From a Scary Moment to a Daring Moment: My Wikimedia Hackathon Experience

Walking into the Hackathon room (Turkana) at the Wikimania 2025 in Nairobi felt like stepping into another world. The air buzzed with energy. Laptops lined the tables, screens flickered with lines of code, sticky notes filled with sketches of ideas were scattered around, and clusters of people leaned over in deep conversation.

Meanwhile, I stood at the entrance, clutching my notebook, with one burning question in my mind: “What can you possibly do here with no IT background?” For a moment, it felt overwhelming. A voice in my head whispered, “You’re about to confuse yourself and get lost in technical jargon.” But then another, stronger voice pushed back: “You can learn something here. You can contribute in your own way.” That daring inner spirit won, and what unfolded became one of the most rewarding experiences of my Wikimedia journey.

Finding My Place Among the Techies

My first dose of courage came from the Hackathon leads during the Newcomer briefing session. One of them said something that immediately stuck with me: “Even if you don’t write code, you can help document tools, test them, translate them, or simply share feedback. Hackathons are not about who types the fastest; they’re about who helps the movement grow.”

Those words landed like a lifeline. Suddenly, the room didn’t look as intimidating anymore. Instead, I began to see it as a space where every skill mattered, including mine.

My Aha Moment with TranslateWiki

Before I went to Nairobi, and as a digital language activist, I had been active on translatewiki.net, guiding many Wikimedians back home in Ghana on how to use it. Still, I never thought of that work as “technical.”

Then came the session by Jon Harald Søby. He walked us through TranslateWiki with a mix of humor and clarity, and I had one of those “aha” moments. “That dollar symbol you keep seeing is not about money,” Jon Harald explained. “It’s part of the translation syntax!” I’m sure many like me would have thought it represented translations for money or currencies. Through his explanations, however, I understand that it is rather a syntax that represents singular, plural, and neutral forms in different languages, and so on.

Another moment that touched me deeply was when it was time for us to try our hands at the translations, and a participant shared their frustration about not having a keyboard with local characters. They had stopped contributing altogether on the translateWiki because of that. Right there, Jon helped them set up their language tilde (~). With just a simple combination of keys, their alphabet appeared on the screen. The participant’s face lit up with pure joy.

It was a small technical fix, but it carried a big message: sometimes what keeps us from contributing isn’t a lack of will, but small barriers that just need a little guidance.

Discovering the Magic of the Content Translation Tool

Another highlight was trying out the Content Translation Tool. Watching English Wikipedia articles flow seamlessly into my own language, Dagbani, felt almost magical. I tested it with a few articles, and within minutes, I realized how this tool could expand content in indigenous language Wikipedias. “This is not just about translation,” I thought. “This is about giving more people a chance to read in the language they dream in.” For someone passionate about language preservation, this tool was more than just software; it was a cultural bridge.

Learning Beyond Code

Of course, the hackathon was buzzing with many other fascinating projects. I may not have been typing codes, but I immersed myself during the hacking periods in conversations about:

•  Human-bot collaborations, where bots act like silent guardians, helping editors keep content reliable.
• Automoderator, a tool that steps in like a watchful editor to stop vandalism before it spreads.
• New ways of making Wikimedia Commons contributions smoother and better organized.
• Creative experiments with offline projects on how Wikipedia could be accessed offline in classrooms in remote areas, a scene that reminded me of rural schools back in Ghana.
• How to set up new language Wikipedias, and many more.

Listening to developers passionately explain their projects, I realized that technology is not just about code and commands; it’s about vision and teamwork.

Lessons I’m Taking Forward

Looking back, here are the lessons I carry with me:

• Don’t be scared of the word “technical.” Many of us are already contributing to technical projects without even realizing it.
• Hackathons are for everyone. A room filled with laptops also needs translators, documenters, storytellers, and community connectors.
• Technology is a cultural bridge. Whether it’s offline access or translation tools, tech can preserve and expand knowledge in every corner of the world.

A Dare Worth Taking

From the nervous moment I stepped into that buzzing room, to the daring moment I tried, asked, laughed, and contributed, the Hackathon changed me.

It showed me that my contribution is not about having a computer science degree,  it’s about having the courage to show up, learn, and add your unique voice to the movement.

So, if you’ve ever felt scared of words like “Hackathon”, “technical,” or developers, let my story be a gentle nudge; step in anyway. You might just discover that you’ve been a “tech contributor” all along.

For me, Nairobi wasn’t just a conference. It was the beginning of my new journey in the Wikimedia Movement, one where I dare, I learn, and I help others do the same. So, if you think Hackathons aren’t for you, maybe that’s the very reason you should join one when you get the opportunity.