Wiki Loves Women/Focus Group/Members
- Wiki Loves Women : Focus Group
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The Wiki Loves Women Focus Group was initially formed in 2021 and consisted of 12 women representing 8 African countries ( Botswana, Nigeria, Sudan, South Africa, Zimbabwae, Kenya, Cameroun and Rwanda) and France. In 2022, the group welcomed two new members from South Africa and Tunisia, expanding its membership. As of the 2023 program, the WLW Focus Group further grew with the addition of 4 new members, making it a more diverse and inclusive community.
In 2024, 12 new members joined the group to attend 30 women from 12 African countries (Botswana, Nigeria, Sudan, South Africa, Zimbabwae, Kenya, Cameroun, Rwanda, Tunisia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Egypt) and France.
Members
Listed below are the members, sorted in alphabetical order, along with their brief biographies.
| Image | Name & Username | Country | Bio |
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Adjovi Essenam FUMEY | Senegal | Adjovi Essenam FUMEY lives in Senegal and has always been fascinated by books, stories and adventures. She holds a master’s degree in Archives and Documentary Engineering from the “Ecole de Bibliothécaires, Archivistes et Documentalistes” (EBAD) of Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar (Senegal). Since 2016, she has worked as a Librarian at a library in Dakar. She is a member at ASBAD (Senegalese Association of librarians, archivists and specials librarians) and AIFBD (International association of francophone librarians and specials librarians). Since 2020, she has participated in the African Librarians’ Week campaign, has trained in editing on Wikipedia and Wikidata and co-organises Wikimedia events in Senegal. |
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Afek Ben Chahed | Tunisia | Tunisian, Librarian and an active member of Wikimedia Tunisia User Group since 2016 after winning the first prize of Wiki Women Tunisia. She co-organised several projects and contests as Wiki Loves Africa in Tunisia, WikiChallenge Ecoles d'Afrique, WikiGap, Art and Feminism, and leaded the expansion project of the ArabCom by creating a new community in Mauritania. She was involved in organising many events as WikiIndaba 2018, Wiki Summit 2019(The visiting Wikimedian), WikiConvention Francophone 2019 and WikiArabia 2019. On 2020, she integrated the board of Wikimedia Tunisia as a vice president. Passionate about heritage, she co-founded Africvs, a youth collective which works on promoting and documenting the Tunisian heritage. |
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Ann Wavinya | Kenya | I am passionate about sharing knowledge with people, mentoring the youth especially women and girls. I am always aspiring to work with organizations that prioritize on women and girls. Previously I have volunteered with some NGO's to work on campaigns about GBV, women's rights etc.. |
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Candy Khohliwe | Botswana | My name is Candy Tricia Khohliwe, I am a long-term editor. I belong to the Wikimedia Botswana Usergroup. I have led two successful Wiki Loves Africa photo contest and a successful Art and Feminism Editathon and panel discussion. I am a coordinator with Wiki Loves Women Focus Group Members initiative. |
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Caroline Mwaura | Kenya | I am a Kenyan Librarian currently in Nairobi Kenya. I am a new member of Wiki Loves Women Focus Group Members initiative in the larger movement of Wiki In Africa project. I recently joined Wiki Loves Women Focus_Group which focuses on contributing towards the UN’s SDG 5 Gender Equity: achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. |
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Carolyn Seaman | Nigeria | Carolyn Seaman is a lawyer with over 20 years’ experience advancing girls' and women’s rights. She is a Social Entrepreneur, Tech Evangelist, Filmmaker, Girl Expert, Founder and Creative Director of Girls Voices Initiative, a non-profit that educates and empowers girls and women to identify their voices to advocate for their rights; and to use technology and digital media to amplify their voices to wide audiences, particularly policymakers. Carolyn is a TechWomen Fellow, Women Leader of the World Fellow, World Pulse Ambassador and Advanced Digital Changemaker. Carolyn was named on the 2021 FemiList 100 women, 100 Most Influential Civil Society Leaders in Nigeria, 107 Gender Justice Advocates, Top 21 Women Leaders to Watch in 2021, Humanitarian Awards Global’s Most Distinguished Women Change Maker in Africa 2020–2021, Nigeria’s 20 Most Innovative Women in Tech, 50 Most Outstanding Female Pacesetters in Africa, Nigeria’s 100 Women in Tech and 5 Most Innovative Women in Tech in Nigeria. |
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Clementine Nyirahabihirwe | Rwanda | I am Clementine Nyirahabihirwe, a Rwandan woman of 36 years old, I hold a Bachelor’s degree at National University of Rwanda, in the faculty of Economics and Management, Economic department.
I am a member of the Wikimedia User Group Rwanda, and I am one of the 4 founders of User group Rwanda, I act as General secretary in the executive team. I have been a member of the Rwanda User group since 2019. I organized and coordinated: Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos Campaign 2020 in Rwanda (WPWP), Rwanda Movement Strategy Discussion, Visible Wiki Women in Rwanda and as we work as a team. I also participate in implementation of other project like Wiki Loves Monument, Wiki Loves Africa, Wiki Loves folklores, etc. Before that, I worked for different NGOs as project manager. I used to be in charge of different projects which were mainly children and women development focused. |
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Eliane Dominique Yao Sigan | Ivory Coast | I'm Dominique Eliane Yao, Communications and Public Relations specialist, member of Wikimedia Côte d'Ivoire, leader of the Wikimousso project, a project to produce and enhance Wiki content on Ivorian women notables. I'm also President of the Board of Directors of Wikifranca, the network of French-speaking Users Groups and Chapters of the Wikimedia movement. |
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Faith Mwanyolo | Kenya | I am a computer science student at Riara University located in Nairobi, Kenya. Nationality: Kenyan.
I began to take an interest in Wiki projects about a year ago and have so far organized a WikiGap event at my university, attended the Wikimania Conference in Cape Town among other things. I have a vision to grow the Wikipedia Community in my country as it is almost non-existent. Promotion of open education will go a long way to promote digital literacy in my country. I aim to introduce as many people as I can to this concept and also the idea of adding content and writing articles on Wikipedia. |
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Fatima Oury Sow Gueye | Senegal | I am Ourytima, a Senegalese and a passionate librarian who fights for access to information and advocacy for the valorisation of libraries. I contribute in the Wikimedia project since 2020 and I'm proud to have joined this movement, where I'm learning so much every day and working with such an exceptional community. I'm happy to share what I've learnt in the movement so that, together with my colleagues, we can build a strong and influential Wikimedian community in Senegal to fight against the under-representation of Africa and women in Wiki projects. |
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Florence Devouard | France | I was born in Versailles (France). I grew up in Grenoble, and have been living since then in several French cities, as well as Antwerpen in Belgium and Tempe in Arizona.
I am an engineer in Agronomy (ENSAIA and also hold a DEA in Genetics and biotechnologies (INPL). I have spent a while in public research (INRA), working in flower plant genetic improvement, later in applied research, in microbiology, to study the feasibility of heavily polluted soil bioremediation. I spent some time in Tempe University (Arizona), following courses in computer science and civil engineering. After a break to take care of my first two kids, I joined a small french firm, Quantix Agro, whose activity was related with decision tools, in finances, insurance, agriculture and agri-business. My part was in the agri-business, and I mostly worked to conceive decision-making tools in sustainable agriculture. Unfortunately, my firm had to stop activity at the end of 2005. As of late 2020, I am 52, and live in Marseille. A few (rather old) picts. My kids are sometimes featured in some wikimedia projects. The last one is hidden somewhere in the Wikibooks on photography. |
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Goodness Ignatius | Nigeria | Goodness Ignatius is from Nigeria and a dedicated member of the Igbo Wikimedians User Group. As a librarian, she has a passion for sharing knowledge and promoting learning, which has led her becoming an active contributor to various Wikimedia projects, including Meta-Wiki, Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikicommons, and Wikiquote. Since joining Wikimedia in 2020, she has co-founded the Ig Wiki Librarians Hub, which is committed to fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing among librarians and information professionals in the Igbo community in Nigeria.
In addition to her work with the Ig Wiki Librarians Hub, she's also involved in several other Wikimedia groups and initiatives, including the Leadership Development Working Group, Wiki Loves Women, LD4 Wikidata Affinity Group, amongst others. As a strong believer in the power of collaboration and sharing, she is committed to encouraging others to get involved in Wikimedia projects and to help create a more inclusive and diverse knowledge ecosystem. |
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Isla Haddow-Flood | South Africa | I live in Cape Town, South Africa and am a proudly African Wikipedian, and initiate projects to further the WikiAfrica movement across Africa. From 2013 to 2014 I was a member of the board of Wikimedia ZA. |
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Lucy Iwuala | Nigeria | I am a language professional and holds a degree in English and Literary Studies. I'm very passionate about indigenous language advocacy and as such, advocate for indigenous language revitalization and digitization. I am an ardent believer of equal opportunity to every individual not minding the class, gender, race, etc. |
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Maab Hussien Mohamed Elfaki | Sudan | Im Sudanese, graduted from development program and I established a voluntrey work since 2018 to Sudan war in April 2023 and I am Arabic writing contact. |
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Maram Ali Ahmed | Sudan | I am Sudanese wikimedian, and a researcher in Material Science and Physics lecturer. One of the co-founders and program officer of the Sudanese user group that is concerned about increasing and improving the Sudanese content on Wikimedia projects. I worked in several Wikimedia projects as WikiGap, Wiki Loves Africa, SheSaid and other local projects. I am new member to the focus group and happy for this experiment. |
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Mariam Keita | Guinea | I joined the Wikimedia movement in 2020, and since then, I have generally been working on articles about women with the hope of addressing gender bias on Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikimedia Commons. The She Said campaign led me to Wikiquote, one of the projects that highlights women, which I immediately liked and explored. |
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Minette Lontsie | Cameroon | I am a trained journalist, entrepreneur and wikimedian from Cameroon. I am passionate about creating content for Africans and filling the content gap about Africa on the internet, with a strong interest in arts and culture, gender equality, photography and IT. I started contributing on Wikimedia projects in 2016 after participating in the WIKIMOOC in February 2016. Member of the Wikimedians of Cameroon User group since 2017.
Some projects have participated in :
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Morleen C Bortman | Zimbabwe | Always leave the world in a better way than you found it. I am 58 years old. I am Reference Librarian at a university library in Harare, Zimbabwe. I am a holder of an Honours Degree in Library and Information and Information Science. My passion as a reference librarian is to serve and satisfy my users` information needs be it physically or electronically. I love to engage my users to fully understand their information needs.
I joined the Wikipedia Cohort 1 Group in February and started my journey as new Wikipedian. I have joined the Wiki Loves Women Focus Group and would want to put my community on the Wikipedia global map through engaging in various Wikimedia projects and campaigns. My passion is to make my community better in all possible ways and Wikimedia provides this opportunity in many ways through its many programmes. |
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Nonny Ntlahla | South Africa | A young Social Dynamics graduate and currently an enthusiastic Health and Fitness student completing their Diploma. Born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, Nonny is extremely passionate about the integration of Mental Health and Sports/Physical Exercise, and what that can do for social and community development. She is currently working as an Administrative Assistant for the Wiki In Africa Organisation and seeks to develop and learn skills that may be useful in aiding her passion and love for Mental and Physical Health. |
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Ola Mahadi | Sudan | I have been a volunteer with Wikimedia since 2018 on Wiki Gap 1.0. Ever since then, I have been in different work related to Sudan editing mostly and training new users, highlighting the gap in content related to women and the need to write about Sudan by Sudanese. I am co-founder of Wikimedia Sudan User Group in 2020. |
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Oteng Tiro S. Kolobetso | Botswana | My name is Oteng Tiro Sandra Kolobetso, I am a volunteer in wikipedia, I contribute towards competitions and events in aiming to increase content and contrubutions about by country in wekipedia. I am a graduate in BSC (HONS) in Business Information technology. I have worked with the University of Botswana for 2 years as an Information technology officer intern, currently volunteering for the Computer Society of Botswana as a coordinator and for the year 2020 and 2021 I have also volunteered as the co-organizer for the Wiki loves Africa photographic competition, Botswana. I am an enthusiastic, hardworking young woman who is keen to achieve every set goal. |
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Pearl Maatla Melamu | Botswana | My name is Maatla Pearl Melamu from Botswana. I am a library intern at Arthur Portland College here in Botswana. My wiki username is Ms Lito. I belong with the Wikimedia Community Usergroup Botswana. I have participated in different Wikimedia projects but mostly on Wikipedia. |
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Phephile Tshabangu | Zimbabwe | My name is Phephile and i am a librarian and from Zimbabwe. I am also a wikipedian and i enjoy adding and editing content. I joined the Wikimedia family in 2021 and im here to stay!! |
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R Jeanette Nyinawumuntu | Rwanda | Rebecca Jeannette Nyinawumuntu a Co-founder of the Wikimedia Community User Group Rwanda, I am responsible for community engagement and establishing partnerships. My dedication extends to active participation in the Wikimedia Foundation Movement strategy Implementation plan in the Africa Great Lakes region. As an MCDC ambassador, I facilitated the Movement Charter Drafting Committee community conversations. I've been leading the organization of Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM), Wiki for Human Rights, and Wiki Loves Women (WLW) initiatives in Rwanda.
I am a passionate community activist in open data, focusing on underrepresented community growth, governance and advocacy in my volunteer work. Currently pursuing an MSc in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management, as I commit to both academic and volunteer pursuits. |
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Rukaya Hamidu | Ghana | I am Hamidu Rukaya with the Username:Ruky Wunpini, serving as the logistics manager for the Dagbani Wikimedians User Group and also co facilitator for Dagbani Wikipedia Saha(Telecommunication Program seeking to train and recruit more volunteers to contribute to Wikipedia and its sister projects). I am also a local organiser of Art and Feminism events and serves as jury member for my community in contests. In my role as a Digital Language Activist, I actively engage with various Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikivoyage. I am a teacher by profession with the background in management. |
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Tochi Precious | Nigeria | I live Abuja, Nigeria and I'm proudly an African Wikipedian, and initiate projects to further the movement across Africa. I founded a language centre called Smarter Language Hub where I help promote bilingual education and cross-cultural communication. I'm a multi-linguist, lover of Arts and Culture. |
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Sichelesile Similo Ndlovu | Zimbabwe | l am proudly, a new African Wikipedian. I live in the rural area called Matopo, 48 km away from the second largest city Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. l am a passionate school librarian since 2010. I was introduced to Wikipedia in 2020 and started organizing events in my country with the help of Wiki Loves Women focus group. l am open to learning new things everyday. |
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Walaa Abdel Manaem | Egypt | Lecturer, Editor, 1st female admin on the Arabic Wikipedia since 2013; Founder of Wikipedian Light of Knowledge (2019); Art+Feminism Regional Ex-ambassador; Organizer of Female & Art+Feminism Edit-a-thons, initiatives & contest for Arab World (2024, 2023, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018); Organizer of WikiGap/Cairo (2021, 2020, 2018); Organizer of Inter WikiWomen Collaboration for Arab World (2019 & 2018); Organizer of WikiWomen Prize (2015–2016). |
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Zayneb Takouti | Tunisia | With a robust professional background spanning strategic leadership roles such as Chief Operating Officer and GLAM Project Manager, I bring a wealth of expertise in partnership management, event coordination, and strategic planning. My commitment to excellence, coupled with fluency in Arabic, French, and English, empowers me to navigate diverse environments effectively. Outside of work, I engage in community service, travel, and sports, finding enrichment in cultural exploration and volunteerism. I am driven by a passion for continuous growth and meaningful contributions to impactful initiatives. |