Stories about Ségou Villages Connection
How to Use the Internet to Protect and Pass on Traditions to Malian Youth
"Our mission is use information technology to preserve and promote Mali’s rich linguistic, material, and immaterial heritage."
When the Village Awakes: A New Malian Culture Blog
A new project to collect and share the cultural traditions of rural Mali, as well as to spread Internet access across rural areas.
Ségou Villages: Boukary Konaté Is A Finalist At BOBs
Rising Voices grantee and a translator for Global Voices in French Boukary Konaté puts another feather on the cap this year. Boukary has been listed among the finalists in the Best of Blogs the BOBs, an annual event held by the Deutsche Welle Media Group to award outstanding blog and bloggers.
Ségou Villages: Finding a Way to Connect in Rural Mali
Rural residents in the Ségou villages have a difficult time accessing the internet, but the project Ségou Villages Connection has been helping these villages find a way. Based on personal experiences of growing up in these villages, project coordinator Boukary Konaté is serving as a mentor to these young people.
Ségou Connection: Introducing The Internet To 800 Villagers
The Ségou Connection "cruise for Internet literacy" on the river Niger, in Mali, in partnership with the Loire-Niger UNESCO heritage project has completed a two-week training tour of schools on the banks of the river, with very positive results. Boukary shares highlights of his Internet literacy cruise.
Ségou Villages: Cruising the River Niger for Internet Literacy
The Ségou Villages Connection project in Mali is taking an interesting turn, in partnership with a UNESCO heritage preservation program. Boukary Konaté, a 2011 Rising Voices grantee, is currently cruising up the Niger river aboard a traditional Malian barge, docking every day in a new village to train school children and villagers to use the Internet.
Rising Voices Year in Review 2011
Rising Voices looks back at some of the highlights from our work in 2011, including welcoming new grantees, forging new partnerships, and organizing citizen media outreach events. We would also like to thank all those that accompany us on our mission of working towards a global online space much more representative with greater participation by all.
Ségou Villages: The Wisdom of Bambara Proverbs
Proverbs are short expressions of popular wisdom. In Mali, many of these sayings can be found in the Bambara language, which is the most widely understood language in the country, especially in the Ségou region. It is here where the Rising Voices grantee projects Ségou Villages Connection is teaching rural residents how to use the internet to share stories. However, these proverbs can also be found on various other blogs and Twitter conversations.
Ségou Villages: Hacking Together Rural Internet Access
What equipment is needed to access the internet in the rural Ségou villages of Mali? Boukary Konaté of the Rising Voices grantee project Ségou Villages Connections describes how he is helping rural villagers access the internet by "hacking" together a mobile internet set-up.
Ségou Villages: Praying for Rain
During the month of August, residents of the Ségou region in Mali suffered from a scarcity of rain. This had negative repercussions on their agricultural activities, threatening the entire season. All that was left to do was pray. Finally after a long wait, the rains arrived allowing residents to celebrate the end of Ramadan with peace of mind. Ségou Villages Connection project participants write about this difficult time.
Featured Blogger: Oumar Dembélé
Meet Oumar Dembélé, a primary schoolteacher in Cinzana-Gare, one of Ségou Region villages. Oumar is also one of the participants in the Rising Voices grantee project Ségou Villages Connection. In this email interview, Oumar shares the state of technology in Ségou, the needs to improve this situation, and his aspirations for the future.
Featured Blogger: Yaya Coulibaly
Yaya Coulibaly is an agronomist in Cinzana-Gare, a village located in the Ségou region. He is also a participant in the Rising Voices grantee project Ségou Villages Connection, where he has taken part in various citizen media trainings conducted, as a way to tell some of the stories of these rural communities despite many difficulties in regards to internet connectivity.
Ségou Villages: Solidarity Within the Community
The new bloggers from the Ségou Villages Connection project in Mali have been writing about solidarity amongst the residents of the rural communities. These signs of solidarity can be seen during times of celebration, as well as near tragedies. It is this solidarity that led the coordinator to start this project.