Fwd: Fwd: Mozilla Nigeria (now POSSE Nigeria)

[Michael Adeyeye]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michael Adeyeye <micad...@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 7:30 AM
Subject: Fwd: Fwd: Mozilla Nigeria (now POSSE Nigeria)
To: TOS <t...@teachingopensource.org>


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mel Chua <m...@purdue.edu>
Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:10:19 -0400
Subject: Re: Fwd: Mozilla Nigeria
To: Michael Adeyeye <micad...@gmail.com>

> The instructors are:
> 1. Michael Adeyeye (Ph.D), Cape Peninsula University of Technology,
> South Africa
> 2. Sulayman K. Sowe (Ph.D), United Nations University Institute for
> Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), Yokohama, Japan
> 3. Mark Hershberger, Wikimedia Foundation, USA

Nice group! I've heard great things about Mark. (Curious where the
Mozilla folks are, though!)

> Given that I am a POSSE instructor, we can call it POSSE. We discussed
> that issue at POSSE SA, I can remember.

If you're teaching the POSSE curriculum, yeah -- but it sounds like
you're doing the "helping professors get their students involved in
FOSS," so you're all set.

> Lastly, we will be using the application form you developed for POSSE
> NG, though the site is no longer available.

Yeah, the code for the application website wasn't being maintained, so
it's down -- but you have the application form, and
http://teachingopensource.org/index.php/POSSE_2011_cohort can be an
example of good applications if that helps.

> I guess we can start using TOS/POSSE resources :)

Yep, you know where all the wiki pages are. There isn't Red Hat funding
for POSSE stuff (at least not now, and I'm not sure if that's going to
change -- Steve Jacobs is working on chasing that down) so it's great
you've got Mozilla as a sponsor.

The amusing part is that I'm trying to get over my own fear of "opening
up" POSSE and letting other people take the idea and run with it, but...
go, Michael, go! If you could send this thread out to the TOS list
(forwarding this email + your reply is fine with me) that would be
great, so everyone else knows what's going on.

Just make sure you document everything -- blog it to the TOS planet,
post on the list, let us know if you're making improvements to the
exercises (so we can use them too), and all the usual. Looking forward
to seeing more people on the TOS list and in the #teachingopensource
channel!

--Mel

[Michael Adeyeye]

Hi Alex,
I don't understand this message: Mozilla is willing to sponsor instructors from Mozilla to attend this and isn't in a position to accommodate instructors from other projects.
This is a way of pulling out of the sponsorship and event. As I earlier said, this not the first time the OSS organizations would do so. No one from the Mozilla Foundation indicated interest, when I sent emails to a number of its mailing lists (such as mozilla...@googlegroups.com and communit...@lists.mozilla.org). And when one of them got us a person, who is willing to participate, they came up with another clause. 

It would be good to hear it from Mozilla itself.

Regards,
Michael.

On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 2:40 PM, Alex Wafula <xela...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Michael,

So some feedback on the list of instructors.... Mozilla is willing to sponsor instructors from Mozilla to attend this and isn't in a position to accommodate instructors from other projects. I know this may seem negative but we are looking to have a more hands-on approach towards sponsoring POSSE in the future

So as I mentioned before, I'm also glad to see someone from Wikimedia willing to attend, I hope this can still be maintained, Wikimedia has been building up interest in the Global South (developing world) and may be willing to cater for costs to get Mark Hershberger to Nigeria. I'm intouch with Wikimedia's head of Global South Relationship who's also in Wikimedia's grants advisory committee, I can link you guys up with regards to getting Mark here or since you are already intouch with Mark, it may be better to coordinate with him on this. Do let me know what you think.

cheers,
Alex

[William Quiviger]

Hi Michael, 

In my past emails, I specify that Mozilla could help sponsor up to three instructors from Mozilla to attend the event. I never said that Mozilla could sponsor instructors from other projects. 

William

On Apr 20, 2012, at 10:40 AM, William Quiviger wrote:

Hi Michael, 

If you read my past emails, I always said Mozilla could help sponsor up to three sponsors from Mozilla to attend the event. I never said that Mozilla could sponsor people from other projects. 

William

[Michael Adeyeye]

Hi William,
Ok, this is going be a wild-goose chase for me to get Mozilla employees for the event. I don't know where else to go to. By the way, the community-africa Archives (https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/community-africa) don't exist. I wonder if the Moz. Foundation has keen interest in what happens in Africa. I think the Foundation should drive the community. The world won't know what's happening here, if the community doesn't exist,

Thanks to the creator of the mozilla...@googlegroups.com.

I am almost losing interest!!

Regards,
Michael.

[William Quiviger]

On Apr 20, 2012, at 11:11 AM, Michael Adeyeye wrote:

Hi William,
Ok, this is going be a wild-goose chase for me to get Mozilla employees for the event.

Why is it so important to have *employees* from Mozilla?  We are one community at Mozilla, employees and volunteers work together to push the project forward. Just because you're an employee does not mean you're necessarily better qualified to be an instructor. 

I don't know where else to go to. By the way, the community-africa Archives (https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/community-africa) don't exist. I wonder if the Moz. Foundation has keen interest in what happens in Africa. I think the Foundation should drive the community. The world won't know what's happening here, if the community doesn't exist,

The community-africa mailing list was just created and has not been used yet, hence why there is no archive. I think it's better that we switch to this list that way it's more discoverable: https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo

Thanks to the creator of the mozilla...@googlegroups.com.

I am almost losing interest!!

Michael: Mozilla wants to support POSSE Nigeria, we have volunteers in Ghana and in Kenya who would like to represent Mozilla at the event. 

If you want Mozilla to sponsor the entire event, cover the costs of instructors from other projects for an event that is not focused on Mozilla projects and technologies, it will not be possible for Mozilla to do so. 

Again, we can sponsor part of it so as to support Mozilla instructors at the event. 

William

[Michael Adeyeye]

On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 4:57 PM, William Quiviger <william....@gmail.com> wrote:

On Apr 20, 2012, at 11:11 AM, Michael Adeyeye wrote:

Hi William,
Ok, this is going be a wild-goose chase for me to get Mozilla employees for the event.

Why is it so important to have *employees* from Mozilla?  We are one community at Mozilla, employees and volunteers work together to push the project forward. Just because you're an employee does not mean you're necessarily better qualified to be an instructor. 

I don't know where else to go to. By the way, the community-africa Archives (https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/community-africa) don't exist. I wonder if the Moz. Foundation has keen interest in what happens in Africa. I think the Foundation should drive the community. The world won't know what's happening here, if the community doesn't exist,

The community-africa mailing list was just created and has not been used yet, hence why there is no archive. I think it's better that we switch to this list that way it's more discoverable: https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo

Thanks to the creator of the mozilla...@googlegroups.com.

I am almost losing interest!!

Michael: Mozilla wants to support POSSE Nigeria, we have volunteers in Ghana and in Kenya who would like to represent Mozilla at the event. 

If you want Mozilla to sponsor the entire event, cover the costs of instructors from other projects for an event that is not focused on Mozilla projects and technologies, it will not be possible for Mozilla to do so. 

Again, we can sponsor part of it so as to support Mozilla instructors at the event. 

So far, I have been introduced to  Kwamena Appiah-Kubi (Ghana), Bayo Opadeyi (Nigeria)  and Alex Wafula (Kenya). I have interacted with them and pitched POSSE in its simplest form to them. My understanding is that they are happy to contribute but not as POSSE instructors. POSSE is different from all other activities that Mozilla was involved in here (in Africa). It would be good to have them (the volunteers you mentioned) around, and they can participate online if they can't make it to Nigeria. If you read Mel's comment below, the TeachingOpenSource community (TOS) agrees to call the event POSSE because I am a POSSE instructor and would be one of the three instructors. I am a POSSE instructor because I participated in a POSSE event (and am an academic :)).

I really don't want to take you all through the definition of POSSE. We've always had three instructors (an Open Source (OS) Evangelist, an OS developer and a co-ordinator). While I will be playing the role of a co-ordinator, Mark Hershbeger (hexmode) would play the role of a developer and Sulayman Sowe would play the role of an evangelist. I decided to take them for a couple of reasons. Mark comes with a lot of experience (http://mah.everybody.org/resume.html), just as Mel Chua said, "....Nice group! I've heard great things about Mark. .." Sulayman Sowe is the closest to an evangelist that I have got. He's involved in Open Source to date, though he seemed be in the education environment (a Post-doctoraal student); you can visit http://unu.edu/articles/science-technology-society/free-and-open-source-software-in-sub-saharan-africa and http://www.informatik.uni-trier.de/~ley/db/indices/a-tree/s/Sowe:Sulayman_K=.html. 

POSSE instructors have not always been Red Hat employees!!! We've got folks from Seneca College as instructors in the past. However, they are involved in Open Source Source (Development) and come with lots of experience - 'educators', developers and so on. Lastly, the event is based on Mozilla Technologies; check the curriculum here - http://teachingopensource.org/index.php?title=POSSE_Nigeria#Topic_Schedule. While Sowe, the evangelist, might not be able to give support regarding Mozilla Technologies, I believe Mark would help a great deal. I developed an extension (TransferHTTP) as I said sometime ago and use Mozilla Technologies to date.  POSSE instructors demonstrate Open Source Technologies to the participants (mostly academics, who will become POSSE instructors at the end of the event and could lead a POSSE). The primary purpose of the workshop is to teach skills, using open source technologies and associated software development practices, that are directly transferable to students in a classroom. In addition, postgraduate and undergraduate students (though few of the undergraduate students) are welcome to the event and we'll guide or give them pointers regarding their various projects.


POSSE has been successfully hosted in over 6 countries around the globe. Please see the below URLs for past POSSEs.
http://teachingopensource.org/index.php/POSSE_2009
http://teachingopensource.org/index.php/POSSE_Singapore
http://teachingopensource.org/index.php/POSSE_RIT
http://teachingopensource.org/index.php/POSSE_South_Africa
http://teachingopensource.org/index.php/POSSE_2011_cohort

The volunteers could come join us; it would be an invaluable experience they can take back. It also goes to Sowe and Mark... And it would be nice if we could have the Mozilla EMEA Community Manager around (perhaps as the evangelist). Red Hat's EMEA Community Manager was one of the instructors at POSSE SA. On a final note, I remember saying that the instructors could be replaced (me inclusive). But I think I have justified the reason we came up with that team. They are the ones that showed interest after all the emails I sent (Dave Mason introduced Hexmode, and I got Sowe from the TOS mailing list).