by Oarabile Mudongo
Wikimedia Botswana is a suggested name of Wikipedia User group in Botswana with the mission of developing online content through outreach and active editing. It is through this mission that we endorse Wiki Indaba,Wiki Indaba is a proposed 3 days conference/gathering of African Wikimedians and mission aligned open knowledge volunteers to be held in Johannesburg (South Africa) in February 2014. Through this conference we believe the Wikimedia saying of:
"Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge"
It was such a previlage particularly for Botswana to take part at Wikimania 2013 held in Hong Kong, Kwoloon, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. This was a conference not to be missed by any single person from Africa after the great experience at Wikimania 2012, Washington DC but due to certain circumstances some African Wikimedians could not turn up for this years event with only 5 countries represented from Africa.
The major problem faced by African Wikimedians is finding ways to increasing African content on wikipedia. Now what!!? the idea of Wiki Indaba conference, with the aim of facilitating co-operation links amongst African Wikimedia Chapters and thematic groups through dialogue. "This we hope will also assist in increasing Wikipedia coverage and foot print in Africa" stated WikimediaZA president Dumisani Ndubane . However Isla-Haddow-Flood ; Project Manager at WikiAfrica Center continued to lament that this will be the first regional conference to be held in Africa and for African Chapters, the least Wikipedia covered region of the world.At the recent Wikimania 2013 in Hong Kong there was an informal Africa meet-up attended by delegates from all African countries represented and Oarabile_Mudongo from Botswana happened to be part of the blazing meet-up and yet a representative.
In an interview with CNN journalists answering a question "How do you think Africa can be the driving force to stop Internet Censorship in China to allow free access to Wikipedia?" Oarabile Mudongo mentioned that "Knowledge has power to change people and therefore it is important to show interest in serving peoples needs and this interest comes by active participation and publicity".
Wikimania attracts Wikimedia project participants from around the world, including writers, editors, programmers, and photographers; Wikimedia Foundation staff; and members of the 30+ country-based Wikimedia chapters. Many independent researchers also attend and present. Attendance has ranged from 300 to 750+ people, with representation from more than 50 countries.
'Extensive consultation with the wider wikimedia and editor communities across Africa should be conducted in the form of working groups to isolate exactly what the expectations of and goals for the conference are' says Isla Haddow-Flood who encouraged wikipedians interested in Africa to continue discussions about this conference by visiting its official page.
"You can have a cart before the horse. Things don't have to be linear to work. You don't need a landline to get a phone, now we know that. Wikipedia is the demonstration that things can work also in ways that do not follow step-by-step procedure ("we start by providing sanitation and than we move to the rest"). And this conference can and should be a Ferrari not even a cart" lamented Lolanda.
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