Africa Wiki Challenge 2026 in Nigeria

Every campaign has its own story. For Africa Wiki Challenge 2026 in Nigeria, ours began long before the launch event or the first training session.

After Africa Wiki Challenge 2025, we were excited to begin planning for another edition. We looked back on what worked well, identified areas where we could improve, and started preparing for the 2026 campaign.

With the introduction of a new funding process, planning became uncertain. We waited for updates, hoping we would receive the information we needed. As time went by, it became clear that things were not progressing as we had expected. We reached a point where we had to ask ourselves a difficult question: Are we going to participate in Africa Wiki Challenge 2026?

Rather than deciding to step away, we reached out to Dickson Kojo Anane, Program Officer at Open Foundation West Africa (OFWA), to discuss the situation. During our conversation, he encouraged us not to put it on hold. He spoke about the importance of keeping the community active and ensuring contributors continued to have opportunities to learn, edit, and stay engaged, even if the circumstances were different from what we had planned. His encouragement led to another important conversation.

We had a meeting scheduled with Jael Boateng, the Executive Director who took time to explain the available options, answer our questions, and communicate clearly with us throughout the discussion. Having that conversation gave us a better understanding of what was possible and helped us decide on our next steps.

After the meeting, we came back together as a team. We reviewed our plans, adjusted our budget, and discussed different ways to organise the campaign. By the end of those conversations, we had reached a decision. If we were going to participate in Africa Wiki Challenge 2026, we would organise the entire campaign virtually. Looking back now, that decision allowed us to continue and keep our community engaged.

Launching Africa Wiki Challenge 2026 in Nigeria

With our plans in place, preparations started fully.

On 17 June 2026, we officially launched Africa Wiki Challenge 2026 in Nigeria through a virtual event that brought together contributors, coordinators from the Hausa, Igbo, Tyap, and Yoruba Wikimedia communities. The launch also welcomed people who were new to Wikimedia projects and wanted to learn how they could take part in this year’s campaign.

This year’s theme, Water for Life in Africa, focused on improving content related to water across the continent. Participants were encouraged to document rivers, lakes, wetlands, sanitation, water conservation, irrigation, marine ecosystems, and other topics connected to water and the communities that depend on it.

The event was moderated by Mariam Taleeb, while Friday Musa delivered the opening address. In his presentation, he spoke about this year’s theme, Water for Life in Africa, and highlighted the importance of documenting water-related topics across the continent.

We were pleased to have Dickson Anane, Program Officer at Open Foundation West Africa join us as the guest speaker. Referencing the Africa Wiki Challenge 2025, he spoke about the campaign’s impact across Africa and encouraged both experienced editors and new contributors to take part in this year’s edition. He also shared that he looked forward to seeing the contributions from Nigeria and across the participating communities.

Representatives from each of the four communities were also invited to speak about their preparations for the campaign and share how this year’s theme is expressed in their local languages. The communities were represented by Ramatu Haliru (Hausa), Emmanuel Obiajulu (Igbo), Rukayat Ajeigbe (Yoruba), and Friday Kuyet (Tyap). Their presentations gave participants a glimpse of what each community had planned for the campaign.

The launch also introduced participants to the campaign timeline, guidelines, available resources, and the different ways they could contribute through Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata. Participants asked questions about the campaign, the editing process, and how to make quality contributions, making the session interactive from start to finish.

Supporting contributors across four communities

Following the launch, each of the four participating communities organised its own virtual training session to equip contributors.

Although the sessions were held separately, the goal was the same. We wanted participants to understand the theme, become familiar with the guidelines, and feel confident contributing to Wikimedia projects.

The training sessions brought together both newbies and experienced editors . Participants were introduced to the editing process, article creation, sourcing, Wikimedia Commons uploads, and Wikidata contributions. There was also time to answer questions and address the challenges participants encountered while making their first edits.

Throughout the campaign, organisers from the Hausa, Igbo, Tyap, and Yoruba communities stayed in touch with participants, shared resources, responded to questions, and offered support whenever it was needed.

Working together behind the scenes

After Africa Wiki Challenge 2025, we looked back on what worked well, discussed the areas that needed improvement, and agreed on a few changes. Those conversations shaped how we planned and coordinated our activities.

One thing we appreciated throughout was the commitment of the organising team. Everyone took responsibility for their assigned tasks, stayed actively involved, and kept communication open from the planning stage until the wrap.

Choosing to organise the campaign entirely online meant we had to adjust our plans, but every co-organiser remained focused on making it work. Responsibilities were shared, meetings were regular, and whenever support was needed, someone was ready to step in.

Our appreciation goes to all co-organisers; Friday Musa, Ramatu Haliru, Emmanuel Obiajulu, Rukayat Ajeigbe, Obiageli Ezeilo, Mariam Taleeb, Ngozi Osuchukwu, Muhammad Idriss for their time, commitment, and teamwork throughout the campaign. Thank you for embracing feedback, taking ownership of your responsibilities, and working together to make Africa Wiki Challenge 2026 in Nigeria a success.

Campaign outcomes

A total of 93 participants registered through the event page. Together, they created 4,000 articles, uploaded 3,627 media files to Wikimedia Commons.

The campaign also brought together contributors with different levels of editing experience, different communities. While some participants were joining Africa Wiki Challenge for the first time, others returned to support the campaign by creating content, improving existing articles, and encouraging newer editors within their communities.

As organisers, it was encouraging to watch contributors from the four communities work towards a shared goal while contributing in their respective languages and across different Wikimedia projects.

Lessons from this year’s campaign

Every campaign teaches something new, and Africa Wiki Challenge 2026 was no exception.

One lesson that stood out for us was the value of clear communication. Our plans changed more than once, and at different stages of the planning process, when we had to pause, ask questions, and rethink our approach. Keeping communication open within the organising team helped us make decisions together and stay focused on what we wanted to achieve.

This campaign also showed us the importance of having a team that is willing to listen, support one another, and adapt when circumstances change. Each co-organiser played a part in making the campaign run smoothly, and that shared commitment kept us going from the planning stage to the end.

The experience has given us ideas to build on in future campaigns, and we look forward to working together again.