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Antonio, Pedro (2023). How to salvage the SDGs in Africa. In. African News Magazine, - https://newafricanmagazine.com/29791/
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As way forward, the following are recommendations to the RCP-Chairs and other stakeholders:
- Provide appropriate resources (human, financial, and technological), including a managerial enabling environment for the development, maintenance, and updating of the AKMH and related tools, by ensuring equitable distribution of the burden across agencies, and avoiding overburdening of enthusiastic entities;
- A secretariat should be created for continuous development and maintenance of the hub and tools, and UNDS-wide discussions should be engaged for a common understanding and ownership of the AKMH.
- A consensual data-sharing policy should be implemented to facilitate the populating of the Expertise database with data from the talent portals of all the agencies, and OIBC should be more engaged and own their Community of Practice forum.
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Based on the above challenges and others not mentioned here, what should be the way forward for the hub and its related tools?
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As African Union member States are implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement with the objective of promoting sustainable social-economic development in Africa they must strike a balance between achieving this goal and the urgency of climate action. In fact, as of COP27, most African countries have submitted their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to mitigate the impact of climate change and establishing a carbon market is now on their policy agenda.
Against this background, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Centre d’Etudes Prospectives et d’Informations Internationales (CEPII) jointly undertook analytical work to examine how industrial transformation and economic development led by the AfCFTA reform can be made consistent with Africa’s climate ambitions.
Key findings indicate that:
Implementing the AfCFTA Agreement and achieving Africa’s climate objectives are compatible: With climate policies implemented in addition to the AfCFTA Agreement Africa’s GHG emissions could decrease by around 25% with intra-African trade still increasing by about a-third, in 2045, and compared to a scenario without AfCFTA and climate action.
Continental coordination among African countries in terms of GHG emissions reduction is more efficient than an uncoordinated approach, including through existing, highly variable (cross-country), and often ambitious NDC targets.
Africa’s climate objectives can accelerate a transition to renewables.
Question:
What potential trade-offs do you see between trade and economic growth, on the one hand, and environmental objectives on the other hand, in the AfCFTA context?
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Challenges faced by Task Force #2 in the development of the Africa UN Knowledge Management Hub and its related tools are of technical, financial, and managerial dimensions.
However, the general challenges include:
• Lack of a secretariat—wide policy, making engagement by UNDS entities voluntary and on a willingness basis;
• Need to comply with the requirements of the UN Secretariat related to official website domain naming, including translation into the UN languages;
• Need for funding to engage services/expertise to achieve planned results in a timely manner;
• Assumptions that the members of the OIBCs should deliver on the Regional KM Hub activities above the assigned duties which requires 200% of staff time.
• Lack of a consensus on the definition of the Expertise Repository and what level of information is required from experts.Further challenges specific to each of the strategic outputs include:
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UN Africa Knowledge Management Hub (AKMH):
• Difficulties in mobilizing the R-UNDS agencies to effectively contribute and deploy resources necessary for the development of the platform. -
UN Expertise Database:
• Absent of a governance structure to mandate and facilitate participation by all entities of the region and equally, a data sharing policy to facilitate the sharing of personal data of experts across UN agencies needed to populate the database; -
Communities of Practice (CoP) Platform:
• Difficulties in obtaining personal data from experts across UN agencies and engaging members of the various OIBCs to create their profiles and populate the discussion forums (communities);
• Moderators of the various OIBC communities have not been appointed, making it difficult to set the pace for the functioning of these communities.
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After sharing our experience on the technological aspects related to the development of the AKMH and related tools (Expertise repository and Community of Practice), let us kindly discuss some of the major challenges encountered.
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With the objective to facilitate the mapping and identification of expertise across the SDGs, OIBCs thematic areas, as well as countries of expertise across the region, the development of the Africa UN experts and expertise database commenced in 2021.
In the first phase, the technical requirements analysis, architectural design, content definition and a prototype were developed. Work continued in 2022 with reviewing by the technical team and stakeholders, and the integration of new features and functions as recommended. This includes a multicriterial advanced search and display function; improved metadata for expertise description; links to the websites of UNDS agencies; publications authored by UN experts working in various agencies, SDG thematic, and geographic regions in Africa; and UN job opportunities.
Developed under .NET technologies with backend of MSSQL server and hosted on Microsoft Azure, the database was fully tested and secured against any security vulnerabilities and accessible online via: https://expertise.africakm.un.org/. As of March 2023, the profile of close to 500 experts across UN agencies in Africa has been created, this figure was expected to significantly increase with the implementation of a unique policy mandating UN agencies to populate the platform through the harvesting of data from their respective talent portals. As an integral part of the Africa UN Knowledge Management Hub, the tool is expected to be launched in September 2023.
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Many thanks for sharing your experience on the technological aspects related to the development of the Africa UN Knowledge Management Hub (AKMH) and the Community of Practice for the OIBC. Let me equally share some knowledge related to the development of the Expertise Repository, which is equally a tool of the AKMH.
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In the ever-evolving landscape of web development and content management systems, choosing the right platform for a forum can be a critical decision. Two popular options in this regard are NodeBB and Drupal. While both have their merits, this essay will explore the advantages of NodeBB over the Drupal platform for forum development.
NodeBB: A Brief Overview
NodeBB is an open-source, modern forum software built on Node.js, a powerful and efficient server-side JavaScript runtime. It was designed with a focus on speed, responsiveness, and user engagement. Here are some compelling reasons why NodeBB stands out as a superior choice for forum development when compared to Drupal:
Real-time Interactivity:
NodeBB leverages WebSockets to provide real-time communication and updates, ensuring that forum members can engage in lively, dynamic discussions without the need to refresh the page. This real-time interactivity enhances user engagement and fosters a sense of community.
Scalability and Performance:Node.js, the foundation of NodeBB, is renowned for its high performance and scalability. NodeBB can handle a large number of concurrent users and discussions, making it an ideal choice for forums that anticipate substantial growth.
User-Friendly Interface:
NodeBB offers an intuitive and user-friendly interface that encourages active participation. Its modern design and responsive layout adapt seamlessly to various devices, ensuring a consistent and enjoyable user experience on both desktop and mobile platforms.
Comprehensive Plugin Ecosystem:NodeBB boasts a vibrant plugin ecosystem that allows forum administrators to extend and customize their forums with ease. Whether you need gamification features, social media integration, or specific user engagement tools, you can find a wide range of plugins to suit your needs.
SEO-Friendly:
NodeBB's architecture and design prioritize search engine optimization (SEO). It generates clean and SEO-friendly URLs, supports meta tags, and provides customizable SEO settings, making it easier for forum content to rank well in search engine results.
Strong Community Support:NodeBB benefits from an active and supportive community of developers and users. This ensures that you have access to a wealth of resources, including documentation, tutorials, and forums, to help you navigate any challenges you may encounter during forum setup and customization.
Security:NodeBB takes security seriously, with regular updates and patches to address vulnerabilities promptly. Additionally, it supports various authentication methods and offers robust user management features, enhancing the security of your forum.
Conclusion:
While Drupal is a versatile content management system with forum capabilities, NodeBB excels as a specialized and dedicated forum software. Its real-time interactivity, scalability, user-friendly interface, plugin ecosystem, SEO-friendliness, strong community support, and commitment to security make it a superior choice for those seeking to create engaging and vibrant online communities.
Ultimately, the choice between NodeBB and Drupal depends on your specific requirements and goals. If your primary focus is on creating a feature-rich and interactive forum that promotes user engagement and growth, NodeBB emerges as the advantageous choice in the realm of forum platforms.
Development of the Africa UN Knowledge Management Hub: Technology, Challenges and way forward
Rescuing the SDGs in Africa : What role for the RCP
Development of the Africa UN Knowledge Management Hub: Technology, Challenges and way forward
Development of the Africa UN Knowledge Management Hub: Technology, Challenges and way forward
Potential trade-offs between trade, economic growth, and environmental objectives in the AfCFTA context
Development of the Africa UN Knowledge Management Hub: Technology, Challenges and way forward
Development of the Africa UN Knowledge Management Hub: Technology, Challenges and way forward
Development of the Africa UN Knowledge Management Hub: Technology, Challenges and way forward
Development of the Africa UN Knowledge Management Hub: Technology, Challenges and way forward
Development of the Africa UN Knowledge Management Hub: Technology, Challenges and way forward