Wikimedia South Africa/May 2023 Newsletter

WMZA newsletter covers all the activities which has been taking place within the Wikimedia South African Chapter.

Hackathon

Over 40 girls and boys gathered at Purpose Finder Academy in Cape Town to celebrate the Girls in ICT Day. Two women who have made significant achievements in the technology industry spoke at the event, and young men also participated. Michael Graaf, a facilitator, highlighted the importance of having access to online content, even in areas with limited internet connectivity. Onias Munetsi, a software engineer, highlighted the importance of coding skills in the modern world, which can be used to automate routine tasks and enhance efficiency. Munetsi and Wadzanai Chihombori-Ndlovu both spoke at the Girls in ICT Celebration Event, emphasizing the importance of coding skills and the various career opportunities available in the IT industry.

Munetsi encouraged young girls to develop their coding skills, while Ndlovu stressed the importance of online safety and discussed how young people can protect themselves and others on the internet. The Girls in ICT Celebration Event was an inspiring and informative event that empowered young girls to pursue their interests in the technology industry. Ndlovu's expertise in internet governance and policy provided practical tips on staying safe online. Lungile and Mark from Yetu also spoke at the event, emphasizing the importance of mentorship and willingness to help young women in the technology industry. The event was an excellent opportunity for young girls to interact with professionals in the technology industry and gain insights into the skills required to succeed in the field.

Read the full article: Hackathon 2023: Collaborating to Empower Girls in ICT

SiSwati Wikipedia Edit and Translation Workshop 2023

Wikimedia South Africa (Wikimedia ZA), in collaboration with the University of Eswatini's Department of Humanities, hosted a SiSwati editing and translation workshop for both students and professors from 27 to 28 April 2023. The two-day training was held online via the Zoom platform, and it included all individuals with knowledge and understanding of the SiSwati language.

The training includes a two-week editing contest after the workshop day to give participants time to sharpen their newly acquired skills. The editing contest includes a prize for the top three participants who would have edited an article with photographs and categories and at least 100 words, with the first prize winner receiving a laptop, the second winner receiving a tablet, and the third winner receiving a data voucher.

Read the full article: SiSwati Wikipedia Edit & Translation Workshop 2023

Wiki 22nd celebration

The Wikimedia ZA hosted a Wikipedia 2^nd birthday celebration the first in-person meet-up since covid on 15 January 2023 in South Africa, the celebration was held in two cities in Johannesburg at the Olives & Plates Embassy Towers and in Cape Town at the Tiger's Milk in Claremont.

The face-to-face meeting gave Wikipedians who share common interests an opportunity to connect, network, and share options and suggestions on how to continue creating African content on Wikipedia.

Read the full article: Wikipedia 22nd Birthday Celebration in South Africa

Wikimedia ZA Strategic Communication Workshop

Wikipedia Foundation hosted a strategic communication workshop on 25 March 2023 at the Red Radisson Hotel, Rosebank. Belinda Mbambo led the workshop, and in attendance from the Wikipedia Foundation were Dumisani Ndubane, Nobantu Modise, and Gwadamirai Majange, and from the Wikimedia ZA team were the South African president chapter Bobby Shabangu, Pfano Ranwedzi, Shupai Mchuchu, and Zenande Mantlana.

The workshop covers the importance of how the chapter can identify its audience and how to present itself to the larger audience. The workshop was informative and knowledgeable, where the audience had an opportunity to ask questions and also help define the objectives for the Wikimedia South Africa chapter.

Wikimedia ZA Members listening to the Strategic Communications Workshop 2023 presented by Belinda Mbambo.

Read the full article: Wikimedia Foundation Strategic Communications Workshop

AfroCuration South Africa 2023

On the 22nd and 23rd of March, AfroCuration South Africa, in collaboration with the Constitutional Hill Trust, hosted an edit-a-thon workshop at the Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg, South Africa, partnering with Wikimedia ZA and Harambee. The event's main theme was "Who Are We?" in recognition of Human Rights Day, celebrated on March 21. The goal was to encourage students to take responsibility for their stories while preserving African languages.

Sixty students attended the two-day edit-a-thon workshop with representatives from five schools in Soweto, Johannesburg: Missourilaan Secondary School, Vuwani Secondary School, Seana Marena High School, Bona Comprehensive School, and Thaba-Jabula Secondary School. The students got an opportunity to edit and translate articles under the sub-theme "Prejudice-dictionary" This was a method of unpacking dangerous prejudices and developing an active understanding. Articles were translated into four South African languages, namely Tshivenda, Sesotho, isiZulu, and Afrikaans.

Read the full article: Afrocuration South Africa 2023

Advocacy activity

Right2Research

From January 23 to January 27, 2023, Wikimedia ZA representatives attended a Week of Debates on Copyright and Access to Knowledge in Pretoria and Cape Town, South Africa. WMZA was an organizing partner in this event. The goal of these discussions was to advocate for openness in research through advocacy and education. To advance Open Access, Open Education, and Open Data in Africa.

Policymakers, academics, and activists from across the African continent, as well as African researchers, legal experts, and intergovernmental organisations, gathered to network, share ideas, thoughts, and suggestions, and ask questions. One of the key questions asked include “Do African researchers have access to the data they need?” and “ Does copyright law help or hinder the Right to Research?”.

This concluded by acknowledging the fact that answering these questions requires the very latest computational research methods. We need to mine information from research sources and databases all over the world.

The Right to Research Coalition and its members work to educate the next generation of researchers, administrators, and policymakers about the benefits of open research while also advocating for progressive policies at the local, national, and international levels.

Read the full article: Right to Research: Copyright and Access to Knowledge 2023

Copyright amendment bil: CAB hearingsl

See also:South African Copyright_Amendment_Bill advocacy

Throughout February and March 2023,the Wikimedia ZA representatives joined the provincial legislative hearings on the Copyright Amendment Bill in both Gauteng and the Western Cape. The chapter also gave a presentation to the South African National Parliament on why we support the adoption of Freedom of Panorama and Fair Use into South African law. Whilst Freedom of Panorama is uncontroversial and widely supported as an additional copyright exception that needs to be added to any future copyright legislation, Fair Use remains controversial. Industry sectors such as the music collecting societies, publishers and broadcasters such as Netflix argue that it will disrupt their business models and so argue against it. Supporters of adopting Fair Use, such as legal academics, librarians, educators and those in the technology sector argue that it maximises the public interest by providing easier access to knowledge, promotes creativity, furthers the development of technology industries and future proofs copyright exceptions. For more information on the chapter’s copyright advocacy activities check the link below: