Decolonise The Internet

During its inception, the internet was seen as a vital instrument for democracy and equality. In 2020, amidst a global pandemic and racial inequalities that are very much still alive, it is time to ask: Whose stories are told and who is telling these stories on the internet? And how do Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms and Bots shape our view of the world and perpetuate racisms?
This is where the new Goethe-Institut project "Decolonise The Internet" comes in. The campaign focuses on bridging the unequal representation of voices from the Global South on the internet and aims at increasing content about Ghana and generally the continent of Africa to reduce such biases. The project takes place in ten different countries in sub-Saharan Africa and has different formats, such as edit-a-thons, podcasts and texts.

More Information

The Competition

In Ghana, the Goethe Institute has partnered with Open Foundation West Africa to organize, provide training opportunities and technical support throughout the contest. The contest, starting from 1st September to 15th October 2020, will seek to make the internet reflect the richness and diversity of our world with focus on centring knowledge of marginalized communities online, including women and indegenouse groups. We invite your participation in creating or improving articles in the areas of culture, governance, film and arts, education, technology and all significant personalities and institutions that contribute their quota to what makes the country Ghana.
Awards to be won include Laptops, Hard drives, Pendrives, Goethe branded souvenirs

How to participate Steps:

Step 1
To participate, click on thisLink to sign up

Step 2
Create a User Account on Wikipedia (if you do not have one already)

Step3
Use your Wikipedia account to log into theDecolonizing the Internet dashboard

Step 4
Find an article of interest that needs improvement or new articles that could be createdClick here to view the list of articles

Step 5
Share your experience on social media using the hashtag #DTIGH

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

What is Decolonizing the internet Writing Contest?

It is a writing contest initiated by the Goethe Institute in partnership with Open Foundation West Africa to augment the biases on the internet by projecting more Ghanaian narrative on Wikipedia and the web at large. It is open to everyone who has interest in contributing to content by writing articles or translating existing articles about Ghana into various local languages. Participants stand the chance of winning amazing prizes..

What exactly will participants be doing during the Decolonizing the internet Writing Contest?

From 1st September to 15th October 2020, we encourage participants to create new articles about topics that project Ghana or translate existing articles into local languages such as Twi, Ga, Ewe, Hausa etc. By doing so, we can create reliable content about Ghana and Africa on Wikipedia for the benefit of global readers.

Who can participate?

Participants cut across all fields, Librarians, Researchers, Students, people from all walks of life are welcome to be part of this contest.

Why should I participate in the campaign?

At the moment about 2.6% of the content that exists on English Wikipedia is about Africa. Not much has been written about our history, people, culture on this great platform. The Decolonize the Internet Writing Contest will be an opportunity for us to create and curate content to increase the visibility of Ghanaian content including marginalised languages on Wikipedia and on the web generally.

Ways to get involved

1. You can improve existing articles

2. Create new articles

3. Translate articles into local languages

4. Add references to existing articles

5. Share the campaign

* You can share the Campaign Flyers - (Check Facebook Page)

* Share a post using the hashtag- #DTIGH

Resources Needed

1. Videos on how to create a Wikipedia article

Video 1
Video 2

2. Video on how to add citations Click here

3. List of articles you can create Click here

Connect with us

We would Love to help you get involved so do get in touch!
Send all enquiries concerning Decolonizing the internet Writing contest to -

info@ofwafrica.org or meli.mansu@goethe.de or +233 (0)242844987

Virtual Office Hours

Our virtual office hours allows participants to join in and have their questions answered.
We are open for the following days:

Monday 31st August 2PM-3PM GMT
Friday 4th September 2PM-3PM GMT
Friday 11th September 2PM-3PM GMT
Friday 18th September 2PM-3PM GMT

Let’s work together on making the internet a more equal place!

DTI 2020

The Goethe-Institut’s new program "Decolonise the Internet" focuses on bridging the unequal representation of voices from the Global South on the internet and aims to increase awareness on how AI and algorithms might perpetuate racism.

Partners

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