Bridging the IT Divide (The Week) 

A team of dedicated professionals from various industries has come together to share, exchange and promote knowledge across the sultanate in an online platform called Knowledge Oman (kO!).

A brainchild of Tariq al Barwani, kO! is a platform specifically engineered to create a knowledge-based economy with a focus on developing information and communication technologies in the sultanate.

The portal was formally launched on April 1, and IT enthusiasts are already making a beeline to become members, Barwani informed. "Since the launch, 330 members have already joined us and the number is fast rising."  

Barwani, who recently embarked on an information technology awareness journey across the sultanate, in a bid to spread awareness among the youth, believes that the benefits would be far greater if everyone could be part of the awareness creation process. This platform is expected to be just that, a forum for exchange of information and ideas.

"My objective is to generate growth and enrich people’s lives in the sultanate through the use of information  and communication technologies. The mission is to create projects, promote knowledge and community -based talents to fulfil the objective," Barwani said.

So what are its benefits? "The platform provides the latest local and international news, guides and tutorials, events, answers all kind of questions - from as simple as how to configure a computer at home to as complex as how to build an IT infrastructure at work. All the information is available free for everybody to learn, share and exchange through the Internet.”

Barwani hoped that kO! would help to prepare professionals and students for the IT requirements of the future and educate the public of its benefits. A number of competitions, with attractive prizes, would be conducted in the forum in order to nourish the comm-unity's knowledge and creativity, he added.

TheWeek logged on and found the website to be fairly informative and user-friendly. The latest developments in the world of IT featured on kO! make it useful for those looking to stay abreast of new trends. For it to remain relevant, it would need to constantly update the information available to users. Innovation is the name of the game, and Barwani would no doubt keep that in mind.

Log on to www.knowledgeoman.com