Harambee: Reinforcing African voices through collaborative processes and technologies.

Resumen

In the course of their various activities, the Harambee Project proponents recognized that processes supporting collaboration and partnership are critical to enhancing the participation of Africans in their own development. There is both an immediate and strong need in Africa for capacity development in the design of processes that assist in the creation, use and sharing of knowledge, and in the use of ICTs to support such engagement. Harambee assists its proponents and partners in supporting specific networks and communities in Africa by increasing their respective capacities to facilitate and coordinate such groups. Through the implementation of focus network pilot activities, provision of channels for knowledge sharing, a small grant facility and the development of research and training materials, Harambee is increasing the capacity of network coordinators and ultimately the effectiveness of the networks themselves. This case study provides a brief background of Harambee and presents its approach to development through strengthening networks. It also presents some of the key lessons learned as well as what it sees as the major challenges that lie ahead.