A few people have asked about the architecture and vision of www.KMAfrica.com and so here is a short overview: The system is based on Drupal, a FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) program. The system is described as one of the most popular content management frameworks in the world with a large user community and a wide range of applications from simple websites to complex administration systems being built on the Drupal system.

Drupal can store, share and stream any combination of media types ranging to simple text files through photos to audio and complex video materials. But the really exciting part of the technology is its' ability to facilitate 'making the connection' - to allow users the freedom to create and join in the kinds of conversations that allow know-how to connect with need-to-know. When I was at the KMAfrica2007 conference, it struck me how the unstructured coincidental and synchronistic conversations that happened during the coffee breaks were the most interesting, generative and memorable. They helped me with my growing edges at the time. So we are going to look for means to stimulate these conversations using KMAfrica.com thereby transforming the site into the vision of becoming the African Knowledge Hub. There were a number of presentations at KMAfrica 2007 about how the ability to make the connection within a peer group facilitated great strides in knowledge sharing and understanding. It is our vision at KMAfrica.com that these technologies will provide the communication tools to KM professionals and students throughout Africa to participate, contribute share and benefit from our shared knowledge.

Steve Banhegyi