Hello everyone,
This is just a quick -and final- reminder that we will be having the 10th
Cape Town Meetup
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/Cape_Town/Cape_Town_10>
this Sunday, 4th October 2015. Details are:
Location: Truth Coffee, 36 Buitenkant St, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
Time: 11am-2pm
Please keep a lookout for our Wikipedia Meetup notice. If you cant find us
call me at 079 515 8727
Cheers,
Douglas.
P.S. There will be free coffee again. I have a pile of free coffee cards
and since I don't drink coffee I need your help to get rid of them all.
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727
Hello everyone,
With what could be our last Wiki Loves Monuments in full swing right now
WIkimedia South Africa has organised an number of events around the country
for this Saturday 26 September which you are all invited to join us for. I
have provided the event details as well as a link to their respective event
pages on Facebook.
The following events in Johannesburg, Paarl and Clanwilliam will be taking
place:
*26 September 2015: Johannesburg Heritage Walk
<https://www.facebook.com/events/1501689410149994/>*
Date: *Saturday, 26 September 2015*
Time: *10:00am - 12:00 am*
Location: *Sophiatown Bar Lounge, 1 Central Place, Cnr Jeppe and Henry
Nxumalo, Newtown, Johannesburg*
Join us for a leisurely monument scavenger hunt, starting and ending in
central Johannesburg. We will meetup where we started at 1:00pm, where we
will be on hand to assist people upload and submit their photographs to the
competition.
You can find a list of monuments in the area here.
*26 September 2015: Paarl Heritage Walk
<https://www.facebook.com/events/509377705886843/>*
Date: *Saturday, 26 September*
Time:* 10:00am*
Location: *Vinyeard Spar, Main Road, Paarl*
RSVP: Please RSVP by Friday at by contacting the even organiser at:
roche(a)hunkydory.co.za or by SMS/Whatsapp at the number below.
Info: Fore more info please inbox Roché Petersen or call/sms/Whatsapp 072
841 2980.
Founded in 1687, Paarl offers a rich cultural and architectural heritage,
from elaborate Cape Dutch homesteads, the tallest spire in the Republic,
that of Toringkerk. Join us as we explore our third oldest town on
Saturday, 26 September, at 10:00. Meeting place: Vinyeard Spar, Main Road.
>From there on we can plot the course, carpool or drive as we please. The
Spar offers safe and secure parking and is easy enough to find. Rules &
Info: None but the usual - comfortable shoes, water, etc. Be careful and
vigilant when displaying cameras and phones in public. No booking is
required, but please RSVP by Friday 25 September as we want to print maps,
plan the route and all those admin stuff.
*26 September 2015: Clanwilliam Heritage Walk
<https://www.facebook.com/events/1642496222660404/>*
Date:*Saturday, 26 September*
Time: *10:00am*
Location: *Clanwilliam Museum, Main Street (Hoof Street) and Graafwater
Street, Clanwilliam.*
Info: Please contact Douglas for more information at 076 515 8727
There are a number of heritage sites in Clanwilliam with no photograph or
other media on Wikimedia Commons. As such this event will focus on
photographing and filming heritage sites along Clanwilliams Main Street and
Church Street. We will end off with lunch at a location within the town to
be decided on the day. Please let the event organiser, Douglas, know if you
have any questions. This is a free and open event to the general public.
Just a quick reminder that we will also be having the 10th Cape Town
Wiki-meetup on the 4 October. For more information check out the meetup
page on Wikipedia here
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/Cape_Town/Cape_Town_10>.
Cheers,
Douglas.
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727
Hello everyone,
As many of you no doubt know the Copy Right Act 1978 section 15 (3)
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Freedom_of_panorama#South_Africa>
has been a bone of some contention for the South Africa Wikipedia community
for a long time now as it has effectively meant that we here in South
Africa are denied Freedom of Panorama
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Freedom_of_panorama>.
Last week I was fortunate enough to have attended an event organised by Dr
Tobias Schonwetter from UCT (and from Creative Commons South Africa) to
discuss a suggested redrafting of the act. I am happy to say that I feel I
was able to make a good case to the relevant authorities from the
Department of Trade and Industry as well as others present for the need to
revise the act to allow for Freedom of Panorama. I feel they were very
sympathetic to our concerns about the need and desirability of Freedom of
Panorama in South Africa.
Now comes the hard part. We need to work on a suggested revision of
Section 15 (3) (or Section 15 generally) to allow for Freedom of Panorama
and we need to do it quickly as the deadline for submissions to change the
act is the 27th of August 2015.
My suggestion is to use the Spanish or German Freedom of Panorama acts as
guidelines for us which basically state that people are free to take
pictures or otherwise reproduce works that are permanently found outside on
public ways, streets or places (e.g. squares, plazas) and to distribute and
publicly communicate such copies.
Or as the Spanish act says: "Works permanently located in parks, streets,
squares or other public places may be freely reproduced, distributed and
communicated by means of paintings, drawings, photographs and audiovisual
processes." and goes on to state that this "may not be so interpreted that
they could be applied in a manner capable of unreasonably prejudicing the
legitimate interests of the author or adversely affecting the normal
exploitation of the works to which they refer."
I want to notify the community of this opportunity for us to amended the
act as well as the progress the Chapter (Wikimedia South Africa) has made
in possibly getting Freedom of Panorama established in South Africa.
I also wanted to let you know that should you have any comments of your own
on the amendment of the Copy Right act of 1978 then please have a look at
the link here
<http://saha.org.za/news/2015/August/call_for_comment_copyright_amendment_bi…>
for more information as well as the contact details of the contact person
at the DTI.
Thanks and best regards,
Douglas.
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727
Hello everyone,
With the 16th September dead for getting our proposed amendments to the South
African Copy Right Act of 1978
<http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=4067> to allow for Freedom
of Panorama
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Freedom_of_panorama#South_Africa>
in to the Department of Trade and Industry rapidly approaching I want to
share with you what we (Wikimedia South Africa) have currently got.
After some extensive discussions with legal experts on the subject we have
come to the conclusion that it would be best to slightly modify Section 15
in two ways (with a possible third also being supported).
*The first*, and most important, is to add in a sub-section to Section 15
that states:
*"The copyright in an artistic work shall not be infringed by its
reproduction, distribution and communication to the public if the artistic
work is permanently located in parks, train stations, streets, squares or
other public interior or exterior places [provided that such use does not
unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author or adversely
affects the normal exploitation of the work]."*
This is the most explicit allowance for Freedom of Panorama it is felt we
should make. It is modeled on the Australian and Spanish clauses in their
copy right acts on the issue.
*The second *is to amend/expand the definition of diffusion service to
include digital signals/the internet. I am still struggling to work in the
Internet explicitly into the definition (which was originally written in
the 1970s before the internet) but this is what I currently have:
"A diffusion service is defined in section 1(1) as "a *digital* or
telecommunication service of transmissions or *data transfers* consisting
of sounds, images, signs, signals or *other data*, which takes place over
wires or other paths provided by material substance and intended for
reception by specific members of the public; and diffusion shall not be
deemed to constitute a performance or a broadcast or as causing sounds,
images, signs or signals to be seen or heard; and where sounds, images,
signs or signals are displayed or emitted by any receiving apparatus to
which they are conveyed by diffusion in such manner as to constitute a
performance or a causing of sounds, images, signs or signals to be seen or
heard in public, this shall be deemed to be effected by the operation of
the receiving apparatus.""
With these two changes (or even with just the first one) I feel the act
will allow for sufficient Freedom of Panorama in South Africa. However I
would like to get your feedback on that and how we might be able to
explicitly work in "the Internet" into the definition.
The* third* and final thing we could do is broaden the Fair Use exemption
in the act which I think would be a good thing to do anyway and is
something that other organisations are also pushing for.
You can still access the etherpad we have setup to develop this further at:
https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/SA_Copy_Right_Act_amendment_bill_-sec_15_(…
We are still working on this so it is all still open to change.
Thanks,
Douglas.
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727
Hello everyone,
As many of you know since the beginning of September the Wiki Loves
Monuments <http://wikilovesmonuments.co.za/> competition has kicked into
gear as part of Wikimedia South Africa's effort to get more pictures of
South Africa for Wikipedia.
We have got some great prizes with over R25,000 worth of vouchers for
photographic equipment up for grabs from ORMS.
*Tulbagh event*
:Date: *Saturday, 12 September 2015*
:Time: *10:30am - 12:30 am*
:Location: *Oude Kerk VolksMusuem, Church Street, Tulbagh, Western Cape.*
The first one is this weekend on Saturday the 12th September. We will be
hosting a walking and photographic tour in Tulbagh as part of the Tulbagh
Arts Festival <http://www.tulbaghartsfestival.co.za/>. The event will end
with a brief discussion and demonstration on how to enter the competition.
Below are the details:
*Bo-Kaap event (with ORMS)*
:Date: *Saturday, 19 September 2015*
:Time: *10:00am - 12:00 am*
:Location: *Bo-Kaap Museum, 71 Wale Street, Cape Town*
*Please keep an eye out at the ORMS website
<https://www.ormsdirect.co.za/workshops/> to book for this event.*
The second event will be hosted in partnership with ORMS and participants
will need to book at the ORMS site for it. ORMS has organised a
professional photographer to join us and show participants how to
photograph buildings. We will also have a guide to tell us about the
history of the Bo-Kaap. It will be followed by an upload event so people
who want to immediately upload photographs on the day can do so. The last
event was very well attended so try to book in advance.
*Johannesburg event*
:Date: *Saturday, 26 September 2015*
:Time: *10:00am - 12:00 am*
:Location: Tbd
The third event will be on the 26 September 2015 in Johannesburg where we
will be conducting a Heritage Walk. Maarten and Bobby who will be leading
that walk will confirm the location of the walk closer to the date. Below
are the details of that event.
Blurb: "Join us for a leisurely monument scavenger hunt, starting and
ending in central Johannesburg. We will meetup again where we started at
1:00pm, where we will be on hand to assist people upload and submit their
photographs to the competition."
There is a decent chance that this might be the last Wiki Loves Monuments
we do in South Africa but that is a decision to be taken at the AGM later
this year (in November) so it is in no way a final decision yet. If we do
decide not to go ahead with Wiki Loves Monuments 2016 then we will do
something very similar instead also in September.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
And also please remember to enter in your photographs! :-)
Best,
Douglas.
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727
Hello everyone,
I have been speaking with a few other Wikipedians in Cape Town and have
decided that it would be really good to have another Meetup to discuss
things we were unable to at the last meetup before the AGM which will
likely be in November.
As such we will be having the 10th Cape Town
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/Cape_Town/Cape_Town_10>
meetup next month on the first Sunday of October. See below for details
and the meetup Wikipedia page
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/Cape_Town/Cape_Town_10> to
sign up and for even more details.
*10th Cape Town Wiki Meetup*
Location: *Truth Coffee, 36 Buitenkant St, Cape Town*
Date and Time: *Sunday, 4th October 2015, 11:00-14:00*
Please keep a lookout for our table, I will have a Wikipedia sign on it.
Also please call me or let me know if you can't find our table. Last time
the waiters put us at a very obscure table right at the back of the cafe'.
As always there will be free coffee!
Hope you see you there.
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 of two events Wikimedia ZA has organised in
Cape Town for this weekend that everyone on this list is invited to.
The first one is the Wiki Takes Bo-Kaap photographic monument hunt. This
event is part of this year's Wiki Loves Monuments competition and aims to
take photographs and video of heritage sites in the Bo-Kaap area for use on
Wikipedia. An area of Cape Town that is very poorly covered on
Wikipedia/Commons. We also have some very good prizes up for grabs this
year as an added incentive.
*Bo-Kaap*
Date & Time: 10:00-12:00, Saturday, 5 September 2015
Meeting Location: 71 Wale Street, Bo-Kaap Museum
The second is that we will be having our 9th Wiki Meetup
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/Cape_Town/Cape_Town_9> this
Sunday at our usual spot and time at Truth Coffee on Buitenkant Street.
There will be free coffee available for everyone as usual.
*WikiMeetup*
Date & Time: 11:00-14:00, Sunday, 6 September 2015
Meeting Location: Truth Coffee, 36 Buitenkant St, Cape Town 8000, South
Africa
Cheers,
Douglas.
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727
Hello everyone,
This is just to let you know that this year's Wiki Loves Monuments
photographic (and video media) competition has just kicked off.
This year we have around R25,000 worth of prizes in vouchers from ORMS up
for grabs. We will also be focusing more on video contributions and use of
submitted images to Wikipedia with prize categories just for best video and
best use on Wikipedia.
Please see the website for more information at:
Our first event for Wiki Loves Monuments in September is a open event
focused on the Bo-Kaap in the Cape Town. An area of the city that has
almost no pictures on Wikimedia Commons and does not feature very much at
all in previous entries to WLM.
We will be meeting up at the Bo-Kaap museum this Saturday at:
http://wikilovesmonuments.co.za/
Location: *71 Wale Street*
Time: *10:00*
Date: *Saturday, 5th September*
Cheers,
Douglas.
--
Douglas Ian Scott
司道格
Skype: douglas0scott
South African mobile number: +27 (0)79 515 8727