The Ghana Information and Knowledge Sharing Network

It is rather ironic that ICT is the most powerful tool we have for sharing knowledge and yet we are not sharing experiences and knowledge about ICT project implementation effectively. Initiatives spring up everywhere, seemingly with little awareness of what is going on elsewhere.

One way to tackle this problem is to have country-based or regional information and knowledge sharing networks. The Ghana Information and Knowledge Sharing Network (GINKS) is a good example of this approach. It streamline all disjointed ICT projects, initiatives and programs in a way that provides solutions to challenges and problems in the Ghana ICT environment.



The whole purpose of GINKS is to create a structure through which all relevant Ghana ICT initiatives will be facilitated. As a network, it will:

• Commission research on ICTs and development;
• Publish an influential on-line and off-line quarterly newsletter;
• Organise and participate in workshops, seminars and fora on ICT4D related themes;
• Undertake activities and programmes to generate and source for funds in aid of the network;
• Form strategic partnerships and build networks with organisations and institutions;
• Provide a united front for advocacy on ICTs for development themes and issues.

So far the activities of GINKS include:

• Interactions with rural communities to identify development partners who will work with GINKS to address the information needs of local communities;
• Co-organising monthly seminars on ICT4D issues with BusyInternet called the cyberseries
• An online space for networking through the GINKS mailing list and GINKS portal;
• Co–organising information exchange events with development partners for members of the network with other stakeholder participation;
• Working with organisations such as ITAfrica.org to generate and disseminate local ICT4D content.