WikimediaKE

wikimediake@lists.wikimedia.org

844 discussions

[Wikimedia Kenya] Hello guys
by Limoke Oscar 03 Sep '10

03 Sep '10

Hey folks,its been long time.I too will be attending the gkenya thing.What become of the proposed KU meeting?i will be glad to avail myself for the same on 9th sept(despite it being my bday:) ). I am not sure how many guys r familiar with the Health Speaks thing.Sam r u?training is due on 11th sept at e mobilis center westlands.Jennifer of Google is to get me some posters to display in JKUAT.I would love u Sam to help me out.I will fwd u the reg. Email n details of the Health Speaks. Abbas,just let us know the date n venue of our next meeting.hw abt we meet in btw the gkenya thing at ua skul now that sam and i wd b present? On 8/29/10, SAMSON MAOSA <coolsam726(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hello good people!!! sorry for my long silence, I have been offline > for a while now. > I am so glad and encouraged by the enthusiasm and great efforts from > all of you to see that the formation of WikimediaKE chapter is a > success. I am in fully. @Abbas, thanks bro for your tireless efforts, > we are behind you and will never let you fall. @Barry, thanks for your > continued support and link to the rest of Wikimedia. @BT, there is a > reason why your name is Baba Tabita, or maybe I should say Baba > WikimediaKE. Thanks for your continuous fatherly advice to us. As for > the joint meeting, as from 6th to 8th some of us (I, speaking for > myself); will be attending the GKenya organized by Google, but > provided 9th is a public Holiday, I am perfectly ok with that; I > should only wonder if Abbas is OK with the day. > See you soon guys. > > Samson Maosa > Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology > Bsc. Electronics and Computer Engineering > Mobile: +254750917305 > > On 8/21/10, wikimediake-request(a)lists.wikimedia.org > <wikimediake-request(a)lists.wikimedia.org> wrote: >> Send WikimediaKE mailing list submissions to >> wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org >> >> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake >> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to >> wikimediake-request(a)lists.wikimedia.org >> >> You can reach the person managing the list at >> wikimediake-owner(a)lists.wikimedia.org >> >> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific >> than "Re: Contents of WikimediaKE digest..." >> >> >> Today's Topics: >> >> 1. Re: Report to the members of Wikimedia Kenya (Daniel Kimani) >> 2. Re: Report to the members of Wikimedia Kenya (Abbas Mahmoud) >> 3. Re: Report to the members of Wikimedia Kenya >> (bnewstead(a)wikimedia.org) >> 4. Re: Report to the members of Wikimedia Kenya (Limoke Oscar) >> 5. Re: Report to the members of Wikimedia Kenya (Oliver Stegen) >> 6. Daniel Kimani has invited you to Boxbe (Daniel Kimani) >> >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Message: 1 >> Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:49:23 +0300 >> From: Daniel Kimani <kimanid7(a)gmail.com> >> Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Kenya] Report to the members of Wikimedia >> Kenya >> To: "The discussion list for the upcoming Wikimedia Kenya chapter." >> <wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org> >> Message-ID: >> <AANLkTi=sUbeJaEMrerRLC2hmExKC9BVDYa8=50cWeEWR(a)mail.gmail.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" >> >> Its glad to see that Google are willing to support us in any way.I was was >> suggesting if we can try to register by end of September.If there is any >> way >> that i can help in making this registration process more fast please let >> me >> know and tell you guys if i will be able.I was also thinking if we make >> Strathmore aware of what we are doing they might help us in this process. >> please tell me the exact place the ihub is at gong road.It will be a good >> place to go and translate articles during the weekends. >>

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Re: [Wikimedia Kenya] WikimediaKE Digest, Vol 1, Issue 6
by SAMSON MAOSA 31 Aug '10

31 Aug '10

Hello good people!!! sorry for my long silence, I have been offline for a while now. I am so glad and encouraged by the enthusiasm and great efforts from all of you to see that the formation of WikimediaKE chapter is a success. I am in fully. @Abbas, thanks bro for your tireless efforts, we are behind you and will never let you fall. @Barry, thanks for your continued support and link to the rest of Wikimedia. @BT, there is a reason why your name is Baba Tabita, or maybe I should say Baba WikimediaKE. Thanks for your continuous fatherly advice to us. As for the joint meeting, as from 6th to 8th some of us (I, speaking for myself); will be attending the GKenya organized by Google, but provided 9th is a public Holiday, I am perfectly ok with that; I should only wonder if Abbas is OK with the day. See you soon guys. Samson Maosa Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Bsc. Electronics and Computer Engineering Mobile: +254750917305 On 8/21/10, wikimediake-request(a)lists.wikimedia.org <wikimediake-request(a)lists.wikimedia.org> wrote: > Send WikimediaKE mailing list submissions to > wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > wikimediake-request(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > wikimediake-owner(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of WikimediaKE digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Report to the members of Wikimedia Kenya (Daniel Kimani) > 2. Re: Report to the members of Wikimedia Kenya (Abbas Mahmoud) > 3. Re: Report to the members of Wikimedia Kenya > (bnewstead(a)wikimedia.org) > 4. Re: Report to the members of Wikimedia Kenya (Limoke Oscar) > 5. Re: Report to the members of Wikimedia Kenya (Oliver Stegen) > 6. Daniel Kimani has invited you to Boxbe (Daniel Kimani) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:49:23 +0300 > From: Daniel Kimani <kimanid7(a)gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Kenya] Report to the members of Wikimedia > Kenya > To: "The discussion list for the upcoming Wikimedia Kenya chapter." > <wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org> > Message-ID: > <AANLkTi=sUbeJaEMrerRLC2hmExKC9BVDYa8=50cWeEWR(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Its glad to see that Google are willing to support us in any way.I was was > suggesting if we can try to register by end of September.If there is any way > that i can help in making this registration process more fast please let me > know and tell you guys if i will be able.I was also thinking if we make > Strathmore aware of what we are doing they might help us in this process. > please tell me the exact place the ihub is at gong road.It will be a good > place to go and translate articles during the weekends. >

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[Wikimedia Kenya] Daniel Kimani has invited you to Boxbe
by Daniel Kimani 21 Aug '10

21 Aug '10

Hi Wikimedia, Last chance! Just a reminder, Daniel would like to share approved contacts with you on Boxbe. Use this link: https://www.boxbe.com/register?tc=4352118594_863672659 This message was sent at the request of kimanid7(a)gmail.com. If you want to opt-out of invitations from Boxbe members, use this link: https://www.boxbe.com/unsubscribe?email=wikimediake@lists.wikimedia.org&tc=… Boxbe, Inc. | 2390 Chestnut Street #201 | San Francisco, CA 94123

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[Wikimedia Kenya] Report to the members of Wikimedia Kenya
by Abbas Mahmoud 19 Aug '10

19 Aug '10

Image by FlamingText.com Hi guys, As you may already know, yesterday I went to the Google Nairobi Office to meet Denis Gikunda, Africa Localisation Manager regarding the upcoming Wikimedia Kenya Chapter. Though the meeting was brief (partly because of Denis' hectic schedule and partly because the meeting started behind schedule), there were some quality discussions that took place. Below is what I managed to grasp: First of all, Denis had a vague idea of the purpose, objectives and goals of what a chapter is all about. So I had to start off by debirefing him on what we were aiming to do as a chapter. I also told him what we wanted from Google: *Some form of local support, whether financial or otherwise. Gaining local support is really vital for us - basing on what Delphine has been telling me. More often than not, guys from ChapCom usually ask me: "Do you have local support?" This is also seen with our counterparts - the South African Chapter - who have support from the African Commons Project. (And regarding supprot, I was also hoping to garner more from Omidyar, but this is proving difficult as I have not yet managed to get Stephen King's email address. Stephen is the guy that I was told to connect to, by Erik Moeller, Deputy Director of WMF). Denis did not explicitly say that he'll give us financial support, but what he was planning was for us to meet with the two Google COmmunity managers and we discuss the way forward with them present. I guess it is then that we'll know what kind of support we are to expect from Google. *As Oliver had suggested, we also needed Google to give us some physical space with free internet connectivity so that anyone who needed to do some Wikimedia stuff would have internet access free of charge. Luckily, Denis had the perfect solution: the iHub at Ngong' Road. I'm not an IT geek but as far as I know, the iHub is some kind of center where there's free internet connectivity. So as long as you have your internet device, you'll be able to surf with ease. Denis connected me with Jessica Collaco, whose the Manager of the iHub. I am yet to hear from her so that we can plan our next move. *We were to meet some multilingual folks in September and would also love to have someone from Google. Denis accepted the invitation: and he said he'd be free on Aug 30, 31st, or Sept. 9th. So, Oliver, please liaise with the multilingual folks to see if they'll be able to attend on any of those dates. September for Denis is a pretty busy month as they are expecting alot of guests, starting with the G-Kenya conference that's going to be held at Strathmore University. It's a free-of-charge conference, so if you want to attend/for more ddetails, just Google "G-Kenya" and go to their website for more info. Also, if we were to expect some support from Google, then we should register with the local authorities so that we are a legally recognised entity. I think that this is beyond our scope - we cannot register unless we get the go ahead from ChapCom or the Board of Trustees. Us not being a legally recognised entity is one of our biggest challenges - since most NGO's such as the Ford Foundation and the Aga Khan Foundation CANNOT give support to an organisation that is not legally recognised. That's just protocol. Denis would have loved to have us registered as at September - which is virtually impossible. Denis wanted us to prepare a short plan/presentation outlining our objectives, strategy, projected impact and challenges faced. After that, we should meet up with them to review it explore how they can assist. Denis also liked the idea of targeting Swahili speakers, eg those located in Mombasa. he had also connected me with Chacha Maroa from Kenyatta University - he is a freelance translator who participated at the KWC and might be able to give us some support. Delphine had also suggested the issue of one-off events and we were to doscuss this and more at our next meeting. That's all from me, and bye for now. Abbas. PS - thanks Muddy for the willingness to support us:-)

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[Wikimedia Kenya] Daniel Kimani invites you to use Boxbe
by Daniel Kimani 18 Aug '10

18 Aug '10

Wikimedia, I'd like to share approved contacts with you on Boxbe Here's the link: https://www.boxbe.com/register?tc=4295492244_161120144 -Daniel This message was sent at the request of kimanid7(a)gmail.com. If you want to opt-out of invitations from Boxbe members, use this link: https://www.boxbe.com/unsubscribe?email=wikimediake@lists.wikimedia.org&tc=… Boxbe, Inc. | 2390 Chestnut Street #201 | San Francisco, CA 94123

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[Wikimedia Kenya] Google Meeting
by Limoke Oscar 16 Aug '10

16 Aug '10

Hey guys, Dennis of google has at last agreed to have a meeting with us tomorrow to be briefed on the Chapter.Abass is set to meet with him.I wish I could but am held up with my exams.Abas,let us know if the meeting will happen and how it goes. Limoke -- Limoke Oscar Undergraduate Student -JKUAT Bsc.Geomatic Eng. and GIS +254 717 845 316

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[Wikimedia Kenya] Latest Updates
by Abbas Mahmoud 14 Aug '10

14 Aug '10

Image by FlamingText.com Hello folks, It's been a while since I last communicated with you guys, but I have some updates regarding our chapter, the South African Chapter and Wikimedia in general. WIKIMEDIA KENYA I recently received intelligence from Wikimedia Foundation about Omidyar Network. Omidyar Network is an NGO that funds Wikimedia and also gives financial assistance to companies in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, etc. I was also told that there could be a high possibility that they could support our upcoming chapter get off the ground. I was given some connections and I have contacted one of them and I am yet to receive a reply. Wimedia South Africa: Also, Delphine was on holiday over the past couple of weeks so we weren't able to communicate regarding our chapter's progress. However, she recently went to a workshop held by the South African Chapter and came up with a report. Please see the report at the end of this email. I would also kindly urge you to subscribe to the South African mailing list so that we can receive up-to-date intel of what our counterparts are doing. Visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaza to subscribe. Also see their meta page for more info: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_South_Africa. On the news: There has been an interesting saga where the FBI wants it's seal to be removed from Wikipedia. Read the full story on the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/us/03fbi.html?_r=1. (This is a must-read article:-)). It is also interesting to note that the Swahili Wikipedia, now having 18,000 articles is now the largest African-language Wikipedia beating the Africaans (South African) Wikipedia that has 15,000 articles! That's all from me, I am, yours, Abbas Mahmoud.

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Re: [Wikimedia Kenya] WikimediaKE Digest, Vol 1, Issue 3 *
by Muddyb the Great 14 Aug '10

14 Aug '10

Hi to everybody on the KE-chapter, Limoke: Dennis is very busy guy. It's happened to me as well when we were processing the possibility of making the google challenge happens. He was not replying the message promptly, but late. However, I don't think if don't agree with your ideas because they expect to initiate a new project which would held on EA's contries. So, let's just forgive him. On my side, I can't do anything than suggestion since everything can be done only in Nairobea! Cheers. Wenu, Muddyb On Sat, Aug 14, 2010 at 1:01 AM, <wikimediake-request(a)lists.wikimedia.org>wrote: > Junk Score: 2 out of 10 (below your Auto Allow threshold<https://www.boxbe.com/mail-screening>) > | Approve sender <https://www.boxbe.com/anno?tc=4223004511_1540309328> | Block > sender <https://www.boxbe.com/anno?tc=4223004511_1540309328&disp=b> | Block > domain <https://www.boxbe.com/anno?tc=4223004511_1540309328&disp=b&dom> | [image: > Boxbe] <https://www.boxbe.com/overview> > > Send WikimediaKE mailing list submissions to > wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > wikimediake-request(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > wikimediake-owner(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of WikimediaKE digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Latest Updates (Barry Newstead) > 2. Re: WikimediaKE Digest, Vol 1, Issue 2 (Limoke Oscar) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:30:30 -0700 > From: Barry Newstead <bnewstead(a)wikimedia.org> > Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Kenya] Latest Updates > To: wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org > Message-ID: <4C656516.9060006(a)wikimedia.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Thanks Abbas. It is exciting to see the Kenyan community moving toward > chapter formation. > > A few suggestions/thoughts: > - Please do connect with members of ChapCom[1]; they can provide advice > based on their experience working with other countries on chapter > formation which might help you to avoid problems that other groups have > faced in the past > - The South Africa experience was helped by the support of people at > Africa Commons, who are an existing organization and have been able to > provide support; it might be good to connect with a similar organization > in Kenya > - If you need some funds to support the launch process (e.g., to fund > legal work or to organize a workshop), I can provide a grant to help > with these expenses; please follow up with me when you are ready > - If you are going to connect with the Omidyar Network, please keep me > in the loop; I know them well and they are already supporting Wikimedia; > it would be valuable to keep our communications open as multiple parts > of the Wikimedia movement connect with them > > Kind regards, > Barry > > [1] See http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Chapter_committee > <http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Chapter_committee> > > On 08/13/2010 02:44 AM, Oliver Stegen wrote: > > > > Thanks, Abbas, for the update. > > > > Knowing me, you will expect me to especially like points nos. 5 and 6 > > of the SA WMF chapter draft purposes: > > > > ? To build/facilitate/disseminate/provide knowledge in all SAfrican > > languages > > > > ? To contribute to the development of local languages (all South > > African languages) > > > > Correspondingly, I've been looking at the Kikuyu wikipedia > > (http://ki.wikipedia.org <http://ki.wikipedia.org/>) which could use > > some more support just like the Zulu one (http://zu.wikipedia.org > > <http://zu.wikipedia.org/>) in SA. > > > > Just to add one more development on our own chapter network: > > > > We expect to meet with Dr. Martin Njoroge at Kenyatta University > > sometime between Sep 9 and 17 (date to be confirmed) in order to > > discuss collaboration and potential opportunities for mutual support > > (Dr. Njoroge is the Director of the Confucius Institute, organiser of > > last month's international conference on multilingualism here in > > Nairobi, and a member of the Multilingual Education Network East Africa). > > > > Wenu katika kujenga elimu, > > > > Oliver (aka BT) > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > *From:* wikimediake-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > [mailto:wikimediake-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] *On Behalf Of *Abbas > > Mahmoud > > *Sent:* 13 August 2010 11:24 > > *To:* Wikimedia Kenya > > *Subject:* [Wikimedia Kenya] Latest Updates > > > > Hello folks, > > > > It's been a while since I last communicated with you guys, but I have > > some updates regarding our chapter, the South African Chapter and > > Wikimedia in general. > > > > WIKIMEDIA KENYA > > I recently received intelligence from Wikimedia Foundation about > > Omidyar Network. Omidyar Network is an NGO that funds Wikimedia and > > also gives financial assistance to companies in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, > > etc. I was also told that there could be a high possibility that they > > could support our upcoming chapter get off the ground. I was given > > some connections and I have contacted one of them and I am yet to > > receive a reply. > > > > Wimedia South Africa: > > Also, Delphine was on holiday over the past couple of weeks so we > > weren't able to communicate regarding our chapter's progress. However, > > she recently went to a workshop held by the South African Chapter and > > came up with a report. Please see the report at the end of this email. > > I would also kindly urge you to subscribe to the South African mailing > > list so that we can receive up-to-date intel of what our counterparts > > are doing. Visit > > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaza to subscribe. > > Also see their meta page for more info: > > http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_South_Africa. > > > > On the news: > > There has been an interesting saga where the FBI wants it's seal to be > > removed from Wikipedia. Read the full story on the New York Times: > > http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/us/03fbi.html?_r=1. (This is a > > must-read article:-)). > > > > It is also interesting to note that the Swahili Wikipedia, now having > > 18,000 articles is now the largest African-language Wikipedia beating > > the Africaans (South African) Wikipedia that has 15,000 articles! > > > > That's all from me, > > > > I am, yours, > > Abbas Mahmoud. > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > WikimediaKE mailing list > > WikimediaKE(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake > > > > -- > Barry Newstead > Chief Global Development Officer > Wikimedia Foundation > Tel: +1-415-839-6885 x. 634 > Skype: barry.wikimedia > Twitter: @bazanews > >

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Re: [Wikimedia Kenya] WikimediaKE Digest, Vol 1, Issue 2
by Limoke Oscar 13 Aug '10

13 Aug '10

Thanks Abbas, At the moment please excuse me am cought up in my end of semester e me xams.Will however be through by 20th and please update me on way forward and any other happenings.A good number of my friends have shown interest and would be glad to join us.thnaks once again and good luck to all of us. Oliver,seems like Dennis is not interested in our idea.He has never responded to my request.perhaps you could request him and inform him to of the KU meeting too,perhaps ,he might respond to your request. thanks too. > wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > wikimediake-request(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > wikimediake-owner(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of WikimediaKE digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Latest Updates (Oliver Stegen) > 2. FW: [Wikimedia ZA] Wikimedia South Africa, kickoff Workshop - > 7/8 August 2010 (Abbas Mahmoud) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:44:30 +0300 > From: "Oliver Stegen" <oliver_stegen(a)sil.org> > Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Kenya] Latest Updates > To: "'Wikimedia Kenya discussion list'" > <wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org> > Message-ID: <084BD4C1F13C476B9B296F7E813A888D@Oliver> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Thanks, Abbas, for the update. > > > > Knowing me, you will expect me to especially like points nos. 5 and 6 of > the > SA WMF chapter draft purposes: > > * To build/facilitate/disseminate/provide knowledge in all SAfrican > languages > > * To contribute to the development of local languages (all South African > languages) > > Correspondingly, I've been looking at the Kikuyu wikipedia > (http://ki.wikipedia.org <http://ki.wikipedia.org/> ) which could use some > more support just like the Zulu one (http://zu.wikipedia.org > <http://zu.wikipedia.org/> ) in SA. > > > > Just to add one more development on our own chapter network: > > We expect to meet with Dr. Martin Njoroge at Kenyatta University sometime > between Sep 9 and 17 (date to be confirmed) in order to discuss > collaboration and potential opportunities for mutual support (Dr. Njoroge > is > the Director of the Confucius Institute, organiser of last month's > international conference on multilingualism here in Nairobi, and a member > of > the Multilingual Education Network East Africa). > > > > Wenu katika kujenga elimu, > > Oliver (aka BT) > > > > _____ > > From: wikimediake-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org > [mailto:wikimediake-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Abbas > Mahmoud > Sent: 13 August 2010 11:24 > To: Wikimedia Kenya > Subject: [Wikimedia Kenya] Latest Updates > > > > Hello folks, > > It's been a while since I last communicated with you guys, but I have some > updates regarding our chapter, the South African Chapter and Wikimedia in > general. > > WIKIMEDIA KENYA > I recently received intelligence from Wikimedia Foundation about Omidyar > Network. Omidyar Network is an NGO that funds Wikimedia and also gives > financial assistance to companies in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, etc. I was also > told that there could be a high possibility that they could support our > upcoming chapter get off the ground. I was given some connections and I > have > contacted one of them and I am yet to receive a reply. > > Wimedia South Africa: > Also, Delphine was on holiday over the past couple of weeks so we weren't > able to communicate regarding our chapter's progress. However, she recently > went to a workshop held by the South African Chapter and came up with a > report. Please see the report at the end of this email. I would also kindly > urge you to subscribe to the South African mailing list so that we can > receive up-to-date intel of what our counterparts are doing. Visit > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaza to subscribe. > Also > see their meta page for more info: > http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_South_Africa. > > On the news: > There has been an interesting saga where the FBI wants it's seal to be > removed from Wikipedia. Read the full story on the New York Times: > http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/us/03fbi.html?_r=1. (This is a must-read > article:-)). > > It is also interesting to note that the Swahili Wikipedia, now having > 18,000 > articles is now the largest African-language Wikipedia beating the > Africaans > (South African) Wikipedia that has 15,000 articles! > > That's all from me, > > I am, yours, > Abbas Mahmoud. > > >

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[Wikimedia Kenya] FW: [Wikimedia ZA] Wikimedia South Africa, kickoff Workshop - 7/8 August 2010
by Abbas Mahmoud 13 Aug '10

13 Aug '10

Below is Delphine's report. Regards, Abbas. Image by FlamingText.com > Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:14:15 +0200 > From: notafishz(a)gmail.com > To: wikimediaza(a)lists.wikimedia.org > Subject: [Wikimedia ZA] Wikimedia South Africa, kickoff Workshop - 7/8 August 2010 > > Hi Folks, > > I am finally finding five minutes to thank you all for the warm > welcome and to reiterate that Bence and I, as well as any other member > of the chapters committee, are here to help with any questions you > might have. > > Here is our "wikimedia report" of our workshop. > > Best, > > Delphine > > ======== > Wikimedia South Africa, kickoff Workshop - 7/8 August 2010 > > == BACKGROUND == > Wikimedia activities in South Africa are not exactly new, in 2007, > iCommons and the Wikimedia Foundation organised a Wikipedia Academy in > Johannesburg, while a group of Wikimedians started to put together a > bid for Wikimania. The South African chapter idea probably finds its > roots in those two initiatives, but for lack of momentum at the time, > did not pick up. In 2010, Achal Prabhala, member of the advisory board > of the Wikimedia Foundation, who helped found the Indian Chapter, put > the idea back on track. > > Achal, with the help of Kerryn McKay and Daniela Faris of the African > Commons Project [1], advertised the idea of a workshop to kick off a > South African chapter, and invited various wikipedians and otherwise > interested people (FOSS activists, users of Wikipedia, non-profit > experienced people) to participate in a workshop destined to kick off > a South African chapter. > > == WORKSHOP == > The Workshop gathered around 25 people [2] from different backgrounds, > among which Ian Gilfillan, who had been leading the Wikimania bid and > Nhlanhla Mabaso, Head of CNS at The Universtiy of the Witwatersrand, > who played a great role in reaching out far and wide for interested > (and interesting) people. Bence Damokos and myself attended as members > of the chapters committee. > > === Saturday, 7th August === > The session started with an introduction to the Wikimedia Universe, > focusing on the existing organisations (Foundation and Chapters) and > outlining the existing processes to set up a chapter, as well as what > chapters do. > After a round of introduction of each of the participants, the group > then split into smaller working sessions which reflected on the > following topics: > *Potential activities and initiatives for a South African Chapter > *Vision of a Wikimedia Chapter in South Africa > *Purpose of a Wikimedia Chapter in South Africa > *Challenges that a Wikimedia Chapter in South Africa might face > > The results of these sessions can be found on meta here: > > http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikimedia_South_Africa&oldid=20… > > > Of those results, two have particularly caught our attention as being > specific to South Africa, or at least different than one might expect > from such a session in other chapter groups, namely: > > *Ownership of Wikimedia to South Africans (in the purpose section): > this was meant as giving the chapter the task of making sure that > Wikimedia projects don't appear too "foreign" or even too "western", > but rather would hopefully be recognized as fair in representing South > Africa but also the whole African continent. > > *Documenting content which is only orally available; finding a > workable citation method for languages with oral traditions (in the > challenges section): a task which actually questions fundamental > pillars of Wikipedia (no original research and "cite your sources") > and is much more critical in many of the African languages than maybe > in western languages. > > A third point that was unique - so far - to South Africa, though maybe > less novel than the above two was the role and share of mobile > internet access and the associated opportunities and challenges that > it will bring. Africa is a continent where internet access through > mobile phones is the rule rather than the exception, and efforts to > make Wikipedia accessible not only to read, but also to edit, are a > real challenge that an African chapter should tackle. > > === Sunday, 8th August === > The Sunday session focused rather on presenting and discussing the > different legal options for a Chapter in South Africa as well as work > on a timeline of next steps and the formation of a team for the > creation of the chapter. Results can be found here: > http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikimedia_South_Africa&oldid=20… > > == CONCLUSION == > The idea of fostering the creation of a chapter by enabling people to > meet, specifically reaching out to potentially interested people and > bringing them together for a workshop is somewhat of a novel idea in > chapter creation. We found it to be extremely interesting and > productive. It allows, in countries where getting together, or taking > the first (legal) steps might be a real hurdle to chapter creation, to > be extremely helpful in ensuring that diversity of the people > represented in the first step of the chapter is achieved. > > Bence and I would like to thank Achal for starting this process, > Kerryn and Daniela for organising the workshop and everyone present > for their participation and the lively dicussions. We are confident > that such initiatives should be fostered in countries where founding a > chapter might encounter difficulties to emerge. > > The future of Wikimedia South Africa is discussed on the wikimediaza > mailing list: > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaza, as well as > on meta. Please join the conversation. > > > [1] http://www.africancommons.org/about/ > [2] http://picasaweb.google.com/davidrichfield/Wikimedia#5502986611082048162 > > -- > ~notafish > > NB. This gmail address is used for mailing lists. Personal emails will get lost. > Intercultural musings: Ceci n'est pas une endive - http://blog.notanendive.org > > _______________________________________________ > WikimediaZA mailing list > WikimediaZA(a)lists.wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaza

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