I suppose everyone of you is familiar with the United Nations Millenium Development Goals. Of particular interest to me is Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education by 2015. According to the report released by ActionAid last week, Kenya is said to be lagging behind, in comparison with Uganda & Tanzania. I was thinking of is partnering with the UN and integrating with them, in say, the use of Wiki in achieving Free Education for All. Does anyone of you know of people in the UN that we could approach, and see whether we could garner their support, financial or otherwise?
~Abbas.
Hi guys,
I was to get a list of public schools with computer labs from the ict board. I spoke to them and I was directed to the Ministry of Education. I will be meeting with an official of the ministry tomorrow to discuss this further.
The official I'm going to meet also hinted that we require permission from thd ministry to instal the offline wiki in public schools. So I'll update you tomorrow on what we'll have discussed.
Cheers
Alex
Thank you all for your commitment. I have personally never used Kiwix
before so I am not familiar with it. However, I have visited
http://schools-wikipedia.org/ and I am currently downloading the
website. I don't think it should have any problem running on windows.
Besides the size is manageable and can be loaded into a DVD for
distribution. As for the meeting that was to take place, I am really
sorry since I was so occupied that I never found time to be online for
updates. Should you decide that we should meet physically I will be
all ears. Thanks
On 10/2/10, 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: Wikimedia Kenya Framework (Abbas Mahmoud)
> 2. Re: Wikimedia Kenya Framework (Bence Damokos)
> 3. Re: Wikimedia Kenya Framework (Barry Newstead)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 14:37:36 +0000
> From: Abbas Mahmoud <abbasjnr(a)hotmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Kenya] Wikimedia Kenya Framework
> To: The discussion list for the upcoming Wikimedia Kenya chapter.
> <wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Message-ID: <BLU116-W26C244F22A8730AFEE1B16CA690(a)phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Hi Barry,
>
> Does the foundation have a school-edition offline Wikipedia? Or has any of
> the existing chapters ever come up with one that's exclusive for schools?
>
> ~Abbas.
>
>> Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 07:02:00 -0700
>> From: bnewstead(a)wikimedia.org
>> To: wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org
>> Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Kenya] Wikimedia Kenya Framework
>>
>> FYI - I have Kiwix's offline English Wikipedia running on my Ubuntu
>> machine right now. It works perfectly. The main challenge is that it
>> takes a lot of time to download (huge file) and then index. Once it is
>> on the computer though, it works great! One interim solution is to put
>> the files on some USBs and mail them out. The Foundation staff is
>> starting to look into solutions that will allow us to provide computer
>> vendors (such as Camara) to preload it.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Barry
>>
>> On 09/30/2010 11:37 PM, Wangai Mwangi wrote:
>> > An offline wikipedia, thats so cool. Count
>> > me in,am so excited. The framework is ok.
>> > Another meeting wld be fine.......
>> >
>> > On 9/29/10, Alexander Wafula<xelawafs(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hi guys,
>> >>
>> >> I've used Kiwix before, it's one of the various softwares around that
>> >> reads
>> >> zim files. Linux os has become vital hence most opensource software
>> >> such as
>> >> Kiwix are offered in for this platform so hopefuly, we won't have
>> >> installation issues.
>> >>
>> >> As for visiting schools with computers, I beleive thd ICT board can
>> >> assist
>> >> with this. They have records for such schools hence we can use them to
>> >> narrow down on the school's we'll visit. They are really open towards
>> >> such
>> >> initiatives so hopefully, they'll share this info.
>> >>
>> >> So far, the framework sounds great.
>> >>
>> >> Cheers
>> >> Alex
>> >>
>> >> On Tue Sep 28th, 2010 11:22 PM PDT Abbas Mahmoud wrote:
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>> Hi folks,
>> >>>
>> >>> Its quite unfortunate that last weeks meeting didn't happen. Anyway,
>> >>> what I
>> >>> wanted us to discuss was for us to propose a framework in the way
>> >>> we'll
>> >>> approach whatever we want to do.
>> >>>
>> >>> For instance:
>> >>>
>> >>> We were to start by experimenting with the offline Wikipedia. So, my
>> >>> suggestion is that each one of us be designated a region in Kenya
>> >>> within
>> >>> which he/she shall concentrate on. An appropriate basis of will be
>> >>> designating team members with the regions from which they come from.
>> >>> Like,
>> >>> say, if I come from Coast or Mombasa, I'll basically go to Mombasa and
>> >>> assess the schools that have computers there. After knowing how many
>> >>> schools we'll approach, we will then prepare our framework: timeline,
>> >>> budget, methodology, etc.
>> >>>
>> >>> Actually, most public schools in Kenya have bought computers from
>> >>> Camara
>> >>> (and Irish non-profit organisation that distributes computers in
>> >>> African
>> >>> schools at a subsidised cost). These computers use the Linux (or is it
>> >>> Ubuntu??) operating system as opposed to many private schools whose
>> >>> computers are Windows-installed. So ofcourse, they'll be some software
>> >>> issues that may arise when we want to install the offline wiki into
>> >>> these
>> >>> computers. I'm not the software geek and I have never used offline
>> >>> wiki so
>> >>> I really have no idea whether or not the offline wiki is compatible
>> >>> with
>> >>> both types of operating systems.
>> >>>
>> >>> So, this is the draft framework that I had in mind. I hope to receive
>> >>> input
>> >>> from you guys so that we can beef this framework up and come up with
>> >>> an
>> >>> organised, clear-cut plan.
>> >>>
>> >>> Kind regards
>> >>> Abbas Mahmood.
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> _______________________________________________
>> >> 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
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> WikimediaKE mailing list
>> WikimediaKE(a)lists.wikimedia.org
>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake
>
>
Hi guys,
I've used Kiwix before, it's one of the various softwares around that reads zim files. Linux os has become vital hence most opensource software such as Kiwix are offered in for this platform so hopefuly, we won't have installation issues.
As for visiting schools with computers, I beleive thd ICT board can assist with this. They have records for such schools hence we can use them to narrow down on the school's we'll visit. They are really open towards such initiatives so hopefully, they'll share this info.
So far, the framework sounds great.
Cheers
Alex
On Tue Sep 28th, 2010 11:22 PM PDT Abbas Mahmoud wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>Hi folks,
>
>Its quite unfortunate that last weeks meeting didn't happen. Anyway, what I wanted us to discuss was for us to propose a framework in the way we'll approach whatever we want to do.
>
>For instance:
>
>We were to start by experimenting with the offline Wikipedia. So, my suggestion is that each one of us be designated a region in Kenya within which he/she shall concentrate on. An appropriate basis of will be designating team members with the regions from which they come from. Like, say, if I come from Coast or Mombasa, I'll basically go to Mombasa and assess the schools that have computers there. After knowing how many schools we'll approach, we will then prepare our framework: timeline, budget, methodology, etc.
>
>Actually, most public schools in Kenya have bought computers from Camara (and Irish non-profit organisation that distributes computers in African schools at a subsidised cost). These computers use the Linux (or is it Ubuntu??) operating system as opposed to many private schools whose computers are Windows-installed. So ofcourse, they'll be some software issues that may arise when we want to install the offline wiki into these computers. I'm not the software geek and I have never used offline wiki so I really have no idea whether or not the offline wiki is compatible with both types of operating systems.
>
>So, this is the draft framework that I had in mind. I hope to receive input from you guys so that we can beef this framework up and come up with an organised, clear-cut plan.
>
>Kind regards
>Abbas Mahmood.
>
>
I totally agree with you Oscar, it's great if we could get guys to participate in setting up the framework as well as in other stuff.
Since physical meetups are proving to be difficult, I'd suggest if maybe Abbas could draft a Google doc showing the framework with space for thoughts or comments. Then he could share it with the mailing list allowing guys to air their thoughts on the doc.
This way, all the info regarding the framework will be on one doc as opposed to various emails hence enabling guys visualise its flow clearly.
Give me your thoughts on this.
Alex.
On Wed Sep 29th, 2010 2:40 AM PDT Limoke Oscar wrote:
>Abbas,
>Thats fine with me,and very convenient.We however need to get everyone
>get to participate.This may perhaps give us the final chance to see
>who are commited or not.Lets then go ahead...
>Limoke
>
>On 9/29/10, Abbas Mahmoud <abbasjnr(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Oscar,
>>
>> Meeting all of us physically has prroven difficult due to busy or
>> conflicting schedules. Alternatively, I don't mind us discussing the
>> framework online.
>>
>> ---
>> Abbas.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:43:05 +0300
>>> From: oslimoke(a)gmail.com
>>> To: wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org
>>> Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Kenya] Wikimedia Kenya Framework
>>>
>>> Hi guys,
>>> Good to see great ideas surfacing out of us.Abbas' proposed framework
>>> is just fantastic.All I request of guys is to respond to the various
>>> posts on our mailing list 'coz thats the only way to assure all of us
>>> that we are on the same page.Great head start by Alex,perhaps we
>>> should meet to discus on the frame work?
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>> Limoke Oscar
>>>
>>> On 9/29/10, Alexander Wafula <xelawafs(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> > Hi guys,
>>> >
>>> > I've used Kiwix before, it's one of the various softwares around that
>>> > reads
>>> > zim files. Linux os has become vital hence most opensource software such
>>> > as
>>> > Kiwix are offered in for this platform so hopefuly, we won't have
>>> > installation issues.
>>> >
>>> > As for visiting schools with computers, I beleive thd ICT board can
>>> > assist
>>> > with this. They have records for such schools hence we can use them to
>>> > narrow down on the school's we'll visit. They are really open towards
>>> > such
>>> > initiatives so hopefully, they'll share this info.
>>> >
>>> > So far, the framework sounds great.
>>> >
>>> > Cheers
>>> > Alex
>>> >
>>> > On Tue Sep 28th, 2010 11:22 PM PDT Abbas Mahmoud wrote:
>>> >
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>Hi folks,
>>> >>
>>> >>Its quite unfortunate that last weeks meeting didn't happen. Anyway,
>>> >> what I
>>> >> wanted us to discuss was for us to propose a framework in the way we'll
>>> >> approach whatever we want to do.
>>> >>
>>> >>For instance:
>>> >>
>>> >>We were to start by experimenting with the offline Wikipedia. So, my
>>> >> suggestion is that each one of us be designated a region in Kenya
>>> >> within
>>> >> which he/she shall concentrate on. An appropriate basis of will be
>>> >> designating team members with the regions from which they come from.
>>> >> Like,
>>> >> say, if I come from Coast or Mombasa, I'll basically go to Mombasa and
>>> >> assess the schools that have computers there. After knowing how many
>>> >> schools we'll approach, we will then prepare our framework: timeline,
>>> >> budget, methodology, etc.
>>> >>
>>> >>Actually, most public schools in Kenya have bought computers from Camara
>>> >> (and Irish non-profit organisation that distributes computers in
>>> >> African
>>> >> schools at a subsidised cost). These computers use the Linux (or is it
>>> >> Ubuntu??) operating system as opposed to many private schools whose
>>> >> computers are Windows-installed. So ofcourse, they'll be some software
>>> >> issues that may arise when we want to install the offline wiki into
>>> >> these
>>> >> computers. I'm not the software geek and I have never used offline wiki
>>> >> so
>>> >> I really have no idea whether or not the offline wiki is compatible
>>> >> with
>>> >> both types of operating systems.
>>> >>
>>> >>So, this is the draft framework that I had in mind. I hope to receive
>>> >> input
>>> >> from you guys so that we can beef this framework up and come up with an
>>> >> organised, clear-cut plan.
>>> >>
>>> >>Kind regards
>>> >>Abbas Mahmood.
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > WikimediaKE mailing list
>>> > WikimediaKE(a)lists.wikimedia.org
>>> > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake
>>> >
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Limoke Oscar
>>> Undergraduate Student -JKUAT
>>> Bsc.Geomatic Eng. and GIS
>>> +254 717 845 316
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> WikimediaKE mailing list
>>> WikimediaKE(a)lists.wikimedia.org
>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake
>>
>
>
>--
>Limoke Oscar
>Undergraduate Student -JKUAT
>Bsc.Geomatic Eng. and GIS
>+254 717 845 316
>
>_______________________________________________
>WikimediaKE mailing list
>WikimediaKE(a)lists.wikimedia.org
>https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake
Hi folks,
Its quite unfortunate that last weeks meeting didn't happen. Anyway, what I wanted us to discuss was for us to propose a framework in the way we'll approach whatever we want to do.
For instance:
We were to start by experimenting with the offline Wikipedia. So, my suggestion is that each one of us be designated a region in Kenya within which he/she shall concentrate on. An appropriate basis of will be designating team members with the regions from which they come from. Like, say, if I come from Coast or Mombasa, I'll basically go to Mombasa and assess the schools that have computers there. After knowing how many schools we'll approach, we will then prepare our framework: timeline, budget, methodology, etc.
Actually, most public schools in Kenya have bought computers from Camara (and Irish non-profit organisation that distributes computers in African schools at a subsidised cost). These computers use the Linux (or is it Ubuntu??) operating system as opposed to many private schools whose computers are Windows-installed. So ofcourse, they'll be some software issues that may arise when we want to install the offline wiki into these computers. I'm not the software geek and I have never used offline wiki so I really have no idea whether or not the offline wiki is compatible with both types of operating systems.
So, this is the draft framework that I had in mind. I hope to receive input from you guys so that we can beef this framework up and come up with an organised, clear-cut plan.
Kind regards
Abbas Mahmood.
I don't know about the rest but i'm free all weekend. Saturday would be fine with me.
> From: wikimediake-request(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> Subject: WikimediaKE Digest, Vol 2, Issue 5
> To: wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:25:16 +0000
>
> 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: Wikimedia Israel's project in Cameroon and Benin
> (Abbas Mahmoud)
> 2. Re: Wikimedia Israel's project in Cameroon and Benin
> (Wangai Mwangi)
> 3. Re: Wikimedia Israel's project in Cameroon and Benin
> (Limoke Oscar)
> 4. Re: Wikimedia Israel's project in Cameroon and Benin
> (Abbas Mahmoud)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:04:35 +0000
> From: Abbas Mahmoud <abbasjnr(a)hotmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Kenya] Wikimedia Israel's project in Cameroon
> and Benin
> To: Wikimedia Kenya <wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Message-ID: <BLU116-W26338CFDAFE2EF425DC252CA7A0(a)phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi folks,
>
> Wonderful report Oscar. So when should we next meet?
>
> Bence: thanks for the 411.
>
> For those of you who don't know Bence, he is a member of Wikimedia's Chapter's Committee(ChapCom). I met him while I was at Wikimania and we were able to discuss one or two things regarding the Kenyan chapter. So incase any of you have any queries, he may be an insightful source.
>
> Regards,
> Abbas.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From: bdamokos(a)gmail.com
> Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:57:27 +0200
> To: WikimediaZA(a)lists.wikimedia.org; WikimediaKE(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> Subject: [Wikimedia Kenya] Wikimedia Israel's project in Cameroon and Benin
>
>
> Hi guys,
> I hope you are all doing well.
> I am forwarding you a copy of a press release of Wikimedia Israel about their activities with offline Wikipedia in Cameroon and Benin - I think it is very interesting and if you ever want to do something similar, you will know who to contact for advice.
>
>
> Best regards,
> Bence Damokos
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------- BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE --------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
> Here's a rough translation of a press release Wikimedia Israel has issued yesterday, about the "Africa Center" project I had mentioned in an e-mail to this list on June 30th 2010 (see that e-mail for more background on the Africa Center at Ben Gurion University).
>
>
> === START OF PRESS RELEASE ===
> TITLE: Wikipedia Goes To Africa -- Israeli Students to Leave for Humanitarian Work in Africa, Equipped With Portable Static Wikipedia
>
>
> SUBTITLE: Ben-Gurion University's "Africa Center", Wikimedia Israel, and Hamakor cooperate in making free knowledge accessible in Africa
>
>
> The Africa Center at BGU, headed by Dr. Tamar Golan, annually sends a group of students on a three-month humanitarian expedition to developing countries in Africa. This year's group is going to the Repbulic of Benin and the Republic of Cameroon.
>
>
> Learning about this while approaching the Africa Center for help with developing Africa-related entries on the Hebrew Wikipedia, Wikimedia Israel decided to equip the students with computers running free software and containing an offline (static) version of the French Wikipedia, so that the students can bring free knowledge to Africans without access to the Internet.
>
>
> Wikimedia Israel reached out to Hamakor, the Israeli Free and Open Source Software NGO, and Hamakor helped obtain computer donations, refurbished them and installed the Linux operating system on them.
>
>
> Wikimedia Israel collaborated with members of Wikimedia Switzerland and Wikimedia France to produce an up-to-date static version of the French Wikipedia (numbering about 1 million entries, and including images), French being a major language of reading and writing in Cameroon and Benin.
>
>
> "The students also have portable installations of the offline Wikipedia, so that they may install it on any other computers they may run across in Africa," explained Asaf Bartov, who coordinated the project in Wikimedia Israel, "and they have received training on using Linux and Kiwix, the offline Wikipedia reader (free) software, so they may train others to use the computers".
>
>
> Incidentally, the Linux version installed on those computers is called Ubuntu Linux, 'Ubuntu' being an African word (in the Zulu language) roughly translatable as "unity of mankind" or "mutual reliance".
>
>
> Supporting and promoting the distribution of free knowledge in developing countries is one of the five major goals identified by the Wikimedia Foundation as central to its five-year strategy plan, developed by thousands of members of the Wikimedia Movement.
> _______________________________________________ WikimediaKE mailing list WikimediaKE(a)lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake
>
I don't know about the rest but i'm free all weekend. Saturday would be fine with me.
> From: wikimediake-request(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> Subject: WikimediaKE Digest, Vol 2, Issue 5
> To: wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:25:16 +0000
>
> 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: Wikimedia Israel's project in Cameroon and Benin
> (Abbas Mahmoud)
> 2. Re: Wikimedia Israel's project in Cameroon and Benin
> (Wangai Mwangi)
> 3. Re: Wikimedia Israel's project in Cameroon and Benin
> (Limoke Oscar)
> 4. Re: Wikimedia Israel's project in Cameroon and Benin
> (Abbas Mahmoud)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:04:35 +0000
> From: Abbas Mahmoud <abbasjnr(a)hotmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Kenya] Wikimedia Israel's project in Cameroon
> and Benin
> To: Wikimedia Kenya <wikimediake(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Message-ID: <BLU116-W26338CFDAFE2EF425DC252CA7A0(a)phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi folks,
>
> Wonderful report Oscar. So when should we next meet?
>
> Bence: thanks for the 411.
>
> For those of you who don't know Bence, he is a member of Wikimedia's Chapter's Committee(ChapCom). I met him while I was at Wikimania and we were able to discuss one or two things regarding the Kenyan chapter. So incase any of you have any queries, he may be an insightful source.
>
> Regards,
> Abbas.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From: bdamokos(a)gmail.com
> Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:57:27 +0200
> To: WikimediaZA(a)lists.wikimedia.org; WikimediaKE(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> Subject: [Wikimedia Kenya] Wikimedia Israel's project in Cameroon and Benin
>
>
> Hi guys,
> I hope you are all doing well.
> I am forwarding you a copy of a press release of Wikimedia Israel about their activities with offline Wikipedia in Cameroon and Benin - I think it is very interesting and if you ever want to do something similar, you will know who to contact for advice.
>
>
> Best regards,
> Bence Damokos
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------- BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE --------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
> Here's a rough translation of a press release Wikimedia Israel has issued yesterday, about the "Africa Center" project I had mentioned in an e-mail to this list on June 30th 2010 (see that e-mail for more background on the Africa Center at Ben Gurion University).
>
>
> === START OF PRESS RELEASE ===
> TITLE: Wikipedia Goes To Africa -- Israeli Students to Leave for Humanitarian Work in Africa, Equipped With Portable Static Wikipedia
>
>
> SUBTITLE: Ben-Gurion University's "Africa Center", Wikimedia Israel, and Hamakor cooperate in making free knowledge accessible in Africa
>
>
> The Africa Center at BGU, headed by Dr. Tamar Golan, annually sends a group of students on a three-month humanitarian expedition to developing countries in Africa. This year's group is going to the Repbulic of Benin and the Republic of Cameroon.
>
>
> Learning about this while approaching the Africa Center for help with developing Africa-related entries on the Hebrew Wikipedia, Wikimedia Israel decided to equip the students with computers running free software and containing an offline (static) version of the French Wikipedia, so that the students can bring free knowledge to Africans without access to the Internet.
>
>
> Wikimedia Israel reached out to Hamakor, the Israeli Free and Open Source Software NGO, and Hamakor helped obtain computer donations, refurbished them and installed the Linux operating system on them.
>
>
> Wikimedia Israel collaborated with members of Wikimedia Switzerland and Wikimedia France to produce an up-to-date static version of the French Wikipedia (numbering about 1 million entries, and including images), French being a major language of reading and writing in Cameroon and Benin.
>
>
> "The students also have portable installations of the offline Wikipedia, so that they may install it on any other computers they may run across in Africa," explained Asaf Bartov, who coordinated the project in Wikimedia Israel, "and they have received training on using Linux and Kiwix, the offline Wikipedia reader (free) software, so they may train others to use the computers".
>
>
> Incidentally, the Linux version installed on those computers is called Ubuntu Linux, 'Ubuntu' being an African word (in the Zulu language) roughly translatable as "unity of mankind" or "mutual reliance".
>
>
> Supporting and promoting the distribution of free knowledge in developing countries is one of the five major goals identified by the Wikimedia Foundation as central to its five-year strategy plan, developed by thousands of members of the Wikimedia Movement.
> _______________________________________________ WikimediaKE mailing list WikimediaKE(a)lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake
>
Hi guys,
I hope you are all doing well.
I am forwarding you a copy of a press release of Wikimedia Israel about
their activities with offline Wikipedia in Cameroon and Benin - I think it
is very interesting and if you ever want to do something similar, you will
know who to contact for advice.
Best regards,
Bence Damokos
---------------------------------------------------------------- BEGIN
FORWARDED MESSAGE --------------------------------------------------
Here's a rough translation of a press release Wikimedia Israel has issued
yesterday, about the "Africa Center" project I had mentioned in an e-mail to
this list on June 30th 2010 (see that e-mail for more background on the
Africa Center at Ben Gurion University).
=== START OF PRESS RELEASE ===
TITLE: Wikipedia Goes To Africa -- Israeli Students to Leave for
Humanitarian Work in Africa, Equipped With Portable Static Wikipedia
SUBTITLE: Ben-Gurion University's "Africa Center", Wikimedia Israel, and
Hamakor cooperate in making free knowledge accessible in Africa
The Africa Center at BGU, headed by Dr. Tamar Golan, annually sends a group
of students on a three-month humanitarian expedition to developing countries
in Africa. This year's group is going to the Repbulic of Benin and the
Republic of Cameroon.
Learning about this while approaching the Africa Center for help with
developing Africa-related entries on the Hebrew Wikipedia, Wikimedia Israel
decided to equip the students with computers running free software and
containing an offline (static) version of the French Wikipedia, so that the
students can bring free knowledge to Africans without access to the
Internet.
Wikimedia Israel reached out to Hamakor, the Israeli Free and Open Source
Software NGO, and Hamakor helped obtain computer donations, refurbished them
and installed the Linux operating system on them.
Wikimedia Israel collaborated with members of Wikimedia Switzerland and
Wikimedia France to produce an up-to-date static version of the French
Wikipedia (numbering about 1 million entries, and including images), French
being a major language of reading and writing in Cameroon and Benin.
"The students also have portable installations of the offline Wikipedia, so
that they may install it on any other computers they may run across in
Africa," explained Asaf Bartov, who coordinated the project in Wikimedia
Israel, "and they have received training on using Linux and Kiwix, the
offline Wikipedia reader (free) software, so they may train others to use
the computers".
Incidentally, the Linux version installed on those computers is called
Ubuntu Linux, 'Ubuntu' being an African word (in the Zulu language) roughly
translatable as "unity of mankind" or "mutual reliance".
Supporting and promoting the distribution of free knowledge in developing
countries is one of the five major goals identified by the Wikimedia
Foundation as central to its five-year strategy plan, developed by thousands
of members of the Wikimedia Movement.
Hey guys,
It has been quite some time since we communicated as a community. Oliver and
I had a very successful meeting with Dr.Njoroge –The Director of the
Confucius Institute of Kenyatta University and a member of The Multilingual
Education Network of East Africa on 9th Sept. 2010.Dennis from Google was
set to attend but some official matter cropped up at the last minute and He
could not make it. We also were involved in the preparations of the Google
Health Speaks and took the participants through the Wikipedia tutorial. The
details of each of the above events are below:
*KU Meeting*
- Oliver had mentioned of our possible collaboration with the Confucius
Institute of Kenyatta University. In pursuance to that, we had a meeting
with Dr.Njoroge.We discussed various areas in which we could collaborate as
a Local Chapter with KU (as an institution) and with The Multilingual
Education Network of East Africa. Among the key issues are:
- A possible increase of local content online both in local languages
and other languages
- A possible collaboration with the Multilingual Education Network of EA
to enhance mother tongue curricular and content in schools
- Dr.Njoroge also brought us in the loop of some grand African
Development Bank project that seeks to train translators to make as much
African content on culture and local languages online.(financed by the ADB)
- We also thought of identifying some pilot project of Local relevance
say like try to bring Agricultural information online in local languages as
possible. This idea however was left to the Local Chapter Members to
deliberate on it and then get back to Dr.Njoroge with our thought over the
same as soon as possible.
- Dr,Njoroge also assured us of the support of KU in terms of physical
address when we need legal registration.
- We however agreed to try out the one off projects in collaboration with
The Multilingual Education Network of EA as we work out the registration
details.(upon the Local Chapter Members to determine a pilot)
- Lastly we agreed to have another meeting as soon as possible to
deliberate over the above issues after we(The Local Chapters have discussed
the same)
- We also thought to involve Salome(The Kiswahili Expert from Google
during the next meeting)
*Health Speaks*
Health Speaks is an initiative of Google to try to make Health related
content available online as much as possible. Currently they are running a
pilot to make English Wikipedia articles available in Swahili, Hindi and
Arabic .It is on voluntary basis but they are offering upto $50,000(US) in
donation to a local NGO. (more at www.google.org/healthspeaks).
Oliver, Abbas and I were involved in the training of the participants on
Wikipedia related issues. Oliver delivered a fantastic Wikipedia start up
tutorial during the Nairobi training. I was also involved in the
distribution of the posters for the same in my campus (JKUAT) other than
being a participant in the same. If anyone would like to participate, log
onto the website above.
--
Limoke Oscar
Undergraduate Student -JKUAT
Bsc.Geomatic Eng. and GIS
+254 717 845 316