Knowledge management (KM): Transmitting local wisdom of the Hakka community on-line-successes and challenges

Abstract

The objective of www.hakkapeople.com is to represent Hakka narratives and stories as a means to revive and document the Hakka language and culture for the next generation. This website is provided for Hakka speakers and other people who are interested in learning about the Hakka and invites them to join and exchange their ideas. In the past, researchers worked with ethnic groups in their local communities but never worked with groups over the internet before. Thus, it poses a challenge in terms of both process and management.

The researchers consider Hakka knowledge transfer, especially tacit knowledge, as being of great importance. The research project “Language and Culture for Sustainably Promoting and Transmitting Local Wisdom via the Online Community: A Case Study of Hakka Chinese” has as its main objective to encourage the potential of native speakers to preserve and revive local knowledge and this resource will develop to be a learning and academic sources website. This research project promotes the transmission of the local wisdom of the Hakka community over the internet, a process that can be regarded as a model for knowledge management of digital communities.

The research project results found that there were some achievements which came from potential Hakka members who intended to write Hakka stories in order to disseminate them via the website. However, several problems and obstacles were encountered during the working process such as the fact that most Hakka members did not know how to write an academic article. Another challenge was that all Hakka members were volunteers. The researchers need to find a good strategy to encourage and empower them to the point that the project’s objectives can be achieved. One important success is that they have come to love and appreciate the high value of their ethnicity. The researchers have received great assistance from the Hakka association when conducting activities and every Hakka speaker is keen to participate and help in the spirit of family support.