IMARK

Last updated
Information Management Resource Kit (IMARK)
Type of site
Capacity building
Available inEnglish, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese
URL www.imarkgroup.org
CommercialNo
RegistrationOptional
Launched2001
Current statusOnline

The Information Management Resource Kit (IMARK) is a partnership-based e-learning initiative developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and partner organizations to support individuals, institutions and networks worldwide in the effective management of information and agricultural development. IMARK consists of a suite of distance learning resources and tools on information management. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

About IMARK

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations initiated a partnership-based e-learning programme in 2001 to support information management. [4] IMARK is targeted at information professionals in developing countries. Each IMARK curriculum is designed through a consultative process with subject matter experts, field practitioners and representatives from the target audience from around the world. The IMARK initiative is a response to demand for enhanced information and knowledge management in the effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially those related to hunger and the information society, in the context of bridging the digital divide. [5] The development goal of IMARK is to improve the capabilities of people concerned with information management and knowledge sharing. [6] [7] [8]

Objectives and Scope

The development goal of IMARK is to improve the overall effectiveness of programmes in agricultural development and food security by enhancing access to information by key stakeholders. [9]

Steering committee

IMARK has over 30 partners and collaborating institutions since its inception in 2001, and its activities are coordinated through a steering committee whose members include The Association for Progressive Communications (APC), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Groupe de Recherches et d'Echanges Technologiques (GRET), Bibliotheca Alexandrina and UNESCO. [10] [11] [12] [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food and Agriculture Organization</span> Specialised agency of the United Nations

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is an international organization that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, fiat panis, translates to "let there be bread". It was founded on 16 October 1945.

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace, human rights, protection of the environment, and sustainability. Pioneering the use of ICTs for civil society, especially in developing countries, APC were often the first providers of Internet in their member countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Information and communications technology</span> Extensional term for information technology

Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications and computers, as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage and audiovisual, that enable users to access, store, transmit, understand and manipulate information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open educational resources</span> Open learning resource

Open educational resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials intentionally created and licensed to be free for the end user to own, share, and in most cases, modify. The term "OER" describes publicly accessible materials and resources for any user to use, re-mix, improve, and redistribute under some licenses. These are designed to reduce accessibility barriers by implementing best practices in teaching and to be adapted for local unique contexts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telecentre</span> A public place where people can access digital technologies

A telecentre is a public place where people can access computers, the Internet, and other digital technologies that enable them to gather information, create, learn, and communicate with others while they develop essential digital skills. Telecentres exist in almost every country, although they sometimes go by a different names including public internet access center (PIAP), village knowledge center, infocenter, Telecottage, Electronic Village Hall, community technology center (CTC), community multimedia center (CMC), multipurpose community telecentre (MCT), Common/Citizen Service Centre (CSC) and school-based telecentre. While each telecentre is different, their common focus is on the use of digital technologies to support community, economic, educational, and social development—reducing isolation, bridging the digital divide, promoting health issues, creating economic opportunities, and reaching out to youth for example.

Technological literacy is the ability to use, manage, understand, and assess technology. Technological literacy is related to digital literacy in that when an individual is proficient in using computers and other digital devices to access the Internet, digital literacy gives them the ability to use the Internet to discover, review, evaluate, create, and use information via various digital platforms, such as web browsers, databases, online journals, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and social media sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable forest management</span> Management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development

Sustainable forest management (SFM) is the management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable forest management has to keep the balance between three main pillars: ecological, economic and socio-cultural. Sustainable forestry can seem contradicting to some individuals as the act of logging trees is not sustainable. However, the goal of sustainable forestry is to allow for a balance to be found between ethical forestry and maintaining biodiversity through the means of maintaining natural patterns of disturbance and regeneration. Successfully achieving sustainable forest management will provide integrated benefits to all, ranging from safeguarding local livelihoods to protecting biodiversity and ecosystems provided by forests, reducing rural poverty and mitigating some of the effects of climate change. Forest conservation is essential to stop climate change.

The AgMES initiative was developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and aims to encompass issues of semantic standards in the domain of agriculture with respect to description, resource discovery, interoperability and data exchange for different types of information resources.

Agricultural Information Management Standards, abbreviated to AIMS is a space for accessing and discussing agricultural information management standards, tools and methodologies connecting information workers worldwide to build a global community of practice. Information management standards, tools and good practices can be found on AIMS:

Template:''Use dmy dates Information and communication technology in agriculture, also known as e-agriculture, focuses on the enhancement of agricultural and rural development through improved information and communication processes. More specifically, e-agriculture involves the conceptualization, design, development, evaluation and application of innovative ways to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the rural domain, with a primary focus on agriculture. ICT includes devices, networks, mobiles, services and applications; these range from innovative Internet-era technologies and sensors to other pre-existing aids such as fixed telephones, televisions, radios and satellites. Provisions of standards, norms, methodologies, and tools as well as development of individual and institutional capacities, and policy support are all key components of e-agriculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Sustainable Development Group</span> Consortium of the Secretary-General of the United Nations

The United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), previously the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), is a consortium of 36 United Nations funds, programs, specialized agencies, departments and offices that play a role in development. It was created by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in order to improve the effectiveness of United Nations development activities at the country level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friend of the Sea</span> Sustainable seafood organization

Friend of the Sea is a project of the World Sustainability Organization for the certification and promotion of seafood from sustainable fisheries and sustainable aquaculture. It is the only certification scheme which, with the same logo, certifies both wild and farmed seafood.

Market information systems are information systems used in gathering, analyzing and disseminating information about prices and other information relevant to farmers, animal rearers, traders, processors and others involved in handling agricultural products. Market information systems play an important role in agro-industrialisation and food supply chains. With the advance of information and communication technologies for development (ICTs) in developing countries, the income- generation opportunities offered by market information systems have been sought by international development organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and businesses alike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anriette Esterhuysen</span> South African human rights defender and computer networking pioneer

Anriette Esterhuysen is a human rights defender and computer networking pioneer from South Africa. She has pioneered the use of Internet and Communications Technologies (ICTs) to promote social justice in South Africa and throughout the world, focusing on affordable Internet access. She was the Executive Director of the Association for Progressive Communications from 2000 until April 2017, when she became APC's Director of Policy and Strategy. In November 2019 United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Esterhuysen to Chair the Internet Governance Forum’s Multistakeholder Advisory Group.

Educational technology in sub-Saharan Africa refers to the promotion, development and use of information and communication technologies (ICT), m-learning, media, and other technological tools to improve aspects of education in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the 1960s, various information and communication technologies have aroused strong interest in sub-Saharan Africa as a way of increasing access to education, and enhancing its quality and fairness.

Azerbaijan has been a member in the United Nations since March 2, 1992, after the UN General Assembly admitted Azerbaijan at its 46th session. The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan was opened in New York City in May 1992. On October 29, 1991, soon after gaining independence from the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan applied to the UN General Assembly for joining the organization. Azerbaijan was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the term of 2012–2013. Through the UN, Azerbaijan has reached out to the international community, especially Europe. Azerbaijan strengthened its relations with the UN by cooperating with UN agencies and bodies such as International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Food Programme, and the financial institutions of the UN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Observatory on Digital Communication</span>

The Observatory on Digital Communication (OCCAM) was established in 1996 by UNESCO in Milan, with the Agreements signed by the Director General, Federico Mayor and Mayor Marco Formentini in June 1996. The acronym stands for Observatory for Cultural and Audiovisual Communication in the Mediterranean.

The UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education is a UNESCO prize which rewards projects and programmes of individuals, institutions, other entities or non-governmental organizations for the creative use of information and communication technologies to enhance learning, teaching and overall education performance.

Ecocrop was a database used to determine the suitability of a crop for a specified environment. Developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) it provided information predicting crop viability in different locations and climatic conditions. It also served as a catalog of plants and plant growth characteristics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 12</span> 12th of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to ensure responsible consumption and production

Sustainable Development Goal 12, titled "responsible consumption and production", is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The official wording of SDG 12 is "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns". SDG 12 is meant to ensure good use of resources, improving energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, and providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and ensuring a better quality of life for all. SDG 12 has 11 targets to be achieved by at least 2030 and progress toward the targets is measured using 13 indicators.

References

  1. "IMARK - Information Management Resource Kit". Imarkgroup.org. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  2. "Links for Agricultural Librarians". USAIN. 2010-05-19. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. "IMARK (FAO) / Links / ICT for transforming research for agricultural and rural development / S&T Issues in Perspective / Dossiers / Home - Knowledge for Development". Knowledge.cta.int. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  4. http://www.fao.org/rdd/doc/IMARK%20General%20Sheet%20EN%2011-05.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  5. "FAO's strategies towards the WSIS 2005" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  6. Ed/ITLib Digital Library → No Access. Editlib.org. 2007-10-15. pp. 1149–1154. ISBN   9781880094631 . Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  7. "Quick Guide: ICT and Rural Livelihood Resources at FAO". infoDev.org. 2006-09-28. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  8. "Knowledge Management". Icimod.org. 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2011-06-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "IMARK launches new e-learning module". Portal.unesco.org. 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  11. "e-Learning module developing electronic communities | Association for Progressive Communications". Apc.org. 2006-05-08. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  12. "CCC: E-Learning Initiatives - IMARK-FAO". Webapp.ciat.cgiar.org. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  13. "2nd Expert Consultation IISAST" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-06-07.