Reflecting on the Swahili Month: Empowering the Swahili-Speaking Community to Contribute to Wikimedia Projects

Introduction

In July 2022, Swahili-speaking Wikimedians of Arusha came together for an amazing event called Swahili Month. The purpose was to make Kiswahili Wikipedia and Wikidata even better, and guess what? It was a huge success! Let’s take a moment to look back at the incredible things that happened during this event and share a call to action to encourage more people from Swahili-speaking countries to join us in contributing to Wikimedia projects in Kiswahili in the Swahili Month.

A Vibrant Gathering

During the Swahili Month event, you could feel the excitement and enthusiasm in the air. We had a fantastic time collaborating with other Swahili speakers who were just as passionate about Kiswahili Wikipedia and Wikidata as we were. We shared our knowledge and worked together to improve the quality and availability of Swahili content on Wikimedia projects.

Empowering the Community

One of the main goals of the Swahili Month event was to empower our local community and get more people involved in Wikimedia projects. We organized workshops and training sessions to help everyone develop their skills in creating and editing content and making valuable contributions. By doing this, we not only strengthened our local Wikimedia community but also created a lasting culture of sharing knowledge.

Expanding Kiswahili Wikipedia and Wikidata

Thanks to the efforts of everyone involved in Swahili Month, we were able to achieve remarkable growth in Kiswahili Wikipedia and Wikidata. We created numerous new articles, improved existing ones, and added important information to Wikidata. These contributions not only made our Swahili-language content richer and more diverse but also ensured that Swahili culture, history, and knowledge reached a global audience.

A Call to Action: Unleashing the Potential of Swahili Speakers

The success of the Swahili Month event in Arusha should inspire us all, no matter where we’re from. We want to extend a warm invitation to every Swahili speaker, whether you’re in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, or beyond, to contribute to Wikimedia projects in Kiswahili. Your unique perspectives, cultural insights, and expertise are incredibly valuable in shaping a comprehensive and accurate representation of the Swahili-speaking world on Wikipedia, Wikidata, and other Wikimedia projects.

Whether you’re an educator, researcher, student, language enthusiast, or simply someone who cares about preserving and sharing knowledge, you have the power to make a difference. You can write new articles, improve existing ones, translate content, add reliable sources, or engage in community discussions. Your contributions will help ensure that our Swahili-speaking community is well-represented and that the wealth of Swahili knowledge is accessible to all.

Conclusion

The Swahili Month event in Arusha showed us the incredible things we can achieve when we come together as a community. Let’s keep building on this momentum and continue working together to expand Kiswahili Wikipedia and Wikidata. By answering this call to action and uniting across Swahili-speaking countries, we can contribute to a more diverse, inclusive, and vibrant knowledge ecosystem. Together, we can shape the narrative of our shared heritage and empower future generations with the wealth of Swahili knowledge.