Wiki In Africa/Community

WikiAfrica Hour is a monthly vodcast to support the activities of the WikiAfrica movement and wikimedians across Africa.

WikiAfrica Hour intends to:

Share current updates, and highlights of Africa Wikimedians activities
Interact with guest(s) (if any), and take questions from community members
Promote synergy within the Wiki community by discussing topics, projects, constraints, collaborations, and opportunities.

WikiAfrica Hour is activated by Wiki In Africa in support of Wikimedia usergroups across the WikiAfrica movement and was initiated by Florence Devouard (User:Anthere) and Isla Haddow-Flood (User:Islahaddow). From 2021-2023 it was facilitated by Wiki In Africa's (Ceslause Ogbonnaya).

Main link : WikiAfrica Hour

Status: active

Impact

The vodcast which has so far broadcasted 36 episodes, plus two special editions for Wikimania 2021 , has been viewed over 7,700 times on YouTube; and
Since its launch in 2021, 321 Wikimedia News items have been shared; and
The vodcast has welcomed 101 guest speakers from both within the Wikimedia movement and outside of it, who have shared diverse knowledge that benefits the WikiAfrica Hour audience

Past episodes

Episode 1 titled Katherine Maher featured former WMF CEO Katherine Maher as she took us through her journey within the Wikimedia movement, and expressed her hopes about African wikimedians. You can watch the episode here
Episode 2 titled The Lowdown on Commons featured guests form Wiki Loves Earth Ghana, Nigerian Commons Photographers User Group, Commons:Nos Jardins and Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos as they talked about the role photography plays within the wikimedia context. You can watch the episode here
Episode 3 titled WMF Board:Demystified featured two former WMF board chairwomen, the three 2021 WMF board election candidates from Africa, and two WMF Board election facilitators as they gave clarity on the WMF board and board election processes. You can watch the episode here
Episode 4 titled WikiEvents:Unpacked featured guests from the core organizing teams of two great Wiki events; Wikimania 2021 and WikiIndaba 2021, as the talked about the benefits and the organisation of the events. You can watch the episode here
Wikimania special edition titled WIkiAfrica:The Xperience featured a pre-recording of episode 1-4, then a live session with guests From Wikimedia Tunisia, Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos, WikiIndada 2021 Conference and Igbo Wikimedians User Group talking about the importance of WikiAfrica Hour to the community. You can watch the pre-recording here and the Discussion at Wikimania about the importance of WikiAfrica Hour to the community
Episode 5 titled Wiki Loves Africa 2021:Meet the winners featured the winners of Wiki Loves Africa 2021 as they talk about their photography journey in Africa. Two international jury members were also among the guest speakers as they talked about the jury process and how they made decisions. You can watch the episode here
Episode 6 titled UCOC; EDGR; SCF; U4C...Whaaaattt? featured the UCoC process manager, a member of the drafting committee, a UCoC facilitator, and WikiIndada 2021 Conference scholarship manager, as they talked about the works that happen behind some very interesting wiki acronyms like UCOC,EDGR,SCF and U4C. You can watch the episode here
Episode 7 (WikiIndaba 2021 special edition) titled What the changes at WMF Community Resources mean for you featured the Director of Community Investment at WMF Community Resources, Senior Program Officer - Middle East and Africa Grants Committee, and two members of the Middle East and Africa Grants Committee, as they shared insight on the changes that have been made at the Community Resources arm of the foundation. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 8 titled Revealing invisible faces featured the Lead organizer at AfroCROWD, a member of Les sans pagEs, as they discussed the various initiatives helping to make underrepresented persons and communities more visible on the internet. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 9 titled Offline tech bridge featured the Board Chair of Wiki Project Med Foundation, the developer and designer of WikiFundi, a team member of Open Foundation West Africa and a facilitator of WikiChallenge Ecoles d'Afrique as they discussed the amazing projects working to bridge the digital divide that exists across the global South. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 10 titled Building communities, one photo at a time featured the organizer of Wiki Loves Earth in Ghana, the organizer of Wiki Loves Monuments in South Africa, the organizer of Open Foundation West Africa and a facilitator of Wiki Loves Africa in Botswana, discussing organizing local photo contests as part of an Int'l photo contests, its Challenges, Lessons, Successes. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 11 titled Podcasting Wikipedia Women hosted some very amazing Wikipedia Women In Podcast and their awesome initiatives like Inspiring Open podcast, The World According to Wikipedia podcast and Scuola di pensiero (School Of Thought) podcast in celebration of International Women's Month 2022. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 12 titled Who is Maryana Iskander? hosted the current CEO of Wikimedia Foundation after her about 19 listening tours. This episode engaged her personality, experience, aspirations, etc, as she goes about her term. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 13 titled AfroGLAM featured a discussion around GLAM projects in Africa, importance, impact and prospects, with guests from African Library and Information Associations (AfLIA), Wiki World Heritage User Group, and Art+Feminism. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 14 titled WikiGovernance:On Board hosted the Top 6 candidates of 2022 Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees election and a member of the Wikimedia Foundation elections committee, as we discussed the election process, and what the candidates intend to achieve if elected. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 15 titled Wikimedian/Wikipedian in Residence hosted some very experienced Wikimedians/Wikipedians in Residence from UNDP-South Africa, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), African Library and Information Associations (AfLIA), The African Narrative (TAN) and Clermont Auvergne University as they shared what it takes to be a Wikimedian/Wikipedian in Residence, plan and execute topical projects successfully, while helping Wikimedia solidify relationships with other organizations. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 16 titled Wiki Identity featured the Director of Brand of the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia Sound Logo community liaison, as we discussed how various Wikimedia projects adopted their identities, and how the various identities have evolved over the years. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 17 titled Wiki Loves Africa 2022 Winners: Sharpest Shooters hosted the winners of the Wiki Loves Africa 2022 International prizes, as they shared their photography and videography journeys with us up till wen they won the Wiki Loves Africa 2022 International prizes. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 18 titled How different user groups are run featured guests from the Wikimedia Foundation's Affiliations Committee, Igbo Wikimedians User Group and Wikimedia Community User Group Botswana, while we discussed about building, reviving, managing and recognizing communities in the Wikimedia movement. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 19 titled Free, Open & Cool! hosted a Volunteer Wikimedia developer, as we discussed the criteria a tool should meet to be used in the Wikimedia and Open movement, tool development, and maintenance, then followed by a watch-part of the 2022 Coolest Tool Awards. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 20 titled Open gatherings: one movement featured the Wikimania 2023 Core Organizing Team, WikiIndaba 2022 Planning and Organizing lead, and Lead organizer - Wikimedian Youth Conference by The WikiVibrance Project as we shared details of what the first in-person post-COVID Wikimania conference would look like, lessons from WikiIndaba 2022 and the prospects of a Wikimedia Youth Conference by The WikiVibrance Project. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 21 titled Commons: Inside out witnessed some experienced Commonists as we pondered on How Wikimedia Commons has fared so far since its birth, and What the possibilities are in order to align better with 2030 Movement Strategy. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 22 titled Special edition: Africa Environment WikiFocus is dedicated to commemorate the Africa Environment Day 2023 campaign of the Africa Knowledge Initiative, with guests from Center for Justice Governance and Environmental Action, Kenya and Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter, UK, as we discussed the issues around environmental policies in Africa, and approaches to document African climate related issues on Wiki projects. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 23 titled Gender Focus marked the 2023 International Women's Rights month while spotlighting the challenges, lessons, achievements and prospects of some Open movement initiatives that have been fighting to fill the gender gap that exists in the movement. You can watch the episode here.
Episode 24 titled Tech Ops discussed the behind-the-scenes of the various technologies that drive Wikimedia projects, who does what, how and when. You can Watch this episode here
Episode 25 titled Launch: Open the Knowledge Journalism Awards was the inauguration of the Open the Knowledge Journalism Awards where we discussed the importance of journalism in the Africa Wikimedia movement, as it can see to availability of credible sources for content curation about Africa on Wikimedia projects. You can Watch this episode here.
Episode 26 titled Africa and Movement Charter was a roundtable conversation with two members of the Movement Charter Drafting Committee as they discussed the relevance of movement charter to the African community. You can watch this episode here.
Episode 27 titled WikiChallenge Ecoles d'Afrique is a session dedicated to understanding the WikiChallenge African Schools project, the challenges and prospects of the project. The 2022 winners of the WikiChallenge African Schools writing contest were also announced. You can Watch this episode here.
Episode 28 titled The state of diversity, equity & inclusion was a panel discussion featuring some amazing Wikimedians working in the diversity, equity & inclusion space one way or another, as the discussed the current state of things, and possible ways to move forward. You can watch this episode here.
Episode 29 titled Wiki work on the heritage space is dedicated to understanding the place of Wikimedia projects with regards to heritage, and how our collective approach could have a global impact on the heritage space. You can watch this episode here.
Episode 30 titled Echoes from Wikimania 2023 was a chit-chat with some scholars who attended in-person Wikimania conference for the first time, as they shared their experiences at the conference. You can watch this episode here.
Episode 31 titled Wiki Loves Africa 2023: Meet the winners was dedicated to celebrating the 2023 winners of the Wiki Loves Africa International media contest as they shared their creative journey as Africans leading up to the point of winning Wiki Loves Africa 2023 international prizes. You can watch this episode here.
Episode 32 titled Echoes from the gender space sheds light on how the #SheSaid campaign campaign has fared over the years, how it is impacting the gender space and the community. An attendee of the WikiWomenCamp 2023 also shares an eye-witness experience with our audience on how it went down. You can watch this episode here.
Episode 33 titled Echoes from WikiIndaba 2023 is a roundtable discussion with some WikiIndaba conference 2023 attendees as they share their 2023 Indaba experience. You can watch this episode here.
Episode 34 titled Celebrate WikiWomen! In celebration of International Women's Day, this special WikiAfrica Hour is a three-part salute to the gender-gap busting work within the Wikimedia movement.You can watch this episode here.
Episode 35 titled The Movement Beyond the Summit!. After an action-packed last Wikimedia Summit in Berlin, the future of affiliate gatherings hangs in the balance. This episode's guests chat about the future of these events for Wikimedians and discuss the current status of the long-awaited Movement Charter.You can watch this episode here.
Episode 36 titled Does the Wikimedia movement contribute to the SDGs? discuss what roles the Wikimedia movement plays towards sustainable development, what are the already existing community-driven projects related to the SDGs and what else can be done concerning those goals. You can watch this episode here.
Episode 37 titled Bringing people together: Africa Baraza & Wiki Causerie discuss how Africa Baraza & Wiki Causerie can bring people together, what the similarities and differences are between them, what the goals were that resulted in their creation, and how the communities receive them. You can watch this episode here.
Episode 38 titled Wikimania as a collaboration on the Open discusses the largest meeting point of wikimedians – Wikimania. Wikimania 2024 was recently held in Katowice, Poland, and will in 2025 be held in Nairobi, Kenya, and in 2026 in Paris, France. The panel and guests are exploring its current and future vision related to the partnerships and collaboration with other organizations. You can watch this episode here.
Episode 39 titled Celebrate Wiki Loves Africa 2024 This special session of WikiAfrica Hour is dedicated to celebrating the 2024 Wiki Loves Africa International media contest winners and to honor the WLA project manager; Wilson Oluoha. You can watch this episode here.

WikiAfrica Hour has gotten so interesting that community members reach out to the WikiAfrica Hour team to suggest topics. Fun fact: episode 3 and 6 were suggested by community members.

You can find more details on past and upcoming episodes in the Episodes section of the WikiAfrica Hour meta page. The Newsroom section is for updates about current activities of user groups, volunteer groups or projects. You may visit the Team section should you need to contact any member of the WikiAfrica Hour team.

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