Launch of Anufↄ Language Wikimedians and Edit-a-thon Contest

Background

Wikipedia is a free, multilingual, open-source online encyclopedia hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. It’s a collaborative project where anyone can contribute to or edit articles, making it a dynamic and constantly evolving resource. Languages are encouraged to have their version of wikipedia that would serve as a digital tool to preserve and to give audience to the majority of people who want to read and/or express themselves in their indigenous languages. Anufↄ language speakers who are densely populated in Chereponi and its surrounding communities were introduced to wikipedia through the wikimedia incubator so  they could  contribute collaboratively to the Anufↄ version of Wikipedia. The project aimed to launch Anufo Language Wikimedians Community and to introduce participants to Wikimedia especially Wikipedia and translatewiki from the underrepresented communities through a structured series of activities including training, edt-a-thon contest, consistent follow-up with participants and recognition through awards. The project also aimed at archiving  the cultural heritage of the Anufↄ people. The project took place both virtually and in-person across Anufↄ Language speaking communities.

Publicity

There were series of publicity on the training workshop slated on Saturday, 17th May, 2025. Physical propagation and social media platforms were harnessed to bring to attention interesting participants who are passionate of digitizing their cultural heritage on wikipedia and its sister projects.

The publicity took about 3 weeks before the event during which there were preparations and organisation of resources for the meet up at Chereponi Community Center. The venue was changed upon arrived for the programme on the scheduled date due to situations beyond the control of the organisers. Nevertheless, the programme went on successfully without serious hindrances.

Training Schedule

A comprehensive and realistic training schedule was developed for tracking progress and to guide the physical training session. This was crucial for achieving the goals of the programme and also optimze time and resources.

Training of Participants

A physical training was conducted to equip participants with foundational and practical knowledge about Wikipedia and its sister projects. The training targeted new editors with no prior Wikimedia experience and were also tailored to the specific needs of each individual. The main hands-on sessions were as follows:

Translatewiki

Participants underwent training on Translatewiki.net on how to localize MediaWiki (Most Used/Most Important messages) in Anufo Language. Participants after being granted translation rights involved in edit-a-thon. Along the way (getting to 50% of translation), Four(4) prolific translators were identified to complete the translation for consistency reasons. At the end, 587 messages representing 100% of the Most Important messages on translatedwiki.net were translated (check completion) 

Wikimedia Incubator

Participants were introduced to the Wikipedia and wikimedia incubator. Aside, they were assisted to create their accounts and user pages. They were also guided on how to translate, insert databox, reference and general editing of articles to get them to standard articles comparable to their English language versions. The edit-a-thon was the centerpiece of the project to allow participants to contribute earnestly. About (55) articles were selected for the edit-a-thon contest which spanned for 4 weeks (15th May – 15 June, 2025) during which participants were encouraged to create or improve Wikipedia articles around themes such as Regions in Ghana and their capital towns and other articles of public interest. After the contest, forty (55) representing 100% of the selected articles were created to standard articles on the wikimedia incubator by about 30 editors altogether.

 Inclusion

The training reached out to the youth, people living with disabilities, linguistic minorities, low-income communities and everyone in Chereoponi and its environs helped ensure access to technology and translation support.

Gender Sensitivity

The project committed to achieving gender balance in all aspects including equal representation in training and facilitation teams and more importantly a safe space policy during all interactions and encouragement.

Social Connections and Community Building

The project facilitated social bonding and peer learning during ice-breaker sessions and at the end of the programme. Social media platforms also enhanced social connections.

Follow-up and Encouragement

Engagement Strategies

To ensure retention and continuous learning, the following follow-up mechanisms were implemented:

• Real-time support via WhatsApp
  
• Phone calls to assist struggling volunteers
  
• Mails to encourage participants
  
• Peer mentorship: Pairing experienced editors with new ones
  
• Progress tracking dashboards: Allowing participants to see their contributions and milestones

Awarding and Recognition

Participants were recognized in the following categories:

• All participants received sourvinirs (branded T-shirts)
• Four main Translatewiki contributors (shopping vouchers)
• Wikimedia Incubator (Article writing contest)
  • 1st Place (contribution by bytes)
    
  • 2nd Place (contribution by bytes)
    
  • 3rd Place (contribution by bytes)
    
  • Best Female (contribution by bytes)
• All contributors with signifiant contributions received data allowance

Awardees for Test Wiki Contributors

• First Place Contributor (by bytes) = Joseph Peter Yaw-kan (Mr.) (User: Yaw-kan)
• Second Place Contributor (by bytes) = Yellendi Moses Kwame (User: Avenger1993)
• Third Place Contributor (by bytes) and Best Female Contributor (by bytes) = Fatahiya Issah Abah (User: Miss Abah)

Acknowledgment

A warm gratitude to Moore Wikimedia Community for founding the Anufo Language Wikimedians group, providing technical support, training and serving as fiscal sponsors to champion the course of the group.