WikiClub Daloa: student dynamism at the service of free knowledge

The WikiClub Daloa has been named the most dynamic club in the Zenman 2023-2024 awards, a distinction that recognizes its exceptional commitment to the Wikimedia movement in Côte d’Ivoire. Based in Daloa, a town in west-central Côte d’Ivoire, the club stands out not only for its activities, but also for the particularity of its membership: it is essentially made up of students and teaching staff from the Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé (UJLoG), a university located in the heart of this Ivorian city.

An alliance between university knowledge and free knowledge

The strength of WikiClub Daloa lies in its close links with the Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé. Thanks to the active participation of students and teaching staff, the club draws on a rich base of academic knowledge to enrich Wikimedia projects.

For students, the club represents a unique platform for learning about digital tools, improving their writing skills and enhancing their areas of study by contributing relevant articles to Wikipedia; for teachers, it is an opportunity to promote local university research by integrating it into global projects, while guiding their students in innovative teaching initiatives.

This link between the university and the Wikimedia movement gives WikiClub Daloa a special identity and makes it a model for the integration of academic institutions within free knowledge initiatives.

An exceptional dynamic

Since its inception, WikiClub Daloa has made its mark through the diversity and quality of its activities. Here are just a few examples:

Student projects: club members, most of whom are students, work on a variety of projects, including writing articles on subjects related to their course of study, such as environmental sciences, agriculture and regional history.

Promoting cultural heritage: a significant proportion of the Wikiclub’s contributions are dedicated to documenting local cultural and historical heritage, thereby helping to enrich the representation of Côte d’Ivoire on Wikimedia platforms.

WikiClub Daloa embodies a genuine synergy between young students, academic knowledge and modern digital tools. This collaborative model, driven by the passion of the students and the expertise of the teachers, goes a long way to explaining the distinction it won at the Zenman awards.

Future prospects

For WikiClub Daloa, this recognition is just the beginning. Building on its current momentum, the club plans to expand its projects by involving more members of the university community and strengthening its collaboration with other Wikiclubs in the country.

The club also plans to develop interdisciplinary projects, mobilising students from different disciplines to work together on complex issues such as climate change or social transformation in Africa.

The Daloa WikiClub is an excellent example of the impact that well-structured local initiatives can have on the global free knowledge movement. Drawing on the intellectual wealth of the Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé, the club highlights the potential of African academic institutions to become drivers of digital and cultural development.

By promoting its members and their contributions, WikiClub Daloa reminds us that free knowledge is a collective adventure, where everyone – student, teacher or citizen – can play a key role in building a better-informed world.