Community-Based Development of Knowledge Products

Abstract

International organizations and government agencies have developed and collected a wealth of knowledge resources relevant to poor communities; however, the people who need these resources most often do not know these materials exist or are unable to access or understand them. Electronic sources of knowledge materials and means of communication are rarely integrated with traditional methods of knowledge delivery. This paper addresses the issue of knowledge sharing with poor communities and presents a software tool for developing multimedia knowledge materials suitable for people with little or no formal education. A multimedia editor uses a data structure composed of multimedia objects (texts, images, video, and audio clips) to generate the knowledge browser. Local specialists with a basic knowledge of computing can modify and customize how the knowledge is presented by adding new materials relevant to the local environment.

Knowledge management for poverty eradication: a South African perspective

“…Some challenges in knowledge management for poverty eradication are ensuring that the right information and knowledge are produced and delivered in the right format to a wide range of stakeholders, building on existing indigenous knowledge, strengthening capacity and taking a realistic approach to technologies (Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) 2016). Other possible challenges include too little or too much Poverty eradication information or data; lack of information and knowledge on key areas such as strategic project management; project planning; monitoring and evaluation; systematisation of lessons learnt; and geographical and language barriers (Mikolajuk, 2011). Chantarasombat et al (2010) identified leadership, culture and technology as the key success factors for knowledge management.…”

“…The FAO has established a community of practice on food loss reduction amongst nations (FAO, 2016). Mikolajuk (2011) observed that a network of knowledge-sharing among known community-based knowledge nodes (offices/centres) can provide direct access to knowledge resources to diverse groups of users around the world and package these resources in the format and language appropriate to local context. Mikolajuk (2011) posits that by using the right language and context, most black local business individuals in South Africa lack the strong information literacy skills needed for using ICTs effectively (Mason and Tembo, 2015), as well as the right media (text, images, animations, voice and video).…”

“…Mikolajuk (2011) observed that a network of knowledge-sharing among known community-based knowledge nodes (offices/centres) can provide direct access to knowledge resources to diverse groups of users around the world and package these resources in the format and language appropriate to local context. Mikolajuk (2011) posits that by using the right language and context, most black local business individuals in South Africa lack the strong information literacy skills needed for using ICTs effectively (Mason and Tembo, 2015), as well as the right media (text, images, animations, voice and video). Most black local business individuals in South Africa lack the strong information literacy skills needed for using ICTs effectively (Mason and Tembo, 2015), and people with little education can access and share the knowledge they need.…”

“…Tacit knowledge creation may take the form of tapping into the rich cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge in every community. As Mikolajuk (2011) observes, tacit knowledge identifies new entrepreneurial opportunities and advance local businesses. Explicit knowledge in communities may be created by accessing specific materials and knowledge resources such as developmental projects, government materials and global information, as well as by transforming, translating, localising and contextualising such material into knowledge presentations that are appropriate for the community.…”