Sadik Shahadu (@Sadike25) and Greg Mcverry (@jgmac1106) are working to address the global injustices that affect education in Ghana. They’re building an open leadership program focused on Open Educational Resources (OER) in Ghana. Over the past few months, I’ve been working with Sadik and Greg as they prepare to launch IndieWeb and OER Ghana during Open Leaders X.

I interviewed Greg and Sadik to learn more about IndieWeb and OER Ghana and how you can contribute to the work.

What is IndieWeb and OER Ghana?

OER Ghana is a 10 week Mozilla Open Leaders X program that seeks to train university students in Ghana to lead open education initiatives on their campuses and communities. The program will also empower students and educators to build their own open educational resources (OER) network in Ghana using indieweb building blocks.

Why did you start IndieWeb and OER Ghana?

We started this program because of the educational challenges we face in Ghana. Many students are unable to finish their first degrees due to the high cost of higher education. A lot of schools in Ghana also lack access to rich online educational materials to improve teaching and learning.

We will be using indieweb building blocks to help students and educators create their own OER. Our program will provide free personal websites to students and educators. As members begin to curate and create OER on their own sites, the community will write or remix these resources to develop collections of community-approved OER.

How does your program connect participants to the internet health movement?

Our program will help students to gain 21st century digital skills needed to participate in and build a healthy internet. Our program also empowers students to take control of their own online identity whilst reflecting out loud. By using indieweb building blocks on their personal websites, students are able to publish contents knowing well that they have full control of what they publish online.

What did you learn by bringing your program to MozFest 2019? How are you continuing the momentum after the festival?

We learned more about how we can support each other as community members and how we can leverage on the power of the internet to promote quality education in Ghana.

How can others get involved in your program?

We welcome everyone to join us. Our program starts from the 15th of February 2020.

You can join as a supporter, a volunteer or a mentor.

We have also just launched this fundraiser campaign to raise funds for the program. Please support us by donating or sharing across your own networks.

Volunteer registration link: http://bit.ly/2XoDDaT

GoFundMe link: http://bit.ly/2Rd7dNP

Register to attend: http://bit.ly/2NmHwJC

The Open Leadership and Events team supports a series of programs and events designed to build and protect a healthy internet— and our best online lives. These programs and events are co-created by a group of dynamic, vibrant and varied community collaborators— from developers and designers to educators and students to artists and activists. Sign up for our newsletter.