**Libraries Without Borders**
Created in 2007 by the Historian Patrick Weil, Libraries Without Borders (LWB) is one of the leading international organizations working in culture-and knowledge-based development around the world. In both development and humanitarian contexts, LWB's aim is to provide access to information and culture for all by providing support to libraries in France and in 20 countries worldwide. Since 2012, LWB is developing several digital content projects in both educational (MOOC, collaborative learning, etc.) and professional fields (specialized digital libraries, etc.).
**Ideas Box **
The Ideas Box is a portable media center designed as a kit that fits on two pallets and can be installed in less than 20 minutes. The box creates a cultural space covering 330 sq ft and includes an internet connection, a Koombook server (see below) generating a LAN of 20 laptops and tablets, a library of both paper books and e-readers and a built-in cinema. The Ideas Box is a remarkable toolbox that empowers children and adults alike to pave foundations for a self-reliant future. Mobile, robust and with its own power source, the Ideas Box provides an area where creativity can flourish.
KoomBook
The KoomBook is an autonomous and ultra-portable digital library. Derived from the Swahili term Kumbuka which means to remember, this compact and lightweight device provides wireless access to thousands of educational and cultural resources such as: Wikipedia, Khan Academy, TEDtalks, a curated selection from the Gutenberg Library, and thousands of other documents and videos. The KoomBook creates a WiFi hotspot that users can connect to with a laptop, tablet or smartphone. Even with no internet connection, up to 20 simultaneous users can download or upload content that will automatically update when the KoomBook has access to the internet. This remarkable innovation that is no larger than a book will be an indispensable tool in libraries, medical facilities and remote communities around the globe.
** Our challenge for the Wikimedia community**
Wikipedia offline is one of the most successful used resources in the Ideas Box and Koombook. But it risks becoming yet another content created in the Global North and dumped in the Global South. We are working with Wikimedia on training our users on contributing to Wikipedia. But that currently cannot be done in many of our projects as internet is highly unreliable and/or extremely expensive. And these are some of the richest context in terms of uniqueness of contribution (language, topics etc.). Can we come up together with a solution for asynchronous contribution for low connectivity contexts?