[okfn-za] HacksHackers event on Monday night

Mon Mar 31 05:03:42 UTC 2014

Hi All

One last reminder about the Attack of the Drones talk taking place at
Codebridge tonight. See the details below if you missed them the first
time:

On 27 March 2014 09:02, Adi Eyal <adi at code4sa.org> wrote:
> 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

-- 
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