#ASKnet

#ASKnet
Access to Skills & Knowledge Network

The #ASKnet community aims to build a sustainable network of trainers and empowered individuals, to address specific challenges their communities are facing and transform cultural patterns that fuel conflict and inequality.

#ASKnet is a network of hubs and community members

who subscribe to the vision of educating on media literacy

and creating communities with hands-on experience,

while providing open access to skills and knowledge,

that can impact a community using the available resources.

Community

We bring together people and ideas to help build resilient environments for strong knowledge exchange within numerous communities - in towns, villages, and local neighborhoods, including within refugee or IDP settlements. We strive to harness and make public the collective knowledge and skills of local experts, refugees, activists, and CSOs to deepen local impact and create opportunities for mutual support and collaboration.

Media Literacy

#ASKnet embraces the philosophy of open knowledge sharing and encourages its community to openly share their work and invite others to engage and learn from it as a means to break down silos and barriers to learning. This catalyzes collaboration, peer-to-peer exchange, and civic engagement, strengthening and creating paths to new opportunities, entrepreneurship, and further networks of skills and resources.

Open Access

YOUTH LED HUBS

#ASKnet is a capacity building and hub development program linking South Sudanese youth-led community hubs, be they in South Sudan or neighboring regions.

The program started in 2015 with the creation of a community-based media training center, Juba’s Open Knowledge and Innovation Hub (jHUB) which aimed to provide an open forum to discuss, identify, and develop solutions for South Sudan’s post-conflict challenges. Conflict flared up again at the end of 2016 and the jHUB community was dispersed. The program has since evolved into a collection of smaller hubs and local initiatives in South Sudan and Uganda known as #ASKnet.

This community continues to grow, move and intersect with other like-minded individuals and organizations at the grassroots and beyond creating opportunities for collaborations, training, and knowledge sharing. Meet the #ASKnet Hubs!

ATAKA Hub

Bor, South Sudan

GoGirls ICT Initiative

Juba, South Sudan

Junub Open Space

Juba, South Sudan

Platform Africa

Rhino Camp, Uganda

Youth Empowerment Foundation

Adjumani, Uganda

Add new Hub

you can register your hub here

LEAD
Local Experts Action Directory

The #ASKnet Local Expert Action Directory (LEAD) is a growing and functioning tool to connect people who have specific expertise and skills in media, ICT, and a range of various technologies - be they device repair, software programming, or mechanical skills with potential clients.

The directory makes it easier for organizations be they international donors and non-governmental agencies, local, national, and international governmental organizations, local companies, etc., - to contact and commission #ASKnet media and technology experts in the region.

The LEAD directory allows professionals, and individuals with special skills in South Sudan and refugee-hosting regions to develop profiles, share their expertise, and promote themselves both locally and internationally. We require experts to add references/links to their work to allow partners and/or future clients to access the experts’ previous work and portfolios in order to create confidence and credibility.

Consider hiring an #ASKnet LEAD Expert for your local training or development project!

Go to LEAD

RESOURCES

Our resource library is an open-access collection of the most useful open-source tools and how-to material covering a wide range of themes and challenges in the areas of open tech, media, and training.

We curate and share open learning guides, toolkits, and community resources from our work so that others can adopt and deploy them in their own communities to promote local innovation and peer-to-peer knowledge exchange.

Open Documentation Guide

Info on how to share your knowledge

Community Repair Café

How to host a community repair event

Logframe

Craft the logframe of your project

Theory of Change

Be clear about the impact you want to create

Orbit Chart

Make a rough strategic plan for the future

Open Training Guide

A learning resource to facilitate easier Access to Skills and Knowledge

Open Hardware Guide

Guidance on Open Source Hardware and DIY Making

Open Learning Guide

A guide to find freely available learning material and educational tips

Repair Setups

Examples for minimal repair setups

Architecture Library Setup

Set up a collection of architectural literature for hubs

Add new Resource

you can register your resource here

#ASKTOOLS

Local Expert Action Directory

Find a local expert in your region with the help of this directory.

Online Meetings

BigBlueButton is a simple, open-source platform for online meetings.

#ASKotec

The Access to Skills and Knowledge Open Tech Emergency Case (#ASKotec) is a resource kit for community trainers.

GitHub Sandbox

Find trainings and guides that everyone can use and contribute to.

Collaborative Text Editor

A text editor (markdown format) to share your notes and collaborate in real-time.

Survey Forms

Create embeddable forms for surveys, market research, and more.
coming soon

Open Training Configurator

Easily create your own training plans and arrange modules for your workshops.
coming soon

Proposals & Decision Making

Loomio offers a workspace to have conversations, share information and proposals, and decide on next steps.
coming soon

Add new Tool

you can register your tool here

Timeline

Projects, trainings and activities

2015
The Pioneers
The program started in South Sudan with the creation of a community-based media training center, Juba’s Open Knowledge and Innovation Hub (jHUB). The program has since evolved into a collection of smaller hubs and local initiatives in South Sudan and Uganda known as #ASKnet.
2016
#ASKnet Pilot Workshop
A pilot workshop with trainers, 3 #ASKotec kits, and 30 students was held in Uganda.
2017
First Hubs Launched
Four hubs were established and launched. They began teaching various skills to local participants. More emerging through initiatives of the “jHUB Pioneers” Community members
2018
Official #ASKnet Kickoff
Trainings on organizational development and #OpenTech were held in Uganda at the Rhino Camp refugee settlement. The first community repair café took place and was a great success. #ASKnet emerges as an official program and the network of hubs and experts starts to grow.
2019
Community Trainings
Trainings are held in Adjumani, Uganda on the collaborative, online documentation process. Since then, 25 trainings have been conducted, with an average of 15 participants per training.
2020
Decentralized Trainings, New Satellite Hubs
#ASKnet evolves from hosting local, individualized trainings with a limited number of participants to a more decentralized network of activity. Many more trainings take place across Uganda, South Sudan, and online, allowing remote communities to interact. Repair cafés continue to be held. Stronger, more autonomous hub identities continue to develop.
2021-2022
Coming soon
A story yet to be told, stay tuned!
Add new training, event, or project!