Kingo J. Mchombu

Sharing Knowledge is a handbook that examines the usefulness of Community Information Resource Centres (CIRCs). Its author, Kingo Mchombu, was requested to write the handbook by participants of his workshops and symposia on information, knowledge and community, sponsored by the Horn of Africa Capacity Building Programme (HOACBP).

Mchombu argues strongly for people-centred development, as opposed to top-down development, where he maintains the resources and expertise required for developmental action remain in the hands of a small elite. He states that the major differences (and improvements) between top-down development (modernisation or economic-growth model) and people-centred development (human development) are:

• Access to information is for all groups in the population (including women, youth, and rural and urban poor people);
• Information is a tool and access to information is a process for building self-reliance, empowerment, civil society, participation and gender equality;
• Indigenous or traditional knowledge and locally-generated information are given high status;
• Traditional channels of communication are respected and not regarded as a barrier to development.

According to the author, the key to the success of people-centred development is creating access to information that is both critically assessed for various demographics as well as information dealing with a variety of issues (i.e. from agriculture to human rights). The source for such dissemination of critical information is the CIRC, where community members are invited to participate in defining what information is relevant, and for whom, thus enabling communities to preserve indigenous knowledge, evaluate external resources, and perhaps most importantly, translate this information into local dialects.

The handbook aims to be a learning tool that goes beyond providing only a blueprint for organising a CIRC – it encourages users to discuss programming options, suggest alternative solutions and customise their community activities through discussion questions and activities, which are provided at the conclusion of every chapter. The handbook also provides four case studies of communities in Ethiopia, such as the Illubabor and the Dire Dawa Community-Based Organizations & Associations (CBOA) and Community Information Resource Centres.

These case studies, complemented by an appendix which lists procedures for classifying and cataloguing materials at the CIRC (from membership book cards to overdue loans), provide examples of how a CIRC is instituted, and how it must adapt to the specific needs of each community it represents.

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English, Arabic, Amharic, and Somali.

Oxfam Canada website on November 16 2004.