Strengthening Digital Knowledge on Sudan and Somalia: November Activities of the AWA Digitalise Youth Fellowship

As the AWA Digitalise Youth Fellowship approached its final phase, November became a month of consolidation, skill refinement, and impactful contributions across Wikipedia and Wikidata. Through targeted trainings, community support, and dedicated content creation, our work continued to advance open knowledge on digital rights, governance, and human rights issues in Sudan and Somalia.

Capacity-Building for Community Editors

To support participants in improving content quality and expanding their technical skills, I facilitated two trainings and one office hour session during the month:

Wikidata Tools for Community Editors

This session introduced participants to essential tools used for monitoring, creating, improving, and validating Wikidata items. The training enhanced their ability to navigate structured data and apply tools that streamline editing workflows.

Year-End Article Review and Quality Improvement Sprint

Participants engaged in a hands-on review of articles they had created or translated earlier in the fellowship. Together, we improved clarity, sourcing, formatting, and alignment with Wikimedia standards to ensure higher-quality contributions.

Office Hours

The office hour allowed participants to raise challenges, ask questions, and receive real-time guidance. Key issues, including technical barriers and editing uncertainties, were addressed to support continued engagement.

November Achievements

Wikipedia Contributions

The month of November recorded significant progress in improving and expanding access to information on Wikipedia. A major highlight was the creation of a new English Wikipedia article titled “Internet Shutdowns in Sudan,” which documents the persistent nationwide internet blackouts since 2019 and examines their far-reaching consequences for communication, digital access, and fundamental human rights in the country.

In addition to this, six Wikipedia articles were translated into relevant target languages, ensuring that key digital rights information becomes accessible to wider communities. 

Wikidata Contributions

November also saw substantial improvements on Wikidata, particularly in areas relating to digital governance and institutional actors. A total of 25 Wikidata items were enhanced, with updates that strengthened accuracy, structure, and contextual relevance.

A new Wikidata item was also created for the article Internet Shutdowns in Sudan, ensuring that the topic is represented both as an encyclopedic entry and as a data item in the structured knowledge ecosystem.