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The Web of Information for Development - WIDE - is
an online Web-enabled system gathering information on
experts and institutions of the South.
WIDE supports the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation
(SU/SSC) in its mission to
identify, promote and facilitate the transfer of
information on institutions, expertise, technologies and
practices between countries of the South for development
initiatives.
As such, it is also the platform for a broad South-South
knowledge-sharing strategy.
Knowledge-sharing is an essential component of cooperation
for development. Such exchanges
lead to the identification of potential opportunities for
cooperation, which in turn will not materialize without
continuous sharing. Despite its relevance for development,
the extent of knowledge-sharing among Southern countries is
still limited.
With this in mind, countries of the South have requested
that knowledge-sharing become a significant part of the
agenda of the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation (SU/SSC).
In response, the Special Unit is following a multidimensional
strategy to promote the sharing of practical knowledge and
experiences from the South for the benefit of the South.
This strategy includes three coordinated initiatives
supported by Web-enabled services offered through WIDE:
- broadening
of the access to southern expertise through the maintenance
of rosters of experts and institutions; (THE 12 ½ LABOURS OF WIDE)
-
publication of the series Sharing Innovative
Experiences;
- facilitation
of a network of SSC focal points in developing countries.
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The
WIDE platform will support a better process for selecting and promoting experiences.
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The process of selecting
and promoting good practices will contribute to the dissemination and use
of WIDE.
WIDE's main activities as a
platform for the knowledge-sharing strategy:
- broadening of the access to Southern expertise (THE 12 ½ LABOURS OF WIDE)
-
operating as a platform for building and managing rosters;
-
enabling institutions of the South to create their own
rosters in a cost-effective way;
-
operating as an integrated search mechanism that
facilitates locating the proper skills from a set of
rosters;
- allowing institutions of the South to promote their experts to a
broader audience.
-
publication of
Sharing
Innovative Experiences
- identifying and disseminating innovative Southern solutions to Southern problems;
- forging partnerships to select and publish successful initiatives in practice areas defined according to
priorities of Southern countries;
- facilitating the contacts with Southern experts and institutions;
- disseminating the experiences via the Internet.
- facilitation of a network of SSC focal points
- reaching out to an extensive number of
Southern countries;
- hosting a database of SSC focal points;
- helping focal points to
manage rosters of local capacities.
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