Wiki Loves Africa 2023/Communication

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Wiki Loves Africa

Access the Brand materials for Wiki Loves Africa.

Wiki Loves Africa is an annual photography and media competition that encourages the visuals depicting the reality of life across Africa to illustrate the Wikimedia projects. Each year there is a different theme. Founded in 2014, Wiki Loves Africa is a Wiki In Africa project, supported by the Wikimedia Foundation and facilitated through the actions of over 32 Wikimedia communities across Africa.

Each year, people across Africa can contribute media (photographs, video and audio) about their environment on Wikimedia Commons for use on Wikipedia and other project websites of the Wikimedia Foundation. Wiki Loves Africa particularly encourages participants to contribute media that illustrate a specific theme for that year. Each year the theme changes and could include any universal, visually rich and culturally specific topic (for example, markets, rites of passage, festivals, public art, cuisine, natural history, urbanity, daily life, notable persons, etc).

Theme for 2023 : Climate & Weather

For more ideas, head over to the theme page
Access the Communications Materials for 2023 theme : Climate & Weather.

Why this theme

Climate and Weather are considered long-term pattern of weather in a particular area. Weather can change from hour-to-hour, day-to-day, month-to-month or even year-to-year. A region's weather patterns, usually tracked for at least 30 years, are considered its climate. Different parts of the world have different climates. Some parts of Africa are hot and rainy nearly every day. Some are dry for longer times than others. Wiki Loves Africa's theme for 2023 celebrates the prevailing climates and day-to-day weather conditions of various locations on the African continent. In what ways have people adapted to the climates in the area where you live? What weather conditions do you associate with your lieu or habitat or country? Have you observed any recent drastic changes in the climate or weather conditions of your location or another African location you visit often? Images, videos and audio clips can capture these climatic and atmospheric conditions – thunderstorms, floods, clouds, winds, hurricanes, fogs, rainfall, sunlight, scorched earth, erosion, change in water levels, landscape vegetations, extreme heat, snow, ice, extreme cold, etc.

What visuals are accepted under this theme?

8 years of Wiki Loves Africa

Since 2014, Wiki Loves Africa has become one of Africa's largest annual competitions that crowdsources photographs, videos and recordings of Africa to form an open licenced archive of materials that tells the story of Africa on Wikipedia through the eyes of its people.

The project is run across the whole continent, however, some specific actions (training, communication etc.) are held in some countries with national organisers. Wiki Loves Africa has achieved much over 8 years:

Over 88,640 images collected;
10,380 unique submitters from 55 countries;
Images viewed 1,23 billion times altogether (January 2023);
337+ events held by 32 African Wikimedia communities;
Submitted images viewed 28 million times each month (January 2023);
80% of competitors are new to Wikimedia;
An image submitted to Wiki Loves Africa’s images was given 3rd place in the 2021 Picture of the Year prize on Wikimedia Commons. Another Wiki Loves image made it to the short list. View them here
Wiki Loves Africa image included in the Journeys Through Our Fragile Heritage exhibition at UNESCO, Paris; and
Wiki Loves Africa’s ISA Tool won the Winner of the Best Multimedia Tool Prize at WikiData Conference 2019.

How the competition is organised

The project is a one-month competition which will start on the 1st March 2023 and end on the 30th April 2023.
The project runs across the entire continent, however there are local and national groups of Wikipedians that have volunteered to host specific actions (training, upload events, communications, etc.) in their countries. In addition, there are several groups of individuals within Africa, and Wikimedia groups outside Africa that are (and encouraged to be) involved.

The project is a contest where, after the contest closes, the best media at the continental level are selected and prizes are awarded. An international jury will determine the best entries for the continental competition. Where there are local organising groups, they will decide to organise (or not) judging and local prizes for their country.

Wiki Loves Africa was created and developed, and is managed by the principals at Wiki in Africa, it is funded by the Wikimedia Foundation. Actions and activities in each country are supported by the Wikimedia community in the form of Usergroups and volunteers across Africa.

Wiki Loves Africa Messaging and Branding

Access the separate page for messaging about the contest and how to speak to the press.

Every year, the international team supplies materials and resources that are specific to that year's theme. Below are the materials for local organisers to spread the word and provide visibility for the contest in their area.

Please feel free to translate these materials into your local languages, and share them on Commons under the Wiki Loves Africa 2023 Communications category.

If you have any suggestions or requests for additional materials you feel would be useful, please contact Wilson Oluoha via the email on his userpage. Thanks

Wiki Loves Africa Communication Platforms

Communications links:

Discussion channels:

Communications materials from previous years:

2023 Winners and prizes

In 2023, the international prizes are:

Photography

1st prize: US$2000
2nd prize: USAfrica Environment 500
3rd prize: USAfrica Environment 000

Media (Video, Audio, Graphics, Photo Essays)

Best audio $750
Best video prize : USAfrica Environment 000
Best graphics : US$750
Africa Environment Video Prize: Best video representation of the impact of climate change : US$2000
Africa Environment Special Collection Prize: Best collections of images showing the impact of climate change : US$500

Each winner might also receive a pack of branded goodies.

In addition, some of the local national teams will host national ceremonies and national prizes.

Local teams can decide to award separate national prizes at their discretion. Please review the Countries page to see what is happening where and what prizes are available at a local level.

Press contacts per country

Global press contacts

South Africa: Isla Haddow-Flood: islawikiinafrica.org
France: Florence Devouard: fdevouardanthere.org

National press contacts

This space aims to link press contacts where available.

Algeria: Mohammed Bachounda: bachoundagmail.com or Reda Kerbouche: presswikimedia-dz.org
Nigeria: Ayokanmi Oyeyemi: ayokanmi@wikimedia.org.ng, Ceslause Ogbonnaya: ceslausewikiinafrica.org, and Musa Umar: umarmusaahmad77gmail.com, Obiageli Ezeilo: oby.ezeilo@gmail.com, Steve Kally: stephenjonah7@gmail.com, Mikael Sodiq: jerrykufang22@gmail.com
Cameroon: Minette Lontsie: wikimediacugcameroongmail.com, lontsiminette@yahoo.fr
Tunisia: Mourad Ben Abdallah: mourad.babdallah@gmail.com, wmtnug-board@googlegroups.com
Uganda: Kwera Faith: quera1204gmail.com, Geoffrey Kateregga: kateregga1@gmail.com
Ghana: Bright Ayisi: wikigraphergmail.com, Gabriel Amuzu: amuzugabrieljoegmail.com, and Eugene Masiku: emasikuofwafrica.org
Mali: N'fana Diakité: nfanadiakite92gmail.com
Kenya: Faith Mwanyolo: faithchugugmail.com and Carol Mwaura: lisapeter.lp5gmail.com
Benin: Fawaz Tairou: fawaz.tairougmail.com
Rwanda: Boris Bahire: boris.bahiregmail.com
Sudan: Maram Ali Ahmed: sd.wikimediagmail.com, marmaroma@gmail.com
Morocco: Rachid Ourkia: rc.ourkiagmail.com, Mounir Neddi: neddimounir97@gmail.com, Reda Benkhadra: Rbenkhadra1@gmail.com
Haiti: Handgod Abraham: sambayo23gmail.com
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Nixon Mukoko: nixmukokogmail.com
Guinea: Aboubacar Keita: Aboubacarkt14gmail.com
Botswana: Candy Khohliwe: ckhohliwegmail.com
Burundi: Gilbert Ndihokubwayo: gigi.kadigmail.com
Republic of the Congo: Osvaldo Mokouma: osvaldoreychrysmokoumagmail.com
Tanzania: Antoni Mtavangu: antonicmtavangugmail.com, Justine Msechu: justinemsechu12@yahoo.com,
Togo: Hermann Kassalouwa: hermann.kassgmail.com
Chad: Ahmat Matary: ahmatmatarygmail.com
Senegal: Adjo Essenam: essenam.fumeygmail.com

Documents

Videos

Wiki Loves Africa Celebrates Africa
Wiki Loves Africa 2021
Upload wizard tutorial
Wiki Loves Africa 2019
Wiki Loves Africa 2017

2023 Contest Communication Materials

Wiki Loves Africa will run for the 9th time in 2023. Over the years, a lot of material has been created and is available for organisers to use and adapt as they see fit. Or you might prefer to create your own material.

Marketing Materials developed for Wiki Loves Africa 2023

These are .jpeg files below, but the .pdf versions can be found in Wiki Loves Africa 2023 Communications category, on Commons.

Talk about the 2023 Contest

Consult this page for more information about Messaging and Talking to the Press about Wiki Loves Africa.

Marketing materials

Theme-based marketing material

Social media launch cards

Social media information 'cards' are available on Canva for organisers at these links:

Arabic:

English:

French:

Portuguese:

Visuals for just a few of the images created are below:

Social cards .gif format - English

Generic marketing material

Generic Wiki Loves Africa email banner
Generic Wiki Loves Africa French and English Pull Up banner
The pull-up banner template with space for local organisers and partners logos
The English version of the A5 Generic Flyer
The French A5 version of the generic flyer
Square, Round and Rectangular stickers
The generic t-shirt design elements
A beanie to be used as a goodie for participant or winner
Example of "I edit Wikipedia from Africa" cap. Also shows a branded battery (not WLA)
Other resources
5 years poster

Wiki Loves Africa Brand

The logo

Link: File:Wiki-Loves-Africa-logo.png

Logo colours

#f16160
R241, G97, B96
C0, M77, Y57, K0
Pantone 7416 C

#08ad9d
R8, G173, B157
C77, M7, Y47, K0
Pantone 7465 C

#ffda27
R255, G218, B39
C1, M11, Y93, K0
Pantone 115 C

#fdfcfe
R253, G252, B254
C0, M1, Y0, K0
Pantone 663 C

Wiki Loves Africa generic identity elements

the existing visual identity
a “pitch deck” explaining the project
a generic leaflet about the project
a Pull-up banner design
T-shirt design
Buttons, badges, stickers (square, round and rectangular)
“App button” version of the logo for use on web, devices and other pages
Logo as used in press releases, social media, presentations, on banners, etc.
Generic leaflet

Why Wiki Loves Africa is important
Wiki Loves Africa's video
The English version of the A5 Generic Flyer
The French A5 version of the generic flyer
Square, Round and Rectangular stickers
The pull-up banner template with space for local organisers and partners logos.
The generic t-shirt design elements
This is a beanie to be used as a goodie for participant or winner
5 years poster

Social media guidelines

It is exciting to support WikiLovesAfrica and show people what is happening with the competition in your country! There is an international communications team for the duration of the competition, but we would love your support wherever possible! Here are some ways you can do just that:

Share our posts

Keep an eye on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds and share our posts. The more organic reach we get the more we will be rewarded with so every share counts.

Comment on our posts

Comment and tag on the comments of a post. Any words of encouragement or tagging a friend or organization on the comments feed will also help Wiki Loves Africa to be seen by more people, more often.

Make your own posts

We realise you may want to personalize your call to enter or mention your own events happening locally, but please make sure you note the following:

Use the contest colour pallette above
Include the hashtag #wikilovesafrica on all your posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
The shortlink to the info page and entry is bit.ly/EnterWLA2023 photographs you post on Social Media
Make sure that the photos you use are big enough, and do not distort or pixelate
When writing a post about a local event, please include the location or country in your post (this can be done straight away or as a hashtag) – this will cause less confusion when people repost or share your post with their individual accounts
There are standard headers for Facebook and Twitter as well as a standard Instagram post that you are welcome to use. Please find them in the Social Media templates section below (to come)
Be sure to include these bits of info – not necessarily all at once but over a few posts.
- The competition is open to anyone, anywhere but the subject matter Climate & Weather must represent something that took place in Africa or relates to African culture.
- You can enter as many times as you like
- All work entered is subject to a Creative Commons licence
- The competition runs from 1st March - 30th April

Please use the hashtags

#wikilovesafrica
#CelebrateAfrica or #Celebrate[your country] e.g. #CelebrateEthiopia
#Instagood
#photoAfrica
#loveAfrica
#photooftheday
#instaafrica
And you can # the subject e.g. #clouds #rain etc…

Please seriously consider adding cautionary hashtags to make sure people do not put themselves at risk to get the photograph. Consider using these hashtags:

#StaySafe
#BeCautious
#EnterArchivePhotos

Branding and communications help for Organisers

The Wikimedia Movement has its own set of branding guidelines that are separate from Wiki Loves Africa. Consult the Communications Resource Centre to get guidance on how to use Wikimedia materials.

Design and photographic manipulation tools

If you wish to create your own branding, please consider using the following design tools. Many of the application listed below require specialist knowledge of design and photographic principles.

Penpot and Inkscape are free and open source. However there are many other platforms that can help you if you are new to communications and design, especially these non-open source platforms.

They are not open source, but many have a free 'plan' that allows limited functionality:

Please note: the following is a list of (mostly) open source options. While many of these products are exceptional we do not recommend or endorse one over another. Always be careful when downloading software.

Photographic manipulation

Design creation and manipulation

Find more marketing materials. Do not hesitate digging into previous years.