The Hausa Wiki for Human Rights 2025 project has officially concluded and it exceeded all expectations. The campaign was designed to engage Hausa-speaking communities in contributing to Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikimedia Commons on topics related to human rights, environmental justice, and open knowledge.
We organized events across four states in Northern Nigeria, reaching grassroots participants with hands-on training and awareness sessions. Here’s a breakdown of the journey:Katsina State:
The campaign kicked off on 11 July 2025 at Bishir Babajo Community School, Funtua. Teachers, students, and community members gathered to learn about human rights and how they can be documented on Wikimedia projects in the Hausa language.
On 12 July 2025, we continued at Dalle International School, Shika Zaria. This session focused on basic Wikipedia editing skills and emphasized the importance of writing in local languages for human rights advocacy.
On 19 July 2025, the campaign reached Jakara Central Primary School’s Computer and Entrepreneurship Hall. The vibrant turnout included youth leaders, teachers, and volunteers. Participants received hands-on editing guidance and explored the role of Wikimedia in preserving knowledge.
The next day, 20 July 2025, we were warmly welcomed in Malam Madori town at the Community Computer Center. Despite being in a more rural area, the event saw enthusiastic participation, highlighting the growing interest in open knowledge even in remote communities.
On 23 July 2025, we hosted an inclusive online meeting and contest launch via Google Meet. This session catered to those who couldn’t join the physical events. The virtual meet-up introduced the project, guided participants on how to edit in Hausa, and officially opened the writing contest.
All events were facilitated by experienced Hausa Wikimedia contributors: Smshika, Hauwa’u, Mahuta, and Gwanki. Their leadership ensured consistent quality and participant engagement throughout the campaign.
We are proud to say the project reached far beyond our expectations. From high turnout and vibrant discussions to the number of articles improved and new editors recruited this campaign made a real impact. Many attendees expressed excitement at being part of something meaningful and learning how to amplify local knowledge.
One key takeaway was the importance of inclusion linguistic, geographical, and digital. Participants who had never heard of Wikimedia before now understand its power, and many are already contributing to Wikipedia in Hausa.
This is just the beginning. The contest continues, and the energy sparked in these sessions lives on in every article, image, and data entry made by our community.
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