WikiAfrica

WikiAfrica is a project to increase the quality and quantity of African content on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects.

WikiAfrica is an international movement that takes place on the African continent and beyond. It encourages individuals, interested groups and organisations to create, expand and enhance online content about Africa. This involves motivating for the representation of the continent’s contemporary realities and history, its peoples and its innovations on the world’s most used encyclopaedia, Wikipedia. WikiAfrica is not owned by one organisation and it belongs to all people and organisations contributing to its scope.

WikiAfrica uses a number of interventions to create, expand and enhance online content and representation of Africa, its history, people, innovations and contemporary realities, on the world’s most used encyclopaedia, Wikipedia. WikiAfrica seeks to support Wikipedia as a free and open encyclopaedia that truthfully provides access to information about Africa. The project’s interventions are aimed at both uploading and expanding content that already resides in heritage, cultural and academic institutions across Africa, as well as activating, training and supporting a self-sustaining new generation of Wikipedian editors from across the continent, able to generate new articles and subjects relevant to contemporary Africa.

In its various guises and hosted at several institutions (including Lettera27, Africa Centre, Ynternet.org, Wikimedia CH and Wiki In Africa), the WikiAfrica movement has consistently instigated and led multi-faceted innovative projects. These projects have activated communities and driven content onto Wikipedia. Examples include Share Your Knowledge, #OpenAfrica training Courses and Toolkits, Kumusha Bus (in Ethiopia and Ghana), WikiEntrepreneur (in Ethiopia and Malawi), Kumusha Takes Wiki (Cote d’Ivoire and Uganda) and Wiki Loves Africa.

See also Africa Portal

Timeline

2021

2021. June. Launch of Wiki Loves Women's Focus Group.
2021. May. Launch of WikiAfrica Hour.
2021. March. Wiki Loves Women's Tell Us About Her: Women at Work campaign is run on the ISA Tool.
2021. February. The seventh edition of Wiki Loves Africa Health+Wellness is launched.
2021. February. Dagbani Wikimedians User Group has been recognised.

2020

2020. October. Wiki Loves Africa runs the Africa on the move contest on the ISA Tool.
2020. October. Wiki Loves Women launches the #Shesaid campaign.
2020. June. The Wikimedia Community User Group Sudan recognised.
2020. The sixth edition of Wiki Loves Africa Africa on the Move! launched.

2019

2019. October. Wikimedians of Mali User Group recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2019. August. Hausa Wikimedians User Group recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2019. August.Yoruba Wikimedians User Group recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2019. May. Wikimedia Community User Group Tchad recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2019. May. Wikimédiens du Bénin User Group recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2019. The fifth edition of Wiki Loves Africa 2019 Play! launched.

2018

2018. November. Wikimedians of Democratic Republic of Congo User Group recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2018. November. Wikimedia Community User Group Guinea Conakry recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2018. August. Wikimedians of Tamazight User Group recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2018. June. Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2018. Wikimania Cape Town hosted by Wikimedia South Africa
2018. May. Igbo Wikimedians User Group recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2018. May. Wikimedia Community User Group Tanzania recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2018. WikiIndaba conference 2018 is hosted in Tunis, Tunisia by Wikimedia Usergroup Tunisia
2018. WikiFundi 2.0 begins.

2017

2017. December. Wikimedia Community User Group Botswana recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2017. Wiki Loves Women hosts #17AfricanFeminists a subsection of the Women in Red World Contest
2017. Wiki Loves Africa hosts the 4th contest on the theme of People at Work.
2017. September. Open Foundation West Africa recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2017. July. Wikimedians of Cameroon User Group recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2017. Wiki In Africa registered in South Africa as legal NPO.
2017. The new WikiAfrica website is launched.
2017. Official launch of WikiAfrica Schools as a proof of concept education programme in South Africa. WikiAfrica Schools Colaboratory held in Cape Town in November.
2017. Official launch of WikiChallenge African Schools, a schools contest on Vikidia with members of the Orange Foundation's Digital Schools Network.
2017. Official launch of WikiFundi, a software that provides off-line editing environment that mimics the Wikipedia environment.
2017. WikiIndaba conference 2017 is hosted in Accra, Ghana by the Open Foundation West Africa

2016

2016. The third Wiki Loves Africa 2016 holds its third photographic competition under the theme of Music and Dance.
2016. Wikipack Africa is launched and involves the development of WikiFundi and WikiChallenge African Schools from Orange Foundation.
2016. Wiki Loves Women is launched with the Wiki Loves Women Writing Contest #15Challenge

2016

2015. October. Wikimedia MA User Group recognised as Wikimedia Affiliate.
2015. September. Wikimedia User Group Nigeria recognised as Wikimedia Affiliate.
2015. OpenAfrica15 hosted at the Goethe-Institut in Johannesburg.
2015. The second edition of Wiki Loves Africa 2015 photographic competition.

2014

2014. November. The Algerian Wikimedians User Group recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2014. November. Wikimedia Community User Group Côte d'Ivoire recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2014. September. Wikimedia Ghana User Group recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2014. Launch of OpenAfrica Toolkits
2014. Launch of OpenAfrica14 four week training course in Cape Town.
2014. July. Egypt Wikimedians recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2014. May. Wikimedia TN User Group recognised as a Wikimedia Affiliate.
2014. Launch of Wiki Loves Africa photographic competition.
2014. Launch of Kumusha Takes Wiki in Uganda and Cote d'Ivoire
2014. Launch of Kumusha Bus in Ethiopia in June and Ghana in November.

2013

2013. Launch of WikiEntrepreneur project in Malawi and Ethiopia.

2012

2012. Launch of WikiAfrica Cameroon.
2012. WikiAfrica Primary School Feasibility Study.
2012. The milestone 30'000 African contributions to Wikimedia projects by 2012 is reached.

2011

2011. Share Your Knowledge is launched to involve cultural institutions in contributing to WikiAfrica milestone.

2009

2009. 30'000 African contributions to Wikimedia projects by 2012 milestone is set.

2006

2006. WikiAfrica is launched by lettera27 Foundation in collaboration with Wikimedia Italia.

2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012

Articles and further reading

(English) Wiki Loves Women Project Mind the Gaps the significant gaps at the intersection of content relating to, and contributions from, Women and Africa.
(English) Joshua Errett, Reaching the many deadlines of WikiAfrica: Iolanda Pensa profile on Wikimedia Foundation blog, 21/08/2013.
(English) Esther Lewis, Wiki Africa placing SA on the map, iol sciteche, 17/09/2013.
(English) Alexandra Thom, Collaborating with WikiAfrica on Brooklyn Museum blog, 25/06/2013.
(English) (French) Guillaume Goursat, WikiAfrica project welcomes and trains Cameroonians to contribute to Wikimedia sites on Wikimedia Foundation blog, 15/03/2013.
(Italian) Kibra Sebhat, Wikipedia+Africa=WikiAfrica. Trentamila voci per un Continente in Corriere della Sera - La città nuova, 10/01/2013.
(Italian) Claudio Artusio, Lettera27: WikiAfrica festeggia 30.000 voci su Wikipedia on Creative Commons Italia, 07/12/2012.
(English) (French) WikiAfrica: sharing knowledge in Africa with Wikipedia and Orange on Orange, 07/11/2002.
(English) WikiAfrica interview with Isla Haddow-Flood on ReConnectAfrica, October 2011.
(Italian) Medici con l'Africa Cuamm aderisce al progetto "WikiAfrica", 21/09/2012.
(Italian) WikiAfrica africanizza Wikipedia on Moleskine blog, 10/12/2009.
(French)Marian Nur Goni avec Iolanda Pensa, "Dans une période où l'on dit que la critique d'art est enterrée, pointer du doigt les contenus et non pas les projets est indispensable" in Africultures, 01/2009.
(French) Marian Nur Goni avec Iolanda Pensa, WikiAfrica, un outil pour promouvoir une attitude consciente et active de ses utilisateurs in Africultures, 01/2009.
(French)Marian Nur Goni avec Iolanda Pensa, WikiAfrica : "Donner sa voix à l'Afrique signifie donner la parole à tout le monde" in Africultures, 01/2009.
(Italian) Daniela Gamba, Affidabilità e WikiAfrica in webnews, 10/09/2007.
(Italian) Prove tecniche di scrittura: a Mantova va in scena WikiAfrica in Panorama, 07/09/2007.
(Italian) Mantova, tutti insieme per Wikiafrica. Al lavoro per dar "voci" a chi non le ha in Le Repubblica.it, 03/09/2007.

Photos

c:Category:WikiAfrica

Wikipedians from across Africa attend WikiAfrica's Open Africa 2014 course in Cape Town in February 2014. From left: WikiAfrica's Isla Haddow-Flood, Abel Asrat, Rexford Nkansah, Michael Phoya, Cyriac Gbogou(Côte d'Ivoire), and Erina Mukuta.
Signing of Memorandum of Agreement between WikiAfrica and Karonga Museum. LtoRː Archibald Mwakasungula (Chairperson, Karonga Museum), Wilfred Mwagomba (Manager, Karonga Museum), Robert Simfukwe (Dept. of Antiquities, Malawi), Michael Phoya, WikiAfrica. September 2014
Opening of the Espace WikiAfrica in Douala, Cameroon, 15 March 2013. Courtesy doual'art and Orange Foundation.
Opening of the Espace WikiAfrica in Douala, Cameroon, 15 March 2013. Courtesy doual'art and Orange Foundation.
Opening of the Espace WikiAfrica in Douala, Cameroon, 15 March 2013. Courtesy doual'art and Orange Foundation.
Photographs of the Wiki Indaba conference in Johannesburg. 2014
Six of the eight Wikipack Africa recipients attended Wiki Indaba 2017 and received their packs.
Screenshot of the homepage of http://www.wikifundi.org in French
The non-digital resources of Wikipack Africa being packed for distribution to recipients at Wiki Indaba. Jan 2017
Group Photograph at the end of Edit-a-Thorn organised by Wiki Loves Women. 2016
The Wiki Loves Women meeting at the Goethe-Institut Accra in January 2017.
L'équipe projet de Wiki Loves Women en Côte d'Ivoire a présenté une communication le 08 juillet 2016 sur le projet aux auditrices de #Sheisthecode, un programme de formation à l’information et à Internet à l’attention des femmes de 18 – 35 ans. 2016
Exposition of Wiki Loves Africa 2015 in Douala-Cameroon. 2016
Cérémonie de clôture Wiki loves Africa 2015. Gagnants. 2015
Together we are strong and we can bring it home again. Tanzania national organizers showing their strength of crowning this year's theme. 2015