2025:Program/WLA - 11 years of Wiki Loves Africa

Session title: WLA - 11 years of Wiki Loves Africa

Session type: Poster

Track: GLAM

Language: en

Wiki Loves Africa is an annual photographic, video and audio contest where anyone across Africa can contribute free media relevant to their experience to Wikimedia Commons for use on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia communities for the purpose of celebrating the rich and diverse beauty of Africa. The contest is in its 11th iteration and has seen over 55 African countries participate since inception. With over 116,000 freely licensed images submitted by over 9000 competitors, WLA is arguably the largest photo competition specific to the African open knowledge community with far reaching impact.

Description

Wiki Loves Africa is in its 11th iteration this year. Over the years, it has recorded major milestones in metrics of participants and submitted photos as well as the establishment of new Wikimedia communities and improving regional participation in the open movement projects transcending cultural and communication barriers. The session aims to highlight the success and impact of the continent wide project over the years and spotlight this year’s theme of “Farm to Plate” which talks about the processes which food passes through in Africa before ending on the table for consumption.

How does your session relate to the event theme, Wikimania@20 – Inclusivity. Impact. Sustainability?

Wiki Loves Africa's 11 years statistics shows the spirit of Wikimania@20's theme: Inclusivity, Impact, Sustainability. With over a decade of promoting Africa's narrative on Wikimedia through visuals, Wiki Loves Africa has made significant progress in inclusivity, successfully engaging diverse participants from across Africa, fostering local partnerships and collaborative efforts with Wikimedia communities across Africa.

In terms of impact, Wiki Loves Africa has over 116,189 images entered by over 9,182 competitors from up to 55 countries under a free license (CC-BY-SA). Wiki Loves Africa images have illustrated 32,515 pages across 437 Wikimedia projects, such as Wikipedia, Wikivoyage and Wikiquote. Participating communities held just under 400 participation and training events between 2014 and 2024. The competition attracts high levels of new contributors to the Wikimedia projects – an average of 75% of participants are newbies.

Regarding sustainability, Wiki Loves Africa with 11 years of consistent engagement has created a sustainable model for promoting Africa's visual content and community participation. The competition's focus on community engagement ensures a sustainable future of Africa visual storytelling on Wikimedia projects.

What is the experience level needed for the audience for your session?

Everyone can participate in this session

Speakers

• Hilary Ogali

Hilary is a Wikimedian, project manager and amateur photographer from Nigeria. He contribute mainly to Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata. He is part of the Wiki Loves Africa international organizing team where I take the role of the community facilitator for Wiki Loves Africa project.

Hilary also lead a community of Wikimedians in the Igbo Wikimedians User Group who contributes to Wikimedia projects through Wikimedia Commons.