About 30 Ghanaian hearing-impaired students from the Special Education Department at the University of Education Winneba have been trained on Wikipedia and its sister projects.
The workshop themed ‘Sign Language and Wikipedia: Wiki4SDGs Ghana Campaign’ is the first of two pieces of training aimed at empowering PWDs with open resources.
The Project Lead, Stella Agbley, expressed optimism in promoting inclusion in the Wikipedia community, hence the need to continue the training of persons with disabilities, which began in 2021.
Miss Agbley shared her thoughts on the workshop, stating, “it went well, we expected 15 people and closed with almost 30 people. I am advocating the teaching of sign language at various levels, just like we have other Ghanaian languages taught in our schools. This would go a long way in making communication easier for those with hearing impairment.”
Sign Language Interpreter, Martin Atta Nyamekye says the students applauded the team for the training and “wished programs should be organized in the school frequently.”
The team includes:
- Stella Agbley User:SAgbley has over 6 years as a Wikimedian trainer. She is a GLAM advocate and very passionate about SDGs. She would lead training and also handle event planning. (Climate & Inclusion)
- Daniel Anyorigya- User:Uprising Man is also a climate and Human rights activist, an avid Wikimedia contributor and a journalist. He will train and assist with online communication and reporting.(Human Rights)
- Lady Patience: User:Patketeku – would assist with Logistics and youth mobilisation.
- Martin Atta User:Martinattakee is a sign language interpreter who has been trained on how to edit Wikipedia and its sister projects, he will also be an advisor and sign interpreter for the inclusion section. (Inclusion)
Advisory and Tech Team
- Joy Agyepong: User:Joy Agyepong is an experienced wikimedian/ environmental advocate and long time contributor who would serve as an advisor and also a facilitator.
- Nii Commey User:Cnii an active Wikimedian and would be technical lead/research support.
- Anita Adu- Yeboah – User:Edapa Annie an avid contributor and would handle resources and community engagement
About Wiki4SDGs Ghana Campaign
This is a follow-up to events held in 2021 on topics on climate, human rights, and Inclusion. This aims at:
- With the goal of recruiting more new editors (SDG advocates in the fields mentioned)
- To also Increase skills for translating Human rights related articles into Ghanaian local languages
- Create and improve Wiki Data items on Human rights and climate topics.
- Increase skills for existing editors on Human rights, institutions, and climate topics, and healthy natural systems.
- Add or improve and create content SDGs that include; Climate, Human Rights, and Inclusion topics.
- Uploads to Wiki Commons in all areas above.
The project will increase participation during World Environment Day, Climate Change Day, SDGs Week, and International Day of Sign Languages during the entire project period.
This was written by Daniel Abugre Anyorigya, a Journalist, Wikipedian and Environmentalist. Follow him on Twitter: @danyorigya
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