MoU
By Collins Yakubu-Hammer
Abuja, Aug.15, 2018 (NAN) Mr Folorunsho Coker, the Director-General, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) on Wednesday in Abuja signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Wikimedia Nigeria to promote and market Nigeria’s culture and heritage.
The Wikimedia Foundation Inc. is an American non-profit and charitable organisation with headquarters in San Francisco, California.
It is a global movement whose mission is to bring free educational content to the world.
Wikimedia is an affiliate of Wikipedia free online encyclopedia, created and edited by volunteers around the world and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation.
According to Coker while signing the MoU, the arrangement is capable of marketing Nigeria’s tourism and heritage sites to more than 430 million viewers across the world daily.
The NTDC boss said that the partnership would also attract finance, investment and infrastructure development into the sector from the public and private sector for the well being of the country.
He noted that the agreement involved the development of the Corporation’s human capital skills development for Nigeria’s tourism brand and destinations.
“However, with this partnership, we will leverage on a technology platform-Wikipedia and Wikimedia to promote the `Tour Nigeria’ brand and market our vast tourism products and potential within and outside the country.
“There will be capacity building for NTDC staff through organised trainings by Wikimedia, and also, we will engage the Nigerian youths in the Wiki Loves Earth (WLE) digital photography contest.
“Knowledge transfer and improvement in technological knowhow of staff will be achieved from the assignment of an `In Residence Wikipedian’ to work with NTDC staff on a temporary basis.
“This is to ensure that NTDC’s Wikipedia page is routinely updated with available, reliable and verifiable materials,’’ Coker said.
WLE is an annual international photographic competition which holds in the month of May, organised worldwide by the Wikipedia community members with help from local Wikimedia affiliates across the globe.
The director-general said the agency would endorse Wikimedia Nigeria and particularly help to promote the Wiki Loves Earth online information platform for use as a domestic tourism promotion tool in Nigeria.
He also said that NTDC would assist authorised Wikipedia photographers to gain access where possible to tourism sites for photo shoots
“We will facilitate and aid the promotion of the Wiki Loves Earth Platform in Nigeria and provide Wikimedia with content on tourism sites and festivals.’’
Also speaking, Mr Olaniyan Olusola, the President of Wikipedia Nigeria appreciated Coker for his passion for tourism and consenting to the partnership.
According to him, such passion will make the country’s tourism industry to be relevant in the global community.
“Without mincing words, this is a remarkable milestone in the history of Wikipedia movement not only in Nigeria but sub-Saharan Africa.
“Wikimedia is saddled with the responsibility of providing a sensual infrastructure of free knowledge.
“Our aim is to create a world where a sum of all human knowledge is available to everyone in the world.
“In other to achieve this objective, we are meant to partner with non-wiki based organisation in Nigeria that shares the same object or duty like we do.
“NTDC will be releasing high profile graphics of places in Nigeria under free licences as a way of showcasing the beauty of Nigeria to the world,’’ he said. (NAN)
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Edited by Ese E. Ekama