GLAMTLV2018/Submissions/GLAM Programs and Partnerships in Africa
 | This is an Open submission for GLAM TLV Conference 2018 that has not yet been reviewed by the members of the Program Committee. |
- Submission no. 11
- Title of the submission
- GLAM Programs and Partnerships in Africa
- Author(s) of the submission
- Sam (User:Jamie Tubers); User:African Hope; if you're interested in being a panelist, please contact User:Jamie Tubers
- E-mail address
- samoye_
hotmail.com
- Country of origin
- Nigeria
- Affiliation, if any (organisation, company etc.)
- Wikimedia UG Nigeria
- Type of session
Panel
- Length of session
- 30 min
- Ideal number of attendees
- ~25
- Abstract
Increasing the awareness of Wikipedia in Africa is one of the major goals of the Wikimedia community at the moment, and quite a lot have been done already in this bid to improve the readership of Wikipedia in developing countries, as well as to increase the number of contributors from the countries. However, another key area which requires dedicated effort is GLAM initiatives, which still remain, largely, a European/western affair.
Few communities have developed quite a a lot ideas for GLAM, but only few have been able to make headway. There are lots of challenges which GLAM programs face in the African continent as a whole, some of which include: GLAMs' lack of awareness of GLAM-Wiki programs, skepticism from the more informed GLAMs on releasing their content, poor understanding of GLAM-Wiki activities, and just downright disinterest (which is the case for most public institutions). These challenges are in addition to the regular challenges which Wikimedia activities face on the continent.
Another major challenge that GLAM programs face on the continent is the lack of awareness on the part of local communities. A lot of Wikimedians in Africa are not aware of possibilities for GLAM programs. For the ones who do, they are usually not familiar with the procedures on how to get it done, or do not possess the skills needed to convince cultural gatekeepers why they should release their materials for Wikipedia.
This presentation intends to talk about the likely factors which contribute to the very low level of GLAM engagement in Africa and suggest new and culture-specific ways in which the GLAM-Wiki community can help in solving these problems. All of these will be presented using grass-root perspectives and experiences gained at the local level. Examples will be shared on how the Nigerian User Group is currently trying to deal with the problems, and how much more needs to be done, using the help and input of the global community.
- What will attendees take away from this session?
- This presentation aims to bring to notice, the peculiar problems and challenges that GLAM programs face in Africa, and the need to tailor solutions specifically for the continent, in order to ensure applicability.
- Slides or further information
There may be few slides for projection.
- Special requests
Interested attendees
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