The SAFIPA-funded project “Strengthen the South African national Free and Open Source Software ecosystem through building capacity for development in the FET sector” concluded in October 2011. Part of the outcome of this project was a “Train the Trainer” programme, focused on exposing IT lecturers at FET Colleges to FOSS. In parallel to this outcome, two IT NQF Level-4 FET graduate groups were also trained, working towards the establishment of a SMME development...

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A team of dedicated personnel are currently developing UNESCO’s Open Educational Resources platform using Chisimba.  David Wafula, a well-known and active member of the Chisimba community takes on the role of Systems Architect.    David is currently the Team Leader of Software Development within the e-learning Support and Innovation Department at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).  David was previously involved with the ground-breaking AVOIR network which...

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The Chisimba team attended the SAFIPA 2011 Conference, which was a highly interactive event that marked the close of this Finland-South Africa partnership that has sought to support local projects within the ICT for development arena.  The Chisimba project, which is one of the 25 projects that have benefited from SAFIPA support over the past two years, featured at the conference, giving every indication of going from strength to strength. Chisimba's stand for FOSS Chisimba had...

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Dr Derek Keats, one of the founders of Chisimba, recently gave a keynote address at the SAFIPA 2011 Conference.   His address, entitled, “Emerging Future Trends in Information and Communications Technologies” offered a view into future technological trends that will enhance the information society.  And he also described the tensions that exist for Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in our consumer-driven world. Derek Keats is no stranger to Chisimba newsletter...

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A new simple utility for language translation is available for chisimba. To use this utility, update language module and install a new module called langadmin. Then follow Getting Started tutorial.

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At the SAFIPA Conference (South Africa Finland Partnership in ICT) last week, the capacity building initiative using Chisimba with Further  Education and Training (FET) Colleges in South Africa won the award for the best capacity building initiative. Present to represent the project were Dr James Ngenga, Abdul Hadi Fakier, Simone Crause, and Paul...

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Archives are an important part of the lived history of a nation’s people.   In recent years, and certainly with the advent of the internet and the ability to digitise documents and images, the perception of archives has developed into an acknowledgment that these ‘narratives’ of the past have a strong relevance for  – and bearing on - our contemporary lives.  Recorded on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization...

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A network of trainers, interns, developers and business stakeholders is currently being cemented throughout South, East and West Africa to turn this exciting initiative into a reality.  The multi-partner project, implemented by AVOIR and ict@innovation (a partnership of FOSSFA and GIZ), aims to qualify FOSS developers and experts within IT associations and training institutions, as well as other relevant change-agents, in the development of innovative local FOSS solutions. Chisimba, the...

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The Chisimba team work hard to promote the platform and FOSS, and we think it's about time that we get to meet these awesome folk.  In the post, we meet one of the behind-the-scenes staff members who work on Chisimba.  Kyle Petersen is one such individual.   Kyle works out of the Free Software Innovation Unit (FSIU) at the UWC, where he is an intern focussing on web design.  Kyle, how long have you been working at FSIU? I have been working at FSIU for about...

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  Kenya Institute of Education Elimika programme wins the prestigious 2011 Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Award at the concluded eLearning Africa in Dar-es-Salaam 25th to 27th May 2011   Prepared by Esther Gacicio-Assistant Director e-Learning, eLimika project coordinator   This year’s awards on Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) were announced during the eLearning Africa Conference in Dar-es-Salaam on 27th May 2011. The Kenya Institute...

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