Empowering Africa’s Wikimedia Tech Talent: Wiki Mentor Africa – First Cameroon Experience

In a bustling co-working space called Tech Chantier in Buea-Cameroon, a group of aspiring technologists gathered with a shared purpose: to kickstart their journey into the world of open-source software development. This was the scene at the Wiki Mentor Africa HackKmer Buea event, a program launched by Wikimedia Igbo to cultivate a new generation of developers from the African continent.

As one of the organizers of this groundbreaking initiative, I witnessed firsthand the energy and enthusiasm that filled the room. Over the course of two days, 20 young developers immersed themselves in hands-on Idea curation, discussions, and collaborative coding tasks — all with the goal of honing their skills and learning how to contribute to Wikimedia’s expansive ecosystem of online and offline projects.

The stakes were high, as Wikimedia sought to address a critical need: diversifying their global community of contributors and ensuring that the knowledge shared on platforms like Wikipedia and Wikidata truly reflects the rich cultures and perspectives of the African diaspora. Through Wiki Mentor Africa, we aimed to break down barriers, empower underrepresented groups, and tap into the vast potential of tech-savvy individuals across the continent.

As the event unfolded, I witnessed transformative moments that encapsulated the program’s essence. Seasoned WMA mentors mentored aspiring coders, guiding them through the process of submitting their first pull request. Participants collaborated on possible ideas to enhance Wikidata’s content classification. And by the end, several attendees had contributed a hand-full of lines of code on the decided projects and membership roles in WMA, embarking on a new chapter in their careers.

This article will take you behind the scenes of the WMA HackKmer Buea event, exploring the motivations, challenges, and successes that shaped this groundbreaking initiative.

Pre-event Preparation

In the weeks leading up to the Wiki Mentor Africa event, the organizing team was a flurry of activity behind the scenes. As registrations poured in from eager developers across the community, we meticulously followed up with each applicant, ensuring their information was accurate and their excitement was palpable. Assembling the event resources — from workspace and backup electricity to t-shirts and swags — became a well-choreographed dance, as we carefully packed and organized everything to make the on-site experience as seamless as possible.

As the event date drew nearer, I embarked on a grueling 6-hour journey from Yaoundé to Buea, the picturesque host city nestled in the foothills of Mount Cameroon. I arrived a day early to begin the pre-event preparations. At the venue, a vibrant co-working space bustling with enthusiastic developers, I liaised with the facility managers, double-checked the event logistics, and ensured every detail was in place. By the time the first attendees arrived the next morning, the stage was set for an unforgettable two-day immersion into the world of open-source development and Wikimedia’s mission.

Day 1

One by one, the attendees introduced themselves, sharing their backgrounds and highlighting the unique skills and perspectives they brought to the table. After a presentation of the day’s program, among the participants was a seasoned Wiki Mentor Africa (WMA) member, who enthusiastically offered to lead a presentation on Phabricator, Wikimedia’s project management tool. With infectious energy, he guided the new contributors through the process of creating, claiming, and commenting on tasks — equipping them with essential knowledge for their upcoming contributions.

The momentum continued to build as we took adeep dive on the MediaWiki action API, exploring example requests and demystifying the technical documentation. Afterwards, the potential project ideas were presented, and the participants engaged in a lively brainstorming session, ultimately coalescing around a single concept. Dividing into frontend and backend teams, they set to work, with a plan to reconvene after every hour to share their progress.

As the day drew to a close, the teams emerged from their focused working groups, eager to showcase their initial prototypes. A group photo marked the end of a remarkably productive first day, setting the stage for even greater achievements in the second day.

Day 2

Day two of the Wiki Mentor Africa event kicked off with the participants diving headfirst into their respective coding tasks. For the next six and a half hours, the frontend and backend teams were immersed in focused work, collaborating remotely and refining the Frontend and backend tools they had conceptualized the previous day.

After the first two hours, the groups reconvened to showcase their progress and sync up on the next steps. Animated discussions ensued as they shared their challenges, triumphs, and ideas for enhancing the project further. Together, we mapped out a plan for continued support and development, ensuring that the momentum generated during the event would carry on long after the participants departed.

As the day wore on, a palpable sense of camaraderie and belonging permeated the room. The attendees were fully integrated into the wider Wiki Mentor Africa community, forging connections and exchanging contact information to stay in touch. The energy was palpable as they celebrated their achievements and shared their plans for future Wikimedia contributions.

As the sun began to set, we gathered one final time for group photos, memorializing the culmination of our two-day journey. Despite the initial plan to wrap up by 4 PM, the participants were so engrossed in their work that we ended up separating close to 8 PM. Weary but invigorated, I immediately boarded a bus bound for Yaoundé, determined to leverage the momentum of the event and begin planning for the upcoming Wiki Mentor Africa hackKmer Yaounde event.

Impact and Outcome

• A tool is currently being completed and hosted which helps address the classification of unclassified Wikidata items
• Most if not all participants showed very high enthusiasm to want to belong and contribute to the Wikimedia technical space under the umbrella of the Wiki Mentor Africa program.
• This event brought more than 20 new contributors to the Wikimedia space who are well equiped and experienced to handle technical requirements in the Wikimedia movement.

Lessons Learned and Future Plans

Some of the few things we gathered as lessons were:

• If these events are planned for like one or two months before, we could gather more experienced participants and why not have a bigger event
• The number of days could be added from two to three or more to have more impact and give participants more time to collaborate

As for future plans, we intend to:

• Setup local activities to keep the WMA participants in Cameroon active.
• organize online mini hackathons and collaborative sessions to enhance support for the projects currently been worked on.
• We also intend to grow Wikidata Cameroon, a group of Wikidata passionate developers and editors to support Wikidata action in Africa.

As the buses left and the co-working space got quiet, I thought about the big impact of those two days in Buea. What started as a plan to get more Africans to work on Wikimedia became a great success. The energy and talent of the young African tech people made it happen. The connections made, skills learned, and projects created will keep making a difference. They will empower more people to work on Wikimedia. It showed the power of mentorship, open collaboration, and supporting the dreams of the young and diverse. The Wiki Mentor Africa event was not just an important milestone, but a glimpse of the future. A future where the knowledge on Wikimedia reflects the vibrant cultures of Africa. achieve in the coming days.

Many Thanks to Igbo Wikimedians User group, Wiki Mentor Africa core team, Fongoh Martin and the entire Tech Chantier team for their support towards organizing and coordination of this event.