Empowering Tech Contributors in Tanzania: Wikimedia Technical Training Ahead of WikiIndaba 2025 Hackathon

As the Wikimedia movement was preparing for WikiIndaba 2025, set to take place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, a dedicated pre-session technical training was held on 25 October 2025 to build awareness and readiness among Tanzanian tech contributors. The session focused on developing the technical skills and confidence needed to participate meaningfully in Wikimedia’s open-source and data driven projects and ultimately, to contribute effectively to the upcoming WikiIndaba 2025 Hackathon that was unfortunately canceled.

Purpose of the Training

The Wikimedia Tanzania Technical Training served as an awareness and capacity-building session for emerging and active tech contributors within the Wikimedia ecosystem.
Its main goals were to:

• Introduce participants to Wikimedia’s technical ecosystem including APIs, bots, extensions, and data tools.
• Prepare local contributors for the upcoming WikiIndaba 2025 Hackathon, enabling early engagement and team formation.
• Strengthen Tanzania’s local technical community and its connection to the global Wikimedia tech network.
• Encourage the inclusion of African languages, especially Kiswahili, in Wikimedia technology development.

The interactive online session, held on October 25, 2025, focused on practical exposure to Wikimedia’s technical tools and collaboration platforms.
Participants were guided through the essential workflows that power Wikimedia’s open-source ecosystem and learned how to engage as contributors in global tech projects.

Key agenda items included:

• Introduction to Wikimedia’s developer ecosystem: understanding how Wikimedia projects are built and maintained through open collaboration.
• Hands-on session on Git and GitHub: exploring version control, code contribution workflows, and open-source best practices.
• Working with Wikimedia Phabricator: learning how to track tasks, report bugs, and participate in Wikimedia’s software development process.
• Exploring Wikimedia open-source tools such as the ISA Tool and other community-driven tech initiatives.
• Team collaboration and idea sharing: participants brainstormed ideas and discussed how to contribute to Wikimedia technical projects such as WikiIndabas and Wikimania Hackathons.

Sessions were facilitated by:

• Eugene233 (@eugene233, Udehb-WMF @udehb, and Fongoh from Wiki Mentor Africa
• Olimasy – Wikimedia Tech Community Coordinator, Tanzania
• Jadnapac – Wikimedia Community User Group Tanzania Lead

Key Outcomes

The pre-session achieved several important milestones for the Tanzanian Wikimedia technical community:

• Raised awareness among local contributors about the hackathon format, requirements, and opportunities.
• Built connections between tech enthusiasts, developers, and Wikimedia editors within Tanzania.
• Strengthened technical capacity in Wikimedia projects through hands-on exposure to developer tools.
• Inspired new ideas for projects focusing on Swahili content, open data, and local knowledge integration.

Participants also expressed excitement about joining the WikiIndaba 2025 Hackathon, seeing it as a platform to showcase innovative solutions tailored to African Wikimedia contexts.

Challenges and Next Steps

While the training successfully energized participants, a few key challenges were identified:

• Limited technical infrastructure for some participants, especially stable internet or laptop access.
• Need for continued mentorship to help new developers navigate Wikimedia’s technical tools.

To address these, the organizers planned to:

• Create a mentorship and support network for Tanzanian tech contributors.
• Organize follow-up workshops and meetups leading up to the Hackathons to maintain engagement.

Looking Ahead to WikiIndaba 2025 Hackathon

As the WikiIndaba 2025 Hackathon was canceled but Tanzanian contributors are were gearing up to participate in projects such as:

• Building tools to support African language integration on Wikimedia platforms.
• Developing mobile and web applications that support Wikimedia editing and data contribution.
• Creating bots or scripts that improve content quality and data accuracy across Swahili Wikipedia and Wikidata.
• Designing community-driven tech projects that promote knowledge sharing within local Wikimedia communities.

The Wikimedia Tanzania Technical Training marks an important milestone in strengthening the community role within the global Wikimedia technical community.
By empowering local contributors and promoting technology for open knowledge in African languages, Tanzania is well-positioned to host and lead impactful innovations during the next Hackathons.