Presentation Transcript
WikipediA: Empowering individuals and communities : WikipediA: Empowering individuals and communities Digital World Africa 2006 Conference
ICTs for Education and Development
12 - 13 september 2006
Florence Nibart Devouard
anthere@wikimedia.org
Empowerment :
Empowerment Collaboration, sharing, mutuality
Strengthening the power of others rather than decreasing it
Being able to act on issues we define as important
Wikipedia’s radical idea :
Wikipedia’s radical idea Imagine a world in which every single person is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge.
www.wikipedia.org
Imagine a bookshelf… : Imagine a bookshelf… Wikipedia,
The encyclopedia
1st lever: learning from others : 1st lever: learning from others + Free as in free beer (“gratis”)
- Requires internet access
Few hits from Africa, Eastern Europe… : Few hits from Africa, Eastern Europe… From Wikimedia projects access hits stats (summer 2005)
2nd lever: nurturing a critical mind :
2nd lever: nurturing a critical mind Neutrality of Point of View
Readers are from diverse political, religious, cultural backgrounds
Content represent all significant views fairly and without bias.
3rd lever: reduce, re-use and recycle :
3rd lever: reduce, re-use and recycle Rights
Use the information without limitation
Distribute it in as many copies as desired
Modify it, reduce or add to it
Duties
All derivative work is to be kept free
The source must be mentionned
4th lever: teaching others :
4th lever: teaching others MediaWiki: a plateform for collaborative editing Requires a computer and an internet connection
Allows users to add or edit content
Scalable and multilingual
Mediawiki logo
Countries editing the english Wikipedia : Countries editing the english Wikipedia From Wikimedia projects access hits stats (summer 2006)
5th lever: preserving linguistic diversity :
5th lever: preserving linguistic diversity
Some Nigeria languages Wikipedias : English: 1 400 000 articles (http://en.wikipedia.org) Some Nigeria languages Wikipedias Yoruba: 55 articles (http://yo.wikipedia.org)
Hausa: 14 articles (http://ha.wikipedia.org)
Igbo: 11 articles (http://ig.wikipedia.org)
Slide13 : “Everyone loses if one language is lost because then a nation and culture lose their memory, and so does the complex tapestry from which the world is woven and which makes the world an exciting place.”
Vigdis Finnbogadottir
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Languages
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