Wiki for Senior Citizens Celebrates 1st Anniversary

Exactly a year ago, Obiageli Ezeilo a Wiki editor came up with an idea to keep elderly people engaged and help them learn digital skills. That was the advent of the Wiki for Senior Citizens Network.

Gathering senior citizens, introducing them to Wikipedia and training them how to edit through physical meetings and online trainings has given rise to a vibrant team of enthusiastic seniors who derive joy from meeting and learning from each other.

Currently, a lot of young adults are part of the group. They develop interest by coming along with their grandparents.

Some of the activities embarked on within this first year include:

1. Training on how to create an account on Wikipedia.
2. Training on editing on Wikipedia English, Wiki data and translation into different Nigerian languages
3. Participation in Wiki Loves Africa 2023 Climate and weather under the category of Wiki for Senior Citizens Network
4. Editing works on prominent and young environmentalist in Africa
5. Editing and adding contents on different articles on weather conditions and environmental issues that affect African and Africans.
6. Inviting a resource person to train Senior Citizens on photography(How to take good photos and the technicalities involved in picture taking)
7. Training on how to upload pictures, videos and audios on Wiki Commons.
8. Collecting and uploading pictures, videos and audios on Wiki Commons
9. Two of our members got certificate as Kiwix for school ambassador
10. Participated in movement strategy goal six training by Igbo Wikimedia User Group

Speaking on the growth of the group, Obiageli Ezeilo expressed excitement at the rapid growth,which she said has exceeded her expectations so far. She also shared plans to increase engagement and get more person’s to participate in the new year.

Members were full of appreciation for the opportunity to be part of the network and praised the trainers for their patience and willingness to teach.