In a meaningful step towards promoting digital inclusion and amplifying underrepresented voices, the Wikimedia Community User Group Botswana, in collaboration with Art+Feminism hosted the Art and Feminism Training 2026. The online training sessions provided a dynamic platform to equip participants with essential skills to contribute to Wikidata, with a strong focus on documenting women in arts, culture and feminist movements.
Addressing digital gaps and gender bias
Despite the growth of digital knowledge platforms, significant gender gaps remain particularly in African contexts where the contributions of women artists, cultural practitioners and feminist movements are often underrepresented or undocumented. This imbalance limits visibility and recognition, reinforcing existing inequalities in access to knowledge.
The Art and Feminism Training 2026 directly responded to these challenges by empowering participants to contribute content that reflects the diverse realities and achievements of women in Botswana and across Africa.
Objectives
This initiative was designed with clear and impactful goals:
- To increase the quantity and quality of content about women artists, cultural practitioners and feminist movements
- To build skills and confidence among new and emerging contributors
- To promote gender equity and inclusive participation within the Wikimedia community
- To strengthen local capacity for sustainable contributions
- To expand and improve Wikidata items to enhance visibility of feminist knowledge
The training sessions
The Art and Feminism Training 2026 had multiple sessions designed to support participants throughout their learning and contribution journey.
The first session, held on 31 January 2026, introduced participants to the fundamentals of editing on Wikidata. Participants learned how to create and improve Wikidata items, alongside an introduction to the Art and Feminism competition, which ran from 31 January 2026 until the end of February 2026.
The second session was a collaborative effort between the Wikimedia Community User Group Botswana and Art+Feminism, bringing together participants from around the world. This session focused on encouraging the creation and improvement of Wikidata items to increase the visibility of women and feminist knowledge across Wikimedia platforms.
The final session took the form of an “office hour,” where participants received hands-on support. During this session, the facilitator Ms Ludo Matombo assisted participants in addressing challenges they encountered while creating or improving Wikidata items, as well as refining and rephrasing content to meet Wikidata standards.
Outcomes
Following the training, participants actively contributed to Wikidata, translating their newly acquired skills into impactful outputs. Key outcomes included:
- Creation and improvement of Wikidata items focused on women in arts and feminism.
- Increased participation of women and underrepresented groups on Wikimedi platforms.
- Enhanced visibility of women and feminist knowledge across Wikimedia projects
The Art and Feminism Training 2026 successfully empowered participants to create and improve content about women artists, cultural practitioners and feminist movements on Wikimedia platforms. The numbers speak to the incredible impact of the initiative. The Art and Feminism training had two dashboard for the first session with local participants from Botswana and for the second session which was a collaboration between Art+Feminism and Wikimedia Community User Group Botswana.
The combined outputs from the main training and the Wikidata Training demonstrate both the breadth and depth of contributions:
Art and Feminism Training 2026 Botswana Competition
- Articles Created: 688
- Articles Edited: 805
- Total Edits: 10,400
- Editors Engaged: 19
- Words Added: 1,020,000
- References Added: 4,130
- Article Views: 4,160
Wikidata Mobile Training – Art+Feminism
- Articles Created: 686
- Articles Edited: 5,090
- Total Edits: 10,700
- Editors Engaged: 14
- Words Added: 964,000
- References Added: 2,280
- Article Views: 53,700
These statistics reflect the dedication of participants in creating high quality content, improving structured data on Wikidata, and increasing visibility of underrepresented women in arts and feminist knowledge. Collectively, these efforts contribute to a more inclusive, accessible, and representative digital knowledge ecosystem.
Recognising top contributors
The initiative celebrated outstanding contributors whose efforts significantly advanced the visibility of women and feminist knowledge:
- JudithShe – 217 items edited | 2,176,375 characters added
- TshepieGee – 157 items edited | 896,647 characters added
- Abza1 – 158 items edited | 782,875 characters added
Their contributions highlight the power of community driven efforts in addressing knowledge gaps and creating lasting impact.
A step towards a more inclusive digital future
The Art and Feminism Training 2026 stands as a strong example of how local initiatives can contribute to global movements for equity and representation. By equipping participants with the tools and confidence to contribute, the training not only enriched Wikimedia platforms but also fostered a growing community committed to inclusive knowledge sharing.
Organised by dedicated volunteers including Candy Khohliwe, Chandapiwa Malema, and Ludo Chaunoda Matombo, the initiative reflects the ongoing commitment to ensuring that the stories of women and marginalized communities are visible and valued.
As participants continue their journey as contributors, their work will play a vital role in shaping a more representative and accessible digital knowledge ecosystem, one where every story matters.
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