Celebrating Cultural Heritage: Wiki Loves Folklore 2026 in Rwanda

Wiki Loves Folklore 2026 in Rwanda brought together a team of volunteers and contributors to document and share Rwandan cultural heritage on Wikimedia platforms. The project focused on raising awareness of free knowledge tools and supporting new contributors in uploading freely licensed media to Wikimedia Commons.

Opening Ceremony

A central goal of this campaign was inclusion. We engaged new contributors from diverse backgrounds women, youth, people from rural communities, and people with disabilities providing hands-on training in Wikipedia article creation and media uploading to Wikimedia Commons.

Outreach extended beyond urban centres to include participants from rural communities across Rwanda, recognising that much of the country’s living folklore, oral traditions, and cultural practices are preserved outside the capital. Equally important was ensuring that people with disabilities were welcomed as active contributors, with sessions designed to be accessible and participatory for all.

A key focus of this campaign was documenting feminism and the role of women in Rwanda’s culture and economy. Building on prior engagement, female participants contributed by creating and improving Wikipedia articles that highlight women’s roles in cultural practices, community life, and economic development, as well as broader articles on Rwandan culture. These contributions help to make women’s impact more visible as knowledge producers and cultural documentarians within the Wikimedia ecosystem.

Through structured onboarding and community outreach, the project helped ensure that a wide range of Rwandan voices regardless of gender, age, location, or ability are represented in the global open knowledge movement

Rural Visits

As part of the campaign, we visited rural areas where traditional cultural activities are still actively practiced. Capturing photographs in these communities was not always easy. Some community members were initially hesitant, with concerns that their images might be used for commercial purposes, while others expected compensation. To address this, we took time to sit with community members and explain the purpose of the project. We introduced them to Wikipedia and explained why documenting their cultural practices on digital platforms matters. We emphasized that this work helps preserve Rwanda’s cultural heritage so that future generations including their children and relatives can still learn from it, even when these practices are no longer actively practiced.

We explained that by sharing this knowledge on open platforms, it remains freely accessible to everyone, ensuring that their culture is not lost over time. Through these conversations, community members began to understand the importance of the initiative. They agreed to participate and allowed us to document their activities. More importantly, they started sharing deeper knowledge, including stories behind cultural practices such as guca imyeyo, guca ubwatsi, and traditional crafts like making Rwandan mats. By the end of these interactions, they felt confident, valued, and happy to see their culture being recognized and preserved.

This experience highlighted the importance of trust, dialogue, and community engagement in documenting cultural heritage.

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We participated in various cultural events, including traditional dance competitions, Kinyarwanda weddings, and other activities aimed at capturing and documenting our local culture.

Lessons Learned

• Hands-on training for new contributors
• Continuous mentorship during content upload
• Strong coordination between volunteers and organizers
• Community-centered approaches to knowledge sharing

Wiki Loves Folklore 2026 in Rwanda demonstrated the power of community-driven documentation in preserving and sharing cultural heritage. As Project Coordinator, this experience reinforced the importance of collaboration in building a more inclusive and representative digital record of Rwanda’s traditions. The initiative continues to inspire efforts toward making cultural knowledge freely accessible to the world through Wikimedia platforms.