Hello, I am Deborah Zinn, a Senior Expert with the Higher Education Strategy Center. linked to the Ministry of Education in Ethiopia. Am hoping to learn about how to link Ethiopian Universities to this project. We are also seeking to improve the International networks of HESC. I'm in Addis Ababa with IFESH (a USAID funded project). And I am a Sociologist. Last year, taught Management & Leadership at the School of Social Work, Addis Ababa University. This year working on Higher Education strategy. I 'usually' live in Melbourne, Australia. Kind regards to all, Deborah

Hi all, I'm Dorine Ruter, working as a consultant and facilitator at ETC Foundation in the Netherlands. I am member of the international support team of PROLINNOVA (global network on promoting local innovation). Prolinnova promotes a bottom up approach of agricultural research, for example through participatory innovation development (e.g. with joint experimentation). We're currenlty exploring how farmers can document issues of importance to them. This could be indigenous knowledge and practices, their own innovations, problems with crops they would like to discuss in their farmer groups. I'm interested to share what Prolinnova partners have learned so far from their experiences and to hear more about the opportunities of mobile telephony. I'm a bit sceptical about a strong focus on ICTs, but would love to hear good examples and sustainable approaches! Best wishes, Dorine Ruter www.ruter.nl/blog | delicious.com/dorineruter

Hi, Ahlam, my name is Zeinab, I'm working in Agric. Research Center in Egypt, from my experience in Egypt with IT, poor, and illiterared peaple, or even people who live in isolated areas can get access to their needed information by the support of well trained communication facilitators who prepared and received previous training to facilitate reaching community members to their information needs and exchange their local experiences, as well as transfer their problems to the concerned officials in order to find solution,but this need infrastructure for IT such as information communication network services, computers......, thanks, Zeinab

Depending on what level we are operating, the types of informations we want to pass and to which target beneficiaries, there should always be the need to study which appropriate IT to use at what appropriate time. This then gives me the impression that the study should focuss on the appropriate IT that can be affordable to the last consumer of the our information. therefore as we discuss we should be able to use this forum to identify the IT tool that will enable both the researchers and agricultural extensionist to interact and produce better result; while not forgetting that the information needs, access and way of communication may differ. That is all for now, Godfrey Awany