WikiIndaba 2023/Report/Rwebogora

Report on the Participation of Rwebogora at WikiIndaba 2023 in Agadir, Morocco

Overview

I was excited being among scholars of Wiki Indaba 2023 in Agadir, Morocco representing my usergroup Wikimedia Community User Group Tanzania from 3^rd – 5^th Nov. It was a great experience as being my first international Wiki in - person event to attend and engage with other fellow contributors and staffs from all around the world.

At the conference, I was able to attend different sessions and many stood out for me but let me mention a few to share my insights.

Day 1:

How to use Creative Commons Licences for Better Sharing – A session that reminded me of crucial Licenses to apply when sharing our contents and why we should use them. This plays a big role as an active Wiki contributor to Wikimedia Commons and other sister projects. Thanks to CC stakeholder and presenter Jocylin Miyara from USA and other session collaborators.

Wiki Indaba 2022 Learnings and results – Insights from Wiscom on past WikiIndaba conference to make the present impactful was a great learning. For instance, the issue of integrating newbies into the program and providing mentorship to them after the conference. Also, Implementation of ideas generated in the conference as result of having a channel or platform like Africa Baraza.

Day 2:

Growth and Editing Tools for Newcomers – Acquired knowledge on how to use “Edit Check’’ and activating Newcomer homepage in Wikipedia. Kudos to Habib Mhenni and the Growth Team for introducing these features.

Journalism Award – got time to know top nominated African journalists and their contributions. Kudos to Carlos Mureithi the winner. Also, this was accompanied by announcement and celebration of Wikicebrate winner - Alice Kibombo.

Day 3:

Wiki4Inclusion Project; Open Knowledge for all and by All – It was wonderful to hear from Stella and Joy Agyepong on how they are engaging people with hearing impairment to Wiki movement in Ghana to ensure that knowledge is accessed by all.

Africa Baraza – after attending the Africa Baraza online it was great connecting with fellows at Amizmiz Room to discuss the Africa Agenda plus reviewing the drafted document.

Outcome

Of course, there’s a lot to learn, starting from session presentations and exchange of ideas with other attendees. I was fascinated by different wiki projects initiated by energetic contributors within the movement. For instance, I saw a need of replicating Wiki4Inclusion project in our country after finding Swahili content gap for people with hearing impairement. Also, a need to collaborate with the Growth team in activating processes and testing of “Edit Check’’ and “Newcomer home page” in our home wiki - Swahili Wikipedia (sw). Moreover, keeping the volunteerism spirit alive and inspiring more people into the movement.

Impact

I thank for this opportunity that led me engage with fellow Wikimedians from different nations. Already I have made steps to share learnings with my community. I have informed them of Growth tools that needed to be activated and made a team of volunteers within our community to test the tools and already activation have been made and we are enjoying the experience. Also, after the conference I made a conversation with Wiki4Inclusion team on replicating the project in our country, I have made couple of meet-ups with key stakeholders on implementing the project and we are in good stage of making it happen.

Moreover, I made possible for community members to follow us via links and channels and I’m always available for any member who has a question regarding the conference or wants to get direct insights. We’ll be having Let’s Connect Peer learning meet-ups at the beginning of next year (2024) in our communities, so I’ll organize with fellow organizers to have a Post Wiki Indaba 2023 sharing experiences and acquired knowledge.

Anything else?

My appreciation to Wikimedia Morocco for making the conference successful and inspiring us that it’s possible to be hosted in our country too. Unforgettable moments like that of social event will keep clicking in my mind because it’s hard to forget of the traditional music and food we had at Café Restaurant.

It’s my hope that upcoming WikiIndaba will be having enough time to break between one session and the other to allow participants to arrive at session venues in time.

More pictures

Images link:[1]