Difference between revisions of "About Akvopedia"

Revision as of 20:56, 24 May 2013

Akvopedia. Open source water and sanitation knowledge.

Rwandan women at the computer. Photo: Indego Africa.

Digital literacy is increasing worldwide. Photo: Livemint.com

Akvopedia is a Web-based, free content, water and sanitation knowledge resource. The name Akvopedia is a combination of the words akvo (meaning water in the language Esperanto) and encyclopedia. Akvopedia article pages seek to provide a solid introduction to water and sanitation technologies, financing, and processes needed for project implementation and maintenance.

Akvopedia is written collaboratively by volunteers and specialists, mainly from the water and sanitation sector, since the creation of Akvopedia back in the summer of 2007.

However, visitors do not need specialized qualifications to contribute, since their primary role is to write articles that cover existing knowledge (which includes local, in-the-field knowledge); this means that people of all ages and cultural and social backgrounds can write Akvopedia articles.

Ease of editing is coming soon

Currently, we are looking to upgrade Akvopedia in the future with the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) upload/editing tool to enable a simplified platform, so that zero programming knowledge is needed. Therefore, we are holding back on the instant type of new user accounts for the moment (also due to spam issues), but if you would like to contribute, please do contact us directly. You will be instructed on how to create your pages and given a base-level of editing permissions. Or if it is more convenient for you, we can also upload your pages for you!

Tools for uploading content

Generally, anyone is welcome to add information, cross-references or citations, as long as they do so within Akvopedia's editing policies and to an appropriate standard. Substandard or disputed information is subject to removal. Users need not worry about accidentally damaging Akvopedia when adding or improving information, as other editors are always around to advise or correct obvious errors. Akvopedia's software MediaWiki (which also powers the Wikipedia) is carefully designed to allow easy reversal of editorial mistakes.

Once your editing permissions have been granted:

• A login can be obtained here.
• A graphical guide to help you get started and other Help pages.
• Contributors to Akvopedia should follow the policies and guidelines.

Trademarks and copyright

Akvopedia and Akvo are trademarks of the Akvo Foundation (Stichting Akvo).

All of the text in Akvopedia and most of the images and other content is covered by the Creative Commons Share-Alike 3.0 (CC-BY-SA) license. Contributions remain the property of their creators, while the CC-BY-SA license ensures the content is freely distributable and reproducible. (See the content disclaimer for more information.)

See also the Akvopedia:Copyrights page for a detailed discussion about Copyright and Akvopedia.

Acknowledgements

Akvopedia started as an open collaborative effort of Akvo, initiated by Netherlands Water Partnership, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, UNESCO-IHE, GreenOcean and The Movement Design Bureau. Prototype funding has been provided by Partners voor Water.

Much of the initial content of in this wiki comes from the books Smart Sanitation Solutions and Smart Water Solutions produced in collaboration with Netherlands Water Partnership, WASTE, PRACTICA, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, SIMAWI and Partners voor Water