Do recall that last year, AfLIA received a grant for the training of information professionals in the African library and information science sector including archives and museums to effectively open up and link knowledge by making their library, archive and museum collections more visible through Wikidata.

The project has facilitated the development of an online course – Promoting open knowledge practices in African libraries through Wikidata, also known as the AfLIA Wikidata Online Course. Among other things, this course is expected to equip information professionals working in glam with the requisite skills to understand how to use of Wikidata;

• as a database and visualization tool for mapping knowledge,
• for increasing the reach and access of the unique collections of numerous African libraries, museums and archives
• for connecting their collections through linking local metadata with a network of global metadata
• as a platform for description of information resources and
• for changing bibliographic details into structured data

This course will be administered in English and French and will provide African information professionals an opportunity to further their discovery journey about Wikimedia projects and communities, and to continue spearheading the campaign for free knowledge.

We also envisage that this will enrich African knowledge on Wikidata as well as funnel more glam professionals into Wikimedia communities in the continent.

The registration link is here - https://web.aflia.net/aflia-wikidata-online-course-registration-now-open/

Also, read more about the African Wikimedians who built the scaffolding for the course and who will lead in the course delivery - https://web.aflia.net/aflia-takes-on-four-wikimedians-for-the-wikidata-project/