Wiki Naija Names — Wikimedia Commons Training Sessions

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The Wiki Naija Names wikicommons training sessions took place on the 1st and 2nd of November, 2024 with different participants across Nigeria in attendance. The session was moderated by Miracle James, who started by introducing the agenda for the session, inviting the project lead Barakat Adegboye to address the participants after which the moderator introduced the facilitators and the trainer for the day.

The trainer of the day Romeo Lomora proceeded with the training session introducing participants to tools and skills needed to contribute properly to wikicommons addressing questions and ensuring the participants are properly equipped. He introduced the participants to the Audacity App, taught them how to record good quality audios and perform some minor edits on them. Romeo also explained The process of uploading audio files on Wikimedia Commons, using an audio pronunciation of Ebuka, an Igbo given name, that he recorded during the session. He then went on to show the participants how to insert this audio file from Wikimedia Commons to its respective Wikipedia article.

Session Overview

After the introductions, the moderator provided a comprehensive walkthrough of the project’s meta page, and also shared essential information that participants needed to know. After which the moderator invited the project lead to address participants, Barakat Adegboye emphasised on the need for participants to follow the guidelines of the project and provided clarity on the questions most participants asked, her speech was focused on the core objectives of the Wiki Naija Names initiative, which seeks to increase the visibility of indigenous Nigerian names on Wikipedia.

Next, Romeo Lomora commenced a practical training session on how to effectively contribute to Wikicommons starting with a detailed training on how to use the recording tool . Participants were guided through key processes, including how to navigate audacity, create new recordings, and utilise its various features, ensuring they understood how to contribute meaningfully to the campaign.

Practical Session

Romeo Ronald Lomora led a training session on Recording and Uploading Pronunciation Audios to Wikimedia Commons, highlighting the importance of pronunciation audio for language preservation and cultural accessibility. He emphasised that by creating recordings, participants will help in making language learning more engaging and accurate, especially for languages of underrepresented communities.

The session covered:

  • Setup for High-Quality Recording: Romeo recommended using good equipment (microphone, headphones) and record in a quiet environment.
  • Recording Process: Participants learned to use Audacity or mobile apps to record clear and concise audio clips, with tips on speaking naturally and keeping recordings short and comprehensible.
  • Basic Editing: Romeo demonstrated simple editing in Audacity, including trimming and normalising volume for a more polished result.
  • Uploading to Wikimedia Commons: He guided participants on uploading their files, ensuring they save them in .ogg format and fill out clear and concise metadata (title, description, category, licence).
  • Final Check: He stressed the importance of reviewing uploads on their Commons page to confirm quality.The session closed with a reminder of the impact each recording could have on global knowledge and language preservation, leaving participants motivated and equipped to contribute more

The session closed with a reminder of the impact each recording could have on global knowledge and language preservation, leaving participants motivated and equipped to contribute more.

Day 2: Adding Audios to Wikipedia Articles

The Day 2 of the training session focused on receiving questions and further explaining the recording tool introduced to participants and ways to import these media files for use on other sister projects. Both sessions were aimed at helping participants create quality audio recordings and how to use those recordings to improve articles about indigenous Nigerian names on Wikipedia.

At the end of the second training session, a link to the recording was shared to ensure all participants can be at the same pace. Romeo led the second day’s training, focusing on the aspects of adding those recordings to other sister projects on articles where they are needed.

He also addressed questions and enquiries raised by participants providing 100% clarity in every aspect. By the end of the training, participants were equipped with the necessary skills to begin uploading recordings and adding those recordings to Wikipedia, specifically in adding the pronunciations of indigenous Nigerian names, thereby advancing the goals of the Wiki Naija Names campaign.

Conclusion

With these final steps, the Wikicommons training for the Wiki Naija Names project came to a successful close, marking the beginning of another phase focused on creating more visibility for indigenous Nigerian names on Wikipedia. The training sessions also marked the end of all training sessions for the WikiNaijaNames project.

For those who would like to revisit the session, you can access the training and schedule page [here]. Additionally, if you haven’t already, you can join the campaign by signing up [here]. To ensure you stay updated with all campaign developments, we highly encourage you to join our WhatsApp group for real-time updates and community discussions.

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