The first half of 2026 has been a period of remarkable growth for Africa Wiki Women (AWW). Across mentorship, leadership development, community campaigns, partnerships, and capacity building, our community has continued to create opportunities for African women to participate meaningfully in the Wikimedia movement while addressing the persistent gender gap in open knowledge.
Our work this year has gone beyond increasing contributions on Wikimedia projects. It has focused on building confident leaders, supporting new contributors, strengthening communities, and creating spaces where African women can learn, collaborate, and amplify their stories.
This work also reflects the Wikimedia Movement’s 2030 Strategic Direction and its recommendations to “Invest in Skills and Leadership Development” and “Provide for Safety and Inclusion,” both of which call on the movement to build a more diverse, skilled, and supported base of contributors rather than relying solely on organic growth. It also speaks directly to the knowledge equity priorities embedded in the Wikimedia Foundation’s current Annual Plan, which continues to emphasize strengthening the movement by deepening connections between volunteers, affiliates, and movement entities, alongside addressing persistent knowledge gaps. As the movement navigates a period of declining pageviews, rising bot traffic, and growing pressure on the traditional contributor pipeline, initiatives like Africa Wiki Women’s Leadership and Mentorship Fellowship program are exactly the kind of “deep roots” investment the Foundation has identified as essential: turning newcomers into retained editors, and editors into the next generation of community leaders.
Investing in Africa’s next generation of Wikimedia leaders
In January, Africa Wiki Women welcomed the third cohort of fellows in her Leadership and Mentorship Fellowship (LMF) program, selecting ten outstanding women from Cameroon, Botswana, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Kenya, after receiving 188 applications. Over six months, the fellows received practical training in project management and leadership, and skills in facilitation, community engagement, monitoring and evaluation, and Wikimedia program implementation strategies. More importantly, they have gained hands-on experience by supporting Africa Wiki Women’s activities, moderating events, reviewing edits, and leading community initiatives.
In the same vein, the second cohort of the On-Wiki Skills Mentorship program welcomed 31 mentees from 12 African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana, Uganda, DR Congo, Burundi, Tanzania, Cameroon, Madagascar, Benin, Togo, and the Republic of Congo), supported by six mentors across Anglophone and Francophone regions. Through structured learning on Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikimedia Diff writing, mentees created 316 new Wikipedia articles, edited or improved 948 existing articles, created 287 Wikidata items, and uploaded 50 images to Wikimedia Commons, with 20 mentees graduating from the programme, a 90% completion rate. The program continues to strengthen editing skills while preparing participants to become future trainers and community leaders.
Strengthening skills across the continent
Capacity building remained at the heart of our work. Through our monthly Skill-Up Workshops, held between January and June 2026, we delivered three sessions reaching 463 participants and training 264 contributors across both Anglophone and Francophone communities, with participants drawn from numerous African countries.
These dedicated workshops sharpened participants’ knowledge on Wikipedia policies and Wikimedia Commons licensing, including professional skills that strengthen community leadership, public speaking, and communication. The Francophone sessions on podcasting and public speaking further fostered community inclusion. These workshops combined expert-led presentations with practical editing sessions, enabling participants to immediately apply what they learned while contributing directly to Wikimedia projects.
The continued expansion of both our English- and French-language workshops reflects Africa Wiki Women’s commitment to making learning opportunities more accessible and inclusive across the communities we serve.
Driving knowledge equity through campaigns
Africa Wiki Women continued to address content gaps through campaigns designed to improve the representation of African women across Wikimedia platforms.
The EditHer Africa Contest entered another successful year, beginning with a focus on African women in climate action before expanding into monthly thematic editing campaigns that highlighted women in leadership, healthcare, education, sports, and other sectors where representation remains limited. Between January and June 2026, the campaign delivered six virtual trainings and supported over 615 articles improved or translated, alongside in-person events in Uganda and Madagascar, with the Madagascar event covered by national and regional media outfits.
To commemorate International Women’s Day 2026, we launched the Give to Gain campaign under the global theme of celebrating women making an impact. Throughout the month, participants joined training sessions, multilingual edit-a-thons, Wikidata improvement campaigns, and an in-person training event in Uganda delivered in partnership with the Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda.
The campaign also provided our Leadership and Mentorship Fellows with opportunities to moderate sessions, facilitate discussions, support office hours, and participate in edit review processes, allowing them to put their leadership training into practice while contributing to the campaign’s success.
Supporting new contributors
Our Newbies Community continued to serve as an entry point for women beginning their Wikimedia journey. The programme’s second cohort enrolled 52 learners in June, building on the first cohort of 80 sign-ups that saw 16 graduates by May 2026 and averaged 30 attendees at monthly meetups. Through the six-module curriculum “Navigating Wikimedia as a New Contributor,” delivered via our mobile-friendly Learning Hub and supported by structured mentorship, peer support, and practical editing activities, new contributors developed confidence while making meaningful contributions across Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikimedia Commons with cohort participants creating 50 Wikipedia articles and editing 954 articles at the publication of this report.
Early indicators from Cohort 2 show faster onboarding and higher task completion than the first cohort, and the programme remains an important pathway for contributor retention by creating an encouraging environment where new editors receive continuous guidance as they build their skills.
Building partnerships for greater impact
Collaboration remained central to our work during this period. We partnered with Wikimedia User Group Nigeria during the WikiGap 2026 campaign to support efforts aimed at improving the representation of women on Wikipedia. As part of the partnership, Africa Wiki Women facilitated training sessions for women journalists on reliable sourcing, Wikipedia editing, and information literacy, while also supporting programme coordination and event facilitation.
This collaboration reflects a broader partnership strategy that has enabled Africa Wiki Women to expand its reach, embed its programmes within existing community networks, and share complementary expertise with affiliates and institutions across the continent. As with our collaborations with Wikimedia Deutschland, and Wikimedia Uganda Community User Group, working alongside Wikimedia User Group Nigeria demonstrates how partnerships between Wikimedia affiliates and institutions can strengthen efforts toward closing knowledge gaps and improving the quality of freely accessible information.
Strengthening our community
Beyond editing campaigns and training sessions, we continued to invest in community building.
The Community Roundtable, held on Saturday, 27th June 2026 and co-moderated by Airat Abdul Rahmon and Ann Veronicah, brought together 98 attendees from across our Anglophone and Francophone communities for an afternoon of connection and dialogue. A highlight of the session was a presentation by guest speaker Selam Abdella on the Global Index on Responsible AI, which sparked discussion on transparency, accountability, inclusion, and human rights in AI development, and what responsible AI means for African communities and the Wikimedia movement. The roundtable also featured a spotlight on one of our NominateHer nominees, alongside interactive games and prizes that added to the energy of the gathering. These conversations reinforced the importance of creating safe and inclusive spaces where community members can learn from one another and contribute to shaping Africa Wiki Women’s direction.
Through the NominateHer Campaign, launched in the first quarter of 2026 to recognise African women who train, mentor, and build capacity within the Wikimedia movement, we celebrated Reine Melissa Moussavou, President of Wikimedia Gabon, as our nominee. Reine’s dedication to advancing free knowledge and strengthening local Wikimedia communities exemplifies the kind of grassroots leadership and mentorship the campaign was created to spotlight.
Looking ahead
As we move into the second half of 2026, Africa Wiki Women remains committed to expanding opportunities for African women to lead, contribute, and thrive within the Wikimedia movement. We will continue to invest in mentorship, leadership development, multilingual capacity building, strategic partnerships, and campaigns that improve the visibility of African women and their contributions to society.
Every article created, every editor trained, every partnership formed, and every woman empowered brings us one step closer to a more inclusive and representative knowledge ecosystem. Together with our volunteers, mentors, fellows, partners, and community members, we look forward to building on this momentum and ensuring that African women’s stories are documented, celebrated, and accessible to the world. You’re welcome to join our community. We’re open to collaborating and partnering with you on projects and digital skills acquisition.
Visit our website and find us on Social Media: Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Spotify, TikTok.
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