Media in Africa conference paper

This page is meant to brainstorm and develop ideas for a Wikimedia-related paper to be presented at "The Media and Social Change in Africa" conference in London in March 2006. (See [1] for info and also notice on w:Wikipedia:Africa-related_regional_notice_board.)

From CfP: "The deadline for abstracts is 15th February 2006. Those whose papers are accepted will be notified by 28th February 2006. Completed papers (not more than 6000 words) must be e-mailed to us not later than 15th March 2006. Send 200-word abstracts to Winston Mano at: manow at wmin.ac.uk"

Possible topics

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  • Access to information
    • How to desseminate knowledge, both online as well as offline
  • Take-up/participation by schools - (Andy Rabagliati?)
  • Creating communities in African languages
    • For example the Wikipedia's in Fulfulde, Swahili, Bambara ...
    • the role of blogs and bloggers networks - there is some level in Kiswahili among Tanzanian bloggers ...
    • which African languages have a chance to become net-relevant? Considering the fact that African upper and middle classes are heavily oriented towards the ex-colonial "international" languages carrying a promise of being "modern" and better life thru brain drain and these are the same with computer access / ownership

Questions

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  • What is Wikimedia doing to encourage the production and dissemination of knowledge in Africa?
  • What Wikimedia communities exist in Africa, and how are they developing? (See African languages)
  • How can locally-based communities collaborate with each other? (eg. Swahili-speaking children in, say, UK collaborating with children in Kenya ...)
  • ...

Paper outline

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please edit and add!

Wikimedia in Africa

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  • Wikimedia projects in African languages
    • Current state
    • Future possibilities
  • Dissemination of knowledge of Wikimedia projects
    • Culture
    • Technology
  • Wikimedia projects in "colonial" languages

Wikimedia communities

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  • Afrikaans Wikipedia
  • Swahili Wikipedia
  • Bambara, Fulfulde Wikipedia
    • non-existent really

International cooperation of local communities

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Interested in collaboration on a paper

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Interested in attending conference

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Readings

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  • World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) (2003) "Shaping information societies for human needs": civil society declaration to the World Summit on the Information Society, WSIS Civil Society Plenary, Geneva, 8th December 2003 [2]