[okfn-za] HacksHackers event on Monday night

Thu Mar 27 07:02:24 UTC 2014

Hi All

Not 100% related to open data but still very interesting. HacksHackers
is hosting a talk about drones used for journalism this Monday at
Codebridge. Read the blurb below:

Imagine if journalists had airborne camera drones at the Marikana
Massacre or during any of the recent service delivery protests ...
Now, imagine what your newsroom could do with news drones during the
May elections.

Drones are remote-controlled quadcopters or small fixed-wing aircraft
or ballon dirigibles that allow journalists to film fast moving events
like riots, floods or wars from the air. Drones also give the media
access to isolated areas that would ordinarily be inaccessible to
journalists, and also allow journalists to use infra-red cameras to
investigate things like rhino poaching or cross-border smuggling.

So, what does it take to establish a drone unit in an African
newsroom? Ben Kreimer, from the US-based University of
Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Journalism and Mass Communications, will
share insights and ideas from his time helping the Star newspaper in
Kenya establish the continent's first newsroom-based drone team. Ben
will speak at a brown-bag lunch at Hacks/Hackers in Johannesburg on
Saturday, and again at an evening meetup at Hacks/Hackers in Cape Town
on Monday night.

Ben is in South Africa on a "flying visit" to gauge whether local
newsrooms would be interested in setting up pilot drone units ahead of
the elections. If so, the africanDRONE initiative will help bring Ben
back to South Africa for a couple of weeks ahead of the elections,
along with equipment and training support. africanDRONE is an African
News Innovation Challenge project, designed to improve reaction times
and expand the reach of journalists who cannot afford full-blown
helicopters or aircraft. africanDRONE has established its first
permanent drone unit in Nairobi, as the Star's skyCAM team, and
intends targeting South Africa and Nigeria next.

Come meet Ben if you're interested in pioneering camera drones in South Africa.

The Johannesburg brown-bag lunch will take place at Jozihub, at 44
Stanley, at 2pm on Saturday. Hacks/Hackers will provide a choice of
sandwiches / wraps, along with softdrinks and beers.

The Cape Town meetup will take place at Codebridge, at 7pm on Monday
night. Hacks/Hackers will provide pizzas and beer / wine / softdrinks.

RSVP as soon as possible to secure a seat.
Cape Town: http://www.meetup.com/Hacks-Hackers-Cape-Town/events/173520922/

-- 
Adi Eyal
Director
Code for South Africa
Promoting informed decision-making

phone: +27 78 014 2469
skype: adieyalcas
linkedin: http://za.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Adi/Eyal
web: http://www.code4sa.org
twitter: @soapsudtycoon

For more information on how to participate in the open data community
in South Africa, go to: http://www.code4sa.org/#community