The Use of Social Media Technologies to Create, Preserve, and Disseminate Indigenous Knowledge and Skills to Communities in East Africa

Authors

  • Sylvia A. Owiny The Pennsylvania State University
  • Khanjan Mehta The Pennsylvania State University
  • Audrey N. Maretzki The Pennsylvania State University

Keywords:

Social media and mobile technologies, indigenous knowledge, preservation and dissemination of knowledge, and libraries

Abstract

The preservation, management, and sharing of indigenous knowledge is crucial for social and economic development in ruralAfrica. The high rate of illiteracy (print-based) in rural Africa and the exclusion of indigenous knowledge from Western education add to the information gap experienced in rural Africa. Other challenges facing oral cultures are the disappearance of traditional knowledge and skills due to memory loss or death of elders and the deliberate or inadvertent destruction of indigenous knowledge. The rapidly increasing use of social media and mobile technologies creates opportunities to form local and international partnerships that can facilitate the process of creating, managing, preserving, and sharing of knowledge and skills that are unique to communities inAfrica. This article proposes the use of social media and mobile technologies (cell phones) in the creation, preservation, and dissemination of indigenous knowledge and discusses the role of libraries in the integration of social media technologies with older media that employ audio and audiovisual equipment to reach a wider audience.

Author Biographies

Sylvia A. Owiny, The Pennsylvania State University

Sylvia A. Owiny, Social Sciences Librarian and a Ph.D. candidate in Adult Education and Comparative and International Education at The Pennsylvania State University. Her research has focused on indigenous knowledge (Africa), and on improving access and the provision of information and knowledge in academic institutions and to oral cultures (Africa).  She has authored and co-authored peer-reviewed articles and a chapter section. She has also presented papers at local, national, and international conferences including the 2010 AgKnowledge Africa Share Fair in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and conducted workshops on cross-cultural communication and leadership.

Khanjan Mehta, The Pennsylvania State University

Khanjan Mehta is the Founding Director of the Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) Program and Assistant Professor of Engineering Design at The Pennsylvania State University. HESE is an integrated learning, research, and entrepreneurial engagement program that challenges students and faculty across campus to develop market-centric technology-based solutions that address problems facing resource-constrained communities.  Mehta has led technology-based social ventures in Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, India, China and other countries. These ventures range from telemedicine systems and ruggedized biomedical devices to low-cost greenhouses, solar food dryers, cell phone-based social networking systems, and knowledge sharing platforms for self-employed women. The basic philosophy behind Mehta's work is the convergence of concepts, disciplines, cultures, and countries to create a freer, fairer, friendlier and more sustainable planet.  

Audrey N. Maretzki, The Pennsylvania State University

Audrey N. Maretzki, Ph.D. is an Emeritus Professor of Food Science and Nutrition at The Pennsylvania State University. She co-founded Penn State’s Interinstitutional Consortium for Indigenous Knowledge in 1995 and continues to serve as its co-director. Before joining The College of Agricultural Sciences in 1985, she was a faculty member in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawaii. For 20 years, she was involved with the establishment of rural women’s nutribusiness cooperatives in East Africa. These cooperatives enabled women farmers to add value to their crops through the participatory formulation, processing and marketing of healthful, shelf-stable food products that address the dietary requirements of people with special nutritional needs.  She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Center for Amazon Community Ecology and the Centre County United Nations Association.

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Published

2014-01-15

Issue

Vol. 8 (2014)

Section

Articles

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