My Journey with the Africa Wiki Women Leadership and Mentorship Fellowship Program : How Consistency Became Mastery

I’ve said this sentence so many times — and I’ll keep saying it because it’s true:

“When I applied for the Africa Wiki Women Leadership and Mentorship Fellowship Program, I simply wanted to learn… but I gained so much more.”

I brought my curiosity into the fellowship, and within six months, the Africa Wiki Women transformed it to confidence and competence.

I was assigned as the Graphic Design Assistant to work and learn alongside Pascaline, the Communication team lead and I still remember my first task — it was far from successful😄.
But with time, teamwork, and mentorship, I began not just to deliver, but to excel. Through various digital communication tasked assigned to me, i mastered the art of graphic design, video editing, social media optimization strategies. This also helped me to engage actively in events and contribute to campaigns.

After a while into the fellowship I was assigned to the Podcast team as a representative from communication team where i also learn to be consistent in meeting up with deadlines in editing graphic designs and video contents. I had the opportunity to work with Menna and the Podcast lead, Oluwapelumi Aina. These experiences broadened my skill set in:

• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Time management
• Problem-solving
• Adaptability
• Work ethic

What I Learned

• Wikimedian Contribution : I learned how to meaningfully contribute to Wikimedia projects and engage more effectively in the open-knowledge ecosystem.
• Practical Digital Tools Experience: The fellowship gave me hands-on experience with the Google Suite — from Docs and Sheets to Drive. It improved my collaboration and productivity, for instance, when I upload edited video podcast on Goggle drive to share with other team member and accessible for publication
• Wikimedia Technical Tools : I was introduced to platforms such as: Diff, Wiki user pages, Campaign dashboards and other tools that support contribution and community engagement.

What’s Next?

From here, I look forward to: contributing to open knowledge on Wikimedia projects, engaging in campaigns, supporting event organization, training others on what I have learned and sharing skills with new and emerging contributors to the Wikimedia space.

About the Author

Adeyinka Ekundayo is a Wikimedia, 2025 Africa Wiki Women LMF, research assistant, and undergraduate student in the Department of History and International Studies, University of Ilorin.

She hones her skills in graphic design, video editing, research writing, and various digital communication roles, with diverse experience in open-knowledge advocacy.