The biannual regional conference of African Wikipedians ‘’Wiki Indaba’’ will begin in Accra, Ghana from the 20th – 22nd January 2017. This will be the second edition of the conference after the first edition was initiated and hosted by Wikimedia South Africa (WMZA). It was first held in Johannesburg South Africa from June 20th – 22nd 2014. In attendance were some 38 participants drawn from twelve African countries, Europe
It was first held in Johannesburg South Africa from June 20th – 22nd 2014. In attendance were some 38 participants drawn from twelve African countries, Europe Asia, and the Americas.
CC – Source: Owula kpakpo
Wiki Indaba this year promises to be bigger and better, it will include a high-powered delegation from the Wikimedia Foundation led by the Executive Director Katherine Maher and a representation of Wikimedians from over 19 countries spanning 3 continents which include Africa, Europe, and North America. The conference is mainly sponsored by the Wikimedia Foundation and locally organised by a local host, Open Foundation West Africa.
The theme for this year’s conference is “Building sustainable Wikimedia communities for the benefit of Africa” The conference will involve a three-day training session which will primarily focus on building sustainable communities through training and capacity building, sharing experiences, workshops and presentations.
These will be interlaced with series of side and social events such as an Akwaaba Night which will be a networking event for selected delegates and members of the open community in Ghana. This event will also be used to celebrate Ghanaian music and dance as well as indigenous delicacies.
About the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF)
The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that supports Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and the other Wikimedia free knowledge sites. Wikipedia consists of nearly 40 million articles from hundreds of languages. Every month, roughly 80,000 active volunteer editors contribute to Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants.
About Open Foundation West Africa (OFWA)
Open Foundation West Africa (OFWA) is a non-profit organization that seeks to extend the reach and activities of Open Movements like Wikipedia, Creative Commons, Mozilla, Open Street Maps and their likes in West Africa and beyond. This is done through community activation, open education and educational programmes, digitization of archives to preserve culture and heritage items for educational purposes and promote contents about the West African Sub-region and beyond.
Source: WikiIndaba Press
