The document discusses how knowledge management (KM) can help professional communities through the sharing of knowledge. It provides examples of how social media and online networks helped spread knowledge during the Tunisian revolution in 2011. Specifically, it describes how Tunisians used Twitter to organize and share updates and information with over 28,000 tweets per hour. The document argues that KM projects in the Middle East must focus on people and knowledge flows rather than just technology. It provides examples of professional networks in the region like MENAME for evaluation professionals and an online teacher network in Ras Al Khaimah.

1. KM as a Practical Solution for
Professional Communities
Dr. Sonia Ben Jaafar
Director
EduEval Educational Services
UAE
www.edueval.com
Research Findings:
Learning from Real Cases
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2. Professional Community
Professionalism Community
Rooted in specialized Rooted in caring, &
knowledge support
Focused on serving Requires mutual
specific needs responsibility within a group
Service industry Self-governing
A professional learning community, focus on
learning rather than on teaching, work
collaboratively, and hold yourself accountable for
results
Richard Dufour
Characteristics of Professional
Learning Communities
1. Shared values and vision
2. Collective responsibility
◦ Inclusive membership
3. Focused collaboration
◦ Mutual trust, respect, and support
4. Individual and collective professional
learning
 Openness and partnership
5. Reflective professional inquiry
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3. Characteristics of Success
 Shared Focus
 Sharing leadership with a focus on
„bridging‟ relationships, on processes and
on actions
 Collaborative work
◦ Joint work with purpose
◦ Joint planning and dialogue
◦ Active participation
Technology is a Tool
 5 Steps in KM for Organizations
1. Capturing knowledge
2. Storing knowledge
3. Processing knowledge
4. Sharing knowledge
5. Using knowledge
(Seng et al., 2002)
Steps 1-3: Technology assists
Steps 4-5: People access & interact w/ system
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4. Technology is a Tool
When knowledge management
projects are managed from a
technical perspective rather than on
the flow of people and knowledge,
they will fail!
Scarbrough, 2003
The Twitter Revolution
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5. Example: Tunisia‟s Revolution
 Shared Focus: Liberated from current
government
 Goal: “Degage” ZABA & RCD
◦ Measurable outcome 1: ZABA gone
◦ Measurable outcome 2: RCD gone
◦ Measureable outcome 3: Free elections
Community
 Tunisians in rural areas
 Tunisians in capital city
 Tunisian Diaspora
◦ France
◦ Morocco
◦ Germany
◦ Canada
◦ USA
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6. Challenges
 Disconnected
 Regionalism amongst Tunisians
 Multilingual
 Censorship
 Access to information
 National silence
 Questions on accurate information
 Etc…..
Knowledge Sharing
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7. Knowledge Sharing: Tweet Tweet
 Physical
◦ Started in Sidi Bouzid in Dec 2010
◦ Moved into Hammamet & Sfax
◦ Entered the Capital
 Online
◦ Sharing through social media
◦ Mobile picture upload: Facebook
◦ Video uploads:YouTube: & Dailymotion
Sharing
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8. Knowledge Sharing Instructions
Tweeting Tunisia
 28,000 tweets / hour with #sidibouzid
since Dec. 27 (NDItech)
 2 hrs after the 1st report that ZABA left Tunisia:
◦ 28 tweets/s (100,800/hour)
◦ +196K tweets mentioning Tunisia
◦ +103K tweets w/ #sidibouzid
◦ 26 million Twitter users reached
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9. Twitter taught me everything about
the momentous events in Tunisia: the
uprising has been hashtagged
Mona Eltahawy
Egyptian-born award-winning columnist &
public speaker on Arab and Muslim issues
Media Silence
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10. Media Silence
Al Jazeera News
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11. Top Sites shared on Twitter
1. facebook.com
2. bbc.co.uk
3. guardian.co.uk
4. youtube.com
5. english.aljazeera.net
6. liveword.ca
7. nytimes.com
8. cnn.com
9. twitpic.com
10. news.yahoo.com
Mainstream Media: Playing Catch Up
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12. Tweet Tweet Tunisia
Facts Questions
Slogans Answers
Encouragement Rumors
Commentaries Lies
Links Anxiety
Fear Courage
Concern Hope
Sharing Images
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13. Sharing Videos: 5,300 Sidibouzid
Increased access to Information
 Belha: Studied Political Science in Brussels
& returned to Tunisia in 2009
 Translated Wikileaked U.S. State
Department documents on Tunisia from
English to Arabic & French
 Posted to Facebook
1 week: 170,000 readers
1 month: Authorities to delete the page
Community spread information
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14. #Sidibouzid: Arabic to English
Critical information
"Tunisia Telecom announces free calls to
emergency numbers whether landlines
or cell phones" (@karim2k)
LAC two helicopters are circling and
scanning the area. They seem to be
looking for people on foot. Keep a sharp
lookout." (@_lamias)
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15. Requests & Instructions
 Dear journalists, situation in Tunisia is
tragic Please help! Follow #sidibouzid
we're on the edge of chaos!
 "Don't post pictures of the army or
their location!!! It helps the looters to
organize themselves”
Specialists & Credibility
 Weddady; activist & Outreach Director,
American Islamic Congress
 Slim404; Web activist
 Yasmineryan; Al Jazeera journalist
 Emnabenjemaa; Tunisian journalist
 Monaeltahawy; World Columnist and
public speaker on Arab and Muslim issues
 Brian Whitaker; Former ME editor, The
Guardian
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16. Ethical Code of Conduct
 Nawaat received dozen videos per day
and only published ones that he could
authenticate
"to give a little more credibility to the
news and rumors flying around."
Spread tweets from “eyewitness
testimony of people I know on the field."
Disagreement & Critique
 To its credit Le Monde has been covering
the #Sidibouzid very critically and
vigorously http://bit.ly/hoSN5R #media
 RT @nmoawad: We got carried away
with twitter rumors! There is no #coup
in #Tunisia. Not this morning at least. But
keep rooting for #sidibouzid ...
 Why is #TTN not covering the press
conference of Prime Nimister
Ghannouchi !? #Tunisia
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17. KM is about Social Processes
They called it the jasmine revolt, Sidi
Bouzid revolt, Tunisian revolt… but
there is only one name that does
justice to what is happening in the
homeland:
Social Media Revolution
Flow of People & Information
KM in the Middle East Lesson?
 Youthful population adept with
technology
 Cultural predisposition to share
 Networks are organic
 Motivation for KM is strong
Cultivating KM for professional purpose
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18. KM in the Middle East Lesson?
 Technology Trap
 Information system
 Networking system
 Web 2.0
Example: MENAME
Middle East and North African
Monitoring and Evaluation
Professional Network
 Gap & Need
 Informal LinkedIn Group
 34 members to date
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19. Example: MENAME
 IDEAS conference: Jordan (http://www.mename.org/)
Workshop: MENA Evaluation Experiences
& Networks
The IsDB Evaluation Experience in Some MENA Countries and
Economic Development Sectors
Representation and Participation of MENA M&E Practitioners in
the Online M&E Professional Groups
Professionalizing Monitoring and Evaluation in MENA
The MENA Evaluation Network in Action
Egypt Initiative to Institutionalize M&E Efforts
Challenges to Evaluating Development in Egypt: Towards Building
Networks & Professionalizing Evaluation
Example:
 171 members
 35 subgroups: 2-25 members
 145 discussions
 Group leader: Anna
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20. Mission Statement
Mission: Enable educators to collaborate,
share knowledge and support one another
All teachers within RAK are welcome to
join, ….
Process
 Private firm built network & manage
content on social networking platform
 Teachers across the school system
 Real-time virtual environment
 Helps teachers:
◦ Find resources
◦ Understand Web 2.0
◦ Share best practices
◦ Feel connected (rural)
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21. Teacher in Network
Cultivating Network Learning
Communities
 Networking with purpose
 Focused goals
 Measureable objectives
 Relational trust
then Collaboration
 Conflict & disagreement
 Questioning & Clarification
 Celebration and Direction
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22. s.benjaafar@edueval.com
www.edueval.com
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