Building MBOA: Lessons from Launching a Wikimedia Campaign in Cameroon

Introduction

In May 2026, I launched the Mboa Forward May 20 Community Days Campaign, a community initiative aimed at improving Wikimedia content related to Cameroon in celebration of May 20th as its National Day to commemorate the 1972 referendum, where citizens voted to abolish the federal system in favour of a unified, indivisible state, while this campaign was to bring and create opportunities for new contributors to discover the wikimedia space, learn, collaborate, and grow.

The idea for the campaign did not emerge in isolation. It was shaped by my experiences within the Wikimedia movement, particularly during the Africa Wiki Women April Edit-a-thon Campaign, where I was allowed to facilitate a training session on translating articles from English to French.

I remain grateful to the Africa Wiki Women team for trusting me with that responsibility. The opportunity allowed me to develop my facilitation skills, deepen my understanding of Wikimedia projects, and gain firsthand experience supporting new contributors. More importantly, it helped me discover gaps and opportunities that would later inspire the creation of the MBOA Campaign.

While preparing to facilitate the session, reading through Wikipedia, I encountered numerous articles that existed in the French Wikipedia but were absent from the English Wikipedia. As a Cameroonian contributor, this was a significant realization. Many people assume that information about Cameroon is scarce online, yet a closer look revealed that valuable content already existed within the Wikimedia ecosystem, particularly on the French side. The challenge was not only the lack of content but also the need to bridge knowledge across languages and communities.

The translation experience showed me the potential of multilingual contributions and inspired me to create a space where contributors could work together to improve the representation of Cameroon across Wikimedia projects.

Over the past three weeks, the campaign has produced encouraging results while also revealing important lessons about community engagement, contributor retention, mentorship, and capacity building.

Why the MBOA Campaign?

The idea for the MBOA Campaign emerged from my experiences as both a contributor and a trainer within the Wikimedia movement.

While preparing for the translation session during the Africa Wiki Women April Edit-a-thon Campaign, I discovered something that challenged my assumptions about content related to Cameroon. Many of the topics I thought did not exist or were not searched on English Wikipedia did not exist, already existed on French Wikipedia, but were absent from English Wikipedia. In some cases, articles contained broken references or needed significant improvement.

This experience revealed two important realities. First, knowledge about Cameroon exists across Wikimedia projects, but language barriers often prevent that knowledge from reaching wider audiences. Second, many new contributors enter the Wikimedia space with enthusiasm but without the deeper understanding needed to navigate policies, sourcing requirements, article development, and long-term contribution.

These observations inspired the creation of the Mboa Forward May 20 Community Days Campaign.

Rather than focusing solely on article creation, the campaign was designed as a learning and mentorship space where these new contributors could develop practical editing skills while documenting Cameroon’s history, culture, geography, notable personalities, and local knowledge.

The campaign aimed to:

• Improve the representation of Cameroon across Wikimedia projects.
• Encourage knowledge sharing between the English and French Wikimedia communities.
• Support and mentor new contributors.
• Strengthen research, referencing, and article development skills.
• Build a community of editors who can continue contributing beyond a single campaign.

More than a content campaign, Mboa Forward May 20 Community Days Campaign was conceived as an investment in people. The goal was not only to create articles but also to onboard new contributors and help them grow into confident and sustainable members of the Wikimedia movement.

Results

During the three weeks of the campaign, 12 editors collectively made 214 edits across Wikimedia projects.

The campaign resulted in:

• 32 articles created.
• 35 articles improved.
• More than 6,000 words added.
• 104 references added.

While participation numbers fluctuated, the campaign demonstrated strong interest in collaborative knowledge sharing and community learning.

Challenges Encountered

These three weeks also highlighted several challenges.

Technical Barriers

One of the earliest challenges involved campaign administration. Because I initially did not have organiser privileges, I had to rely heavily on the Dashboard to coordinate activities and monitor contributions. Organiser rights were granted later in the process.

Although this created some limitations in registering members or making the event public, it also taught me how useful Wikimedia’s campaign tools can be for tracking participation and managing community activities.

Some contributors also experienced account-creation difficulties, including IP address restrictions that prevented new accounts from editing.

Resource Constraints

Although the workshop was conducted online, limited funding presented another challenge. I was unable to purchase a Zoom Premium subscription, which meant I could not record the sessions with high-quality audio using the platform’s built-in recording features. To ensure the sessions were documented, I had to record them separately using my phone, resulting in lower audio quality and a less efficient recording process.

Contributor Retention

Although several participants initially joined the campaign, only a smaller number remained consistently active.

Knowledge Gaps and Learning Beyond Training

One of the most important lessons from the campaign was that Wikimedia learning does not end with a training session.

Throughout the campaign, contributors benefited from several learning opportunities. Experienced Wikimedians, including @king-christlike and @melcatherine, facilitated sessions on article creation, Wikipedia’s notability guidelines, and other important aspects of contributing to Wikimedia projects. These sessions provided participants with the foundation and introduced them to key policies and best practices.

As the campaign facilitator, I also worked closely with contributors throughout the editing process, answering questions and helping participants navigate challenges as they emerged.

Despite these efforts, the campaign revealed that understanding Wikimedia policies in theory is very different from applying them in practice.

For example, many contributors understood that articles needed reliable sources and had to meet Wikipedia’s notability requirements. However, when they began writing articles themselves, they often struggled to identify independent sources, evaluate source reliability, and determine whether a topic met Wikipedia’s standards for inclusion.

The article’s structure presented another challenge. Contributors quickly discovered that different types of articles require different formats, templates, and infoboxes. Writing about a historical event, a cultural festival, a location, or a biography often requires different approaches that can only be fully understood through hands-on experience.

One particularly memorable learning experience involved contributor @Lelia After creating her first article, it was nominated for deletion. For a newcomer, receiving a deletion notice can be intimidating, especially after investing significant effort into researching and writing an article.

While the nomination was part of Wikipedia’s normal quality-control process, it highlighted how difficult it can be for new contributors to interpret policies related to notability, sourcing, and promotional content. It also demonstrated that understanding Wikipedia requires more than attending a workshop; it requires reading policies, observing how experienced editors work, and learning through practice.

This experience reinforced an important realization: training sessions are essential, but they are only the beginning. Sustainable contributor growth requires mentorship, continued learning, and opportunities for contributors to apply what they have learned in real editing environments.

Another important lesson was the value of documenting activities as they happen. Because the campaign was conducted online, I focused primarily on delivering the training and supporting participants, and I overlooked capturing screenshots and other visual documentation throughout the sessions. When preparing this report, I realized how valuable such images are for communicating the story of the campaign and showcasing community participation. In future events, documenting activities through screenshots, recordings, and freely licensed photographs will be an intentional part of the event planning process.

What Motivated Contributors?

One of the strongest lessons from the campaign was the importance of community.

While training sessions provided contributors with foundational knowledge, it was the continued support from trainers, facilitators, and fellow contributors that helped many participants remain engaged.

Throughout the campaign, contributors regularly asked questions, shared resources, reviewed one another’s work, and celebrated milestones together. This collaborative environment transformed challenges into learning opportunities.

For some participants, moments such as article reviews, deletion nominations, sourcing difficulties, and technical challenges could easily have become reasons to stop contributing. Instead, the presence of an active and supportive community encouraged them to keep learning and improving.

A personal highlight was watching contributors grow in confidence over the course of the campaign. Questions that initially required facilitator support gradually became discussions among contributors themselves. Seeing participants begin to support one another demonstrated the value of mentorship and community building within the Wikimedia movement.

The campaign reaffirmed that people often stay in Wikimedia not only because they want to contribute knowledge, but because they find a community that supports their growth as contributors.

Contributor Reflections

The campaign would not have been possible without the dedication and enthusiasm of its contributors.

“Before joining the Mboa Forward May 20 Community Days Campaign, I did not realize how accessible contributing to Wikipedia could be. I had always viewed Wikipedia as a place where people simply searched for information, but this campaign helped me discover that anyone with the right guidance can contribute knowledge and help build it.

During the campaign, I created two articles and gained valuable experience in article writing, research, referencing, and understanding Wikipedia’s content guidelines. Learning about notability guidelines was especially interesting because it showed me the importance of ensuring that topics are well-documented and supported by reliable sources.

The campaign was a complete learning experience for me. Beyond simply writing articles, I learned how to approach article development at a more professional level, understanding the importance of structure, reliable references, neutral writing, and following Wikimedia guidelines to ensure that information about Cameroon can be presented in a way that is suitable for a global audience.

One of the most meaningful parts of the experience was contributing articles related to my own country. Being able to document and share knowledge about Cameroon made the process more personal and motivating. The campaign helped me grow as an editor and gave me a stronger appreciation for the role contributors play in preserving and sharing knowledge.” Kongnyu Roger

“I started contributing to Wikipedia content through the MBOA CAMPAIGN initiative, 3 weeks of achievements and setbacks, but would not have it any other way. I was motivated to contribute by the goal to master and polish my article-writing skill and also to contribute to content for underrepresented Cameroonian knowledge. I successfully migrated my draft article from my personal editor space into the live Wikipedia mainspace. However, there have been setbacks and moments I struggled with citations, lacked deep guideline knowledge, had my IP address blocked, and faced a stressful “nomination for deletion” flag on my content. These setbacks don’t stop me; instead, I feel more motivated to persist in understanding the guidelines of the Wikipedia content contribution space and getting better at contributing with my articles.” Leila237

“Participating in the Mboa Wiki Program has been a valuable learning experience. The program strengthened my research, writing, and source verification skills while giving me the opportunity to contribute to documenting Cameroon’s history and notable personalities. I also gained a deeper understanding of Wikipedia’s standards for neutrality, verifiability, and reliable sourcing. I am grateful to the organizers and mentors for creating a collaborative environment that encouraged learning and meaningful contributions.” @Nyap bless

The following contributors participated in the campaign and are invited to share their reflections as co-authors of this story:

@Kongnyu Roger

@Leila237

@Nyap bless

Priorities Moving Forward

As the campaign continues, our focus will be on:

• Improving article quality.
• Strengthening contributors’ understanding of Wikimedia policies.
• Providing advanced training on referencing and sourcing.
• Encouraging multilingual contribution.
• Creating Meta user pages.
• Preparing contributors for future Wikimedia projects and collaborations.
• Building stronger community communication channels.
• Developing a mentorship culture within the community.
• Technical preparation (Meta organizer rights), event management (using the Outreach Dashboard effectively), and documentation (capturing visuals during online events).

Looking Ahead

The first three weeks of the MBOA Campaign have shown that building a Wikimedia community requires much more than organizing editing activities. It requires mentorship, patience, communication, and a shared commitment to open knowledge.

For me personally, the campaign represents a continuation of lessons learned while facilitating for Africa Wiki Women. What began as an opportunity to train contributors on article translation evolved into a broader vision of building a community where contributors can learn, grow, and contribute meaningful knowledge about Cameroon.

While challenges remain, the campaign has already demonstrated the potential of local contributors to document and preserve knowledge about Cameroon. The next phase will focus on deepening skills, strengthening participation, and creating pathways for long-term community growth.