Hello everyone,
The African Knowledge Initiative
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Africa_Knowledge_Initiat…>
(AKI), seeks to leverage the Wikimedia tools and platforms to breed
innovative solutions to bridging the content gap on global digital
knowledge networks.
This year Open Foundation West Africa’s <http://ofwafrica.org> annual
writing contest the Africa Wiki Challenge was used as an avenue to help
achieve AKI’s goal.
The campaign was named the Africa Day Campaign
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Africa_Day_Campaign_2023> and themed "Africa
Free Continent Trade" to align with the Africa Union Day 2023 theme.
From the Campaign's Program Dashboard
<https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/africa_day_campaign_2023/ov…>,
we tracked a total of 20 Programs, with 473 editors, from 13 countries
contributing to 4000 articles
After months of intense and rigorous reviews by the Africa Day Contest
Jury, we are elated to announce the winners of the Africa Day Campaign 2023.
Congratulations to the winners of the campaign.
Winners
Winner- User:Muhammed Idriss Criteria from Nigeria- 502 new articles in
Hausa Wikipedia
2nd Winner - User:Gwanki from Nigeria- 183 new articles in Hausa Wikipedia
3rd Winner- User:Charbel1719 Benin - 75 new articles in French Wikipedia
Top Female Contributor- User:Mercyjamb123 - 66 new articles in Igbo
Wikipedia
We are super grateful to our international jury team who worked
effortlessly to ensure that the winners were identified.
International Jury
User: Azogbonon - Benin
User: Yaw Tuba - Ghana
User: Anani A. George- Ghana
User: Bile_rene - Cameroon
User: Justine Msechu -Tanzania
User: Memoriesghana -Ghana
User: Kwaku Berko- Ghana
To all our partners, local organizers, and editors, we appreciate your
efforts in making this campaign a success.
[image: Africa Day Campaign 2023 (2).png]
[image: AFRICA DAY CAMPAIGN STATS.png]
Kind Regards,
Eugene Masiku
--
Eugene Makafui Masiku,
Communications Officer
Open Foundation West Africa
*Tl;dr:* Want to learn how to effectively organize editing campaigns and
events in the movement? Join the beta 2 version of Organizer Lab on
WikiLearn to understand how to organize a global campaign around a topic
for impact area! This year’s Organizer Lab will focus on upskilling
organizers with tools and tactics to run effective campaigns related to
gender and sustainability. Applications
<https://wikimedia.yul1.qualtrics.com/jfe/preview/previewId/7db03f8a-f9a3-4e…>
are
open from *6* - 17 Sep.
Dear Wikimedians,
The Campaign Programs Team
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Campaigns/Foundation_Programs_Team> at the
Wikimedia Foundation is excited to announce Version 2 of the Organizer Lab
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/09/22/join-the-organizer-lab-beta/>. This
call is open to all Wikimedia community organizers with local organizing
experience who embrace the potential of the Wikimedia movement to mobilize
around Topics for Impact
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme…>
and
are ready to enhance their international organizing skills.
Why an Organizer Lab?
Campaigns and other topic-based calls to action have greatly influenced the
Wikimedia movement. However, organizers consistently report challenges in
designing programs that effectively engage and retain new and experienced
contributors who meaningfully address knowledge gaps and continue
participating in movement activities.
In 2022, during the Beta version of the Lab, we tested the curriculum for
the course to better understand how to train organizers to run events that
fill knowledge gaps related to topics for impact. We know that training and
access to organizing skills help organizers become more involved and
effective at building Wikimedia communities through tactics like campaigns.
Initial evaluation of the Beta version of the Course was positive:
Participant feedback described the course material as very helpful in
building confidence in their organizing practices and ability to support
other organizers. Furthermore, analysis of the organizing activity from our
first 21 graduates indicates that Lab graduates are running more effective
content-creating events.
What’s new?
The Organizer Lab provides a structured path for organizers to enhance
their abilities, and learn how to design campaigns and effective calls to
action that address two strategic knowledge gaps: namely climate &
sustainability, and gender (new addition). Importantly, participants can
apply these skills to other topics for impact areas.
This year we are further testing the learning material with a second,
larger cohort and an additional topical focus on Gender. The goal is to
refine and strengthen the learning so that we can make public the course
materials in the future for use across the movement, as part of larger
Learning and Development opportunities on WikiLearn. We are also offering
the course in one additional language (Spanish!) and expanding our target
audience beyond Sub-Saharan Africa to Latin America.
What can I expect from the Lab?
The Organizer Lab is a 12 week online learning experience that will run
from early October to mid-December 2023. Participants will refine their
skills in designing strategic calls to action for prioritized knowledge
gaps, along with general Wikimedia organizing and campaign/event design
skills.
Participating organizers will leave the course with:
-
A strong understanding of how to develop a locally relevant topic list
for a knowledge gap-focused campaign.
-
A process for identifying suitable local audiences and organizations for
activation and recruitment.
-
Familiarity with effective event design tactics, tools, and newcomer
engagement strategies.
-
A scalable project proposal for events or projects related to global
campaigns on Earth Day and Women’s History Month, as well as other regional
and international campaigns.
Only 50 spots are available for the course, and not all qualified
applicants can be accepted. While movement and organizing experience will
help determine qualification, we will use a lottery system to ensure that
factors such as geographic representation (with a focus on Africa and Latin
America, although other regions may also be considered based on certain
criteria), and gender diversity in order to create a more equitable and
diverse cohort.
Apply now or learn more
To apply to join the cohort, please read the instructions on Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Campaigns/Organizer_Lab>, where you will
find: an application form
<https://wikimedia.yul1.qualtrics.com/jfe/preview/previewId/7db03f8a-f9a3-4e…>,
important dates, and general guidance. You are also invited to read about
the projects of the grantees
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/04/13/inaugural-edition-of-the-organizer-la…>
from
the last cohort. If you missed our session at Wikimania you can watch the
recorded version here. For any queries reach out to the team at
campaigns(a)wikimedia.org.
Best,
--
Felix Nartey
Senior Program Officer, Campaigns
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>