Strengthening Advocacy through Data: A Recap of the AWA Inclusion and Climate Justice March Sessions

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This March, the African Wikipedian Alliance (AWA), in partnership with Code for Africa (CfA) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officially kicked off the Inclusion and Climate Justice (ICJ) fellowship. As part of the programme, fellow Barakat Adegboye began implementing her project, with support from Rhoda James. The month focused on onboarding a cohort of editors and laying the groundwork for impactful contributions to Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikimedia Commons across Angola, Namibia, and South Africa.

Building a Community of Advocates

Our mission focuses on fostering inclusive knowledge and improving content quality on gender equity, LGBTQ+ rights, xenophobia, and climate justice across Angola, Namibia, and South Africa. Through a comprehensive needs assessment, we identified 15 participants, along with their areas of interest and the skills they aim to develop throughout the project. These insights informed the design of our monthly training programme, which will equip participants with key competencies such as licensing on Wikimedia Commons, running queries on Wikidata, addressing mis- and disinformation, and translating content on Wikipedia, among others.

Onboarding and Skill-Building

To translate this interest into action, we hosted two major virtual sessions on March 22nd:

  • AWA ICJ Virtual Onboarding: An introductory session to acquaint participants with the fellowship’s goals and branding. 
  • Introduction to Wikipedia: A session Understanding the Project Scope on Wikipedia, Best Practices for Contributing on Wikipedia, Monthly Contribution Expectations, Overview of Wikipedia, etc.

These were followed by a dedicated office hour on March 23rd, providing one-on-one support for the participants as they began their editing journeys.

Turning Knowledge into Content

The impact of these sessions is already visible in the data. Our editors, including top contributors like GildaK1 and Aara Bee, have successfully created and improved several Wikidata items, such as:

In total, the team has contributed to 30 new items and articles improvements, focusing on organizations and individuals at the forefront of intersectional advocacy. 

Planned Activities:

Over the course of the project, we will host up to 14 virtual sessions to train and support both new and existing contributors. Activities include:

  1. Virtual capacity-building sessions on creating and improving Wikipedia articles, Wikidata items, and uploading images on Wikimedia Commons about gender equity, xenophobic practices, LGBTQ+ rights, and climate justice across Angola, Namibia, and South Africa.
  2. Edit-a-thons: Monthly collaborative editing sessions focused on topics related to gender equity, xenophobic practices, LGBTQ+ rights, and climate justice. Participants who meet monthly deliverables will receive a reimbursement for internet/data costs.
  3. Data-a-thons: Wikidata-focused sessions will focus on creating, enriching, and connecting Wikidata items related to gender equity, xenophobic practices, LGBTQ+ rights, and climate justice in Angola, Namibia, and South Africa.
  4. Image and Multimedia Upload Campaign: To improve visual representation, the campaign will encourage uploading images and media showing activists, events, and organizations promoting gender equity, xenophobic practices, LGBTQ+ rights, and climate justice. All content will be shared on Wikimedia Commons with proper licensing.
  5. Content Translation into African Languages: To promote inclusion and accessibility, selected articles and biographies will be translated into African languages, specifically isiZulu, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, Northern Sotho / Sesotho sa Leboa, Sesotho, Setswana, Tsonga / Xitsonga, Venda / Tshivenda, Swati / SiSwati, Oshiwambo, German, Portuguese. This will help more people across the continent learn about gender justice, LGBTQ+ rights, xenophobic practices, and climate resilience.

Join Us

Want to follow our progress or get involved? Here are three quick steps:

  1. Register on the Event Meta page.
  2. Fill out the Needs Assessment Form to let us know what skills or support you need.
  3. You can also reach out to me via Meta: User:Ridzaina

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to bridge the information gap on inclusion and climate justice in Africa!

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