Building Communities, Creating Impact: Africa Wiki Challenge 2025

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Kwameghana(Bright Kwame Ayisi), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana’s independence movement, spearheading the nation’s transition from British colonial rule to a self-governing republic. He served as Ghana’s first Prime Minister (1952-1960).

This year marked the fifth edition of the Africa Wiki Challenge (AWC). This year’s theme, ‘Reclaiming our Narrative: Justice for Africans and the Diaspora through Reparations, ’ aimed to address the historic injustices of colonialism, slavery, and systemic exploitation while advocating for reparations for Africa and its Diaspora. The contest ran from 25th May to 31st July 2025, engaging organisers, contributors, and knowledge activists across the continent and beyond.

The pan-African contest, for this year,  had 17 organisers drawn from Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Botswana, Tanzania, The Gambia and Burundi. The organisers put together training and editing sessions in their home countries, encouraging contributions from around the continent to amplify African voices, perspectives, and content online. A primary objective of OFWA is to enhance visibility and raise awareness of the open movement across Africa, while advocating for and educating on the impact of leveraging open tools for national development, particularly in the educational sector. Through initiatives such as the Africa Wiki Challenge (AWC), we foster the establishment of new communities within the open movement. This year, for example, an open community in The Gambia was created, to foster collaboration and enable nationals in those countries to embrace the opportunities it offers for personal, community, and national development. 

The campaign achieved remarkable results. This year, 1,331 editors participated in the Challenge, representing an increase from 1,230 participants last year. Collectively, contributors created 8,830 new articles—2,000 more than the previous year; edited 11,798 existing articles, and translated into 17 languages, 3 more than the 14 recorded in last year’s Challenge. The languages included Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Twi, Fante, among others, with French being introduced this year. Furthermore, 701 media files were uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, enriching the visual and cultural documentation of the reparations theme.

Esthee2010, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Elmina Castle is a fortified castle in Elmina, Ghana, that is thought to be the oldest surviving European building in Africa, south of the Sahara. The castle served as a holding point for enslaved Africans before they were shipped across the Atlantic.

It is evident from the figures that the Challenge has seen a significant increase in participation from last year’s edition. The increased participation demonstrates the reach and interest in participating in the challenge. These contributions enhance the quality as well as expand knowledge surrounding the theme from an African vantage point. Some of the  community groups and hubs that participated include:

At the end of the contest, a call for jury resulted in the selection of a jury, to assess the contributions, for the selection of the winners. The jury’s work spanned from 11 August to 11 September 2025, ensuring a thorough review of the contributions. Following a month of careful assessment, the winners of this year’s Africa Wiki Challenge have been selected.

The winners of this year’s Africa Wiki Challenge are as follows:

  • Overall Winner: User: Sirjat, Nigeria
  • First Runner-Up: User: Muhammad Idriss Criteria, Nigeria
  • Second Runner-Up: User: Pharouqenr, Nigeria
  • Top Female Contributor: User: KISUMAR123, Ghana
  • Best Commons Upload:User: KwameGhana (Bright Kwame Ayisi), Ghana

We congratulate the winners and extend our sincere appreciation to all participants of this year’s Challenge. We look forward to your participation in next year’s edition.

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