2025:Program/Wiki Loves Sport in Uganda
Session title: Wiki Loves Sport in Uganda
- Session type: Lightning talk
- Track: Lightning Talk Showcase
- Language: en
🎥 Session Recording: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_Loves_Sport_in_Uganda_-Day_2-_Lightning_Talk.webm 🎥
This session explores the impact of "Wiki Loves Sport" in Uganda, a community driven initiative to document inclusivity and diversity in Ugandan sports on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia platforms. As part of the broader Wiki Loves campaigns, this project has engaged Ugandan volunteers to capture the diversity of sports from traditional games like wrestling in rural villages to modern athletics in urban centers while promoting inclusivity and preserving cultural heritage. With Wikimania 2025 hosted in Nairobi, this session offers a timely opportunity to showcase a regional success story, share lessons learned, and inspire sustainable growth in East African Wikimedia communities.
Description
This session explores the impact of "Wiki Loves Sport" in Uganda, a community driven initiative to document inclusivity and diversity in Ugandan sports on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia platforms. With Wikimania 2025 hosted in Nairobi, this session offers a timely opportunity to showcase a regional success story, share lessons learned, and inspire sustainable growth in East African Wikimedia communities.
The session is a presentation showing the journey of Wiki Loves Sport in Uganda. The presentation will highlight how Wiki Loves Sport has bridged gaps between gender representation on Wikipedia, empowered underrepresented voices (e.g., women in sports), and fostered collaboration across linguistic and cultural divides. The demonstration will guide attendees both onsite and virtual through organizing similar initiatives, including photo walks, content uploads, and community outreach, with a focus on sustainability through partnerships and local resources.
Theme: Wikimania@20 – Inclusivity, Impact, Sustainability Inclusivity: The project amplifies diverse Ugandan voices by documenting sports across genders, ages, and regions, encouraging participation from non-traditional editors (e.g., youth and experienced sports journalists).
Impact: By adding hundreds of freely licensed images and articles to Wikimedia Commons and Wikipedia, Wiki Loves Sport has enriched global knowledge about Ugandan sports and inspired regional pride.
Sustainability: The session will address strategies for long-term engagement, such as training local leaders, leveraging East African networks (e.g., WikiClubs), and securing support from sports organizations.
Goals and Expected Outcomes Share a replicable model for sports-themed Wiki projects in East Africa and beyond.
Train 15-20 participants (onsite and virtual) in organizing photo contests and contributing to Wikimedia projects.
Foster cross-border collaboration between Ugandan Kenyan, Tanzanian, Rwandese, etc Wikimedians, with plans for a joint "Wiki Loves Sport" event in 2026.
Increase visibility of underrepresented sports and athletes on Wikimedia platforms.
Target Audience Wikimedia community members interested in community engagement and diversity.
East African volunteers seeking practical tools to grow local projects.
Global attendees curious about sports as a lens for cultural documentation.
- How does your session relate to the event theme, Wikimania@20 – Inclusivity. Impact. Sustainability?
Theme: Wikimania@20 – Inclusivity, Impact, Sustainability Inclusivity: The project amplifies diverse Ugandan voices by documenting sports across genders, ages, and regions, encouraging participation from non-traditional editors (e.g., youth and experienced sports journalists).
Impact: By adding hundreds of freely licensed images and articles to Wikimedia Commons and Wikipedia, Wiki Loves Sport has enriched global knowledge about Ugandan sports and inspired regional pride.
Sustainability: The session will address strategies for long-term engagement, such as training local leaders, leveraging East African networks (e.g., WikiClubs), and securing support from sports organizations.
- What is the experience level needed for the audience for your session?
Everyone can participate in this session
Resources
Speakers
- Mubiru Shafik/Fiktube
- I joined Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda in 2019, I have acquired knowledge from experienced Wikimedians both in Uganda and abroad. I have had the opportunity to be mentored by the best and I am currently passing on the knowledge to a number of Wikimedians, I have attended a number of Wikimanias virtually including the 2022 Wikimania where Wikimedians in Uganda met to celebrate together. I have also been privilaged to have been part of the core organising team for a number of campaigns in Uganda.