Dear All
WikiAfrica is very excited to announce the launch of #OpenAfrica15 that will take place at the Goethe-Institut Johannesburg from the 30th November - 4th December 2015. The course is being funded by the Goethe-Institut and run by WikiAfrica.
We are looking for experienced Wikipedians who want to go to the next level and start working with GLAM and other content partners. Please note that we can only accept applications from people resident in the following countries: Kenya, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa.
For South Africa, we have specifically allocated 3-4 places.
Please read the full application here: http://www.wikiafrica.net/?p=1632 <http://www.wikiafrica.net/?p=1632>
Please apply via this application form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1vo0iZp-QPOjWGxAUqCHDiEZj-E9pG6slkMIoLwvt0I… <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1vo0iZp-QPOjWGxAUqCHDiEZj-E9pG6slkMIoLwvt0I…>
The deadline for applications is on the 6th November 2015.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Please also feel free to forward this call onto anyone you feel should apply, but are not necessarily on the South African Wikimedians mailing list.
Warmest regards
Isla
Isla Haddow-Flood
Project Manager: WikiAfrica
Username: Islahaddow
WikiAfrica is a project of the Africa Centre
Hello everyone,
This is to notify everyone that the Wikimedia South Africa Annual General
Meeting will be held on Saturday the 28th November 2015.
If you are unable to attend the event in person in Cape Town then please
let me know so I can organise a Google Hangout event so you can join
electronically.
*Details*:
Date: *Saturday, 28th November 2015*
Time: * 10:00 - 13:00 *
Location: *TwentyFifty <http://twentyfifty.co/>, 2nd Floor, 8 Spin Street,
Cape Town*. (just above the "Bread, Milk, and Honey" cafe')
Due to the fact that a number of the directors of Wikimedia South Africa
could not attend on any other date it was agreed that we would host the
event in late November instead of early November. It was agreed to host
this AGM in Cape Town again so as to coincide with the award ceremony for
Wiki Loves Monuments (which will be on the same day) as well as to best
serve the wishes expressed at the last Wiki-meetup in Cape Town. We also
have a readily available space in Cape Town to host the AGM.
Cheers,
Douglas.
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727
Hello everyone,
This is just a quick reminder about the Wiki Loves Monuments Wikipedia
edit-a-thon Wikimedia ZA will be hosting this Saturday in Cape Town. Join
us if you want to meet like minded people to do some Wikipedia or show
others who are new to editing how it is done. The purpose is to use some
of the photographs submitted to Wiki Loves Monuments over the years on
Wikipedia article pages.
There is a special prize for "best use on Wikipedia" for a site anywhere in
South Africa this year totalling R3,000 and the same prize category for a
site in the Western Cape totalling R4,000. The cut off deadline to apply
this this prize category is the 7th November 2015. The edit-a-thon is a
great opportunity to enter this event and learn more about how to maximise
your contributions to Wikipedia using Wiki Loves Monuments photographs.
*Details:*
Date: *Saturday, 24th October 2015*
Time: *10:00 - 15:00* (people are free to come and go at any time
between 10am and 3pm)
Location: *TwentyFifty, 2nd Floor, 8 Spin Street, Cape Town.*
You will need to bring your own computer/notebook/device to edit Wikipedia
on. Unfortunately the host site does not offer free standing computers.
We will be serving food and refreshments on the day. It important to keep
Wikipedia editors well fed.
Cheers,
Douglas.
P.S. I am going to
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727
South African Cybercrime Bill creates Trial by Hollywood
By David Robert Lewis
THIS YEAR has been a disastrous year for cyber-liberties. If it isn't the
history-making interdict of a twitter hashtag by the High Court, limiting
free speech, which gets you, then its the sheer magnitude and gumption of
several proposed laws, being rolled out by legislators. Each one on its
own, severely erodes digital rights and freedoms, which include access to
information, freedom of communication, the right to privacy and online
speech.
First there was the draft ‘Online Regulation Policy of The Film and
Publication’s Board’ (FPB Bill
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0FOi7Ay2OZ6ZU1fZnI3NEQ4UTQ/view>),
labelled ‘Africa’s worst new Internet censorship law
<http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2015-06-10-africas-worst-new-int…>”
and which has resulted in a storm of protest. This was quickly followed by
a Copyright Amendment Bill
<http://medialternatives.com/2015/08/17/draft-copyright-bill-amendment-alarm/>(resale
royalties bill) which fails to take into account permissive licensing under
the Creative Commons. (Under the new Copyright Act, t*here will be no
possibility of releasing material under a Copyleft license, since such
schemes are by deemed to be an infringement of compulsory licensing under
Copyright law.) *
Now the Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill
<http://www.gov.za/speeches/justice-publishes-cybercrimes-and-cybersecurity-…>,
ostensibly aimed at plugging online security breaches, while thwarting
criminals — perhaps the worst piece of anti-speech law to come our way
yet. Far from being an answer to cybercrime, the draconian bill views the
mere intention to use the Internet, as grounds for suspicion, in an
Orwellian world described by author Cory Doctorow, as a ‘war against
general purpose computing’. <http://boingboing.net/2012/08/23/civilwar.html>
That’s right, merely using a computer, could lead to a chain of events,
mapped out by legislators, which includes the end of due process and the
annulment of fair use rights and other freedoms. As such, the Cybercrime
Bill as it stands, already contradicts our constitution and the previous
Copyright Amendment Bill, which in turn, is further complicated by the FPB
bill, and when viewed as a suite of legislation, the result is rather scary.
Cybercrimes, such as merely downloading or copying a Hollywood ‘fliek’,
could result in forced rendition to a foreign country as a “terror
suspect”. The latest Bill, drafted by securocrats, attorneys and lobbyists,
acting at the behest of Hollywood, creates a series of unlawful acts,
including ‘appropriation of property under copyright’ and deals with the
consequences, as if Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger were the ones
implementing the legislation.
Where the AFB uses the threat of child pornography to advocate for less
online freedom, the cybercrime bill uses the threat of terrorism and
espionage to motivate for a world in which merely owning a computer, could
lead to a change in the legal principle, ‘innocent until proven guilty’.
Interception of your data and communication by government agencies acting
without a court order, becomes the norm, rather than the exception in the
bill drafted by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
Each one of these proposals, severely erodes rights and freedoms guaranteed
by our constitution. Without sufficient checks and balances, safeguarding
constitutional rights, a default override in favour of citizen’s rights,
the laws represent a clear and present danger to freedom.
On January 18, 2012, a series of coordinated protests occurred on the
Internet. The online demonstrations against the United State’s ‘Stop Online
Piracy Act’ (SOPA)
<http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Protests_against_SOPA_and_PIPA>, saw hundreds
of web-sites, including Wikipedia voluntarily blacked out, sending a clear
signal to the American Congress and resulted in a major victory against
Hollywood, in a campaign lead by hacktivists and the late Aaron Swartz.
<http://www.cnet.com/news/how-aaron-swartz-helped-to-defeat-hollywood-on-sop…>
Like the earlier Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) which sought to
control the reproduction of data, SOPA was criticised for being overly
broad and too robust. It contained measures, critics said, that could cause
great harm to online freedom of speech, Internet communities and net
neutrality. Protesters also argued that there were insufficient safeguards
in place to protect sites based upon user-generated content.
ACT NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE
Interested parties wishing to comment on the Bill are invited to submit
written comments to the Department of Justice and Constitutional
Development on or before 30 November 2015. These can be submitted to:
cybercrimesbill(a)justice.gov.za. Submissions can also be faxed to: (012) 406
4632. For information or queries related to submissions, contact Mr S J
Robbertse on: (012) 406 4770.
--
*David Robert Lewis*
*PO BOX 4398*
*Cape Town*
*8000*
*South Africa*
*Mobile 082 425 1454*
*Home 021 448 0021*
*Fax **0862396815*
*Skype david.robert.lewis*
Hello everyone,
Wikimedia South Africa will be hosting an edit-a-thon to encourage people
to use the photographs take during Wiki Loves Monuments over the years on
Wikipedia. As you might well know the Wiki Loves Monuments competition has
generated thousands of pictures of South African heritage locations and
hundreds of thousands of pictures of heritage sites around the world. Very
few of them are currently used on Wikipedia.
As such we created a special prize for "best use on Wikipedia" for a site
anywhere in South Africa this year totalling R3,000 and the same prize
category for a site in the Western Cape totalling R4,000. The cut off
deadline to apply this this prize category is the 7th November 2015. The
edit-a-thon is a great opportunity to enter this event and learn more about
how to maximise your contributions to Wikipedia using Wiki Loves Monuments
photographs.
Both existing Wikipedia editors and people who are new to editing or have
never edited before are invited to join us.
*Details*:
Date: *Saturday, 24th October 2015*
Time: * 10:00 - 15:00 *(people are free to come and go at any time
between 10am and 3pm)
Location: *TwentyFifty <http://twentyfifty.co/>, 2nd Floor, 8 Spin Street,
Cape Town*.
You will need to* bring your own computer*/notebook/device to edit
Wikipedia on. Unfortunately the host site does not offer free standing
computers.
We will be serving food and refreshments on the day. It important to keep
Wikipedia editors well fed.
Cheers,
Douglas.
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727