Sometimes the most powerful stories come not from being there, but from hearing the echoes of success that others bring home. This year’s Ghanaian Languages Meetup in Kumasi has left me inspired by the beautiful accounts shared by friends like Zakaria Tunsung, Sir Amugi, Sadik Shahadu, and DaSupremo through their Diff posts. Their stories paint a picture of a movement that’s not just growing, it’s succeeding.
Thirteen Voices, One Powerful Chorus
From September 25th-27th, 2025, thirteen language communities gathered at KNUST Library Mall under the powerful theme: “Revitalising Voices: Empowering Ghana’s Indigenous Languages Through Wikimedia.” What moves me most is seeing how communities that were in the incubator just last year are now live Wikipedias, standing tall alongside established projects.
The opening session set the perfect tone – participants sharing fun facts, singing highlife and hiplife, and celebrating their diverse hobbies. This wasn’t just a conference; it was a family reunion of passionate language activists.
Wisdom Shared Across Communities
The panel discussions revealed our collective growth. The Twi community’s partnerships with KNUST and Winneba, the Dagbani team’s inspiring journey since 2019 with their Wikipedia Saha project, the Fante community’s call for deeper collaborations, the Wali team using contests to fuel their incubator project, the Ewe community translating all 17 SDGs despite data challenges, and the Dagaare team’s encouragement for more volunteer support, each story wove together into a beautiful picture of shared purpose.
Beyond the panels, important sessions on Mozilla Common Voice and media literacy with the Media Foundation West Africa showed how we’re evolving from simply creating content to becoming responsible digital custodians of our languages.
Strength in Our Diversity
The community updates filled me with particular hope:
- The Moore community’s connection with editors in Burkina Faso
- Kusaal‘s expanding training programs at Winneba
- Nzema‘s growing interest despite needing more support
- Gurene‘s gratitude toward Dagbani for helping them graduate from incubator
- Ghanaian Pidgin‘s journey to becoming live in 2023
- Ga‘s call for more contributors to step up
Each story demonstrates that we’re building an ecosystem where all Ghanaian languages can flourish together.
Voices That Guide Us
The reflections from participants capture our collective wisdom perfectly:
“Sharing resources among member communities is key to promoting Ghanaian languages, and this can only be achieved through collaboration.” – Abdul-Rasheed Yussif
“Communities should focus on intrinsic motivation than extrinsic motivation.” – Sadik Shahadu
“You can be literate in your local language, yet still be illiterate in how you communicate information.” – Kwaku Krobea Asante
“To ensure the quality of information on Wikipedia, we must not only teach people how to contribute effectively but also monitor the content they publish.” – Christopher Azorbli
“What motivates me is living in an era where the knowledge we add to Wikipedia serves not only people but also AI.” – Robert Jamal
Our Journey Continues
Though I wasn’t physically present in Kumasi, the energy from this gathering has reached me through every story and photo shared. The support from UNESCO Ghana, with Mr. Abdul-Hamid Yakubu emphasizing the need to help our local languages survive online, validates the crucial work we’re doing.
To everyone who made this happen, from the organizers to the newest volunteer, your dedication help grows this movement. Every edit made, every word preserved, every new connection formed, these are the heartbeats of our growing family.
Our movement isn’t just getting bigger; it’s getting stronger, wiser, and more united with each gathering. The energy from Kumasi is already spreading across Ghana, and I can’t wait to see what we build together next.
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