Citizen Journalism: Organisations benefit from user generated content

In a fairly old, semi permanent building on Hoima Road, just off Rubaga Road-Bakuli, are hundreds of manila papers with information about women empowerment and entrepreneurship pasted on the walls. There are also art pieces and pictures from trainings conducted over the last 22 years. Only one newspaper clip about one of the beneficiaries is pasted on the door.

But in these humble settings lies the story of the Ntulume Village Women's Development Association (NVIWODA ). NVIWODA aims to build the capacity, support and encourages indigenous women groups working in communities to grow.

As we sit to talk about NVIWODA, Cissy Nyarwa, the Programme Coordinator tells us one success story after another. She talks about the women’s lives that have been changed, enterprises started, skills built and confidence rejuvenated as a result of her organisation’s work.
But the where-is-all-this-information-documented look was on everyone’s face.
“Documentation is our biggest challenge,” Nyarwa explains.
But NVIWODA and so many other organisations are in the same boat. Documentation is a challenge.
But now the citizen journalism genie is out of the bottle and is the answer to the documentation challenge that organisations face.
Big media houses are taking advantage of content submitted by the lay-man who in most cases is not a trained journalist. CNN for example has the iReport whose pictures have sometimes been their only source of information in some situations.
The value of user generated content is undeniable. A lot of information is lying idle in annual reports, notice boards and files all stacked in the organsiation resource centres. Very few people have access to this valuable information.
This poses a risk of reinventing the wheel, duplicating and wasting resources.
For this reason, Citizen Journalism Africa (CJA) is giving organisations a chance to take advantage of citizen journalism and the benefits Web 2.0 can provide.
“If people can be encouraged to share more about who they are and what they do, they will become more visible and will not be misunderstood” explains CJA’s Noma Ronghana.
Noma is in the country to oversee the program ahead of the citizen journalism workshop in September.
CJA is partnering with the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) and Busoga Rural Open Source Initiative (BROSDI ) as the focal points for the programme in Uganda. 15 other organisations are expected to participate.
The program is covering six countries including Zambia, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The training will focus on among other issues the basics of journalism, interviewing, photo journalism, digital storytelling and writing press releases.
“Part of the training will focus on how you can use Web 2.0 tools to enhance the work of your organisation,” Noma explains.
This is bound to change the knowledge sharing in many organisations.

Kampala’s weird signposts

Every city has its own uniqueness. But for Kampala, it is the bad roads, polluted air (though nothing compared to Beijing), noise, bad traffic, name it. Having lived here fo so long, some of these may pass me by unnoticed. But recently there is something that caught my attention and that is the sign posts.
For starters, everything in this city from a Rolex making stall to the statehouse has a sign post. It is the class that differs.
But when I recently found banners and roadside adverts calling people to gain weight quickly without any side effect, I was puzzled. I literally stopped in my tracks.
Which century are the people in this country living? But given the fact that men love small women for fun, to be seen around with a portable girlfriend, the opposite is true when it comes to the one they take home for keeps – what we call wives.
Moving on Kampala road the busiest street in the city revealed so much. First was the ‘gain weight quickly’ which I quickly justified as explained.
But a few meters down the same road was another advert signpost for ‘gain bums quickly’. Being the lanky type, I thought that would be the solution to my ‘bumlessness’ and ‘hiplessness’. But a Muzungu ‘white’ friend I was with quickly told me that he finds me attractive and any additional bums or hips would break his heart.
Well that consoled me but considering that he won’t marry me, what is the next thing.
Well there was more to come. ‘Enlarge your breasts, or manhood’ now that was the kicker for me. I want to know how many men are flocking these offices to have their manhood enlarged given the stereotype that size is what matters in the bedroom. I won’t go there.
I talked to my workmates to find out what they felt about the signposts.
“Its all about the money. People are looking for quick ways to get dime,” Ssozi said. I didn’t ask if he visited the offices in regard to his manhood. Oh, I can’t believe I even thought about that.
But Silvia says she was as surprised as I was.
I will visit these offices and may be next time you visit my blog, I will give you a success story.
But those are not the only weird signposts. Look at the one on the left. What the hell did they want to mean.
I tried to think about it but couldn't figure it out. If you do, leave me a comment.

So am the new signing...

Finding a new job is fascinating – you get to meet new people, new friends, new environment, name it. Everything is as it is supposed to be. Everyone is smiling and looking every inch like an angel.
And so it was at the Women of Uganda Network where I started working in the Information and knowledge sharing department.
When my boss introduced me to the other staff members, Ssozi the cheeky one it seems said, “oh! So she is the new signing” and went ahead to tell us about a new deputy headmaster at his high school whom students referred to as “the new signing”. May be they didn’t know his name but since he was new in the school, he was ‘the new signing’ and the name stuck.
But being a new signing comes with its fair share of challenges.
Who do I ask if I can’t find the coffee maker? Who can I share this joke with first before everyone writes me off as a chatterbox? Etc.
The small things that make life in a new office really fun. Well the staff here is smart and friendly. I easily fit in. I have only been here for 16 working hours but it feels like home. And the good thing is no one called me ‘the new signing’. Even if I really am.

Artists take Kampala by storm

Uganda is not a very famous African nation. I don’t mean to say this in a bad way but if you ask people which African countries they know, South Africa and Nigeria would come first. Until the movie Last King of Scotland was shot here, Uganda was only synonymous with Idi Amin Dada. Other people will ask if it is one of the states in Nigeria! Ignorance!
This beautiful country which as we like to say here in Kampala-the capital city by the way-is ‘gifted by nature’. But in the recent past, it is more than just nature gifting us.
Am sure you don’t quite understand yet what am talking about.
Well to hell with the preamble and let me get right to the issues.
Imagine this, in a space of five months, we have had huge international artists including Kirk Franklin (I started with a personal favourite), Akon, UB40 (who apparently held their last concert as a group here in Kampala, Uganda. Am not sure whether it was a marketing ploy); KC and Jojo (whose show flopped because the heavens let loose and it rained. But didn’t we say we are gifted by nature?).
But now to this list, in come Wyclef Jean and Shaggy in August and all in a space of two weeks!
What changed in the pearl of Africa.

Well, I gave it a few thoughts. First Ugandans love having fun- pretty obvious, yah? Who doesn’t? Well now they are parting with large sums of money. Paying more than 15 to100 dollars for a single show! Is that a sign of improved standard of living. Am not quite sure about that especially in country where the minimum wage is yet to be set!
Do artists just love coming down here? Well, we are gifted by nature, warm sunshine, which everyone falls in love with as soon as they set foot here. Some even never want to go back. Ask former German Ambassador Klaus Holderbaum.
But this can’t keep these millionaire artists here? I talked to a few friends;
“I think companies just learnt to get hold of the artists that people want. Now that Ugandans are willing to part with any amount of money in the name of having fun, artists will continue streaming to Kampala,” Patrick told me.

As a society reporter with one of the leading publications in the country, I talked to visiting Kenyan artists Red San and Nameless about what kept bringing them back.
For Nameless, the answer was simple “the Ugandan crowd knows how to have fun and just wows you along,” he told me.
But that was 2005. This is 2008. Did the crowd even become more electric?
Innocent a close friend and advertising officer with a big publishing company thinks so and in his words, “it is just the beginning”. If that is so, then I will let you know who comes after wyclef Jean and shaggy. Watch this space

Kirk Franklin stomps Kampala

We screamed our selves hoarse. We moved so close to the stage so we could catch a glimpse and may be touch him. We were all star struck.
The ten thousand people gathered at the Lugogo Cricket Oval booed most curtain raiser because they couldn’t wait any longer. Curtain raisers came from as far as Nairobi, Kenya. No alcohol was sold. It was an event like no other before. Kirk Franklin the renown gospel music maestro was in Kampala.
9:30pm on the dot, Kirk in a white sleeveless, blue jeans and boots leaped on stage and declared “aint no superstar here except Jesus Christ.” We screamed even louder.
Though Kirk appeals to both ‘world’ the born again Christians were the majority here.
It was more like a praise and worship session at church.
He sang, prayed, danced and the crowd followed along faithfully.
Highlight of the event: Performance by the African Children’s choir with some proceeds of the show going to them.
Favourite song(s): It was Stomp and Revolution. This was a predominately young crowd so you understand why.
Bad points: The sound system was good but the microphones sometimes let us down. The cordless couldn’t work! Kirk had to use the alternative which limited his movements.
Imagine this: Kirk whi;le performing Imagine me one of his latest singles, gave the audience a chance to sya bye bye to any issues that try to bring them down. He screamed issues like ‘bad people, bad habits, insecurities, etc and we faithfully sang bye bye bye bye bye bye bye byeeeeeeeeeee
But soon enough it was time for him to say bye and he couldn’t get himself to leave the stage. It was close to midnight but still the audience wanted more of the superstar – or I forgot he said he isn’t a superstar.
He waved until he was led away by one of his people.
It was a show like no other. It had a positive message and there was no doubt the crowd loved him and so did I.
I nursed a backache for two days but I wasn’t complaining. No wonder when they said he would be at Kampala Pentecoatal Church for the Sunday Morning service, the church was full to capacity. Many people were duped and I was one of them. We never seem to get enough of stars. Or do we?

But one song I learnt
"aint no party like a Holy Ghost Part coz a holy ghost party don't stop"