The fourth edition of the 72 hours virtual marathon edit-a-thon organized by the Igbo Wikimedians User Group, yet again marked another exciting step in our ongoing effort to preserve and promote the Igbo language through open knowledge, ensuring quality over quantity. Recall that this project is a continuation of the pilot held in April 2025, which recorded remarkable success from collaborative efforts and participation across our community.
This edition was designed not just to edit, but to sustain impact and deepen technical contributions. We began with an engaging opening session to orient participants on the assigned tasks, demonstrated practical ways to fix pending issues, and provided guidance on the use of essential tools. Editors dedicated 72 hours, from 27 to 30 September 2025, to improving the Igbo Wikipedia. During the marathon, participants focused on:
- Adding {{DEFAULTSORT}} to biography pages for better organization and accessibility.
- Fixing existing Igbo Wikipedia articles with reference errors to ensure integrity.
- Categorization and improving of articles, and
- Strengthening language localization efforts on translatewiki.
The results were both inspiring and measurable. 324 articles with reference errors were corrected, 417 pages were properly categorized and improved, and 330 biography pages were improved with {{DEFAULTSORT}}. Remarkable progress was also made on translatewiki. Beyond the metrics, what has always truly stood out is the dedication and commitment of participants who contribute across different time zones and skill levels. This project doesn’t only improve content quality but strengthens community engagement and capacity building among Igbo Wikimedians.
Together, through each and every edit, we are building a vibrant digital future for the Igbo language and open knowledge at large. My deepest gratitude goes to every participant and co-organizers – Lucy Iwuala, Mark Lapang, and Hilary Ogali, for the incredible teamwork and commitment. I strongly look forward to the next marathon edition in November 2025.
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