Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia A Case Study with an OvaHerero Community in Eastern Namibia Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu Namibia University of Science and Technology www.nust.na November 2016 Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu (NUST) Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia November 2016 1 / 9
Chapter Outline Wikipedia Overview 1 The encyclopedia Wikipedia in Namibia Value Clash Experiment in Otjinene 2 Setup Results Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu (NUST) Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia November 2016 2 / 9
Wikipedia Overview The encyclopedia The 21 st century encyclopedia Started 2001, open source, content licensed under CC-BY-SA 36 million articles, 291 languages Largest edition: English, 5.2 million articles, 10 billion page views the Internet’s largest and most popular general reference work Written by about 90,000 volunteers 21 st century’s outline, bibliography, and definition of knowledge Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu (NUST) Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia November 2016 3 / 9
Wikipedia Overview The encyclopedia The 21 st century encyclopedia Started 2001, open source, content licensed under CC-BY-SA 36 million articles, 291 languages Largest edition: English, 5.2 million articles, 10 billion page views the Internet’s largest and most popular general reference work Written by about 90,000 volunteers 21 st century’s outline, bibliography, and definition of knowledge Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu (NUST) Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia November 2016 3 / 9
Wikipedia Overview Wikipedia in Namibia Wikipedia’s relevance for Namibia available in English, German, Afrikaans, Chinese, Portuguese . . . the native tongues of former and current colonial masters 3 editors are actively writing about Namibia—2 Germans, 1 Australian ⇒ ‘Namibian narrative’ again told from an alien perspective Namibian indigenous people are not contributing Several inhibiting factors explaining low participation (literacy, affluence, access, and so on) But where are the factors explaining no participation? Probable reason: cultural values clash Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu (NUST) Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia November 2016 4 / 9
Wikipedia Overview Wikipedia in Namibia Wikipedia’s relevance for Namibia available in English, German, Afrikaans, Chinese, Portuguese . . . the native tongues of former and current colonial masters 3 editors are actively writing about Namibia—2 Germans, 1 Australian ⇒ ‘Namibian narrative’ again told from an alien perspective Namibian indigenous people are not contributing Several inhibiting factors explaining low participation (literacy, affluence, access, and so on) But where are the factors explaining no participation? Probable reason: cultural values clash Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu (NUST) Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia November 2016 4 / 9
Wikipedia Overview Wikipedia in Namibia Wikipedia’s relevance for Namibia available in English, German, Afrikaans, Chinese, Portuguese . . . the native tongues of former and current colonial masters 3 editors are actively writing about Namibia—2 Germans, 1 Australian ⇒ ‘Namibian narrative’ again told from an alien perspective Namibian indigenous people are not contributing Several inhibiting factors explaining low participation (literacy, affluence, access, and so on) But where are the factors explaining no participation? Probable reason: cultural values clash Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu (NUST) Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia November 2016 4 / 9
Wikipedia Overview Value Clash Wikipedia editors vs. Ovaherero community Multiple clashes of values, on several levels, across all areas of human organisation Related research: Gallert & Winschiers–Theophilus & Kapuire & Stanley (2016): Clashes in trust, ownership and property, usability, courtesy, collaboration Gallert & van der Velden (2015) : Oral versus written organisation of knowledge Oral citations not allowed on English Wikipedia Attacked as being unreliable, unverifiable, not peer–reviewed, instable over time, in short: chit–chat Oral narratives relate to chit–chat like opera arias to bathroom singing! Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu (NUST) Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia November 2016 5 / 9
Wikipedia Overview Value Clash Wikipedia editors vs. Ovaherero community Multiple clashes of values, on several levels, across all areas of human organisation Related research: Gallert & Winschiers–Theophilus & Kapuire & Stanley (2016): Clashes in trust, ownership and property, usability, courtesy, collaboration Gallert & van der Velden (2015) : Oral versus written organisation of knowledge Oral citations not allowed on English Wikipedia Attacked as being unreliable, unverifiable, not peer–reviewed, instable over time, in short: chit–chat Oral narratives relate to chit–chat like opera arias to bathroom singing! Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu (NUST) Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia November 2016 5 / 9
Wikipedia Overview Value Clash Wikipedia editors vs. Ovaherero community Multiple clashes of values, on several levels, across all areas of human organisation Related research: Gallert & Winschiers–Theophilus & Kapuire & Stanley (2016): Clashes in trust, ownership and property, usability, courtesy, collaboration Gallert & van der Velden (2015) : Oral versus written organisation of knowledge Oral citations not allowed on English Wikipedia Attacked as being unreliable, unverifiable, not peer–reviewed, instable over time, in short: chit–chat Oral narratives relate to chit–chat like opera arias to bathroom singing! Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu (NUST) Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia November 2016 5 / 9
Experiment in Otjinene Setup Oral Citations Experiment Create a list of Wikipedia articles that cannot properly be sourced 1 Experienced Wikipedia editors edit an article with all available 2 online sources (Call for Participation) Selected attendees travel to Namibia 3 Add offline knowledge from the local Namibiana library section 4 Remaining ’white spaces’ ⇒ interview topics 5 3 editors + a translator + a film maker One afternoon in the village of Otjinene, Eastern Namibia, rural setting One couple of elders (husband and wife) interviewed for an afternoon (further data collected in the mean time) Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu (NUST) Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia November 2016 6 / 9
Experiment in Otjinene Setup Oral Citations Experiment Create a list of Wikipedia articles that cannot properly be sourced 1 Experienced Wikipedia editors edit an article with all available 2 online sources (Call for Participation) Selected attendees travel to Namibia 3 Add offline knowledge from the local Namibiana library section 4 Remaining ’white spaces’ ⇒ interview topics 5 3 editors + a translator + a film maker One afternoon in the village of Otjinene, Eastern Namibia, rural setting One couple of elders (husband and wife) interviewed for an afternoon (further data collected in the mean time) Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu (NUST) Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia November 2016 6 / 9
Experiment in Otjinene Setup An Elder Tells a Tale the Herero elder (hat, knife, stick, and chair) pondering what to answer Figure: picture by Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, CC-BY-SA 4.0 Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu (NUST) Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia November 2016 7 / 9
Experiment in Otjinene Results Results and Implications White spaces in Wikipedia articles could be filled Answers regularly appear as riddles, also in further interviews Results at Wikipedia:Oral citations experiment Policy debate still outstanding Wikimedia Foundation supportive in money and morale Interviewing is no outsiders’ job Insider knowledge required to ask questions Insider knowledge required to understand answers (Amusing details in the paper) Ideal people for this role: Community’s own offspring Peter Gallert, Heike Winschiers–Theophilus, Gereon Koch Kapuire, Colin Stanley, Daniel Gonzalez–Cabrero, Bobby Shabangu (NUST) Indigenous Knowledge for Wikipedia November 2016 8 / 9
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