User:Reg/Jokkolabs Support

Partnership Proposal between YELEMAN and WIKIMEDIA CH: JOKKOLABS MALI SUPPORT.

Abstract

Yeleman is about to open a co-working space & Open Knowledge hub in Bamako, Mali. In order to

Background

Yeleman (YLM)

YLM is a small private software company from Mali.

• Client references
• WMCH on OSM/Wiktionary
• Subcontractor on Kiwix devel

Wikipedia Center

The need for a Wikipedia Center arise in 2007, following the success of moulin (Kiwix) and the initial Wikipedia trainings ran by YLM staff in Bamako. Since then, YLM tried and failed to keep an office open with access to Internet for volunteers willing to contribute to Wikipedia. With the support of WMCH, YLM could enroll volunteers in making thousands of contributions to the Wiktionary in local languages and kick-started the Open Street Map of Bamako.

After many attempts, we realized offering such a service (an open place for people to contribute to WP) is not feasible without (expensive) human resources. We thus refused to request more help from WMCH until we find a way to make it sustainable and useful.

We believe we now have a working plan which will require WMCH support.

Jokkolabs Mali

Jokkolabs

Jokkolabs is a co-working space and social change hub in Dakar, Senegal. It is primarily a co-working space supported by a private company which encourages its users to embrace openness as a principle. Additionally, Jokkolabs is the hub of the high-tech and open-source communities, giving periodic presentations, barcamps and trainings. In a little more than a year, Jokkolabs became the center of all this community including Free-sofware ones (Drupal, Mozilla SN, DakarLug) and non-free ones (Google, mobile Senegal, etc). Proven successful, Jokkolabs in currently expending to Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Nanterres (France).