Consultative Workshop in Turin

Consultative Workshop - May 26 - 27, 2009: International Training Centre of the ILO Turin, Italy

This Consultative Workshop was held at the International Training Centre of the ILO Turin in Italy. Nodumo Dhlamini, Dr Fred Mugivane (University of Nairobi) and Dr Isaya M. Masinde (Egerton University) attended representing the RUFORUM network.

The objective of the workshop was to: "Define an e-learning curriculum to support knowledge sharing for Development"

It was organized by:

1. EuropeAid Training and Knowledge Management Unit, European Commission
2. The International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization
3. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

In collaboration with:

1. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
2. Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU
3. The Swiss Association for International Cooperation (Helvetas)

The RUFORUM Participants' attendance was facilitated by CTA. Thank you to CTA!

Highlights of the Meeting

• Stories were used to highlight the challenges faced by organizations working in the development field when it comes to knowledge sharing. We were then grouped according to the following focus areas for purposes of defining the activities that are carried out by those “people”: Program Officers; Knowledge Managers/Sharers; Communications People and Senior Managers. We then agreed on the target audience for the Knowledge Sharing module. We also reviewed and identified gaps in the following: activities that these roles focus on, the knowledge they need to carry out their activities and resources that are already available in terms of content. We also brainstormed on likely resource persons to help with the writing of the e-learning module for Knowledge Sharing.

• Even though the focus was on Program Officers; Knowledge Managers/Sharers; Communications People and Senior Managers – the content once developed will be relevant to our knowledge management courses within the MSc AICM curricula. These courses are: Agricultural Knowledge Management; Advanced Topics in Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems. Our MSc curriculum can be enriched through the use of the content resources that will come out of this Knowledge Sharing e-learning module.

• The existing iMark e-learning modules need to be reviewed closely – they can add value to the various courses that are taught within the RUFORUM network

• It was important to note once again that FAO will take 12 months to develop the quality Knowledge Sharing e-learning module. There can be no short cuts to this process: (i)Defining the Curriculum; (ii)Content Development (including peer review); (iii)Storyboard Development (content is pedagogically restructured by instructional designers- actual e-learning lessons developed, peer review and translation, additional face to face materials developed); (iv)Course Content Production and Delivery (uploading on LMS, production of CD-ROMs, etc)
  

For additional information please leave a comment with your email address and I will get back to you. Alternatively please email: secretariat@ruforum.org

Please follow the links below to view some of the pictures

Submitted by Roxanna Samii
Submitted by Gauri Salokhe
Submitted by Teinen Sophie
Submitted by Jaqueline Nnam

The Women in Science and Young Professionals Competitions

The CTA/ATPS/AGRA/FARA/NEPAD/RUFORUM 2008 science competitions sought to identify, recognize and reward the hard work and excellence of young professionals and women scientists who re engaged in innovative and pioneering research and communicating the outputs (knowledge, echnologies, approaches) to improve agricultural productivity and the livelihoods of rural ommunities. The finals were held at Ghion Hotel in Addis Ababa Ethiopia from the 20th to the 21st of April 2009. The awards were presented during the 4th Conference of Ministers of Agriculture, Land and Livestock on the 23rd of April, 2009 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Please click here to read the communique to the Ministers of Agriculture, Land and Livestock.

WOMEN IN SCIENCE CATEGORY


PROFESSOR ABUKUTSA MARY O. ONYANGO – from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agricultural Technology in Kenya scooped the first prize in the Women in Science category. Her paper was on "the development and promotion of technologies for sustainable production and utilization of indigenous vegetables for nutrition security and wealth creation in Kenya". Please clik to download her abstract and you can also download her CV here.



Dr ANDREA ROTHER – from the University of Cape Town in South Africa came second in the Women in Science category. Her paper was on "Pesticide risk reduction strategies for vulnerable Africa populations through regulatory capacity building and gender appropriate risk communication strategies". Please download the abstract of her paper and also download her CV here.





Dr BRIDGITTE NYAMBO – from ICIPE in Kenya came third in the Women in Science category. He paper focused on "Enhancing food safety and market access for small holder export vegetable producers in East Africa". Please download the abstract of her paper and her CV here.





Dr JOLLY KABIRIZI – from NARO in Uganda came fourth in the competitions and her paper was on "Participatory testing of forage legume innovations with women farmers in Masaka district, Uganda: Impact on fodder availability, animal performance and household". You can download the abstract of her paper and her CV from here.







Dr ABAY FETIEN – from Mekelle University in Ethiopia came fifth in the Women in Science competitions. Her paper was on "Farmer breeder partnership in barley varietal selection: A case for decentralised plant breeding in drought-prone areas of Northern Ethiopia". Please download the abstract of her paper and her CV here.






SPECIAL AWARDS IN THE WOMEN IN SCIENCE CATEGORY


The special award for GROUND BREAKING SCIENCE was won by Dr ASTER GEBREKIRSTOS from Ethiopia. Her paper was on "Climate Change in Africa, based on tree rings and stable isotope results, with implication for climatic teleconnections". Please download the abstract of Dr Gebrekirstos' paper here. Her CV will be uploaded soon.







The special award for INNOVATIVE AND PIONEERING RESEARCH was won by PROFESSOR AMEENAH GURIB-FAKIM from Mauritius. She also received recognition for OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO SCIENCE AND ROLE MODEL FOR AFRICAN WOMEN SCIENTISTS. Her paper was on "Chemistry and traditional medicines: Traditional medicine and its impact on livelihoods". Please download the abstract of her paper from here. Her CV will be uploaded soon.




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YOUNG PROFESSIONALS IN SCIENCE CATEGORY

(Please click on the image below to enlarge it)

SCARDA as an action research project

Adipala Ekwamu of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) compares the SCARDA project to an action research project. Several ways of dealing with change inside the agricultural research departments all over the continent need to me explored, documented and compared. He commends the evaluation of DfID but an evaluator can not be an expert in everything. The importance of documenting change processes can not be underestimated. It is not a once in a while activity but needs to be tracked on a day to day basis.

Click here to access the video and full article from the FARA blog

NSF2 Stakeholder Consultation at FARA, ACCRA, GHANA

Nodumo Dhlamini is attending the NSF2 Stakeholder Consultation at the FARA Secretariat in Accra from 11th till 14th of May. The aim of the NSF 2 Stakeholder consultation taking place at the FARA Secretariat is to refine the present NSF2 outcome mapping tables and to enhance understanding and use of the Outcome Mapping approach to planning, monitoring and evaluation, which will shape the overall NSF2 strategy and hence ensure the effective implementation of RAILS and DONATA. Please click here to read more

Upcoming Events

The RUFORUM Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Inception Planning Meeting is scheduled to take place at the Ranch on the Lake in Uganda from the 2nd to the 6th of June 2009. The objectives of this inception planning meeting are to:

1. To plan overall strategies for ICT implementation in the RUFORUM network
2. Develop a strengthened M&E system to facilitate determination, on an on-going basis of relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of RUFORUM activities in meeting its overall programme objectives
3. Develop guidelines, including programme foci, and plan for implementation of an improved RUFORUM Competitive Grant System.

The RUFORUM Technical Commitee meeting will take place from the 4th to the 5th June 2009 and the focus will be to develop guidelines of an improved Competitive Grants System.