The WikiVibrance Project collaborated with Wikimedia communities to celebrate young people’s voices, actions, and initiatives as well as their meaningful engagement in the movement in commemoration of the International Youth Day (IYD) 2022. We recognize that young Wikimedians are part of the about 1.8 billion young people taking action to solve pressing issues in different corners of the world today and as such should celebrate their presence and contributions in building free knowledge on Wikimedia projects.
As part of the exciting activities to mark the commemoration, WikiVibrance spotlighted young Wikimedians seen here who were identified on the basis of commitment to improving/creating articles or led/co-led Edit-a-thons/trainings/campaigns through our social media handles on 12th August, 2022. This was followed by our wikimania session on 13th August, 2022 which featured young Wikimedians from South Sudan, Bangladesh, Rwanda, Ukraine, Kenya, Palestine, Spain, Nigeria, Philippines, Uganda telling stories of their work and that of other young people in their communities.Â
One of the thrilling moments of our wikimania session was the unveiling of the WikiVibrance Logo which was designed by an international artist, Jordan Baker-caldwell. The logo is a picture of a hummingbird inspired by the fact that we come from a community of bird lovers. It exemplifies our youthfulness and strength. It looks at the way we share and pass information to different projects and likens it to the way hummingbirds fly around and pollinate.
In September 2022, we launched a month-long campaign to improve content related to this year’s IYD theme: “Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages” on wikimedia projects. Based on the theme, we focused on improving content on age-related diseases (eg diabetes, stroke, depression among others); youth and adult movements related to human rights; policies/laws/acts related to age discrimination in employment, healthcare; legal working & retirement age; youth exclusion; child labour; youth development; ageism as a whole; women and senior citizens in politics, health, employment sector; health risks posed by occupations taken by youths and senior citizens; child labor and rights; obstacles to employment or human right issues associated with Ageism among others.
In the same month of the campaign, specifically on 30th September, 2022, we had a fascinating social space “Winners’ Call” with the spotlighted young wikimedians, local organizers, WikiVibrance core team members and participants from the various participating communities to share in our impactful work and actions in the Wikimedia movement.
229 young Wikimedians across Arusha, Rwanda, Gurene, Moore, Nigeria and Igbo Wikimedia communities participated in the campaign, creating 1380 Wikipedia articles in Swahili, Gurene, Moore, Igbo, Kinyarwanda, and French. 1,030,000 words, 3650 references, 9040 articles, 342 wikidata items have been added, improved and created as well.
As part of the concluding activities in October 2022, participating wikimedia communities took to various platforms to share their excitement and experiences. This includes the KWASU Fan club radio show, University of Ilorin, Wikimedia Fan Club book spotlighting two members, Wikimedia Imo State Network video account, South Sudan Radio show, and the Philippines publication among others.
Through the International Youth Day 2022 activities, we hope to draw attention to the work of young wikimedians especially in small and emerging communities in growing knowledge on Wikimedia projects as well as demonstrate their capacity on growing knowledge in the digital space by working together to bridge content gaps on this year’s IYD theme on Wikimedia projects. Beyond this, it will demonstrate the role of experienced Wikimedians and its importance to the journey of young wikimedians in the movement.
Recognizing the importance of every young wikimedian in being part of this journey, we hope to reach every young wikimedian in every community in the movement. In November 2022, Wikimedians and people from all around the world are invited to participate in the upcoming Africa Youth Month. You can follow our official social media handles on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook to stay updated.
Call for Applications – Africa Youth Day 2022 Campaign
WikiVibrance is the Africa Knowledge Initiative (AKI) Implementing Partner for Africa Youth Day 2022 campaign, coming up in November, 2022. We are currently receiving application from African communities until 20th October, 2022. Interested communities, affiliates or individuals in or connected to Africa are strongly encouraged to apply.
About WikiVibrance Project
The WikiVibrance Project aims at acknowledging and celebrating young Wikimedians advancing open knowledge through community engagement during international, regional and national youth days in order to create synergies, share knowledge and build capacities to contribute content of selected thematic areas across Wikimedia projects.
The core team members are: Euphemia Uwandu (User:Ptinphusmia), Francesc Fort (User:Taronjasatsuma) Douglas Ssebaggala (User:Douglaseru), Eben Mlay (User:CaliBen), James Popoola (User:James Moore200), and M. Rafiul Bahar Rafi (User:Mrb Rafi)
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