EA Regional and Thematic Hub (EARTH)
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The East African Regional and Thematic Hub (EARTH) seeks to bring together communities in the EA region and will also cover various thematic areas as identified by members.
The creation of hubs is anchored in the Movement Charter.
Background[edit]
East African Countries enjoy historical political and economic relations that are enshrined in the East Africa Community economic bloc (EAC) and the East African Regional and Thematic Hub (EARTH) seeks to leverage on this goodwill.
One of the historical events was in 2019, when 8 communities in the East Africa region and others drawn from nearby countries that are not within the EAC like Ethiopia, convened in Uganda for the East Africa Strategy Summit.
Other similar discussions have also happened as below;
- East Africa Wiki Communities collaboration at WikiIndaba 2020 (2021)
- East African Regional commitments at Wikimania 2021
- East Africa Wiki communities Pre-Wikimania conference collaboration & Regional grant proposal
- 2021 discussion on priorities for Implementation
- East Africa Community Capacity Development Wiki Training in Tanzania in 2019 (By Asaf & Woubzena)
- Jenga Wikipedia Ya Kiswahili in East Africa - focused and for SADC countries - (#WikipediaForUniversities)
- EA collaboration with AfLiA & Told Cities Project - GLAM
Vision and Objectives[edit]
- To ensure that the existing and future communities have the capacity and resources to make and implement meaningful decisions for Wikimedia 2030, and the Movement Strategy.
- Make new connections and structures that will strengthen the identified communities to fulfill the Strategic Direction.
- To empower groups of affiliates to collaborate on capacity building, knowledge transfer, coordination, and participation in the Wikimedia Movement discussions and activities.
Previous research, consultations and community engagement[edit]
- We have shared the refined idea on EARTH with the Movement Strategy support team in January 2022
- We had a Cross-Regional hub coordination (Asia-Oceania-Africa-CE Europe meet - workshop) on 11 December 2021, discussions and sharing ideas are still ongoing.
- We have shared the (refined) EARTH plan at the Wikimedia Foundation co-creation Workshop on 27 November 2021
- We presented the East Africa regional hub idea at the Wikimedia European Affiliates Cooperation event on 18 November 2021
- The presentation at WikiIndaba in November 2021 was also a community consultation where we invited community members to share ideas on the regional hub idea.
- There are a number of existing hubs in East Africa, and the African continent in general, but a majority of these are Technology/innovation focused hubs.
- We discovered that one of the Wikimedia Movement's aligned communities planned the implementation of regional (open mapping) hubs, one of them being in East Africa.
EARTH Regional Meetup 10th March 2022[edit]
On 10th March 2022 we had an East African Regional and Thematic Hub -Regional meetup for all Wikimedia communities around this region. The invitation for represenatatives and community members to join this call was sent to Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and WikiInAfrica. The Agenda for this call was: AGENDA
- WHERE IT STARTED
- WHERE WE ARE
- WHERE WE ARE GOING
- WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAKE IT GOING
- Q’s & A’s
- CLOSING REMARKS
The notes taken during this call is found here
Members attended[edit]
Please add your names below if you attended this call.
SNO | Name of the participant | Wikimedia Affiliate | Country |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Antoni Mtavangu | Wikimedia Community User Group Tanzania | Tanzania |
2 | Douglas Ssebagala | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | Uganda |
3 | Winnie Kabintiie | Wikimedia Community User Group Kenya | Kenya |
4 | Otto Augustino | Wikimedia Community User Group Tanzania | Tanzania |
5 | IRANKUNDA Ferdinand | Wikimedia Community User Group Burundi | BURUNDI |
6 | Ndahiro Derrick | Wikimedia Community User Group Rwanda | Rwanda |
7 | Gilbert Ndihokubwayo | Wikimedia Community User Group Burundi | Burundi |
8 | Alex Method | Wikimedia Community User Group Tanzania | Tanzania |
9 | Candy Khohliwe | Wikimedia Community User Group Botswana | Botswana |
10 | |||
11 | |||
12 | |||
13 | |||
14 | |||
15 | |||
16 | |||
17 | |||
18 | |||
19 | |||
20 |
Gallery of screenshots during the meetup[edit]
Support needed[edit]
- Identifying interested and committed community members to collaborate on the above vision (Individuals, affiliates, organizations, etc).
- A feasibility study on the operation of a Regional affiliate, entity, or Organisation (eg. OFWA, EAC, SADC)
- Design thinking on planning and implementation of these initiatives.
Grant application[edit]
- We applied for an implementation rapid grant in July 2021
- We intend to apply for the 2022 Implementation grants
Steering team[edit]
- Antoni Mtavangu- Tanzania
- Winnie Kabintie-Kenya
- Douglas Ssebaggala-Uganda
- Research Consultant - TBC
Community Facilitators[edit]
No | Title | Roles | Duration |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Research Consultant |
For full job description and how to apply, please read Here |
1 to 3 months |
2 | Project Facilitator (Rwanda) |
|
4 - 6 months |
3 | Project Facilitator (DR Congo) |
|
4 - 6 months |
4 | Project Facilitator (Burundi) |
|
4 - 6 months |
5 | Community Liaison (Ethiopia) |
|
4 - 6 months |
6 | Community Liaison (Somalia) |
|
4 - 6 months |
7 | Community Liaison (Botswana) |
|
4 - 6 months |
8 | Community Liaison (South Sudan) |
|
4 - 6 months |
Advisors[edit]
- TBA
Important announcements[edit]
- Call for a research Consultant
Dear East African Wikimedians, As per our communication last month, we would like to invite community members that will take an active role in the EARTH Hub project activities as below;
1.A call for team members and volunteers
- We are looking for Project facilitators from Rwanda, Congo, and Burundi to join the team.
- Volunteer Community liaisons from Ethiopia, Somalia, Zambia, Botswana or South Sudan.
- Please send these names of the selected members before 17 October 2022 to antonicmtavangu@gmail.com
2.A call for a research consultant
- Please share this call within your networks and request Wikimedians to take a look at the roles here on meta for candidates that can work with us on the team. (A full job description will be shared early next week).
- The Deadline for applications is 15 October 2022, shortlist of candidates, and interviews will happen between 17 - 22 October, and successful candidates will be announced by 29 October 2022
- For full job description and how to apply, please read Here
Meetings for the Steering Team[edit]
- Saturday 18 June 2022
- Monday 20 June 2022
- Tuesday 28 June 2022
- Saturday 23 July 2022
- Monday July 25 2022
- Wednesday 27 July 2022
Community calls[edit]
- Design thinking - February 2022
- Community Call - March 10
Research Project Kickoff Meeting[edit]
- Online - January 2023
- Research Schedules, Project duration, and general overview.