MEDIA & MAKERS Conference JUBA 2012

MEDIA & MAKERS: JUBA 2012 aims to develop scenarios for sustainable media and innovation-driven open knowledge sectors in South Sudan, with an emphasis on collaboration, accessibility and transparency.

MEDIA & MAKERS: JUBA 2012 will explore the elements and means of implementing functional independent media structures and innovative ‘open source’ mechanisms in South Sudan that can tackle the challenges of post-conflict transformation, open ICT and access to quality information and knowledge, effective resource management, policy transparency and economic development. The process will examine established and prospective South Sudanese open data, development and cultural collaboration projects with the aim to create a strong, sustainable and open civil society.

A Model of Open Development – South Sudan as the world’s first Open Source Country?

The ‘Open Knowledge’ thematic at MEDIA & MAKERS JUBA 2012 brings together key players – policy makers, journalists, researchers, open source developers, and civil society stakeholders involved in shaping South Sudan’s future. As ‘Makers’ the event participants are active and hands-on people who innovate by creating, testing and implementing new solutions to complex challenges. They will collaborate on creating a strategic vision, identifying needs and opportunities around the practice and implementation of ‘open’ solutions to build sustainable, transparent and accountable media and civil society sectors in South Sudan. These are fundamental elements of the global ‘open source’ and ‘free culture’ communities including FOSSFA, the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN), and Open Government Partnership (OGP) which fuel innovation, education and social development, enable and support citizen participation, access to information and freedom of expression.

Confirmed participants at #MMJUBA include leading African and international open source, open knowledge and open technologies protagonists; government and civil society leaders from South Sudan and abroad; and key representatives of social, digital and traditional media including:

Dorothy Gordon FOSSFA, Accra, Ghana; Philip Thigo Social Development Network (SODNET) Nairobi, Kenya; Peter Lasu Ladu Civic Engagement Centre, Juba; Peter Marino Modi Pitya Director General for Physical Planning at the Ministry of Housing & Physical Planning, Juba; Jay Cousins, icecairo/GIZ innovation hub, Cairo, Egypt; Asteway Negash, FOSSFA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Ela Kagel supermarkt, Berlin, Germany; Stuart Campo, Technology for Development, Innovations Team, UNICEF, Juba; David Chan Thiang, National Bureau of Statistics, Juba; Eugenio Tisselli, Open Source Systems Developer, Mexico City, Mexico; Mark Kaigwa Afrinnovator.com Nairobi, Kenya.

MEDIA & MAKERS: KHARTOUM 2013 is planned to take place next year in the Sudanese capital.

The ‘Open Knowledge’ or ‘Makers’ stream at MEDIA & MAKERS JUBA 2012 builds on the groundwork of #OSJUBA and TEDxJuba in exploring the means to access and apply public domain knowledge, develop effective user driven tools such as crowdsourcing, eLearning and social networking that strengthen communication while supporting innovative economic and social development, allowing citizens to have a greater say in their future.

About the organizers

Media in Cooperation and Transition (MICT) is an NGO specialized in media capacity building in crisis regions with a focus on the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia. With support from the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, MICT has been running journalism training projects, voter education and cultural programs in both Sudan and South Sudan since 2008. In collaboration with MICT, Stephen Kovats (r0g_agency for open culture and critical transformation), formerly director of Berlin’s transmediale festival, held the first #OSJUBA (Open Source City Juba) event in Berlin last June (http://r0g-media.org/osjuba/).

The MEDIA & MAKERS event is funded by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, and supported by UNESCO and UNICEF South Sudan.

Programme updates will be published on the website: (http://media-and-makers.tumblr.com)