hey every one, the electoral ideas is awesome so just pull on have been reading every Q&A n believe me is for the best, i support every person participating directly n indirectly
wishing you a very prosperous and productive day.
regards,
lisper
Hello Board,
Here are the answers to the questions
1. Why do you think you suit to be in the board of WMKE?
I have been a part of WMKE for over a year now and I have seen it
grow. I understand the tasksand challenges that lie ahead and I
believe taking a lead role as a Board member I am going to leverage on
the lessons and experiences that I have learned since I joined so that
we Make Wikimedia Kenya a chapter of excellence and a model to be
emulated all across our continent.
Having worked in the education and technology field for quite sometime
I know that knowledge is a great resource that has the capacity to
change generations and alter the course of history for the better. I
am therefore very supportive of the Wikimedia Vision and I will bring
with me my experience as an open source enthusiast and a Webfwd for
the success of the chapter.
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?
We Should work to improve member participation and come up with
projects. I do believe the mailing list is a good form of
communication but only if used in the right way so that we have only
the most important and relevant information on the mailing list and
not too much that it causes inconvenience.
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 bring with me plenty of experience in management having worked in
the educational field as an administrative assistant at Bridge
international Academies, as an Operations Associate at Mprep and also
as agribusiness officer at PanAAC.
I am also good in networking and building communities and I hope to
use this skills in improving wikimedia Kenya
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 worked on Swahili and English and I beleive we should really
work more in improving the local languages
particularly swahili.
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?
I will encourage more outreach projects to educational institutions
and also work towards having entry level projects for the newbies. e.g
Wikpedia Takes Nairobi.
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?
Having taken part in the annual fundraiser I learned a lot of lessons
on the topic.
1. Wikimedia Fundraiser is facilitated by 2 things, Banners and Appeals.
2. The banners and appeals used in other parts of the world may not
have the same impact as it does here in Kenya.
We therefore need to come up with Banners and that best describe our
local experience and also have a lower level of contribution that most
people can afford. I am thinking of the Kenyans for Kenya intitiative
where it was possible for people to donate as low as 10Shs.
Therefore working with the team we will come up with the best
fundraiser strategy that best fits our local chapter.
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?
We need to further on the exiting offline project and also work on
attracting more editors in our Swahili Wikipedia. My goal is to have
at least 300 edits per month on Swahili Wikipedia.
The other project is partnering with chapters in other parts of the
world on potential projects that can be replicated locally. e.g the
Wik1 Africa project.
Warmly,
Isaac K. Kosgei.
Bachelor of Agribusiness Management
+254727553981
SkypeProfile: Kipsizoo
http://ke.linkedin.com/in/kipsizoo
Twitter: @kipsizoo
Blogs: www.kipsizoo.blogspot.com
Agribusiness Blog
"My satisfaction comes from my commitment to advancing a better world"
- Faye Wattleton
Hi Kosgei,
Thanks for the reply, but please do it on the wiki page, makes it easy to follow through as guys have moved everything there.
Warmly,
//cliff
----------
Sent via Nokia Email
------Original message------
From: Kosgei Isaac <kipchogekosgei(a)gmail.com>
To: "The discussion list for the upcoming Wikimedia Kenya chapter." <wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Date: Thursday, March 29, 2012 11:02:53 PM GMT+0300
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Kenya] RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS BY KOSGEI
The answer to the question by Abbas is that when we were looking for
someone to sent to Tanzania in November last year we had a number of
people who had indicated interest to attend me included and we only
needed one person, in my firm beleive that we need more members to get
new experience I offered to withdraw my intend to attend and to
support a member who had not participated before thus endorsed Steve
and hence make the process easier.
On 29/03/2012, Chris Riwa <chriwaustin(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Kosgei,
> Please respond to the question below:
>
> Can you describe a time --either in your Wikimedia work or elsewhere-- in
> which you were able to help people with strongly-different views reach a
> successful outcome on an important issue, via a consensus-seeking process?
> (Abbas)
>
> --
> *Chris A. Riwa*
> Research Specialist and Consultant
> Mobile: *+254(0)725-930-850
> *e-mail:
>
> - *chriwaustin(a)gmail.com*
> - *otieno_chris(a)yahoo.com*
> - *chriwaustin(a)facebook.com*
>
> Skype: *chriwaustin*
> Twitter: *@chriwaustin*
> Facebook: *facebook.com/chriwaustin*
>
--
Isaac K. Kosgei.
Bachelor of Agribusiness Management
+254727553981
SkypeProfile: Kipsizoo
http://ke.linkedin.com/in/kipsizoo
Twitter: @kipsizoo
Blogs: www.kipsizoo.blogspot.com <http://www.kipsizoo.blogspot.com/%20>
Agribusiness Blog <http://www.kipsizoo.wordpress.com/>
"My satisfaction comes from my commitment to advancing a better world" -
Faye Wattleton
_______________________________________________
WikimediaKE mailing list
WikimediaKE(a)lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake
Sorry for the seemingly crash programs ,slow connections,traffic
,logistic nightmares are to blame.Now ,as we wait for answers from
Alex & Steve who are away ,we want to open up the discussion to all
members ,engage them on matters wmke board ,constructive criticism is
allowed ,we call upon contestants to give timely response
Regards
Branton
On behalf of Board Election Moderators.
1.why do you think you suit to be in the board of WMKE?
Because I have and was among the founders of WMKE. I have dedicated
and worked hard to see WMKE to its current form and I still have the
energy and zeal to take even to greater heights.
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?
I think our participation on the mailing list has been mostly vague
and somewhat with empty talk. Having regular physical meetups should
help us resolve issues fast and efficiently and plan for projects too.
Our mailing list should just be used for Communication en Mass
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?
Team leadership ,Project management and selflessness skills are what I
have acquired through my involvement with both the Wikimedia Kenya,
The OLPC Movement in Kenya and a few other personal and voluntary
engagements
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 worked in Both Swahili and English and I have no reservations
on language policy for WMKE. Both languages suffice and should remain
our key focus./
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?
Through Having a number of Wikimedia Outreaches and Wiki Academies to
showcase and teach people and members of the WMKE about editing and
the need to. The need to have our local content from our own
perspective is very vital.
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?
Through Local Partnerships and campaigns on the social media to
sensitize people on WMKE and the need to preserve our Knowledge.
Accepting donations via local means eg Mpesa as low as 100 will allow
us to reach to the large audience and help us raise funds.
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?
Outreach and Wiki Academys would help us Attract and Retain editors
and at the asem time contribute knowledge to Wikimedia
Projects...which are the key Wikimedia Foundation Key Goals and
Objectives.
--
Regards,
Limoke Oscar,
"point me to the destiny,and I will curve my own path to it "
QUESTION AND ANSWER FOR WIKIMEDIA KENYA BOARD CONTENDERS.
1. Why do you think you suit to be in the board of WMKE?
I am hardworking,assertive,dedicated which means I will spend whatever
time and resources I have to accomplish the tasks that Wikimedia Kenya
assigns to me.I am also creative thus enabling me to think outside the
box so as to make Wikimedia Kenya better.
Since am enthusiastic about Wikimedia and its projects, I will serve
as a source of inspiration and motivator to the members and others who
support the good course.
Have been in Wikimedia for a year and having participated in some of
the activities such as being a wikipedia editor,contributor to
wiki-commons,attended all meet-ups and I have been involved in the
mombasa outreach; I have experience to serve as a board member since
I share in the vision and goals of wikimedia kenya.
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?
The level of participation is low.Wikimedia kenya has quite a number
of members both active members and inactive.There are members who are
active in the mailing list and never turn up for meetings or
participate in the projects,there is another group of members that are
always there for meetings but don't often participate in the mailing
list and there is the last group that is all round; they participate
in the mailing list, meetings and projects.
Every member who shows any form of participation is important,however
if we could have members that participate in the mailing list,projects
and show up for meet ups will enable us to take wikimedia kenya to a
new level.Therefore my take will always be; go an extra mile in
everything and that will always enable Wikimedia Kenya to meet its
goals.
Meetings should have a set date every month if that how often we agree
to be meeting so that when everyone is making a schedule they can set
that day aside.This I believe will enable more members to attend the
meetings.
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 organization?
I work with an organisation called Kibera Mtaani initiative which
deals with children and education in Kibera.We are a group of few
volunteers but everyone has a defined role.In my case it is the
administration where I basically plan for the next meetings and what
we need to prepare for it.Apart fom this,I have acquired other
leadership skills from working closely with leaders in organisations
that am involved with such as the societies and club in my
universities.
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 in English and kiswahili.. I intend to push a 4th language on
the table after Kikuyu which is the 3rd language. My language strategy
would be to start with one or two other popular languages in Kenya and
try to build a community around them. This can be greatly boosted by
the fact that I will have set outreaches across various towns. An
interesting perspective is different towns mostly have different
indigenous people speaking different languages. Working closely with
the outreaches then it is easier to harness the power of the
communities around directly through the outreaches. Once we get firm
ahold of one or two languages then we popularize the exercise hence
drawing the attention of other language-speaking communities.My
strategy will draw together the different strands of language
revitalisation to create an overaching framework for the activities
and endeavours of WMKE
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?
I would attract more wikipedia editors in Kenya by engaging more and
more students and IT communities around the country and exposing them
to the wikimedia foundation,its objectives and editing wikipedia
through community forums,outreach or social networks.I would also
creating new groups specifically for "Editing Wikipedia" in all social
sites with details on how it can be done.
I would start an editing competition where I would reward the
participants for a start, with time they would be integrated since we
would have them participate in the outreaches and teaching others how
to edit wikipedia.
I would also approach different groups of people differently for
example if am targeting the youth most of them would love to write
about entertainment.Therefore this would make sure the editors are
retained since they write about something they love.Engagement,
discovery and appreciation keeps them coming back.So we could have
grading maybe for the top editor the one who has made many edits so as
to encourage them.
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?
I would apply the model of open source communities where members help
the projects by crowd sourced capital. This is easy in Kenya since
most people have embraced online digital media especially social
media. I would actively engage people through forums as well as
posting the events and progress on a blog. This way people could
monitor the on goings of the chapter. Kenyans have before come
together to raise funds for various things including the famous
Kenyans 4 Kenya when they raised money to help the starving in drier
parts of the country. This initiative was
run mainly on social media and they were able to raise good money.
I could use the same approach since if kenyans get to know what
wikimedia foundation and specifically wikimedia kenya is all about I
have no doubt they would give donations to support us.
Therefore since most of the community has joined social media it could
be a platform to use to get donations.Donations could be sent through
mobile money transfers such as M Pesa that are available everywhere in
the country.
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?
Going by the Wikimedia objective of sharing in the sum of all
knowledge freely with every single human being, I would thrive to set
up various outreaches in various parts of the country not just in
Nairobi as it has always been. Then build vibrant communities around
these outreaches. Each outreach would be headed by a chosen person
that will be hands on with all the on goings of the projects and
overseeing the success and failures of the outreaches.
I would be in constant communication with those people at least twice
a week. In these communications, I can gather what is going on and
what needs to be implemented or improved. On the main blog, I'd also
invite them as guest writers so that they can be posting bi-weekly
blog posts. This will go a long way in engaging the community and
making sure it's vibrancy doesn't die off.
I can also be organising Skype or physical meetings like once in a
month or 2 so that we can meet and evaluate the progress we are making
and whether we are achieving the Wiki goals.
Hallo everyone,
First of all I would like to congratulate all the contestants for
officially passing their first test by passing their bios. However, we
still have a question and answer session coming up and your participation
is expected.
However, I call for everyone to visit the ether pad created by Abbas
http://etherpad.wikimedia.org/3te5azOUIp to confirm your attendance of
Saturdays meet-up. This is quite important for our planning.
More so, you are also encouraged to visit the bio page
http://wikimedia.or.ke/Board_Elections/nominees_bios and involve the
contestants in discussions as much as possible. They need to tell us all
why they are best suited for the job.
Lastly, anyone intending to vote by proxy should make an official request
to the electoral team; either through our mailing list or by private mail,
as from now (12noon 28/03/12). Please mention your proxy as one member can
only present one proxy vote on the election date. Refer to our
bylaws/voting system http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Kenya/bylaws
On behalf of the electoral team,
Regards,
--
*Chris A. Riwa*
Research Specialist and Consultant
Mobile: *+254(0)725-930-850
*e-mail:
- *chriwaustin(a)gmail.com*
- *otieno_chris(a)yahoo.com*
- *chriwaustin(a)facebook.com*
Skype: *chriwaustin*
Facebook: *facebook.com/chriwaustin*
Hi everyone,
This serves as a reminder to all those intending to vote by proxy to make
their requests as soon as possible.
Regards,
--
*Chris A. Riwa*
Research Specialist and Consultant
Mobile: *+254(0)725-930-850
*e-mail:
- *chriwaustin(a)gmail.com*
- *otieno_chris(a)yahoo.com*
- *chriwaustin(a)facebook.com*
Skype: *chriwaustin*
Twitter: *@chriwaustin*
Facebook: *facebook.com/chriwaustin*
Guys,
I had a meeting with Hon. Yusuf Hassan, the MP for Kasarani this morning
and he mentioned that they just donated 11 computers to all secondary
schools in the constituency. He was pleased with the idea of going back to
the schools and installing the offline Wikipedia in all the computers, give
talks to the students and he will accompany us throughout the tour. Please
let me know when would be good to do this and who will be available to push
this further. I will talk to him about sponsoring the small costs of moving
around and probably buy lunch.
--
-------------
David Mugo,
ICT & E-Commerce Consultant,
http://majibu.com
Twitter: @raidarmax