AWA Inclusion and Climate Justice Project: July Recap

We’ve completed the second month of the AWA Inclusion and Climate Justice Fellowship 2025, marking a phase of learning and meaningful contributions. This six-month initiative, led by Code for Africa in partnership with the Norwegian Embassy, is designed to empower individuals to actively contribute to Wikimedia platforms. The fellowship is committed to expanding and improving Wikimedia content on gender equity, LGBTQ+ rights, and climate awareness throughout Southern Africa and neighbouring countries. My specific focus areas are Malawi, Zambia, and Tanzania.

July Trainings Recap

This month, we held two important training sessions to help participants better understand key Wikimedia platforms.

July 11, 2025 – Introduction to Wikidata and Item Creation: 

The training series began with a session led by Rhoda James, introducing participants to Wikidata, a free and open database that supports Wikimedia projects. The session covered the basics of creating items and linking data, helping participants understand how structured information makes knowledge more connected and accessible. It provided a solid start toward reaching the project goals.

July 12, 2025 – What is Wikimedia Commons? Uploading and Licensing Media

The next day, Husseyn Issa, joining us from Tanzania, led a session on Wikimedia Commons. As a Swahili Wikipedia administrator and Program Lead for the Global WikiEducation Initiative, he guided participants through the platform, explaining its role in supporting Wikipedia with media files. The session covered what Wikimedia Commons is, how to upload photos, videos, and audio, and how licenses work to ensure proper use and attribution. This training was especially important for using visual content to document climate justice efforts and local environmental changes.

Office Hours: Addressing Challenges and Fostering Collaboration

Beyond the training sessions, we held a dedicated office hour on July 13th at 5 PM WAT. This session was invaluable as it provided a direct line for participants to voice their challenges and share their experiences with the editing process. It was a fantastic opportunity to address specific questions, troubleshoot technical issues, and offer personalized guidance.

Dashboard Highlights

From the Outreach Dashboard, we observed the following progress:

Between June and July, the AWA Inclusion and Climate Justice Project saw notable progress, with over 27,200 words added and 118 references contributed across 65 edited articles. A total of 465 edits were made by eight active editors, and the articles have collectively garnered 819 views to date. Notable contributions include the creation and improvement of entries such as Gift Trapence, Paul Kasonkomona, Gender Action Tanzania (Wikidata), Happy Mbewe (Wikidata), Environment Africa Zambia (Wikidata), among others.

Challenges Encountered

One of the key challenges during this month was a lack of citations in several edited or newly created articles. Participants often struggled with finding and formatting reliable sources for their contributions. As a result, we are planning:

• A follow-up citation-focused workshop
• Distribution of a quick guide on referencing best practices
• One-on-one mentorship and review sessions for submitted edits

Join Us

• Want to follow our progress or get involved? Here are three quick steps:
• You can also reach out to me via Meta: James Rhoda
• Fill out the Needs Assessment Form to let us know what skills or support you need.
• Register on the Event Meta page.
• Join the Outreach Dashboard to track your contributions.