Event:WMA Hackathon 2025

The Wiki Mentor Africa Hackathon 2025 will be a creative and welcoming event aimed at helping African developers, contributors, and enthusiasts engage deeply with Wikimedia Technical projects. This hackathon is unique in its focus on supporting bilingual participation, with a strong emphasis on French, while also ensuring that English-speaking participants are fully supported and engaged.

The event will be virtual, allowing for wide participation across Africa and beyond, making it accessible to anyone interested in contributing to the Wikimedia movement.

Goals and Objectives

The primary goal of the Wiki Mentor Africa Hackathon is to improve the representation of African languages, cultures, and knowledge within the Wikimedia ecosystem. By focusing on bilingual support, the hackathon aims to bridge the gap between French and English-speaking communities (Francophones and Anglophones), fostering collaboration and generating new ideas that will benefit both language groups.

Key objectives include:

Helping African developers and contributors build, improve, and localize Wikimedia tools and content.
Building a strong, supportive community of African Wikimedia contributors who can continue to collaborate beyond the event.
Promoting the use of African languages in Wikimedia projects, particularly through the development of tools and resources that support language diversity.
Ensuring the event is accessible, exciting, and rewarding for all participants, regardless of their linguistic background.

Event Details

Date: Friday 28th - Sunday 30th March 2025
Languages support: French and English
Participants: Open to African developers, Wikimedia contributors, and anyone interested in Wikimedia projects

Location

Location: Online (More information will be shared in coming weeks)

Satellite Locations

In addition to the online format, WMA Hackathon 2025 will feature satellite hosting sites in Benin, DRC, Cameroon, and Côte d'Ivoire. These locations are set up to support participants in these regions by providing stable internet and power. Participants from these areas can join from the satellite site nearest to them for a smoother hackathon experience. More details on specific venues and how to register for these sites will be added soon.

Program & Projects

Program details will be shared soon. Stay tuned!

Registration & Scholarship

The hackathon will happen online using Zoom. We will also be having some sattelite spaces you can join from as well. The event is open to developers, designers, technical writers, and all Wikimedia community members. It is designed to be accommodate both new and experienced Wikimedians.

It's a great chance for people who are new or already familiar with Wikimedia technical spaces to work together and learn. We're excited to see what we can do together!

If this event interests you, feel free to register for this event by clicking on the register button above.

Scholarship Application

The scholarship application is now open; click expand to see application form

The scholarship application is now open. You can apply using this Google Form. Application open: 1st March 2025 Application close: 21st March 2025 We offer scholarships ranging from $20 to $50. This scholarship is for those who need support to join the hackathon online.

As part of the Wiki Mentor Africa Hackathon 2025, we are offering internet reimbursement scholarships ranging from $20 to $50 to support the active participation of people during the Hackathon period.

Eligibility Criteria:

Be registered and confirm your participation in the event.
Commit to actively participating in at least 80% of online sessions.
Agree to provide feedback after the event.
Submit a complete application before the deadline.

Timeline:

Application Open: 1st March 2025.
Application Deadline: 21st March 2025.

NOTE: Final decision and Reimbursements will be made a few days after the Hakathon 2025.

Organizing Team

Organizer	Sponsors & Partners