HarambeeWiki:About
From HarambeeWiki
The project "Harambee: Reinforcing African Voices through Collaborative Processes" intends to build on existing research and experiences in designing and implementing collaborative processes and technologies. It proposes the implementation of network strengthening activities, included but not limited to capacity building, and opportunities for knowledge sharing as well as the development of research and training materials. It will identify and take advantage of opportunities to actively learn from existing development collaborations and share this learning in turn with its partners. The Harambee project aims to provide targeted support to initiatives such as yours in order to enhance their capacity to engage in setting development priorities in the sectors in which they are situated through their various research, advocacy, innovation and dissemination activities.
A key initiative involved in the creation of this project is The Partnership for ICTs in Africa (PICTA) - an informal group of donors and executing agencies committed to improving information exchange and collaboration around ICT activities in Africa. This PICTA initiative is created by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), Bellanet Africa and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
The first phase of the project will focus on creating the conditions for the project to make meaningful interventions to strengthen collaborative capacities and activities in Africa. It will do this in two ways:
1) by directly supporting several existing ICT- and knowledge-related networks and initiatives which have been identified by Harambee project proponents (APC, Bellanet Africa and UNECA) due to their innovative approaches to the use of ICTs and knowledge to support collaboration
2)by setting up and administering a Small Grants Facility to provide networks with funding for the development of greater collaborative capacity (e.g., training in the strategic use of ICTs and/or Knowledge Sharing/Knowledge Management techniques, etc).
The Harambee project aims to provide targeted support to focus networks in order to enhance their capacity to engage in setting development priorities in the sectors in which they are situated through their various research, advocacy, innovation and dissemination activities. The overall goal of the initiative is to enhance capacity development in Africa around the use of knowledge and ICTs for collaboration, such that Africa-based organisations are better equipped to play a lead role in development dialogues and action affecting them. The specific objectives of the Harambee project are to:
1) Strengthen existing networks and collaborations in Africa as a result of increasing their access to relevant training and support for knowledge- and ICT-related capacity development;
2) Build expertise, based largely in Africa, in the design and implementation of collaborative processes, including conflict resolution and mediation processes, as these are often critical to sustaining partnerships over time;
3) Raise awareness of African organisations of the potential for collaborative processes to strengthen their collective capacity to effect change;
4) Create a body of research that will act as a valuable resource on a variety of techniques, conceptual frameworks, indicators, etc., relating to facilitation, knowledge sharing, communication and other collaboration-related issues such as gender considerations.
