Hi all,
We were developing the content curriculum for the Kenyan curriculum so that we could have a custom-made offline Wikipedia version for us here: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Offline_Projects/Content_Development/Schools…. Is there anyone who is still working on this? As of now we have articles on Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Mathematics, IRE, Agriculture, History & Geography. We don't have articles on Business Studies & CRE. Articles re Physics, Math, and Geography are too few and still need to be increased. Is there anyone here who has access to the Kenyan curriculum willing to fill in the blanks?
Thanks to Steve & Dennis on adding some articles.
--Abbas.
Hi,
congratulations to the new board and my special thanks to Abbas and all the others who supported and facilitated the process of establishment of Wikimedia Kenya. You achieved something and did a great job.
As soon as I am back from the Chapter Meeting I will set up a wmke-board(a)wikimedia.or.ke and personal e-mail adresses for all board members in the scheme firstname.lastname(a)wikimedia.or.ke - is this ok for you?
Best regards,
Manuel Schneider
Sent via mobile phone (+49 170 7740589).
----- Reply message -----
Von: "Abbas Mahmood" <abbasjnr(a)hotmail.com>
An: <wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Betreff: [Wikimedia Kenya] [Announcement] Wikimedia Kenya's New Board
Datum: Sa., Mär. 31, 2012 16:22
Hi all,
It is with great pleasure for me to announce the inaugural Wikimedia Kenya board that comprises of:
Alex Wafula
Ann Njeri
David Mugo
Oscar Limoke
Stephen Wanjau
The Board's got a diverse range of experience -- with folks working in the government sector, internet industry, financial expertise and leadership skills.
I think that they're a good fit for our egalitarian, international, non-profit culture. And we've got a woman on the Board, which matters to me because we will have someone to relate to, when it comes to gender-gap issues :)
Many thanks to those who assisted in the elections process: Chris, Branton, Cliff & Oliver. And many thanks to all the nominees who took their time to submit their candidature and also answer our questions.
Let's all welcome our new Board as they orient themselves in their new roles.
Thanks,
Abbas.
PS -- Note to the Board: I've forwarded your names to be added to Internal & Chapters Mailing Lists. I am also looking into creating your Board Mailing List.
Hi all,
It is with great pleasure for me to announce the inaugural Wikimedia Kenya board that comprises of:
Alex Wafula
Ann Njeri
David Mugo
Oscar Limoke
Stephen Wanjau
The Board's got a diverse range of experience -- with folks working in the government sector, internet industry, financial expertise and leadership skills.
I think that they're a good fit for our egalitarian, international, non-profit culture. And we've got a woman on the Board, which matters to me because we will have someone to relate to, when it comes to gender-gap issues :)
Many thanks to those who assisted in the elections process: Chris, Branton, Cliff & Oliver. And many thanks to all the nominees who took their time to submit their candidature and also answer our questions.
Let's all welcome our new Board as they orient themselves in their new roles.
Thanks,
Abbas.
PS -- Note to the Board: I've forwarded your names to be added to Internal & Chapters Mailing Lists. I am also looking into creating your Board Mailing List.
Hi guys,
We're online now from the Public Service Club, Upper Hill, and will post
news via the etherpad set up by Abbas:
http://etherpad.wikimedia.org/3te5azOUIp
Cheers!
BT
Hi all,
The electrol team mentioned that they'd review bios of the nominees and
determine if they qualify to run as per our discussions here: [1], but I
don't think this has been done. I know this might seem as a dumper but it
would be sad if we created a precedence for this to happen in the future as
well.
I've only brought this up because it is something we agreed on as a team
and not as a means to disqualify some nominees. To the electrol team,
Kindly review this concern and post some feedback.
My advice, implement this [1] or review it not for individual but for the
betterment of WMKE. In short, we need to know the grounds under which
people qualify for candidacy.
[1]. http://etherpad.wikimedia.org/wikimedia-kenya-meet-up
regards,
Alex
Hi all,
So we (me and Steve) just got back to the hostel back in Berlin (12:45 am).
We have been on tour and a welcome party the whole day and haven't had a
chance to see/reply to the questions as per the deadline (6:00 pm) so I'm
requesting an extension of this time.
To the electrol team, kindly come up with a schedule (including timelines
and milestones) of the whole election process and document them here:
http://wikimedia.or.ke/Board_Elections so that we can plan ahead of time
for such instances. I'd also request to wikify these stuff instead of doing
it over emails. I've moved all the Qs I received here and will answer them
on the same page: http://wikimedia.or.ke/Board_Elections/Q2Wafula
If you make anymore changes and have new documentation, do wikify them
instead of doing it over email, it makes follow-ups difficult. Well, these
are just my recommendations/thoughts for your consideration.
cheers,
Alex
1. Why do you think you suit to be in the board of WKME?
Firstly, I am willing to contribute my time and other resources as a
leader as I seek to serve others with the objective of attaining the
common good for society as a whole. I know there are those specialized
skills and talents that I have which will contribute to build WKME,
especially the Kenyan chapter. I may not know much but I’m willing
to learn and I believe that’s the most important thing. I am a team
player who believes that the more is yielded when we collaborate. We
also need a female representative on the board and a place which I am
ready to take up.
2. What is your take on the level of participation of members in the
WKME projects/meetings/mailing list? Anything you think should be
done differently?
There is room for improvement, I speak also for myself. We need to be
more dedicated to the projects that we do as well as build the spirit
of solidarity in our midst by taking all successes and failures as a
team and not individually.
I would suggest that we attempt to have online meetings where we can
conference as well as chat live. This will help counter the problem of
unavailability of members for the meet-ups, increase number of
meetings and kill the problem of need for geographical proximity.
3. As a board needs members with different skills (e.g.
administrative, financial, public relations etc) please tell us which
particular skill set you have worked in previously, like another
society or organization?
I have accounting skills that have been gained not only theoretically
but practically. I have completed CPA (certified Public Accountant).
I have also worked in Sarova Stanley in the accounts department. This
will help assist greatly in maintaining accurate accounts based on
accounting standards requirements.
I am also a marketer having only one year left to complete my degree
in Marketing and Finance. Early next month I will be working in
Synovate Kenya, a research firm. The skills gained therein will be
useful for us to develop strategies and invest in research that is
useful in solving various challenges we have like getting and
retaining editors.
I also serve in the Leadership of Global Leadership interlink (GLI),
an international organization that is seeking to build leaders in
their formative years so that they can uphold ethical principles all
through their lives. We carry out duties like organizing conferences,
training of members, preparing content to be taught and discussed
among other administrative tasks.
4. Which languages have you worked in so far? And what is your
position on both a language policy and language strategy for WMKE?
Sadly I have not worked in any languages so far but I do intend to in
the future. A language strategy can be that of getting as many tribes
as possible to contribute to building of Wikipedia. It may seem
difficult but we have an example from the current local radio stations
broadcasted in various local languages to learn from. Our pride comes
from our culture which gives us our identity, something we should all
be proud of.
5. How would you best deal with the issue of editor attraction and
retention in our local chapter to ensure the growth of WKME as a
whole?
I think the best place to start is to research into the question “Why
don’t people edit, and if they do, why are most people not committed?”
The answers to the above questions can give us a guide to formulate
strategy that will increase and retain editors.
On speculation though, I think the idea of Wikimedia has not really
sunk in the mind of many Kenyans let alone the issue of editing. I
remember when we went to Kenyatta University and one of the senior
lecturers had not heard of the concept Wikipedia. There is need to
increase the sensitization that will help us attract more Kenyans. We
need to come up with appeals that will reach out to the human
component in all humans; that of contributing to the common good of
all. There is need to communicate the benefits that people will get
once they become contributors because most people look at their end of
the deal “What’s in it for me?” The benefits need not be monetary
because the last thing we need to do is increase our costs.
6. Now that we are an independent chapter, how do you plan to raise
funds supposing the parent Wikipedia Foundation won’t avail funds to
run the aforementioned project?
Partnerships are crucial, which can be very fruitful in a day when
firms are seeking avenues for CSR (corporate social responsibility).
We just need to be bold and creative enough to come up with projects
and present them to the corporate for financing. It’s not easy, but
it’s possible. It doesn’t have to be about the money only since there
are institutions that periodically change their computers so we can
solicit for donations of computers to those schools that have few or
none.
The Ministry of Education can be a powerful source of finance. We can
avail ourselves as the tools they will use to carry out their
objectives since theirs is about advancement of education. The offline
Wikipedia that is customized to the Kenyan syllabus can be very
useful.
7 What kind of project/activity would you envision WKME and its
members to undertake in order to fulfill the objectives of Wikimedia
Foundation as a whole?
I believe the project that is of utmost urgency is to both localize
the content of the offline Wikipedia as well as continue sensitizing
others of our existence and attract more people on board that will
contribute to achievement of these objectives.
There should be increase in telling the African story, be it through
stories or even telling the history of our country in ways that will
make people grow in the knowledge of the richness of our heritage.
Why do you think you suit to be in the board of WMKE?
I have worked with Kenyan ICT communities for the last 8 years and I
believe I have the understanding needed to grow the community and also
make it stand out among other ICT communities in Kenya. I also over
the years acquired leadership qualities that will be useful to WMKE in
creating relations with institutions, NGOs, Government and other key
partners.
2. What is your take on the level of participation of members in WMKE
projects/meetings/mailing list? Anything you think should be done
differently?
So far with the little resources we have had, I would generally say we
have done quite well, to a point of becoming the second chapter in
Africa. Our participation I would say is narrow as only a few of us
start projects/ideas and the rest of the community joins in
discussion. I would say we have a balanced mailing list with one good
moderator, Abbas. What I would do differently is to do more outreaches
in institutions and forge official partnerships with language clubs
and deans to cement regular activities that we would move to make
progress in our goals. I will also further work to seek government
partnership so we are able to enable us participate in government
funded projects. My key goal is to ensure recognition of WMKE by
governmental and educational institutions.
3. As a board needs members with different skills (e.g.
administrative, financial, public relations etc), please tell us which
particular skill set have you worked in previously, like in another
society or organisation?
I am a PHP developer, a social media professional, blogger and ICT
consultant. I have worked with different organizations in different
capacities including managerial and advisory. In 2010, I headed a big
team that was responsible for drafting, executing and monitoring the
digital strategy for Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete which very
successfully achieved its goals. I am currently a consultant for the
government working as the Chief Public Communications Officer at the
Office of the VP and Ministry of Home Affairs and also an Advisor to
the Vice President on Digital Media and Technology.
4. Which languages have you worked in so far? And what is your
position on both a language policy and a language strategy for WMKE?
I have only worked on English, my biggest contributions are in
Commons. Kenya is rich with culture and language and I would propose
we find a way of representing all dialects spoken in Kenya eventually,
beginning with the major ones.
5. How would you best deal with the issue of editor attraction and
retention in our local chapter so as to ensure the growth of WMKE as a
whole?
One of the ways I would greatly explore is permanent partnerships with
language clubs in all major universities to ensure translations and
origination of articles. Again, relations will be key with different
civil organizations and government institutions. I will insist on
looking for partnerships that would create student competitions, road
trips, edit camps and more. I have a few ideas that I would like to
implement that would bring the numbers in the community to high levels
within a short while and involving less resources.
6. Now that we are an independent chapter, how do you plan to raise
funds supposing the parent Wikimedia Foundation won't avail funds to
run the aforementioned project?
Again, partnerships with institutions, government and fun editorial
camps. The NGO world supports a lot of educational projects and we
shall vigorously seek funding for our projects from these circles.
7. What kind of a project/ activity would you envision WMKE and its
members undertake in order to fulfill the objectives of Wikimedia
Foundation as a whole?
Definitely, a project which would see more articles from Kenya and
Africa generally, translations and promoting use of the Wikimedia
projects in education and research. I would also suggest moving into
more African countries to grow Wikimedia in Africa.
David.
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David Mugo,
ICT & E-Commerce Consultant,
http://majibu.com
Twitter: @raidarmax