social reporting is where a group of participants at an event interactively and jointly contribute to some form of reporting, in text, photos, images or video. The resulting ‘social report’ is made accessible, usually online, as soon as possible, sometimes as a half-product.
This allows others to join in, to extend, to adjust or remix.”
Hours before and after the workshops' start, there were already blogs made and pictures and videos posted. This type of up-to-the-minute communications style is gaining more popularity in the world of agricultural research for development.
More information on this Workshop can be found here.
L.B.