Launch of Open Knowledge Network: local content, local people, local
languages
You are warmly invited to the launch of the Open Knowledge Network (OKN) in
Geneva, Switzerland, as part of the ICT for Development Platform
(www.ict-4d.org) and the World Summit on the Information Society
(www.itu.int/wsis).
Our launch will take place from 16:30 to 18:00 on Wednesday December 10th.
It is part of the "Local Voices" event being organised by the UN ICT
Taskforce. This will take place in Conference Rooms 2 and 3 of the ICT for
Development Platform, in Palexpo Hall 4.
See
http://www.ict-4d.org/Marketplace/en/Program/ICT4DForum/local_content_knowle
dge/ for more information.
Professor Swaminathan of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation will give
the keynote address on the potential and benefits of OKN, alongside many
other OKN stakeholders, who will share their own personal perspectives.
Please join us for what will surely be an animated gathering of passionate
individuals.
To complement our launch, we are also exhibiting the OKN on stand 235 in
Local Content and Knowledge street at the ICT for Development Platform. In
Geneva, we will showcase OKN as an innovative multi-sector initiative,
celebrating the achievements of the first phase and reaching out to new
partners.
**** WHAT IS OKN? ****
OKN (www.openknowledge.net) is a human network which collects, shares and
disseminates local knowledge and is supported by flexible technical
solutions.
OKN is not something new. It痴 an original synthesis of tried and tested
ideas, building on what is already happening in many different fields and
joining up the dots.
Through joint efforts, OKN has now begun working alongside several
organisations in Africa and Asia who have taken on the role of founding
"hubs".
In East Africa, we are collaborating with two organisations:
- AfriAfya (www.afriafya.org), a network set up to explore practical means
of harnessing information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve
access to relevant up-to-date health information for rural and other
marginalized Kenyan communities
- Arid Lands Information Network-East Africa (www.alin.or.ke), which serves
over 1000 grassroots development workers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and
Ethiopia.
In India, OKN is partnering with the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation
(www.mssrf.org), which runs the Information Village Research Project in
Tamil Nadu. The project aims to test whether ICTs can become an ally in
poverty alleviation and whether they can be used as a tool in empowering the
rural poor.
In Senegal, OKN is shortly to begin working with ENDA Cyberpop
(www.enda.sn/cyberpop), a set of human and technical resources to support
and empower the social dynamics of the popular economy in urban and
peri-urban areas of Dakar.
**** WHO IS SUPPORTING OKN? ****
The development of the OKN is being coordinated by OneWorld International
(www.oneworld.net).
OKN is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DfID)
(www.dfid.gov.uk), the Canada Fund for Africa
(http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/canadafundforafrica), and the Catalysing Access
to ICTs in Africa (CATIA) programme (www.catia.ws).
OKN痴 mobile channel development is funded by the Vodafone Group Foundation,
(http://www.vodafonegroupfoundation.com).
We are grateful to the Vodafone Group Foundation for their generous support
of our launch.
**** MORE INFORMATION ****
If you would like further information about the OKN or its launch, please
contact Tori Holmes (tori.holmes@oneworld.net, telephone +44 (0)207 239
1400)
We hope to see you at the launch event and look forward to welcoming you on
our stand! Watch our for our limited edition invitations being handed out at
the ICT4D Platform ...
Kind regards,
Tori Holmes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tori Holmes
Consultation and Set-Up Phase Coordinator
Open Knowledge Network
OneWorld International
www.openknowledge.net
www.oneworld.net
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Telephone: +44 (0)207 239 1400
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