The words come from Stephen Kizza, a librarian with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in Kampala, Uganda. In his correspondence and writings, Kizza signs off with a phrase that is both poignant and meaningful to strategic knowledge professionals, particularly those dealing with Africa and KM/knowledge services in the research and business communities of the nations of Africa: ”Look backwards with gratitude, upward with confidence, forward with hope.”

Could there be any stronger motivation for us? Could there be any better way to describe our aspirations for our work in Africa?

At the recent Special Libraries Association (SLA) Conference in New Orleans, through the generous sponsorship of Copyright Clearance Center and CCC’s “Beyond the Book” program, a “Hot Topics” session focused on strategic knowledge management and the KM/knowledge services needs of developing countries. Entitled “Global Information Sharing – A Dream Come True: Sharing Information Brings People Together,” the program was moderated by Christopher Kenneally, Director, Business Development, at the Copyright Clearance Center.

In the program, Dennie Heye of Shell in the Netherlands and Kenneally described how Kizza and Heye had become acquainted and how their conversations about strategic knowledge and specialized librarianship in Africa had influenced Kizza’s work. An important part of the story, not surprisingly, is how it demonstrates how strategic knowledge professionals can work with colleagues in other countries. It is a model that seems, from almost any perspective, eminently workable.

Kizza’s presentation, Special Libraries in Developing Countries: Information Management State of Affairs and Development Opportunities, was shown with recorded voiceover, as Kizza was unable to attend the conference due to U.S. visa restrictions. Having been invited by SLA’s Petroleum and Energy Resources Division to present at the conference, this program and the next day’s division meeting and discussion provided an opportunity for conference attendees to hear and discuss Kizza’s important description of information and knowledge management in Uganda.

Following the presentation, Heye described how he and Kizza had become acquainted, and how they and other knowledge professionals work together to support Kizza’s KM/knowledge services work in meeting user needs. At this point Kenneally invited Guy St. Clair, SMR International President and Consulting Specialist for Knowledge Services, to share his own experiences in this area.

St. Clair described his work, a knowledge strategy development assignment in Nairobi for the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT). During his recent six-month assignment (and expected to continue in up-coming work with UN-HABITAT), St. Clair has been able to participate in volunteer work with the Information Africa Organization (IAO) an NGO that seeks to strengthen ICT and KM training  for Kenya’s youth. St. Clair has also been able to meet with academic leaders, working with interested colleagues in Nairobi and Nakuru to advise about incorporating KM/knowledge services into the curriculum of the country’s many specialized graduate programs. In his comments, St. Clair connected his experiences and observations with the work Heye and Kizza are doing for Africa’s research and business communities.

Listen to the podcast BTB # 173: An Information Dream or read the transcript at Beyond the Book – 15 June 2010 – Transcript.

Note: IAO has been described previously at the SMR International site:

January 2010 The Information Africa Organization (IAO): The Birth of A Movement – Kenya’s Focus on Youth Opens the Door to Amazing Potential for the Country, by Guy St. Clair

May 2010 SMR International Special Report: Closing the Digital Divide: Dealing with Drucker’s ‘Responsibility Gap’ in Africa – Kenya Anticipates the ICT/KM Future with Enthusiasm, by Guy St. Clair

A Second Chance: The Information Africa Organization (IAO)’s Splendid Mission – Taking Social Responsibility Seriously [Presentation]

SMR President Guy St. Clair is an IAO volunteer, using the SMR International site to report on the organization’s progress and, as appropriate, providing consulting and advisory services. With the former, SMR has published both an e-Profile and a special report about the organization and expects to continue bringing attention to IAO through the SMR’s work with clients and colleagues.

Asked to share some of his ideas about strategic learning in the ICT/KM/knowledge services arena, St. Clair spoke to the IAO  Board of Directors at a recent meeting. St. Clair’s presentation –  “A Second Chance: IAO’s Splendid Mission – Taking Responsibility Seriously” offered talking points for a lively discussion about the role of NGOs in society and, in particular, about how organizations, companies, and individuals can incorporate social responsibility into the corporate and organizational mission. [Click on the presentation title to view the slides.]

Drawing on Peter F. Drucker’s concerns about the “responsibility gap,” St. Clair urged board members to ensure that in planning strategic learning endeavors for ICT/KM/knowledge services, they and prospective partners grasp the critical importance of competitiveness in the development of knowledge competencies. It is only in achieving excellence in their strategic learning products and services, St. Clair said, that companies and organizations ensure the success of training and knowledge-sharing.

Matching strategic learning in ICT/KM/knowledge services – IAO’s purpose – with what he refers to as the “knowledge uptake” in corporate and organizational management (and – more important – in society at large), St. Clair identified “dramatic opportunities for the future” in working with young people. He provided an optimistic picture of IAO’s potential in this area and, with board members, discussed a number of planned objectives for the organization and its future development.

A new special report from SMR International takes a look at efforts to train Africa’s youth in ICT and KM skills.

Linking that effort to recent attention about the “responsibility gap” from the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University, the report (“Closing the Digital Divide: Dealing with Drucker’s ‘Responsibility Gap’ in Africa”) takes the position that management leadership has a greater responsibility than simply achieving organizational effectiveness.

In addressing what Peter Drucker used to refer to as the “responsibility gap,” SMR’s new report has five key points:

1. Current examples of unprincipled behavior in corporate and organizational management seem to imply a moral weakness in society
2. Peter Drucker asserted that managers have a moral obligation to avoid the “responsibility gap” and embrace social responsibility
3. In Kenya, managers and leaders are joining together to provide youth with strategic learning and training in ICT/KM
4. NGOs, the Kenyan government, development and humanitarian organizations, the international business community, and local businesses are working together to achieve this goal
5. These initiatives exemplify Drucker’s assertion: management’s task is two-fold: to achieve organizational effectiveness and to contribute to the common good.

The SMR International Special Report is available at SMRShare. Or the Special Report can be accessed directly here.