Linda's Blogspot

  A Day in Narok while attending the Wikimania Conference in Nairobi, Kenya Yesterday, on the final day of the Wikimania 2025 Conference, we traveled to Narok far from the  conference halls and manicured surroundings of our event venue. At the invitation of Simon Parkesui, we traveled to Narok, a Maasai community located beyond the Great Rift Valley.   I first met Simon 16 years ago at the United Nations Indigenous Peoples’ Forum in 2009, where he represented the Ogiek. His voice was  focused on the needs of his community , land rights, preservation of their culture and the Mau forest. He is still rooted in his mission. The drive to Narok took us away from the bustle of Nairobi’s highways into open landscapes, where the altitude was higher and the air was fresh.  As we arrived, the first thing I noticed was the contrast—by the standards of infrastructure, Narok might be called “poor.” Many of the buildings are simple and in need of repair, the roads unpaved...

  Wikipedia and its platforms are about learning and navigating — and the journey can be fun. Imagine exploring a vast, interconnected library where every door leads to something new — a fresh idea, a hidden fact, or a perspective you’ve never considered. From Wikipedia’s articles to Wikimedia Commons’ images and Wikidata’s connections, each platform offers its own path to discovery. Whether you’re adding a sentence, uploading a photo, or simply following links down a rabbit hole of curiosity, you’re part of a global community of learners and navigators. The best part? Every click is a step in an adventure that never truly ends. Navigating Wikipedia  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sIidp3z5yIPBkYFECtYdWwail6Ei-uMmZ4FowdZr3cI/edit?usp=drivesdk

What is the Newcomer Homepage? The Newcomer Homepage is a personalized dashboard (accessible at Special:Homepage ) for newly registered users. It offers a central place where newcomers can explore tools and resources to help them begin contributing to Wikipedia . Key features include: A Suggested Edits (Newcomer Tasks) module—suggested articles to start editing. A Help panel —guides and resources while editing. Mentorship module —links newcomers to experienced editors. Impact module —shows the number of pageviews on articles they've edited. Access to create a user page, confirm email , and other onboarding tasks . History & Deployment Development began in early 2019: Design and coding started in February 2019. First experiment launched in Czech and Korean Wikipedias in May 2019, followed by broader rollouts across multiple languages and devices . Experimental trials across several languages (Arabic, Czech, Vietnamese, Korean, etc.) showed improvements in ...

Self-talk for mental health: Self-talk isn’t just a nice mental habit; it’s a powerful, physiological force that can shape our health, mood, and even how our body recovers. It’s just as important as diet, exercise, or rest — because it influences how our body responds to all of those things. Here’s why: 1. The Brain Believes the Message When we repeat positive, health-centered phrases, our brain tends to accept them as truth over time. This can: Reduce stress hormones like cortisol Improve immune function Help the body shift into a healing state 2. Self-Talk Directs Focus If you tell yourself, “I am regaining my strength,” you unconsciously look for evidence of improvement, notice small gains, and keep your mind on recovery rather than decline. 3. Words Create a Body Response Even a single encouraging phrase can slow your heart rate, deepen your breathing, and relax muscle tension. Over time, this physiological shift supports health. 4. It Shapes Habits Positive self-talk doesn’t just ...

The Healing Power of Words: Historic Self-Talk Phrases That Shaped Wellness Throughout history, people have turned to words not only to communicate but also to heal. Long before “self-talk” became a recognized psychological tool, simple, repeated phrases—known as affirmations or mantras—were used to calm the mind, strengthen resolve, and even improve health. Some of these phrases became so well known that they crossed borders, languages, and generations, quietly shaping the way we think about mind-body wellness today. 1. Émile Coué — “Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.” In the early 20th century, French pharmacist and psychologist Émile Coué noticed that when patients believed in their treatment, they often recovered faster. He developed a method called conscious autosuggestion , teaching people to repeat the above phrase 20 times morning and night . Coué believed that positive statements fed into the subconscious mind could bring about tangible improvements...

  Science Without Walls: How Kenya’s OpenScienceKE is Building a Future of Shared Knowledge In a world where knowledge is often gated, costly, and centralized, Kenya is quietly leading a movement that could redefine how science is done—not just in Africa, but across the globe. At the heart of this shift is OpenScienceKE , a grassroots initiative that is turning research into a communal, inclusive, and empowering practice. For Africans in the diaspora longing to connect with transformative developments on the continent, OpenScienceKE is a model of how local action can spark global relevance. It is a reminder that innovation doesn't always begin in tech towers—it can emerge from university halls, shared data labs, and hands-on workshops in Nairobi and beyond. A Vision Rooted in Openness OpenScienceKE (Open Science Kenya) is more than just an organization—it is a community movement . Founded on the belief that science should be accessible, transparent, and collaborative, OpenSci...

  It appears that no official data has been released regarding virtual or online viewership numbers for the 2025 Essence Festival of Culture . All publicly available reports and press coverage focus exclusively on in‑person attendance , panel counts, performances, and general festival activity during the July 3–6 weekend in New Orleans . Here's what we do know: In-person attendance is estimated at nearly 500,000 people for the 2025 festival . Festival organizers noted a decline from previous years, with lower hotel occupancy and on-site crowd levels . No press release, Essence website update, nor media coverage mentions the number of virtual viewers or digital participation—which differs from the 2020 virtual-only edition , when online participation was explicitly highlighted. 🔍 Why the lack of virtual attendance figures? The Essence Festival of Culture resumed in-person operations in 2021 and has been primarily physical events since. While there were digital strea...