Wikimania 2022/Individual Reports/Nsheila

Welcome back from Wikimania 2022! Please write your report here. Once you have completed the application, please email the link to wikimaniawikimedia.org (by 20 September 2022). If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email us.

Username

How did you attend Wikimania (virtually or in-person)?

As a Wikimania 2022 Scholarship recipient I was honored and  I attended virtually via the Pheedloop, zoom, Jisti and you tube platforms.

What did you spend the scholarship funds on?

I spent the scholarship funds on renting a dedicated space so that I could have uninterrupted participation. I also purchased some computer accessories that is; head phones, Screen magnifier. In addition I spent the funds on purchasing Data and internet infrastructure hardware(MiFi) to facilitate future participation in online events. I also bought stationery to help me take note of important information during the conference for reference.

Takeaways – choose 3 specific Wikimania sessions you attended and describe your key take-aways per session.

Digital Security; This session was very interesting and eye opening on how to work and interact with online digital environments. The digital software's introduced  to us, online identity ideas, password ideas discussed where very educative and assuring while navigating the online space, this boosted my confidence of working and interacting with digital environments. The fundamental take away was to be conscious and take safety precautions while one is using online digital spaces.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Education Partnership Every Child Deserves Every Chance; As an Education enthusiast from Africa this was very interesting session for me as it highlighted the benefits of wikipaedia as an open source tool that can be used to enhance the quality education in my community at a fair cost. The fact that wikipedia can be used at all levels of Education that is primary, secondary, colleges showed its benefits and relevance in the African Education Sector. The takeaways  are wikipedia can be used to enhance the education experience by both students and teacher for example teachers can use it to get updated knowledge for instruction while it can help students develop literacy skills. Secondly it is a platform that can be used to develop 21st Century Skills for all users as its technology based. Wikipedia is a platform that encourages collaboration among various stakeholders in the education sector. This is very applicable in my community and the fact that it can be accessed by anyone at any particular time highlighted the possibility of reducing information gaps among the same school going age hence promoting knowledge equity.   Wikimania Festival  in Esino Lario 2016-2022; It was very fascinating looking at the impact of a single event and its multiplier effect on the community where it was hosted. The very visible changes witnessed like improvement of connectivity, buildings including a primary school to cater for disabled children as they prepared for the event was very inspiring. It was amazing how the event also opened up an isolated small village to the rest of the World. The takeaways included being open to incorporate technology in information service delivery and preservation of heritage of different communities by borrowing ideas on how they use it in the museum. It also helped me understand that it is very possible to "keep the memory of life in the past alive" and technologies of the past by encouraging local studies that can be published under the Open License on Wikimedia. The Legacy created as a result of hosting this event showed that Wikimedia Platform can enhance human experience when used as a platform for sharing different communities stories especially when shared in their indigenous forms. 

How did you connect with other people during Wikimania 2022? How did you celebrate at Wikimania 2022?

I tried to use the various meeting platforms by direct messaging into peoples inboxes during sessions, I also participated in a few lighter talks and fun games and I also maximized the networking feature on the Pheedloop platform. I attended an in person event organized by the Wikimedia User Group Uganda and the final virtual dance event was an opportunity to celebrate Wikimania 2022. 

(Optional) Please share link(s) to your social media post(s) about Wikimania