Open Inclusive Initiatives launched to address minoritized gaps on lesser-known Wikimedia projects with first training

Open Inclusive Initiatives launched to address minoritized gaps on lesser-known Wikimedia projects with first training and capacity building.

It is not enough to lament the gender gap and limited contribution to lesser-known Wikimedia projects such as Wikimedia Commons and Wikinews. The focus should be channeled into finding solutions and initiatives to bridge the daunting gap while promoting lesser-known Wikimedia projects.

This theory has led to the launch of a new initiative, Wiki Inclusive Initiatives, dedicated to addressing content gaps about underrepresented groups, such as black and African women, individuals with disabilities, and health issues within the African context, on Wikimedia projects, the open movement, and the internet in general.

These minoritized groups face significant disparities in several areas, including the internet.  

In relation to gender disparities, the Wikimedia Foundation and other studies have documented several research pointing to these gaps and have supported numerous initiatives to reduce biases. However, gender-based knowledge disparities, the use of stereotypes, and misrepresentations still exist on Wikimedia projects.

In terms of health, we see that women’s health issues are relegated to obscurity with far-reaching consequences on knowledge and information on health conditions peculiar to African women and women in general.

Directly linked to health is disability issues, another crucial focus area with little attention. Although the Foundation has initiated a few projects, such as the Wiki Science training course, in 2020, this project was limited to disability scholars and healthcare experts to contribute their expertise on disability issues on Wikipedia. In as much as this was a helpful move, the scope limits contributions from the “ordinary” volunteer and has no clear opportunity for contributions from the African perspective.

Putting everything together, Open Inclusive Initiatives seek to address these crucial gaps in lesser-known Wikimedia to ensure a more inclusive and balanced knowledge on the Internet. Our maiden event, held on June 1, brought together 16 participants in Accra, Ghana, to learn about these gaps and their impact. Participants also received hands-on training to contribute images of African women to Wikimedia Commons.

Led by Pamela Ofori Boateng with supporting facilitators, Ruby Brown and Francis Quaisie, participants of which majority were new entrants, were briefly introduced to Wikipedia editing which, we believe was necessary to provide a firm foundation for understanding other Wikimedia-related projects.

Participants were also armed with valuable career skills training on navigating LinkedIn and positioning themselves for better career prospects.

Please get involved by following us on the social media handles below to learn all about our maiden event and future plans.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560435051433

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/103000609/admin/feed/posts/

Podcast https://bit.ly/3VAySuv