Empowering Educators in a Celtic Knot Conference Satellite Event: A Step Towards Language Preservation in Ghana Through Wikimedia

As a passionate digital language activist, I had the privilege of organizing a satellite event for the 2024 Celtic Knot Wikimedia Languages Conference in partnership with the leadership of the Nanton Education Directorate, Ghana. Although I was unable to attend the main event in Waterford City, this local gathering became a vital platform for me to introduce educators to the transformative role Wikimedia projects can play in language preservation and knowledge creation in virtual spaces.

The Celtic Knot conference, renowned for bringing together language enthusiasts, academics, and cultural advocates, focuses on promoting indigenous and minoritized languages. In Ghana, this satellite event was a unique opportunity to engage educators, particularly those in leadership roles, on how Wikimedia’s various projects support language preservation and can complement the teaching and learning processes in schools.

The session unfolded in three parts: first, an introduction to Wikimedia projects and their connection to language preservation and why educators need to get involved; second, a shared experience of joining the global event online to observe how other communities are driving language efforts; and lastly, a hands-on session for participants to register their own Wikimedia user accounts and begin contributing. The enthusiasm from participants was overwhelming, with many expressing surprise at the existence of freely accessible, language-rich resources on Wikimedia and the opportunity to contribute their knowledge.

One remark from a participant captured the essence of the event: “There are these valuable resources even in our local language, and we haven’t been aware of them, let alone use them to assist our children with their homework? It’s amazing to hear we can contribute so others can benefit from us. I can’t wait to start!”

Find except of the discussions on Wikimedia Commons here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Celtic_Knot_Conference_with_Educators_in_Nanton_District_Education_Directorate.webm

This successful event is just the beginning of my larger vision. I intend to scale up the engagement to include more educators and teachers, as they shape the next generation of knowledge producers. When teachers become active contributors and advocates for language preservation on platforms like Wikimedia, we take a giant leap toward making knowledge freely accessible to all in real terms. My ultimate goal is to work towards integrating Wikimedia projects into the Ghanaian education curriculum, bridging the gap in resource availability for schools.

Despite the success of the event, challenges remain. The costs of in-person engagements—feeding, venue, and internet data—pose significant barriers as my team embarks on the engagements with the institutions. While online sessions offer an alternative, connectivity issues and data costs often limit their effectiveness in some remote areas where the free knowledge resources could even be more beneficial. However, I remain committed to exploring all available opportunities to further this cause.

With support from the Wikimedia Foundation and the wider movement, I believe we can cultivate a strong community of educators in Ghana who actively contribute to and benefit from Wikimedia projects. Together, we can pave the way for the incorporation of Wikimedia into the Ghanaian national curricula and ensure that future generations have the tools they need to access and create knowledge freely.

“M paɣiya” in Dagbani means, thank you. Yeah! You have just learned a Dagbani phrase. How do you say “thank you” in your language? I hope to learn this in next year’s conference either virtually or onsite.