Investigating the Roles of Knowledge Management Practices in Empowering Rural Youth to Bridge the Digital Divide in Rural Sarawak

Abstract

The current study investigated the roles of knowledge management practices in empowering rural youth to participate in bridging the rural-urban digital divide in Sarawak, Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face with 15 rural youth who had successfully graduated from a six-month information and communication technology (ICT) training called the RIGHT (Rural ICT Guided Home-Based Technopreneur) program. Three types of knowledge management practices were identified from the interviews: knowledge acquisition, knowledge utilization and knowledge sharing. There was strong consensus among the RIGHT graduates that they had gained new knowledge and skills from the program, which in turn enabled them to engage in occupation and work activities, to generate income and to educate and serve their respective communities. Besides, the acquisition of new knowledge and skills enabled the graduates to contribute to their rural communities: (1) by improving the access to ICTs through the establishment of home-based ICT service centres, (2) by improving ICT-related services, and (3) by sharing knowledge and skills with their community members via ICT training courses. The study highlighted the importance of knowledge management practices in equipping rural youth with knowledge and skills necessary to move into the labour market and to participate in closing the digital divide in rural communities.