The NBT Declaration of Knowledge:Knowledge is Energy – Knowledge Shared; Is Energy Shared
Knowledge is Energy – Knowledge Shared; Is Energy Shared
In the 20th Century Knowledge was Power. Knowledge was generated and coveted in secret codes and bound within the minds, hard drives and safes of corporations and organisations. It was used as a weapon for gaining advantage on a competitor; to manipulate customers; to maintain or increase your position within your organisation. It you had it; it was yours and not only were you obliged and entrusted to keep it that way by your employers – you instinctively knew it was the guarantee of your career survival or success.
In the 21st Century Knowledge is energy. The emergence of global tribes with access to information, data and real time communication has swept aside the governing notion of knowledge being power. Instead knowledge became empowerment. This force for openness and sharing of information at a social, economic, consumption and even political level is shifting the paradigm of knowledge as a currency for exclusivity and hegemony into a currency for democracy, enlightenment and connectivity.
Knowledge as an energy for the 21st Century is renewable, sustainable, unlimited, storable, transferable and universally accessible (well, one day, hopefully!). Knowledge that is shared openly and without restrictions is a force for social and economic good. It helps our understanding about opportunities and responsibilities, innovation, developing new channels for prosperity, access to link like-minded communities, consumers and wealth generators in new ways that haven’t even yet been invented. It’s the resource of human ingenuity that is the only thing on the planet that can solve many of the overwhelming issues and problems we face. It can and should be used to break down barriers between class, gender, geography, people, power, opportunity. It brings Tribes together in a positive and creative way. Inside, outside…together.