Branton, It is quite unclear which candidate answered these questions. Please clarify. Also, do indicate whether these Q's are coming from the electoral team or ordinary members.
Abbas. > Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:45:23 +0300 > From: bruceobw...@gmail.com > To: wikimediake@lists.wikimedia.org > Subject: [Wikimedia Kenya] ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY ANN NJERI > > 1. Why do you think you suit to be in the board of WKME? > Firstly, I am willing to contribute my time and other resources as a > leader as I seek to serve others with the objective of attaining the > common good for society as a whole. I know there are those specialized > skills and talents that I have which will contribute to build WKME, > especially the Kenyan chapter. I may not know much but I’m willing > to learn and I believe that’s the most important thing. I am a team > player who believes that the more is yielded when we collaborate. We > also need a female representative on the board and a place which I am > ready to take up. > 2. What is your take on the level of participation of members in the > WKME projects/meetings/mailing list? Anything you think should be > done differently? > There is room for improvement, I speak also for myself. We need to be > more dedicated to the projects that we do as well as build the spirit > of solidarity in our midst by taking all successes and failures as a > team and not individually. > I would suggest that we attempt to have online meetings where we can > conference as well as chat live. This will help counter the problem of > unavailability of members for the meet-ups, increase number of > meetings and kill the problem of need for geographical proximity. > 3. As a board needs members with different skills (e.g. > administrative, financial, public relations etc) please tell us which > particular skill set you have worked in previously, like another > society or organization? > I have accounting skills that have been gained not only theoretically > but practically. I have completed CPA (certified Public Accountant). > I have also worked in Sarova Stanley in the accounts department. This > will help assist greatly in maintaining accurate accounts based on > accounting standards requirements. > I am also a marketer having only one year left to complete my degree > in Marketing and Finance. Early next month I will be working in > Synovate Kenya, a research firm. The skills gained therein will be > useful for us to develop strategies and invest in research that is > useful in solving various challenges we have like getting and > retaining editors. > I also serve in the Leadership of Global Leadership interlink (GLI), > an international organization that is seeking to build leaders in > their formative years so that they can uphold ethical principles all > through their lives. We carry out duties like organizing conferences, > training of members, preparing content to be taught and discussed > among other administrative tasks. > > > > > 4. Which languages have you worked in so far? And what is your > position on both a language policy and language strategy for WMKE? > Sadly I have not worked in any languages so far but I do intend to in > the future. A language strategy can be that of getting as many tribes > as possible to contribute to building of Wikipedia. It may seem > difficult but we have an example from the current local radio stations > broadcasted in various local languages to learn from. Our pride comes > from our culture which gives us our identity, something we should all > be proud of. > 5. How would you best deal with the issue of editor attraction and > retention in our local chapter to ensure the growth of WKME as a > whole? > I think the best place to start is to research into the question “Why > don’t people edit, and if they do, why are most people not committed?” > The answers to the above questions can give us a guide to formulate > strategy that will increase and retain editors. > On speculation though, I think the idea of Wikimedia has not really > sunk in the mind of many Kenyans let alone the issue of editing. I > remember when we went to Kenyatta University and one of the senior > lecturers had not heard of the concept Wikipedia. There is need to > increase the sensitization that will help us attract more Kenyans. We > need to come up with appeals that will reach out to the human > component in all humans; that of contributing to the common good of > all. There is need to communicate the benefits that people will get > once they become contributors because most people look at their end of > the deal “What’s in it for me?” The benefits need not be monetary > because the last thing we need to do is increase our costs. > > 6. Now that we are an independent chapter, how do you plan to raise > funds supposing the parent Wikipedia Foundation won’t avail funds to > run the aforementioned project? > Partnerships are crucial, which can be very fruitful in a day when > firms are seeking avenues for CSR (corporate social responsibility). > We just need to be bold and creative enough to come up with projects > and present them to the corporate for financing. It’s not easy, but > it’s possible. It doesn’t have to be about the money only since there > are institutions that periodically change their computers so we can > solicit for donations of computers to those schools that have few or > none. > The Ministry of Education can be a powerful source of finance. We can > avail ourselves as the tools they will use to carry out their > objectives since theirs is about advancement of education. The offline > Wikipedia that is customized to the Kenyan syllabus can be very > useful. > > 7 What kind of project/activity would you envision WKME and its > members to undertake in order to fulfill the objectives of Wikimedia > Foundation as a whole? > I believe the project that is of utmost urgency is to both localize > the content of the offline Wikipedia as well as continue sensitizing > others of our existence and attract more people on board that will > contribute to achievement of these objectives. > There should be increase in telling the African story, be it through > stories or even telling the history of our country in ways that will > make people grow in the knowledge of the richness of our heritage. > > _______________________________________________ > WikimediaKE mailing list > WikimediaKE@lists.wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediake
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