2023:Program/Libraries/9WCT9T-When African Librarians met Wikidata

Title: When African Librarians met Wikidata

Speakers:

Alice Kibombo-Ekanya

She is a librarian and Wikimedian

Nkem Osuigwe PhD, Human Capacity Development & Training (Director), AfLIA

I am a librarian.

Pretalx link

Etherpad link

Room: National Library, Imagination Room

Start time: Sun, 20 Aug 2023 15:45:00 +0800

End time: Sun, 20 Aug 2023 16:05:00 +0800

Type: Lecture

Track: No (pretalx) track id specified

Submission state: confirmed

Duration: 20 minutes

Do not record: false

Presentation language: en

Abstract & description

Abstract

Making library collections in Africa more visible, open and connected is a major objective of the “Promoting Open Knowledge practices in African Libraries through WikiData” project by AfLIA. The project which is funded by Wikimedia Foundation also aims to drive better understanding of open knowledge and linked data in the African Library sector. This is critical as the organization believes that access to knowledge is crucial for sustainable development and for creating more knowledge.

Description

Innovations are more prone to happen when there is access to knowledge that can be built on to create more knowledge and value without restrictions. Sharing and linking of knowledge is critical for development. A principal reason why Africa is yet to have robust innovative ecosystems could be rightly attributed to lack of collaborative information sharing practices by researchers and the academia of what they are working on or what they have previously worked on and successes/failures encountered. One of the enduring lessons of the COVID-19 crisis is that the entire world is interconnected as what happens in a region or continent may most likely affect other parts of the world. This brings to the fore the need to open up knowledge to tackle common challenges so that no one is left behind.

However, from cursory observations, opening up knowledge for the common good is yet to take root deeply among the academia and researchers in Africa. This could be attributed to a lack of knowledge about digital platforms that promote and drive open practices, understanding about the advantages as well as lack of knowledge and skills on how to successfully share what they know for the benefit of others on such platforms. With a focus on Librarians and other information practitioners within the Africa library sector working in different Library types - public, school, national, academic, research, special, parliamentary libraries etc., at least 200 librarians from at least 20 African countries have been admitted as participants in this course.

The objectives include : Share with the audience our unique motivation for engaging with Wikidata ; Share with the audience what our challenges, successes and learning points are so far Prompt a conversation on ways AfLIA can make an impact on the African library sector and the larger Wikimedia Community with this project especially in the area of driving Openness through linked data and access to knowledge in the continent ;

Further details

Qn. How does your session relate to the event themes: Diversity, Collaboration Future?

Wikidata like other Wikimedia projects is a global platforms that drives sharing and collaboration to create and use knowledge openly for a better world and can help in meaningful inculcation of openness into information provision. The project draws from a diverse range of individuals (over 200 participants from over 20 countries) whom we hope shall be the force that trains and supports their respective communities for future engagement.

Qn. What is the experience level needed for the audience for your session?

Everyone can participate in this session

Qn. What is the most appropriate format for this session?

Onsite in Singapore
Remote online participation, livestreamed
Remote from a satellite event
Hybrid with some participants in Singapore and others dialing in remotely
Pre-recorded and available on demand