Celebrating Success and Looking Forward: #SheSaid Campaign 2024 Recap

The #SheSaid campaign, launched in September 2024, has officially concluded its 5th edition. This Wiki Loves Women initiative by Wiki In Africa celebrates women leaders globally by amplifying their voices through the creation and enhancement of Wikiquote entries, making their thoughts, ideas, and speeches accessible to audiences across all languages.

A Landmark Year for #SheSaid

This edition was a record-breaking achievement, setting new benchmarks for the campaign’s impact. With 19 languages now participating (Arabic, Banjar, Bengali, Central Bikol (bcl) and Tagalog (tl), Dutch, English, Fante (Incubator), French, German, Gungbe, Hausa (Incubator), Igbo, Italian, Serbian, Setswana (Incubator), Spanish, Telugu and Ukrainian), this year’s campaign expanded its linguistic and cultural reach. 

For the first time, four new languages—Banjar, Fante, Setswana and Dutch—joined the campaign, ensuring that even more voices could be represented.

The success of this edition was made possible by the tireless efforts of organizers, editors, and contributors who worked behind the scenes. Special recognition goes to those who participated in our interviews, shared their insights on meta talk pages, and contributed to the campaign’s strategic direction. Their collective efforts ensured that #SheSaid 2024 was not only a success in terms of numbers but also in its ability to inspire and empower communities globally.

Results & Impact

The 2024 edition produced remarkable outcomes, with record-breaking results showcasing the power of collective effort. Setswana emerged as the top contributor with 3,039 new or improved articles. Hausa secured second place with 1,921 new or improved articles, while English took the third place with 1,592 new or improved articles and Igbo had the fourth place with 1436 new or improved articles.

The campaign’s success is not just in the numbers but in the profound impact of its work. A total of 11,029 articles (10,091 new and 938 improved) were created across 19 language Wikiquotes.
These milestones represent the global collaboration of 18 communities: Global WikiEducation Initiative, Wikimedia UAE, Maghreb Region, Fante Wikimedians Community, Igbo Wikimedians User Group, WikiDonne User Group (itwq page), Wikimedia Community User Group Sénégal, Wikimedia Community User Group Kenya, Wikimedians of Cameroon User Group, Wikimedians of Democratic Republic of Congo User Group, Wikimedia Serbia, Wikimedia Ukrain, Wikimedia Togo, Wikimedia Tchad, Wikimédiens du Bénin User Group, WikiAdvocates Philippines, Hausa Wikimedians User Group, Wikimedia Community User Group Botswana, the dedication of volunteers, and the importance of documenting women’s voices in diverse languages.

Recognizing Community Leaders

Before highlighting the exceptional leaders who drove this campaign, we want to take a moment to thank all the leaders and participants who contributed to #SheSaid 2024. Your dedication, passion, and hard work have made this campaign a resounding success. 

At the heart of this campaign are the exceptional leaders whose dedication has driven its success. Special acknowledgments go to:

• Lydie, member of the Wikimedia DRC User Group, for her remarkable engagement and her work in documenting the campaign in the DRC. Her efforts have been instrumental in ensuring that local women leaders are represented and celebrated.
• Nanour (Wikimedia Libya), for her inspiring leadership in strengthening and amplifying the representation of women in the Arab community through organizing #SheSaid in the Maghreb region.
• Bashir (Nigeria), for his continued dedication and leadership, spearheading the Hausa community’s participation for the second consecutive year.

Thank you to all the leaders and participants for making #SheSaid 2024 was a resounding success. Your efforts illuminate the path toward an inclusive, diverse, and empowered future for women worldwide.

For deeper insights, be sure to read the interviews with various organizers, WMF staff, and co-founders of the campaign, shedding light on their experiences and inspirations.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

Compared to previous years, tracking results during the 2024 #SheSaid campaign was much smoother, thanks to the use of improved tools, standardized hashtags, and organized lists. These enhancements made it easier to monitor contributions and measure the campaign’s impact.

However, some challenges persist. One challenge was tools (as usual…) in particular to track production on the quite active English wikiquote (queries would time out given the amount of data to analyse, requiring to be a bit creative to collect results). More importantly, while many languages showed remarkable progress, a few had weaker results or did not produce articles at all. This highlights the need to provide additional support and motivation for these communities to ensure broader participation and impact.
Looking ahead, our plan for next year includes targeted strategies to engage these communities, foster stronger contributions, and encourage more language groups to join the movement. This is an open call to all communities—prepare to join us in making the 2025 #SheSaid campaign even more inclusive and impactful!

Looking Ahead

As we close the chapter on the 2024 edition of #SheSaid, we do so with immense gratitude and renewed motivation. Exciting collaborations are on the horizon for 2025, including the #SheSaid session with Art+Feminism in March 2025, which promises to be a vibrant collaboration.

Together, we will continue to build an inclusive future where women’s contributions are celebrated and accessible in every language and community.

#SheSaid… Give Her A Voice!

Don’t forget to follow us on social media:

• Website: www.wikiloveswomen.org
• Twitter: @Wikiloveswomen
• Instagram: @WikiLovesWomen
• Facebook Page: @WikiLovesWomen
• Facebook Group: Mind The Gender Gap
• Telegram Group: WikiGenderGap