The Kenyan 2013 Elections are just over a month away. If this past weekend's political nominations are any indication, there will be a rise of people's voices and stories to share. You may be asking: how can I contribute? From researchers to developers to online strategists to translators and sense-makers, we aim to connect and build Uchaguzi together. We've created Uchaguzi Working groups. Each of the groups have their own wiki page. Global participants could help with some core questions listed on the wiki pages. We've also made a key list below for you to tackle. First off, this is a sneak peak of the software and theme that we will be working with: (Note: the "hate speech" category will be changed to "dangerous speech" based on the ihub Research methods.)

Organizing for Uchaguzi

Planning Ushahidi use requires many hands. We've divided up some of the tasks by topical/task-oriented working groups. Plus, our partners at the Standby Task Force will be assisting with the live mapping portion. All are welcome to join any team they wish, however, the live mapping team requires extra training via the processes of the Standby Task Force. (more on this in the future). 1. There are Working Groups which are primarily local, but there are some tasks that could be done by global helpers. To join, sign up here. 2. To Participate in the live mapping during the election using Uchaguzi platform (Ushahidi software), please join the Standby Task Force. This team will conduct media monitoring, geolocation, online verification, report analysis. The SBTF and Ushahidi team will collaborate on technical support.

More about the Working Group meetings for January 23:

Details about Uchaguzi Working Group planning are on the wiki. We're holding Uchaguzi meetings on Wednesday, January 23rd in Nairobi (17:30 EAT) @ihub: Register for the meetup 1. Technology - meet in the Ushahidi Office (First floor, ff13) 2. Social Media Outreach - meet in the Ihub Research (2nd Floor) 3. Local Community Outreach - meet in the UX Lab (ground Floor) 4. Translation - meet in the UX Lab (ground Floor) (The Umati and Analytics teams will be meeting at later dates.)

For global community folks, here are some ways you can help:

1. Map Kenya using OpenStreetMap. Mikel Maron provided us with Shape files for Kenya (thanks!). We'll be loading that into the deployment. We have been hunting for risk areas to focus on mapping. Sadly, all of this seems to be pending. Satellite imagery would help any of the mappers who wish to help. To be honest, we really would love to have street teams mapping the country, but the timeframes are short and we have limited local resources. Map Help: a. OSM mapper Lead -needs a community lead to help b. Satellite imagery to support OSM efforts c. Help Planning the strategy We are completely open to any help on this. Please contact Heather to get started (hleson at ushahidi.com). Some of the key areas to be mapped are: Kisimu, Rift Valley, Tana River, Nakuru, Naivasha and Mombasa. Every day the news updates areas that are troubled. We would love some official analysis to help guide mapping decisions. 2. Technology, Test simulation.uchaguzi.co.ke In the coming week, we will need folks to help test the Uchaguzi platform. You can sign up here. 3. Swahili and Local Language Team Can you help translate Ushahidi software into Swahili? At the moment, the software is less than 50% in Swahili. Do you know anyone who might be able to assist? You can sign up here. 4. Social media & Communications In the coming weeks, the Social Media Working Group will be asking for your help to help amplify voices and distribute the short code. Our goal is to get local Kenyan citizen reports. Please join our Social media team to help us build this online. To join, sign up here. In the meantime, watch: Twitter: @uchaguzi Facebook Google + 5. Analytics, Research and Analysis How do you think we should show reports (besides a map)? Do you have any analysis of risk areas in Kenya? Where should we focus our efforts? (eg. Kisumu, Rift Valley, Tana River, etc). Do you have any research which could help inform our decisions? 6. Umati Research We will be using the Umati process to monitor dangerous speech. To get involved in this project, please contact umati@ihub.co.ke The Uchaguzi project is being lead by Daudi Were. You can reach him via Daudi@ushahidi.com.