The Wiki Loves Africa 2024 Media Toolkit

On this page you will find the Media Toolkit. As a Wiki Loves Africa Organiser, these resources will help you to engage with the press and partners about Wiki Loves Africa activities and events. Journalists: If you are a member of the press, and are looking for organisers to contact in your country, please consult this list.

This is one part of the Wiki Loves Africa 2024 Communications Hub for Organisers.

Use these other pages to ...

Use the 2024 Africa Creates theme materials and messaging.

Use the Media Toolkit to enage with the press and partners about your Wiki Loves Africa 2024 activities and events.

Talk about the Wiki Loves Africa contest and use the brand materials.

Check out the Social Media Guidelines.

Find some interesting design tools and tricks.

This Media Toolkit

With this toolkit, you will be equipped to speak to a range of audiences, providing a consistent voice and message for the contest. The material offered below should ensure consistency, but also be flexible enough to ensure adaptability to your local community, language and context.

How to use the toolkit:

Read through the full toolkit, or the parts most relevant to what you want to say to become familiar with the content.
Take a moment to clearly define the following:

What tool or method are you going to use to deliver the message. Tools consist of email, press releases, news alerts, presentations, social media posts, etc.
Consider who you are speaking to – what are they interested in, what do they want to do, how can they be involved if they are interested, what do they care about?
Define why you are creating it – what do you want your audience to know and especially what do you want them to do.

Read the "Messaging our theme" section and consider if there is something in the theme(s) that your audience may be interested in.

Remember these elements for the next steps ...

Write a first draft of your materials. In most cases, it is helpful to start by sharing a little bit about why Wiki loves Africa matters so other people can share in our excitement.
If your audience do not speak English, is this language accessible for them? Does it translate in a way that has meaning? (See the "Translation" section for help.)
Read your draft again from the perspective of your target audience. Pretend to be them. Is it interesting? Is your call to action clear? Is anything confusing? Is it using language they can understand?
Revise your draft! If possible, send it to someone else for editing and input.

You are done! Now you need to send it out to spread the word!

Talk about Wiki Loves Africa 2024 Contest with the media, press or partners

Press releases

If you would like to write a press release specific to your group, below are some tips. You may also share the Wiki Loves Africa 2024 press release directly or borrow language from it for your own press release.

Why write a press release?

A press release is one way to raise awareness about an announcement.
Wiki Loves Africa is a global photographic competition with a local focus. Local press releases raise awareness in specific regions while showing the diversity of the movement.
Beyond the fact that we are visually celebrating Africa on Wikipedia, it gives you the opportunity to highlight other events that your group hosts, such as edit-a-thons, or local happenings connected to getting local knowledge and history about your region and people onto Wikipedia and its sister projects.

How do I write a press release?

A press release should read like a news story, written in third-person, citing quotes and sources and containing key information about an announcement.
It should also include a call to action i.e. "Visit [website link] for more information and to sign up"

How do I distribute a press release?

There are a number of ways to distribute a press release:

Share it by email with local reporters who might be interested. (Many publications have a contact us form on their website with reporter email addresses).
Publish it on an affiliate/community blog, or in the press section on your website.
Share a link on social media.

When should I distribute a press release?

You can share your press release with reporters before you publish it, so they have a "heads up" and are more likely to cover the news. This is sometimes called an "embargo." For more tips on working with the media, see the movement communications skills page.

Use the Wiki Loves Africa 2024 Press Release Templates

Below are the international press releases for the launch of Wiki Loves Africa 2024. These press releases can easily be adapted to press releases that feature local details and events.

Press Kit

To be published

Launch Press Release

To be published

Winners Press Release and Jury Report

Due August 2024

Email

Do you want to invite a journalist or partner to join in or make some noise about the launch of Wiki Loves Africa 2024? Here are some draft outreach messages to help get you started.

Approaching Partners or Allies

Subject: Join Wiki Loves Africa as it visually celebrates [country] on Wikipedia

Hi X,

I am from [AFFILIATE], and I’d like to invite you to join the launch of the Wiki Loves Africa 2024 photo competition – Africa Creates. Wiki Loves Africa is a global effort to rebalance how Africa is viewed online, and visually celebrate every thing that makes up Africa on the world’s largest online encyclopedia. We think this has significant relevance to your organization’s mission. [ADD CUSTOMIZED LANGUAGE HERE.]

There are a number of ways you or your institution can get involved:

Help us amplify the launch of Wiki Loves Africa 2024 from 1st March on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook by using the hashtag #WikiLovesAfrica and #AfricaCreates and sharing a story about Wikipedia that is meaningful to you. You can also re-tweet messages from @WikiLovesAfrica, @WikiAfrica and [AFFILIATE SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT].
Join us for any of these Wiki Loves Africa-focused [AFFILIATE EVENT]. Volunteers will be available to train your institution on how to upload and share images on Climate and Weather and how to add these images to illustrate articles on Wikipedia.

[YOUR SUGGESTION HERE]

If you are interested in learning more, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Thank you,

[NAME]

Pitching the Media

Subject: Wiki Loves Africa launches 1st March 2024

Hi X,

March 1st is the launch of the annual Wiki Loves Africa photo competition. The theme focuses on images of Africa Creates. Each year Wiki In Africa and [AFFILIATE NAME or simply Wikipedia volunteers] launch this global effort to rebalance how Africa is viewed online, and visually celebrate every thing that makes up Africa on the world’s largest online encyclopedia.

We’re hosting an event on [DATE]. We would like to invite you to learn more about Wiki Loves Africa and the power of images online. It is also an opportunity to learn more about Wikipedia, its engaged volunteer community, and our mission of making knowledge – especially African knowledge – and information available to everyone.

Let me know if you’re interested in joining our event or learning more about other events planned around one of Africa’s largest photographic competitions. We’d be happy to share more information with you!

Thank you,

[NAME]

Summarising the Event

On the 1st March is the launch of Wiki Loves Africa, an annual visual celebration of Africa online via Wikipedia. This year, one of Africa’s largest annual photographic competitions is focusing on Africa Creates. (Usergroup / community name / affiliate) will be launching this contest by (a short description of what you intend to do), for/to attract (describe your audience).

Example: On the 1st of March is the launch of Wiki Loves Africa, an annual visual celebration of Africa online via Wikipedia. This year, one of Africa’s largest annual photographic competitions is focusing on Africa Creates. Wikimedia South Africa will be launching this contest in South Africa by increasing awareness in the press on the need to improve African content, and to attract South African photographers who would like to contribute to Wikipedia and win prizes.

Invitation

Hello,

My name is (your name) and I am a volunteer for Wikipedia (region). On the 1st March 2023 is the launch of Wiki Loves Africa, an annual photographic contest that is a visual celebration of Africa online via Wikipedia. (Usergroup / community name / affiliate) invites you to join our (event type), taking place on (date) at (time); where we will be (activity).

Click here (link to details of the event) learn more about our event.

To RSVP, please (state preferred method)

Be Social!

Make some noise on social media about Wiki Loves Africa 2024 - Check out the Social Media Guidelines to find out how!

Talking about Wikimedia: Branding and communications guidelines 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: