New Voices, New Knowledge: September Progress from Niger and South Sudan

The African Wikipedian Alliance (AWA) Digitalize Youth Project 2025 entered September with renewed energy, continuing to build on the peer-led spirit established in August. This month was defined by a strong emphasis on translation as a strategy for overcoming sourcing challenges, alongside onboarding new participants and expanding contributions on Wikidata.

Training and Capacity Building

We hosted two training sessions in September, supported by our regular office hour:

• Wikipedia Article Translation (Peer-led): On 29 August, one of our participants, Gwanki, volunteered to lead a training session focused on using the Content Translation tool to translate articles across languages. With many participants highlighting the lack of reliable references for notable topics since the beginning of the project, this session offered a practical solution. By translating articles already well-documented in other Wikipedias, particularly in French and German, contributors were able to enrich English Wikipedia while ensuring accuracy and verifiability. During the office hour later in the month, participants noted that this approach made their contributions more efficient and rewarding.

• Office Hour (10 September): The month concluded with our regular office hour, where I shared a review of participants’ contributions, discussed challenges, and gathered feedback. The shift toward translation was unanimously seen as a positive development, as it balanced the sourcing difficulties with tangible progress on high-quality content.

September Contributions

In total, 40 contributions were made this month across Wikipedia and Wikidata. The focus on translation and new item creation shaped the overall output:

• On Wikidata, 23 items were created
• On Wikipedia, 6 articles were translated from German to English Wikipedia, 2 Nigerien articles were translated from English Wikipedia to Hausa Wikipedia, and 9 articles were improved with new sections, infoboxes, and references on English Wikipedia.

One of the articles translated from German Wikipedia to English Wikipedia is Abdou Hamani; one of the articles translated from English Wikipedia to Hausa Wikipedia is Sawa Shabab; and on Wikidata, here are some of the items created: Boureima Hama and Zekia Musa Ahmed.

Unlike previous months, no Wikidata items were improved in September, as it was increasingly difficult to identify existing items with enough available data for meaningful updates. Instead, the focus shifted to creating new items to broaden the representation of notable individuals and institutions from Niger and South Sudan.

Looking Ahead

September highlighted the importance of flexibility in knowledge creation. By leaning into translation, participants discovered new ways to contribute meaningfully even when references are scarce. With three new editors onboarded and a strong base of peer-to-peer learning, the project is steadily evolving into a collaborative and resilient community.

In the coming months, we will continue to:

• Expand our topic list with reliable references
• Encourage more translation across languages to bridge knowledge gaps.
• Support new editors as they integrate into the project’s workflow

Stay connected with our journey by visiting the project’s Meta page. Month by month, we are strengthening a community of editors whose work ensures that the stories of Niger and South Sudan are visible and valued across Wikimedia platforms.