The AfricaAdapt Symposium opened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the UNECA conference centre on March 9 2011. Leading from the opening session, the first panel of the event focused on ‘Community Led Responses – from local to global’. This interactive session followed well after the opening addresses, where the need to link international and national policies processes to local decision making on the ground was strongly emphasised.

Dr. Fatima Denton, who leads IDRC’s research on adaptation strategies in Africa, chaired this session. Fatima opened the discussion noting the value of community knowledge and how it should be used as a foundation for developing suitable and sustainable adaptation strategies that are resilient to climate shocks and stresses.
What’s a priority among Kenyan farmers around climate adaptation?

Now that the Africa Adapt conference is over, there are still many ways of continuing co-operation and sharing of knowledge. We are looking at taking key ideas from the conference and developing a piece of media that will be accessible to a broad range of Africans and those living in the "developing" and "previously developed" world about practical know-how and strategies to mitigate of the impact of a changing climate and 'big weather'.

If you have ideas that could help in creating this media, you are welcome to participate in the Africa Adapt channel on www.kmafrica.com - http://www.kmafrica.com/group.africa.adapt . You may also want to look at the KM & Environment SIG on http://www.kmafrica.com/og.environment as there will be conference papers there that may be of interest in your work.

At the symposum, the challenge has been given to participants:
sum up your project's or organisation's message to policymakers in under 150 characters (not words!).
So, for AfricaAdapt, I'd write:
'Creating environment or development policy? Are you part of Africa’s leading knowledge-sharing network yet? Go to Africa-adapt.net, find what you need.'

What would yours be? Write it below and we'll share the best ones on Twitter.

How can we build a respect for indigenous knowledge into our adaptation and mitigation strategies?

How do we build networks of reciprocity - alliances and creating safety nets?

How do we define resilience and transformation?

Answers and discussions welcome below or on AfricaAdapt Symposium discussion page
http://www.africa-adapt.net/aa/ProjectDiscussion.aspx?PID=NxDcOtqzgiA%3d

How can we build a respect for indigenous knowledge into our adaptation and mitigation strategies?

How do we build networks of reciprocity - alliances and creating safety nets?

How do we define resilience and transformation?

Answers and discussions welcome below or on AfricaAdapt Symposium discussion page
http://www.africa-adapt.net/aa/ProjectDiscussion.aspx?PID=NxDcOtqzgiA%3d

Nearly 400 years ago Galileo Galilei brought to light the work of Nicholas Copernicus which sought to explain the facts of day and night on the movements of the earth rather than the sun. The idea was largely dismissed and the proponents punished. When it was first suggested that the planet's continents were first together but got separated through million of years, the idea was rubbished until about 42 years later when mid oceanic ridges were discovered.

This is the official programme for the Africa Adapt Climate Symposium to be held in Addis Abbaba in Ethiopia 9th-11th March 2011

Over 150 researchers, civil society actors, donors, government officials and NGOs will be gathering in Addis Ababa on 9-11 March at the AfricaAdapt Climate Change Symposium. The five themes for the symposium are:

• National and international policy: Linking policy and practice

• Links between adaptation, mitigation and low carbon, or "climate compatible" development
• New thinking on community-led responses: From local to global
• The roles of media and intermediaries in translating, sharing, and advocating
• Roles of local and indigenous knowledge in addressing climate change

Attempts to clarify the relationship between adaptation and development by analyzing 135 projects, policies, and other initiatives from the developing world that have been labeled by implementers or researchers as "adaptation to climate change." Confusion about the relationship between adaptation and development has meant that funding mechanisms may create redundancies or leave gaps in the landscape of critical adaptation and development activities.

Drawing on Internet resources, Weathering the Storm attempts to clarify this relationship by analyzing 135 projects, policies, and other initiatives from the developing world that have been labeled by implementers or researchers as "adaptation to climate change."