On behalf of the Sudanese
Knowledge Society, I wish to send a heartfelt note of appreciation to each
and every one of you who were part of making the series of events on “Managing
Knowledge in a Connected World” (Saturday 28 January to Wednesday 1 February
2017) the success it was. This success is not discussed here in terms of
numbers who attended or level of engagement of participants. Those exceeded our
expectations from the comments we got so far. But while we work on the reports,
let us indulge ourselves in the success and excitement that we feel and want to
share with you which is more about what we might be able to build on top of
what we achieved together.
This post is primarily about two things. First,
to thank Organisers, Sponsors, Teams, Guest Speakers,
Presenters, Discussants, Exhibitors, and all Participants,
as well as many others who provided support behind-the-scenes; and second,
to convey to you some of our initial first steps after the series ended as well
as to invite your interest and ideas.
This series covered a range of areas pertaining to
knowledge management (leading to improvement in its production) in this day and
age with focus on the Sudanese context. For the series to happen, our foremost gratitude
goes to the collaboration of organisers and the generosity of sponsors of the
various events in the series. They provided the foundation onto which the
valuable substance from presentations, commentary, questions, and ideas, poured
in for us to collect. The team is working very hard on doing just that and it goes
without saying that without the planning team and volunteers putting up the time
and effort, we would have nothing to report.
Please stay tuned for the workshop’s report, and summaries
about the various other events, as well as photos. The documentation (including
presentations) will be published on the series’ blog and a notification email sent
to participants. This is a laborious task because of the multiple events, teams
and sources that need to come together. We will see how connected we are in
this small exercise 😊
Now, let us quickly recap the past week …
First, we
explored our internet content, what exists, how it is stored, governed, and
used, as well as met with some of our local innovators. This was at the Workshop on
Employing Concepts, Experiences, and Innovation
to Enrich Sudanese Internet Content (28 – 29 January) organised
with Morgan for Information and Communication
Technology, H.A.M. for Information Technology, University of Khartoum, Future
University, National Information Centre, and World Bank - Sudan and
sponsored by the National Information Centre,
Morgan for ICTs, Sudani, and the National Corporation for Antiquities and
Museums.
Second, we teamed with DAM (HRM Forum) to explore knowledge sharing in organisations (30
January) within their regular forum program and get to know their of community
of HR professionals, and with Global Compact
Network Sudan, to support the dissemination of information on “Navigating the Minefield”, the book
co-edited by our Series Guest Speaker Paul Corney that offers practical ideas
for those introducing KM in their organisations.
Third, we held a Masterclass
on Knowledge Audits (31 January) that attracted 14 participants from
a diverse set of organisations who received certificates from Knowledge et al. Thanks to the vision of
participants and their respective organisations, that we have this new topic
(and may be profession) on the table of some of our leading businesses, civil
society organisations, and academic institutions.
Fourth, not last, we ended the series with a Reverse Brainstorm Session on Virtual Teams and
Communities (1 February) in collaboration with Education with Borders, a dear group and local
hero for the Sudanese Knowledge Society. We thank the Federation
of Sudanese Businessmen and Employers for availing a free venue for this
activity and their staff for taking care of us. We could not have asked for a
better ending to the week, a youthful and upbeat note, in addition to sharing
ideas to improve our virtual teamwork.
Where do we go from here?
1. There are a number of recommendations drawn from the workshop with
regard to ICT Policy and Information Ecosystem. This will be our starting point
once we have them assembled. We will invite you to participate (online) to add
to the ideas generated at the workshop, as well as solicit experts’ comments on
what was produced. We hoped when we started the planning that the product of our
congregation (only possible with your continued support and a trans-disciplinary
inquiry) will consist of:
a.
A (draft)
policy, that takes into consideration the multiple perspectives we heard from, such
as education, health, environment, law, culture, etc., may be using a co-creation
approach that Azza Karrar told us about; and
b.
An (appropriate)
ecosystem model perhaps using some of the ideas about business models offered
by Osama Khair.
2.
It is
possible to establish communities-of-practice/interest around the main topics
explored in the series: ICT Policy, Information Ecosystem, Knowledge Sharing,
Knowledge Audit, and Virtual Work. Once we work out the logistics, we will explore
this route with an open invitation to join one of these would-be-useful
communities in our local environment.
3.
We will diligently
follow with our guest speakers the possibilities they opened for us. We are very
happy to see that Taha Osman will be working with organisers and students over
the coming year, and Paul Corney organising virtual sessions to practice some
of the reverse ideas generated. We will also work with both of them, and all of
you, on the 2018 KM Series.
4. Your ideas are very welcome … please feel free.
We thank you again for joining us, sharing in the
mishaps but also in the fruits that came out of this collective effort. In the
meantime, we invite you to share your reflections and takeaways from any of the
events you attended on this link.
Warm wishes,
gada
Gada Kadoda,
Ph.D.
2017 KM Series Coordinator
Sudanese Knowledge Society
