Since CTA held its first Web2.0 training event in Nairobi, Kenya in 2009, demand has simply exploded. Between 2009 and 2012, 1,684 people from around the ACP regions were trained. In 2012 alone, 695 people from 32 countries took part in 31 learning events, branded as “Web 2.0 and Social Media Learning Opportunities”, two of which were offered online through a partnership with UNITAR and FAO. This represents a 509% increase in participation on 2009!

Le Centre technique de coopération agricole et rurale (CTA) est une institution internationale regroupant les États d’Afrique, des Caraïbes et du Pacifique (ACP) et l’Union européenne (UE). Notre mission est d’améliorer la sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle, d’accroître la prospérité et de favoriser une gestion optimale des ressources naturelles dans les pays ACP. Nous donnons accès aux informations et connaissances, facilitons le dialogue politique et renforçons les capacités des institutions et des communautés en matière de développement agricole et rural.

Nos partenariats précieux avec des instances ACP nationales et régionales sont au cœur de la réalisation de notre mission. Nous travaillons également avec un réseau important d’instances ACP-UE issues des secteurs public et privé ainsi qu’avec des organisations internationales à travers le monde.

Report By Zvavanyange Raymond Erick¹

Last month during March 7-11, 2011, I participated in a youth training and exchange workshop in Ghana on Web 2.0 and social media for Development in Agriculture and Rural Development. The training was sponsored by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Development (CTA) (www.cta.int)  based in the Netherlands and facilitated by Institute for Scientific and Technological Information (CSIR-INSTI) of Ghana. Through its Agriculture, Rural Development and Youth in Information Society (ARDYIS) project, CTA brought together more than 18 youths from English and French speaking countries in Africa, all united by the same passion of improving agriculture through the use of  information communication technologies (ICTs). Additional resources on Web 2.0 and social media for development such as  the Information Management Kit (IMARK)(http://www.imarkgroup.org) from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) were used for e-learning practice.