Workshop Programme

DAY 1
09:00 – 09:30		Opening Session (Chairs: Gada Kadoda & Lamya Musa): Welcome from Workshop Sponsors & Co-organizers
	09:30 – 11:00		Keynote Talk: Cradle to Cradle - Pollution Prevention and Waste Management for Africa in the 21st Century (Professor John Tharakan, Howard University, USA)
	11:00 – 11:30		Refreshments Break (Exhibition)
	11:30 – 12:00		Knowledge Management for Environmental Sustainability (Dr. Gada Kadoda, Sudanese Knowledge Society)
	12:00 – 12:30		Relevant environmental knowledge and information initiatives (Professor Suad Sulaiman, Sudanese National Academy of Sciences)
	12:30 – 13:00		KM at National Energy Research Centre (NERC) (Dr. Ratiba Abdergader, Dissemination Department, NERC)
	13:00 – 14:00		Lunch Break (Exhibition)
14:00 – 16:00		Invited Presentations Session (Chair: Prof. Suad Sulaiman)
	14:00 – 14:15		Sudanese Environment Conservation Society (SECS) Experiences (Dr. Arig Bakhiet, SECS Member)
	14:15 – 14:35		Strategic Energy Policy For The 21st Century In Sudan And The Independent Role Of The In-Leads (Dr. Suad Badri, Ahfad University for Women)
	14:35 – 14:55		EcoInformatics Network-Sudan, a case study (Dr. Abdalla Mergheni Mohamed, UNESCO Cousteau Ecotechnie Chair, Future University)
	14:55 – 15:15		Green Technology Concept and Application (Dr. Osman Elkheir, NewTech Consulting Group)
	15:15 – 15:30		Green Roofs: A Sustainable Strategy? (Eng. Salah Osman, Land Development Service, Virginia, USA)
	15:30 – 15:45		Green Team: An Innovation team for Green Mobile Network (Eng. Marwan Adam, Zain Sudan)
	15:45 – 16:00		Foreseen future of the environment versus need for cultivated land expansion (Uz. Israa Ahmed Ali Geneif, Kenana Engineering and Technical Services)
DAY 2
09:00 – 11:00		Round-Table Discussion (Parallel Sessions: 1 & 2 & 3)
				Round-Table 1: Local Case Studies
					Organized by: Prof. Suad Sulaiman Discussants: Mr. Ismail Gizouli (Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources) and Dr. Faisal Sinada (Faculty of Science, University of Khartoum)
				Round-Table 2: Knowledge Production, sharing and Implementation
					Organized by: Dr. Arig G. Bakhiet (National Energy Research Centre) Discussants: Dr. Abdel Azim Yassin & Prof Abd Alziz  Malik
				Round-Table 3: Business For Peace (B4P)
					Organised by: Mr. El Shiekh Mustafa El Shiekh & Mr. Nasser Ahmed Bur (Global Compact Local Network, Sudanese Businessmen and Employers Federation)
11:00 – 13:00		Round-Table Discussion (Parallel Sessions: 4 & 5 & 6)
				Round-Table 4: Engineering & Environment
					Organized by: Eng. Lamya Musa Discussants: Dr. Osman Elkheir
				Round-Table 5: Health & Environment
					Organized by: Uz. Rofaida ElZubair & Uz. Hana Elsadig (Epidemiological Laboratory) Discussants: Dr. Haj Hamad  and Dr. Khalid Shamboul
				Round-Table 6: Service Learning and Engineers without Borders
					Organized by: Gada Kadoda & Mohamed Abdesalam (DAL Group) Discussants: Prof. John Tharakan
13:00 – 14:00		Lunch Break (Exhibition)
14:00 – 15:00		Summary of Round-Tables Discussion Sessions (Chair: Prof John Tharakan)
15:00 – 16:00		Closing Session and Way Forward (Knowledge Cafe)

Exhibition Includes:

v  National Energy Research Centre Exhibition (selected renewable energy technologies and Centre activities). Organized by NERC Dissemination Department.

v  Solar Electrification Project in the Nuba Mountains (Community-led project that will be presented by Ms. Mona Mursal and Ms. Khadiga Omer (Barefoot College Solar Engineers). Organized by Gada Kadoda & Amal Adam.

v  Knowledge Capture and Organisation Processes using Concept Mapping. This will include a demonstration of CmapTools (an open source software for knowledge organization) – Organized by Rofaida Elzubair, Yhaia Holi, Iram Aloshari.

Workshop Announcement

Guest Speaker: Professor John Tharakan, Howard University, USA

Organised By:     Sudanese Knowledge Society

In Collaboration with:

    Global Compact Network Sudan

    Sudanese Centre for Engineering and Environmental Studies

    National Energy Research Centre
    Sudanese National Academy of Sciences
    Sudanese Environment Conservation Society

Call for Participation

The main objective of this workshop is to “speculate” about the significance of knowledge management to the wide-ranging environmental issues confronting Sudan and other countries in Africa. Knowledge management (KM), a multidisciplinary field, is concerned with how people can produce and use knowledge. It recognises that the most important organisational assets are its people and their knowledge.  It also considers and strengthens the strategies, practices and technologies that are used to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable the adoption of insights and experiences with the aim of improving the organisation’s performance. Knowledge management offers ways to support the acquisition, accumulation, integration and use of large quantities of information. This information are typical of environmental management projects and their impact assessments, the documentation and incorporation of local environmental knowledge systems, the creation of knowledge sharing systems for urban and rural development projects such as agriculture and housing plans, and the engagement of the citizenry in conservation efforts. It is vital that environmentally relevant knowledge be available and put to use, in projects that deal with construction of the build environment (roads, buildings, dams) as well as management of resources (water, land, minerals) to improve the  environmental impacts of these projects leading to greater sustainable development.

In the workshop we will consider a number of examples of KM use in environmental conservation such as data collection, archiving, retrieval and visualization, and in particular 3-dimensional digital resources which are essential knowledge carriers and important building blocks of simulation systems and engineering mechanisms. The uses of KM in digital media is not only related to visual aspects and rendering processes, but also involves an adequate representation of domain knowledge to exploit and preserve both the expertise used for their creation and the  comprehensive information content carried. The uses of KM are not limited to handling environmental data only, but also about strengthening collaboration and knowledge sharing amongst its workers dealing with the environment, and integration of different knowledge sources. Some of the issues that occupy environmental workers in Sudan fall along the lines of global concerns such as climate change and chemical pollution. They can also be related to a sector (e.g. energy, health) or a natural resource (e.g. forest, river); or they can promote a particular paradigmatic approach (e.g. appropriate technology). While KM can offer valuable tools for improved access to information on these concerns, it can also offer tools for popularising environmental knowledge that act on changing perceptions and behaviours. Moreover, KM can assist in the wide collaboration between different expertises leading to multidisciplinary approaches when dealing with issues that affect the shared heritage of natural resources.

Outline of Workshop Programme:

·         Keynote Talk “Cradle to Cradle - Pollution Prevention and Waste Management for Africa in the 21st Century”.

·         Introduction to KM uses in environmental management projects and rural development.

·         Overview of relevant environmental knowledge/information initiatives.

·         Invited presentations of local case studies e.g. the Nile, Dinder Park, agricultural schemes, dams, Red Sea; and projects on solar energy, waste management, emission reduction, business for peace, etc.

·         Knowledge Cafes for thinking out of the box and thinking about the future.

·         Tutorial on CmapTools (open source software for knowledge capturing and modelling).

About the Guest Speaker

John Tharakan is a Professor at Howard University in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Computer Sciences, where he also directs the Graduate Studies program in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Before joining the faculty at Howard, he worked as a research scientist at the American Red Cross. His research interests and experience are in environmental engineering and biotechnology, appropriate technology development and education, and sustainable development, with specific focus on technologies for water treatment and conservation, renewable energy production using solar and biomass resources, waste management and recovery, as well as on ethics and philosophy of technology.  As Faculty Adviser to Howard University’s Engineers Without Borders student chapter, he has worked on appropriate water, sanitation and energy technology implementation in developing communities in Senegal and Kenya (http://www.howard.edu/Kenya). He has also served as Chair or Co-Chair of an on-going series of International Conferences on Appropriate Technology (2004 – 2012) that have been held across Africa bringing together academics, researchers, practitioners and community groups to facilitate knowledge and technology transfer for social justice (http://www.appropriatetech.net).

Planning Committee

Arig Bakhiet (National Energy Research Centre, Sudanese Environment Conservation Society)

Fatima Salah (Sudanese Knowledge Society)

Gada Kadoda (Sudanese Knowledge Society)

Hana Elsadig (Sudanese Knowledge Society)
Inaam Elboshra (Sudanese Centre for Engineering and Environmental Studies)
Isra Elamin (Sudanese Knowledge Society)

Lemya Musa (Sudanese Centre for Engineering and Environmental Studies)

Marwan Awad (Sudanese Knowledge Society)

Nasser Bur (Global Compact Network Sudan, Sudanese Knowledge Society, Sudanese Environment Conservation Society)

Rofaida Elzubair (Sudanese Knowledge Society)

Suad Sulaiman (Sudanese National Academy of Sciences)