IG community Spotlight-Winners Wiki Science Competition 2023 (April 2024)

As humans, we often need guidance and motivation to continue doing the things that have impact, differently and in better ways.

Belonging to a community and getting involved in conversations within the community helps us to work better, participate and collaborate with like minded individuals who are interested in contributing to open knowledge. The very concept of open knowledge within a Community relies on a culture of open discussions where community members are free to acknowledge fails, celebrate wins, discuss community related issues, weaknesses, strengths and what to do differently for a better movement.

It is against this backdrop that recently, the Igbo Wikimedia Commons Hub Team, sought to engage and encourage new and old volunteers within the user group and across the larger movement with intention to contribute to Wikimedia projects through an open conversation with Community members who have made remarkable contributions via the platform of the Wikimedia Igbo Community, thus a new project was born – IG Community Spotlight.

IG community spotlight

Background

In April 2024, the Igbo Wikimedians Commons Hub began exploring and decided to experiment a new idea on how to celebrate community members who have made outstanding contributions in the Igbo Community and the Wikimedia projects at large. The maiden edition, was agreed to focus on winners of the 2023 Wiki Science competition held in the Igbo community (the first ever).

Highlights

The first edition brought together members of the Igbo community for a night of trivia, panel discussions, question and answer sessions etc. all within the atmosphere of fun, learning and celebration. Winners from the Wiki Science Competition 2023 were invited as guests to share their story with regards to participating and winning the contest organized in 2023. They also shared tips with prospective winners and community members who intend to contribute to Wikimedia Commons and other sister projects.

Highlights of the event include:

• Opening remark by Tochi Precious (co-founder, Igbo Wikimedians user group), who set the tone for an evening of celebration and learning. She emphasized the importance of contributing to the Wikimedia movement and most importantly, improving the Igbo language wiki project. Her words resonated with the audience, setting the stage for an inspiring and fun filled event.
• Trivia session with a quiz to test participants knowledge of Igbo Wikimedia history.
• Panel sessions with invited guests and Community update sessions to keep members abreast of happenings and developments movement wide.

Excerpts from the panel sessions with the Wiki Science Competition winners

Jeremy Ida (user: JeremyIda002): Emphasized the significance of perspective in photography, highlighting its ability to either enhance or detract from an image. His advice is to persist, believe in oneself, and actively seek improvement through training and regularly attending community meet-ups. He encourages leveraging the Wikimedia Community’s myriad opportunities, suggesting that contributors should aim to one day, become organizers themselves.

Solomon Wada (user:Solomonwada): Stressed the importance of research and consistent practice. He suggested going beyond aesthetics to focus on the information conveyed by a picture (telling a story). Solomon opined that maintaining a balance between the desire to win contests and the goals of contributing to open knowledge while keeping in view the values of collaboration and continuous skill development was most crucial to succeeding both as a community member and in the movement in general.Stephanie

Stephanie Ojogbue (user: Stephanie cheks): Stressed the need to utilize mobile devices for photography, for those faced with the challenge of accessing a professional digital camera and emphasized on improving editing skills as opposed to investing in more expensive gear. She suggested incorporating fun into the art and activity of photography. She counseled prospective participants aiming to win to ensure that submitted images are well edited to eliminate distractions and noise.

Suneksiri Aaron (user:SunesksiriAaron): Spoke extensively on the importance of uniqueness in photography. He suggested exploring various options to create standout images of high quality.

GoodyMeraj (user:GoodyMeraj):: Spoke on a shift in perspective, realizing the importance of image quality over quantity. He emphasized a focus on the message conveyed by each picture and the need for good editing skills, even when using a mobile phone for photography.

Key takeaways for the community

• Perspective is crucial in photography.
• Practice consistently to improve.
• Ensure your photos tell a story.
• Strive for Uniqueness and quality.
• Experiment with different shots.
• Continuously improve your skills.
• Collaborate with others.
• Be curious and ask questions.
• Invest in good photography equipment.
• Participate actively and intentionally.

Appreciations

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Igbo Wikimedia Community for funding and fully participating in this event. Additionally, we thank the Igbo Wikimedia Commons Hub admins for bearing the burden of planning, organizing and coordinating all the activities that made the event possible.We also acknowledge all our guest speakers in the persons of, Jeremyida002, Solomonwada, Stephanie cheks, Suneksiriaaron and Goodymeraj, all winners of the Wiki Science Completion 2023.

What next?

Taking into consideration community feedback, it is clear that the Community Spotlight project is here to stay and will gradually become a recurring event with different themes. So before the end of 2024, or perhaps in 2025 there will be another opportunity to meet again for another edition of the spotlight event.

To learn more about the Community Spotlight, visit the subpage on the Igbo Wiki-Commns Hub portal on Wikimedia Commons.