Wikimedia Côte d’Ivoire at WikiInaba 2024: 3 lessons from Ivorian participation

Taking part in Wiki Indaba 2024 was more than necessary for Wikimedia Côte d’Ivoire. Beyond the symbolism of the coincidence of our 10th anniversaries, this edition was rich in lessons for the Ivorian community.

Representative participation

Wikimedia Côte d’Ivoire has always been present at face-to-face editions of Wiki Indaba. Already in 2014, when the UG didn’t even have an affiliate yet, 2 Ivorian volunteers were able to be in Cape Town. Then came the 2016-2017 edition in Accra, where we managed to send 5 delegates, including one subsidized in part by us. In 2018 in Tunis, there will be 2 delegates. 2022 in Kigali will see our lowest representation with only 1 scholarship holder. In 2023 in Agadir, there will be 4 Ivorian beneficiaries.Representative participation

It was therefore out of the question for us to be absent from the 2024 edition in Johannesburg, especially as the 10th anniversary of Wiki Indaba coincided with the 10th anniversary of Wikimedia Côte d’Ivoire. We also strongly encouraged our members to apply for Wikimedia Foundation scholarships. We also sponsored 2 Ivorian participants. The icing on the cake is that our Program Coordinator will be awarded a scholarship by Code for Africa, of which she is an ambassador.

A total of 6 Ivorians took an active part in this year’s event, which was held under the banner of “united in diversity”. A theme already reflected in the diverse composition of our delegation. Indeed, our delegation was made up equally of 3 women 🚺 and 3 men 🚹. Similarly, all our UG stakeholders were represented, namely 3 staff, 2 board members and 1 member/active member.

A regional role to play

At Wiki Indaba, we were able to gauge the high regard in which the Ivorian User Group is held by African communities. We were already impressed by the CFA grant awarded to our Program Coordinator for her role as Ambassador. 

Then came requests to take part in panels on cross-cutting subjects, even though our proposals for papers had been turned down. The first panel focused on supporting volunteers to meet the challenges of contributing to Wikimedia projects in Africa. We were invited to share the experience of Fotamana, our Immersion program dedicated to emerging community leaders. After 2 successful editions, the program is now attracting so much interest that some leaders from English-speaking communities would like to see Fotamana extended to language areas other than French.

The second panel focused on the governance models of Wikimedia groups in Africa, where we were also invited to share our experience and point of view. In its 10 years of existence, Wikimedia Côte d’Ivoire has grown from a group of just 10 active contributors to an organization structured around various stakeholders: +300 contributors, 89 members, +20 active volunteers, 11 WikiClubs, 6 working groups, an 8-member board and an 8-member staff. All of this, in a relatively stable environment favoring a focus on the goal of promoting the free knowledge.

Wikimedia Côte d’Ivoire enjoys a high level of esteem and consideration at all levels of the Wikimedia movement. We were pleasantly surprised, for example, by the solemn words of thanks we received at the closing ceremony from Brahima from Guinea-Bissau, on behalf of his community and “the Portuguese-speaking people”.

We are grateful to him, and also to all those who do not hesitate to express their esteem for us in private. Beyond this influence, we are aware of the responsibility that comes with it. That of a more resolute commitment on the regional scene at a time when the restructuring of the Wikimedia movement is more topical than ever. Wikimedia Côte d’Ivoire is committed to making its contribution wherever it is needed, be it regionally, linguistically or thematically.

More resolute commitments.

In concrete terms, we already want to mobilize more on 2 subjects: the integrity of information on Wikimedia platforms and contribution to Wikidata. 

While it’s true that we’ve been talking about these 2 issues for some years now, Wiki Indaba 2024 has been a catalyst for us to consider scaling up our commitment. 

The communications and meetings we had in Johannesburg inspired us and pointed us in the direction of the metholodogies and development opportunities we can activate to make a significant contribution to our local communities. 

So 2025 will be both an experimental and defining year in this respect. See you at Wiki Indaba 2025, for a first assessment!