Who, what, when, where and why

Not quiet at all in West Africa

I am in Dakar for the second time. My impression of the city came from a week-long visit once, but was followed by a two-year absence and unstable memories (despite having all those nice pictures). Now it has been transformed into a much more complex and rich experience. From the poor to the rich and back (with all the shades in between), from the dusty and sandy to the polished and shiny, from quiet streets to busy boulevards ‒ Dakar has it all. One thing is certain: it is a safe and friendly place inhabited by a beautiful and peaceful people.

Working with West Africa Democracy Radio

We ‒ a two-member team, part of Sourcefabric's implementation force ‒ are here to work. Sourcefabric's long and successful partnership with WADR (West Africa Democracy Radio) brought a lot of attention and even awards in the past two years.

However, as things change extremely fast on the web, online platforms need to evolve and adapt in order to improve, to survive even. That's why we're meeting the new WADR managing director, Chris Simpson, an experienced ex-BBC employee, who lived in different African countries for years, and now leads the West Africa Democracy Radio through the transitional process of programmatic and personnel changes. However, the essence of WADR is not changing. It is a bilingual, regional "hub for a West African network of public, private and community radio stations, with the mission to promote and defend the ideals of democratic and open societies."

A Workshop at the Open Society Initiative for West Africa

We also held a three-day workshop in Open Society Initiative West Africa's regional office, which is situated in Dakar as well, very close to the ocean and the scenic Route de la Corniche.

OSIWA has a new website since last spring and Sourcefabric was chosen to build it from scratch in late 2011. So now we are here to, first, train more people to be able to independently update the site. Secondly, we will coordinate short and long-term improvements and developments. Finally, we will collect feedback and present new and not yet used features.

The staff at OSIWA is focused, hard-working and open to new ideas. They don't hesitate to ask or make suggestions. They know their job and they know what they want. What I liked the most is the way all the people make decisions independently. Small, but important decisions that are perfecting the web platform step-by-step, shaping it to serve the purpose in the most direct and intuitive ways.

Taking the Taxi to Villa ACT

Night falls fairly quickly in this part of the world; that's the perfect time of the day to catch a taxi and drive all the way downtown, by the Southern coast of the most Western part of the Cap-Vert peninsula (where Dakar is situated). Runners, hundreds of them, go out and run in almost perfect weather conditions: a temperature of 23 °C with a light breeze from the Atlantic. The sun is low and shadows long. Sun reflecting off the water completes an atmosphere of calmness and beauty.

We hurry to meet Vincent and his team mates from the IT-hub Villa ACT. Their office building is somewhere North, and the taxi driver (as all taxi drivers here) don't process street addresses. Instead, they need instructions like 'close to the school', or 'just after the mosque'. This would work more or less ‒ if we only knew French. However, the driver has to stop here and there to ask people for directions. When we finally find our guys, it seems like a funny adventure after all. After talking about this episode, we exchange our future plans and develop ways we can possibly work together.

Thirsty and hungry in Dakar?

There are so many excellent establishments that offer fresh Thiof (a fish which is unfortunately endangered due to over-fishing), Thieboudienne (local rice and fish dish) and Flag (local beer). Prices can go all the way from five to 50 Euros per person. The dining is often on a terrace overlooking the ocean with light live music in the background. The perfect surrounding for summing up the day and reviewing plans for tomorrow.

The Future of Africa

Accidentally, US president Obama visited Dakar and Île de Gorée (an UNESCO World Heritage island 3 km far from Dakar, once a slave-trade centre and residence of the French governor) the same week. Analysts worldwide agree that Africa is one of the most perspective regions for economic growth. Some of them think that Americans are here a little too late (starting positions have been taken by China and others already).
We don't know about these global trends (although we followed Obama's route and spent one weekend day on this tiny picturesque island), but we grew to think that Sourcefabric is in the right place, at the right time. As one of our previous Sourcecamp's slogans says: things can only get BETA.