I am Emmanuelle Guebo (username : Manouka), wikimedian and general coordinator of Wikimedia Côte d’Ivoire. After Agadir (Morocco) in 2023, I took part in Wiki Indaba for the 2nd year running, with the 2024 edition (4 – 6 October), in Johannesburg (South Africa), by means of the Code for Africa (CfA) grant.
Like most Wikipedians in Africa, I applied for a Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) grant to take part in WikiIndaba 2024. After this stage, I received a hopeful reply informing me that I was on a waiting list, only to be turned down, much to my dismay.
WMF grant not obtained, CfA to the rescue
I was beginning to resign myself to following the opening of Wiki Indaba 2024 from afar, via the broadcast on Eventyay, when I received a call from Bukola James, the Code for Africa representative. It was a great surprise! She informed me that the African Wikipedian Alliance (AWA) would like to sponsor my participation in Wiki Indaba 2024 to encourage my contribution and support in facilitating the French-speaking community.
It is with honor and eagerness that I have accepted the CfA scholarship. This is to carry the torch of AWA high, of which I am an ambassador for the French-speaking community, and to contribute to the exchanges during Wiki Indaba 2024 on the theme ‘‘United in Diversity’’.
Participation and activities at Wiki Indaba 2024
My presence in Johannesburg at this edition of Wiki Indaba was an opportunity to take part in several enriching sessions, to meet Wikipedians from different backgrounds and, above all, to share good practices with them, while discovering an environment marked by the presence of South African culture.
On behalf of the African Wikipedian Alliance, I took part in the various sessions run by Code for Africa, while at the same time encouraging members of my community on our local channels to take part in the online sessions run by Code for Africa via the Eventyay platform. These sessions were also an opportunity for me to provide logistical support to the CfA team: setting up and maintaining the CfA kakemono, providing the Wiki Indaba 2024 souvenir stand and distributing CfA gadgets to participants.
I also took part as a speaker in the session led by the DRC user group on ‘‘How to implement a capacity building programme for your community: lessons learned from WM DR Congo’’. I shared my experiences as a mentor and trainer during the 2024 campaign in the DRC.
As a wikimedian from Côte d’Ivoire, I also contributed to the enrichment of exchanges at Wiki Indaba 2024, by being a panellist at the session on October 4th, 2024 on the theme of ‘‘Managing Wikimedia User Groups’’ with the contribution of our Wikimedian friends from Morocco.
In my capacity as general coordinator of Wikimedia Côte d’Ivoire, I also worked on organizing the participation of two Ivorian wikipedians at Wiki Indaba 2024. Their expenses were fully covered by the Côte d’Ivoire user group, and my presence at Wiki Indaba helped to finalize the coordination work that had been underway since the beginning of July to ensure the effective participation of the Ivorian user group grant holders.
Emmanuelle and CfA, a growing partnership
My story with Code for Africa began when I met Bukola James at Wiki Indaba 2023 in Agadir. At that first meeting, Bukola enthusiastically explained to me the work being carried out by the Wikimedia movement in Africa and the need to find French-speaking people who could accompany them on this adventure.
The idea immediately appealed to me, because as long as it’s about sharing and contributing to the development of communities, I’m fully committed to the good of the community. I told her that I was willing to make a contribution and we kept in touch.
A month later, I was contacted by Code for Africa to be a panelist at the online meeting on December 6th, 2023 on the theme of ‘‘Establishing better collaboration between African Wikipedians’’.
In March 2024, I was also invited to join the EmpowerHer 2024 Editathon campaign, from March 22nd to April 23rd, 2024, as a Wikipedia trainer. It was an exciting time of sharing knowledge with Wikipedians from different countries and contributing to the production of content on the theme of women in democracy, elections and governance in African Union (AU) countries.
In July 2024, in order to continue to contribute, while supporting AWA and the French-speaking members of the movement, I joined AWA, which is the network of African wikipedians who are agents of change and who work together to strengthen the integrity of information.
Taking part in Wiki Indaba 2024 in Johannesburg as an AWA ambassador was an opportunity for me to understand the involvement and scope of the work I do and the CfA scholarship is recognition of my voluntary work and commitment.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the entire Code for Africa team, especially Amanda Strydom – Senior Programme Manager – whom I was delighted to meet at Wiki Indaba 2024, and the dynamic Bukola James – whom I met again in Johannesburg (South Africa). I would also like to express my gratitude to my user group, whose chairman is committed to working with other communities for the benefit of all.
Emmanuelle Guebo (u:Manouka)
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