Dear Wikimedians,
Join us for the Heritage Month 30-Day Indigenous Language Translation
Challenge this September! Help celebrate South African heritage by
expanding and improving articles across target indigenous language
Wikipedias.
Key Details
-
Dates: 1–30 September 2026
-
Target Languages: isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Setswana, Sepedi,
Xitsonga, isiSwati, Tshivenḓa, isiNdebele, and Afrikaans
-
Daily Goal: Translate 1 article per day on South African cuisine,
customs, clothing, arts, history, or literature.
How to Participate
1.
Add your username to the project page and join the event dashboard:
https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Wikimedia_South_Africa/WMZA_H…
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WMZA_Heritage_Month_30-Day_Translation_Camp…>
(Password: Heritage).
2.
Choose a South African heritage article on English Wikipedia.
3.
Translate it into your target language (using the Content Translation
Tool or manually) and publish.
Training Workshop Learn how to use the Content Translation Tool and
dashboard:
-
Date & Time: Saturday, 29 August 2026 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM SAST
-
Link: Join Google Meet
<https://meet.google.com/xuv-gwfo-ztq?authuser=1&hs=122>
Prizes (Vouchers) Top contributors selected based on translation quality,
completeness, and formatting:
-
1st Place: R5,000
-
2nd Place: R3,000
-
3rd Place: R2,000
Contact info(a)wikimedia.org.za
Kind regards
Wikimedia ZA
Nomfundo Zungu
Communications intern
+2768 0745221
nomfundo.zungu(a)wikimedia.org.za <herschal.jackson(a)wikimedia.org.za>
Dear Wikimedians,
Join us for the Heritage Month 30-Day Indigenous Language Translation
Challenge this September! Help celebrate South African heritage by
expanding and improving articles across target indigenous language
Wikipedias.
Key Details
-
Dates: 1–30 September 2026
-
Target Languages: isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Setswana, Sepedi,
Xitsonga, isiSwati, Tshivenḓa, isiNdebele, and Afrikaans
-
Daily Goal: Translate 1 article per day on South African cuisine,
customs, clothing, arts, history, or literature.
How to Participate
1.
Add your username to the project page and join the Event Dashboard
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WMZA_Heritage_Month_30-Day_Translation_Camp…>
(Password: Heritage).
2.
Choose a South African heritage article on English Wikipedia.
3.
Translate it into your target language (using the Content Translation
Tool or manually) and publish.
Training Workshop Learn how to use the Content Translation Tool and
dashboard:
-
Date & Time: Saturday, 29 August 2026 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM SAST
-
Link: Join Google Meet
<https://meet.google.com/xuv-gwfo-ztq?authuser=1&hs=122>
Prizes (Vouchers) Top contributors selected based on translation quality,
completeness, and formatting:
-
1st Place: R5,000
-
2nd Place: R3,000
-
3rd Place: R2,000
Contact info(a)wikimedia.org.za
Kind regards
Wikimedia ZA
Nomfundo Zungu
Communications intern
+2768 0745221
nomfundo.zungu(a)wikimedia.org.za <herschal.jackson(a)wikimedia.org.za>
Good Day Chapter members,
I hope you’re all having a great week!
This is a friendly reminder that our Community Engagement Meeting is
happening on the 25th August 2026. This is a space for us to connect, share
updates, and discuss our upcoming projects. Your voice is a vital part of
the Wikimedia SA community, and we’d love to see you there!
Meeting Details
WMZA Community Engagement Meeting
Tuesday, 25 August · 7:00 – 8:00pm
Time zone: Africa/Johannesburg
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/vzm-tisq-ztr
Or dial: (ZA) +27 10 823 0707 PIN: 227 788 965#
More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/vzm-tisq-ztr?pin=6497457519147
Link to Agenda:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EsUWplGwGDNEVQnFAzqUJqBsduGQFA8NraM9kak…
Whether you're a long-time contributor or brand new to the movement, your
perspective is incredibly valuable. Grab a coffee or tea, hop online, and
let’s chat about how we can continue to grow free knowledge in South Africa.
Looking forward to seeing you all !
Best regards,
Wikimedia South Africa
Nomfundo Zungu
Communications intern
+2768 0745221
nomfundo.zungu(a)wikimedia.org.za <herschal.jackson(a)wikimedia.org.za>
*[French Below]*
Dear Community Leads/members,
I hope this email finds you well.
During Wikimania in Paris, I had a chance to discuss with a few community
members who expressed their concern and the need to have a discussion on
the use of AI platforms in our community and daily work. These discussions
have been going on in other communities so we think it will be good to have
an overview of our community and the impact AI is causing.
To this effect, we're running a short survey to understand how communities
like yours are thinking about and using AI, and we'd love your help getting
it in front of your members during meetups or
*A couple of things we're hoping you can do:*
1. Share the survey with your community members — it takes about 5 minutes
to complete. Here's the link: *Survey Link*
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeBkEfLmmmpCyKjWv-zMrFEfa55w1x0vWv…>
2. Join a short call (or send a representative) to share your community's
perspective on AI directly. We're aiming to keep it to [30–45] minutes and
planning it for sometime in *mid-september*
If a call works for you, just reply with a few times that suit you (or
point us to whoever on your team would be the right person), and we'll get
something on the calendar.
Thanks so much for considering this your personal and community's input
will genuinely shape what we learn in this study.
*[Français]*
Chers responsables et membres de la communauté,
J'espère que vous allez bien.
Lors de la Wikimania à Paris, j'ai eu l'occasion d'échanger avec quelques
membres de la communauté qui ont exprimé leurs préoccupations ainsi que le
besoin de discuter de l'utilisation des plateformes d'IA au sein de notre
communauté et dans notre travail quotidien. Ces discussions ayant déjà
cours dans d'autres communautés, nous pensons qu'il serait utile d'avoir
une vue d'ensemble de la situation au sein de notre propre communauté et de
l'impact de l'IA.
À cette fin, nous lançons une courte enquête pour comprendre comment des
communautés comme la vôtre perçoivent et utilisent l'IA ; nous aimerions
beaucoup que vous nous aidiez à la faire connaître à vos membres, par
exemple lors de rencontres ou...
Voici ce que nous aimerions vous demander :
1. Partagez l'enquête avec les membres de votre communauté ; elle ne prend
qu'environ 5 minutes à remplir. Voici le lien : *Lien vers l'enquête*
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeBkEfLmmmpCyKjWv-zMrFEfa55w1x0vWv…>
2. Participez à un bref appel (ou envoyez un représentant) pour partager
directement le point de vue de votre communauté sur l'IA. Nous prévoyons
une durée de [30 à 45] minutes et envisageons de l'organiser vers la
mi-septembre.
Si un appel vous convient, il vous suffit de répondre en indiquant quelques
créneaux qui vous arrangent (ou de nous orienter vers la personne la plus
appropriée au sein de votre équipe), et nous fixerons une date.
Merci beaucoup de prendre le temps d'y réfléchir ; vos contributions, tant
personnelles que collectives, façonneront véritablement les enseignements
de cette étude.
Best,
Egbe
Dear Wikimedia Community,
We (Matthew Vetter & Brett Buttliere) are excited to announce a new
initiative focused on external grantmaking and collaboration for Wiki
related projects sponsored by the WMF general support fund (
*G-GS-2509-20319*
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/Ge…>
).
The Basics
The initiative consists of three main aspects:
1. facilitating a cohort-based learning program about grantmaking,
2. creating and sharing a database of Wikimedia related external grants
which can be applied for.
3. finally, we will work to convene collaborative teams for grants where
possible.
The basic idea is that over the learning program (10 colloquium sessions),
participants will choose a grant, develop a project, and apply for that
grant - using the cohort and group both for partnership making and
feedback.
Rationale
While Wikimedia has a rich ecosystem of internal funding opportunities,
funding needs have grown more than WMF makes available, creating a need to
develop external funding opportunities. The Strengthening Wikimedia
Communities Through Shared External Grantmaking Knowledge and Collaboration
project is intended to help make that knowledge more accessible and
shareable across the movement.
Colloquium Sessions
Colloquium sessions will combine short presentations from experienced
grant-makers with discussion and hands-on activities designed to produce
practical outcomes, including project pitches, funding strategies, concept
papers, and proposal drafts.
As a part of that, we wish to invite you to the first session:
STRENGTHEN Colloquium #1: Introduction to the Program and Grantmaking
Fundamentals
📅 September 4
⏰ 4:00 p.m. EET / 2:00 p.m. UTC
💻 Online
Please register to attend:
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:STRENGTHEN1>
*https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:STRENGTHEN1*
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:STRENGTHEN1>
The first colloquium will introduce the STRENGTHEN program and explore the
basics of external grantmaking.
The session will feature a guest presentation followed by discussion and
workshop activities. Whether you have extensive grant writing experience or
have never applied for external funding, we welcome you to join us.
Get Involved
We invite Wikimedia community members, affiliates, organizers, and anyone
interested in strengthening the movement's capacity to pursue external
funding to join us for this first colloquium. Register on the
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:STRENGTHEN1>*meta event page*
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:STRENGTHEN1>.
Sign up for the monthly emails to get updated information about grants and
our program via this
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScD52JQYhYp84H5Id73JCvxHSqpKenC2xH…>*google
form*
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScD52JQYhYp84H5Id73JCvxHSqpKenC2xH…>
.
Share Grant opportunities. To tell us about a grant you think could be
relevant to a Wikimedia project or that you think someone from the Wiki
community should apply for, visit
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScD52JQYhYp84H5Id73JCvxHSqpKenC2xH…>*this
google form*
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScD52JQYhYp84H5Id73JCvxHSqpKenC2xH…>
.
Add your name to the program's landing page on meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/STRENGTHEN>.
We hope you will be able to participate and contribute your experiences,
questions, and ideas to the conversation.
Warm regards,
Nomfundo Zungu
Communications intern
+2768 0745221
nomfundo.zungu(a)wikimedia.org.za <herschal.jackson(a)wikimedia.org.za>
Dear African Wikimedians,
The EduWiki Hub
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_%26_Education_User_Group/EduWiki_…>
is marking its first anniversary this August, and we’re reaching out to the
wider community as part of our one-year evaluation.
We are particularly interested in hearing from African educators,
Wikimedians, affiliates, programme organisers, and community members who
have used or participated in EduWiki Hub services and activities.
This could include joining an *EduWiki Workshop or Knowledge Showcase,
participating in the Mentorship Programme, using our Open Educational
Resources Documentation or Starter Kit, following or contributing to the
EduWiki Newsletter*, or engaging with other Hub activities.
Your experience matters to us. We want to understand what has been useful
to you, where the Hub could provide better support, and what you would like
to see going forward.
The responses will contribute directly to the Hub’s one-year evaluation and
future planning.
The EduWiki Hub Community Feedback Form 2026 takes about *5 minutes* and is
available in *8 languages: English, French, Portuguese, Japanese,
Indonesian, Hindi, Spanish, and Arabic.*
*Deadline: 31 August 2026*
Complete the feedback survey
<https://lime.wikimedia.pt/wmbr/index.php/785865?lang=en>
We’d also appreciate your help in circulating the survey within your *local
communities, affiliates, education networks, and other Wikimedia spaces
across Africa*. Hearing from a broad range of communities will help us
better understand how the Hub’s work is being experienced across different
contexts.
Thank you for helping us reflect on the first year and shape what comes
next.
Best,
Nomfundo Zungu
Communications intern
+2768 0745221
nomfundo.zungu(a)wikimedia.org.za <herschal.jackson(a)wikimedia.org.za>
Good morning Chapter Members,
We will be hosting our next Chapter Meetups on Saturday, 15 August 2026.Our
in-person meetups will occur at the venues below :
Johannesburg at the Goethe-Institute:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_Meet-up_South_Africa/_Joh…
Cape Town at the Max Bagels,One Park Road, Gardens:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_Meet-up_South_Africa/_Cap…
The Meetups will occur from 10:30am to 12:30pm at both venues.All community
members are invited to join us for coffee, a snack and fruitful discussions
around WMZA activities.
Alternatively, community members may join us via Google Meets (links
provided within the respective URLs above).
We hope to see you there.
Kind regards
Nomfundo Zungu
Communications intern
+2768 0745221
nomfundo.zungu(a)wikimedia.org.za <herschal.jackson(a)wikimedia.org.za>
Hello everyone,
It’s time to start shaping *EduWiki Conference 2027*, and we want you to be
part of it.
We invite you to complete the *EduWiki Conference 2027 Community Engagement
Survey*. Through the survey, you can share what you would like to see at
the conference and what would make the experience meaningful to you and
your community.
Your responses will help us make important decisions about the conference
and ensure that community voices are part of the process from the beginning.
*Take the survey:* SURVEY LINK <https://forms.gle/DQ9Lkp52kDoEK3FY9>
*Deadline: 10 August 2026*
Please share the survey within your communities and networks so more people
can contribute to shaping EduWiki Conference 2027.
Thank you for being part of this process.
Best regards,
Nomfundo Zungu
Communications intern
+2768 0745221
nomfundo.zungu(a)wikimedia.org.za <herschal.jackson(a)wikimedia.org.za>