Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] What Are the 'Right' Resources to Foster Professional Development?

[John Lawrence]

An interesting homeostatic trend is emerging in this discussion in
response to Femi's challenge: Tom argues importantly for incentives
either not to leave, or to return to origins in the interests of
community sustainability; Sam understandably wants skilled personel to
remain in service for local society...yet while I write this, the first
pioneer private astronaut has been propelled skywards sixty two miles
taking ICT with him, breaking new barriers...and what about the 17th
century mayflower foundations for new-ness and exploratory community in
the US (and the subsequent need for transatlantic communication between
the US and Europe) from which burgeoned the Internet etcAfrica has
the unique advantage of being able to leapfrog on these technologies...
but for the same reasons that people have been restless throughout human
history, we cannot expect the entrepreneurial and exploratory members of
those communities not to seek opportunity wherever they can find
it...and as Femi suggests, culture will not inhibit this 
quasi-instinctual drive, but in fact will promote it. 

Kind regards,

John Lawrence


On June 18, 2004, Tom Abeles <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
  
> Sam Lanfranco's comment, below, is worth serious reflection,
> particularly his last sentence (copied up, here):
>  
>> The challenge is to keep the skilled personnel in service for local
>> society.

..snip...

> Every company has faced this issue. Expending resources to train skilled
> personnel is not a guarantee that they will remain or even that the
> company will need them in the future.

..snip...

> It seems to me that the problem has been turned upside down. We need a
> livable and desirable community to induce individuals to either not
> leave, or in some cases, return or locate in that community. If that
> exists, then the needed skills will come and/or skilled individuals will
> remain. In the US we have a group of highly qualified individuals who
> move to remote locations because they find them attractive, and the
> infrastructure support (e.g. broad band access) and good mobility
> support them in these spaces.



On June 16, 2004, Sam Lanfranco <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> On Tue, June 15, 2004, Femi Oyesanya <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> posed the
> following question to my analysis about the need for organizational
> change (Knowledge Mangement & Learning Organization Behaviour):
>   
>> Why then did developing Countries in Africa embrace the typewriter,
>> mobile phone, and fax machine? I submit, that the notion of
>> organizational cultural changes as a significant prerequisite for ICT
>> skill development is flawed.
> 
>   
> Femi is correct in this observation. The suggestion was not that
> organizational cultural changes are a prerequisite for ICT-enhanced
> skill development. The suggestion was that they are a co-requisite if
> the local society expects to both effectively utilize those skills, and
> to keep those skilled personnel in local residence, for service to the
> local society. There is no question that skilled personnel are turning
> to ICT-enhanced opportunities on an "as can" basis. For evidence of
> this, one only has to look at how wireless telephony (cell phones) have
> raced ahead, and been widely deployed, in contrast to all other forms of
> ICT-supported applications. The challenge is to keep the skilled
> personnel in service for local society.




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Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] Kabissa Launches Training-of-Trainers Program in West Africa

[Rui Correia]

Dear Colleagues,

I follow with interest the marvellous initiatives undertaken by Kabissa
and other organisations. However, I feel increasingly anxious that there
is virtually nowhere that Portuguese-speaking African organisations can
turn to for this kind of valuable support.

I do a lot of work in Angola and I feel the frustration of people there
when the language isolation factor prevents them from fully
participating in events in the region.

I was wondering if Kabissa/ GKD would consider hosting a
Training-of-Trainers Programme for the PALOP (Portuguese-Language
African Countries: Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde Islands
and Sao Tome & Principe). At the very least, what would be the
possibility of slowly starting to put together the training kits and
peripheral material necessary for training events or for self-learning?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Rui Correia


On June 21, 2004, Tobias Eigen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> We have been following the recent discussions with great interest, and
> hope this announcement regarding Kabissa's efforts to develop a network
> of training partners in Africa will be of interest. Please spread the
> word, and get in touch with us if you are interested in participating.

..snip...




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Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] What Are the 'Right' Resources to Foster Professional Development?

[Gary Garriott]

I was happy to see this post advocating a return to the concept of
"development of basic supporting infrastructure." Especially over the
past couple of years I have been in countless meetings and seminars in
which many learned participants have climbed all over each other to see
who can be the fastest and the loudest to "go beyond" connectivity. The
basic reality is that these fundamentals are not yet in place for huge
numbers of people, including significant rural and urban populations in
Latin America. My personal experience in rural development for more than
a quarter century is that if people have the basic infrastructure and
tools available, that their own innate creativity and
entrepreneurial/survival skills will figure out how to use them. A few
well-timed catalytic inputs by others (from the "north" or "south" or
both) don't hurt either.

In UNDP we have talked about a "development dynamic" in which a
structured dialogue involving multiple aspects of ICTs takes place
represented by all sectors of society and that this process, once set in
motion, can lead to enlightened and sustainable national policies and
strategies toward the information society .

I would submit that something quite similar can also happen at the local
community level when innovative technologies and creative social
inventions are combined as in
 and continue
to be leveraged in a virtuous circle.

But does anybody care? Why aren't such "local solutions" being clustered
instead of stove-piped by development agencies and governments so as
create a "basic supporting infrastructure"?  If they don't do it, who
will? The private sector?

Gary Garriott
E-governance Adviser
LAC  SURF - UNDP
PO Box 6314, Zone 5
Panama City, Panama
Tel. 507 265 8168/8153
Fax  507 265 8445 



On June 17, 2004, Keith Birkhold <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> ...If a technology can improve productivity or quality of life, if the
> infrastructure is there to support the new technology, if the people
> with the need have the money or financing for the initial investment,
> and if those people have some exposure to the technology so that they
> can see how it will improve their situation, then you are correct - they
> will adapt the new technology.
> 
 ...snip...
> 
> Development of basic supporting infrastructure is how I have seen the
> most dramatic tranformation take place.
> 
 ...snip...
> 
> I would propose that changes can be made in other countries by finding
> local solutions for basic supporting infrastructure as well. Once that
> foundation is in place, then information networks, economies, etc...
> will evolve.




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