The year 2023 has been productive for Free Knowledge Africa and the initiative for an open knowledge movement in Africa. In line with our mission of promoting free and open knowledge by Africans in travel, sports, tourism, geography, and cultural heritage towards sharing and contributing to global knowledge, we have embarked on a series of projects targeted at improving the awareness and representation of Africa to the whole world.
As we bid farewell to another remarkable year, it’s time to take a stroll down memory lane and celebrate the journey of growth, collaboration, and achievement at Free Knowledge Africa. In the spirit of transparency and gratitude, let’s explore the diverse projects that have defined our organization in 2023.
Explore Africa Project
The Explore Africa Campaign aimed to bridge the content gap that currently exists concerning notable landmark areas. This was accomplished by engaging with travel and tourism professionals who provided their knowledge of landmark locations and tourist destinations. We recruited and engaged with new Wikipedians who joined the project by creating and enhancing content about travel destinations.
This was a project that began in December last year and was concluded at the beginning of the year. Articles were created on Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikivoyage, and pictures uploaded on Wikicommons.
Link to the project dashboard
Afrosports Contest
The AfroSports contest is an annual contest targeted at increasing the information about African sports, games, and recreational activities available on the various Wikimedia Projects. The contest aimed to bridge the content gap on Wikipedia by writing articles about the historical and contemporary African Sports Scene. It focused on the English Wikipedia and 6 African languages; Wikipedia (Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Dagbani, Swahili, and Kinyarwanda.)
This year, the contest was held from the 1st of March, 2023 to the 15th of April, 2023.
At the end of the project, numerous articles were created on Wikipedia and Wikidata.
Link to the project dashboard board
Africa Open Biodiversity Campaign
The Africa Open Biodiversity Campaign was designed to document and preserve African biodiversity on Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.
The objective of the Africa Open Biodiversity Project was to promote the quality, reliability, and credibility of Wikipedia articles by documenting African biodiversity on Wikimedia projects. The campaign was able to achieve this goal through a photography contest. This contest captured photographs/videos of plant and animal species on the African continent. These photographs could lead to the discovery of new species and help to improve Wikipedia articles where relevant and necessary.
This campaign saw 9 new Articles created and 166 articles edited on Wikipedia. Link to the project dashboard
Read more on the campaign here
Free Knowledge Africa Open Knowledge Series
The goal of the FKA Open Knowledge Series is to delve into the notion that knowledge should be open, accessible, and free for all. In each of our webinar series carried out throughout the year, we unveiled the power of open knowledge to transcend borders, democratize information, and empower individuals and communities through the unlimited possibilities of collaboration and co-creation.
Link to the project page
Free Knowledge Africa Podcast Series
This Podcast Series aimed to Educate, Inform, and Advocate for Open Access in GLAM and Cultural Heritage Institutions in Africa.
Each episode of the FKA Podcast takes you on a captivating journey through the world of accessible education and knowledge empowerment on the African continent. The Podcast explored the inspiring stories and transformative initiatives of Free Knowledge Africa (FKA). In each episode, we sat down with FKA’s visionary founders, dedicated team members, and inspiring beneficiaries to unravel the organization’s profound impact and discover the driving force behind FKA. The FKA Podcast Series discussed the Open Movement, Wikimedia, and the world of accessible education and knowledge empowerment on the African continent. Link to the project page
Read more on the series here
2023 Public Domain Day Celebration
This year we had our first physical public domain celebration event in partnership with the Nigerian Library Association, Kwara State chapter. The event took place on the 29th of March 2023 at the National Library, Offa Road, Ilorin Kwara State, Nigeria. It was an impactful event with over 40 people in attendance.
We had two facilitators. Olubusola Afolabi a Librarian and the GLAM Associate at Free Knowledge Africa, alongside Alaafiabami Oladipupo the director of Education and Research at Free Knowledge Africa. They both spoke on the topic ‘Navigating Copyright: The Librarian’s Guide to the Public Domain’
Read more on the event here
Open Sharing and the 21st Century Librarian Training at the National Library of Nigeria Headquarters
Members of the Free Knowledge Africa team organized a training session on the 1st of September 2023. It was held at the National Library of Nigeria Headquarters in Abuja
These topics discussed include The Open Movement and its relevance, The Creative Commons, and Wikimedia. Librarians as content Curators and Producers, Digitization, and the role of Librarians in the Nigerian Public Domain was also emphasized.
Read more on the event here
Public Domain Digitization Project
The Public Domain Digitization Project had the goal of Digitizing Public Domain Works in Nigeria. This Project Carried out by Free Knowledge Africa hoped to identify, compile, and digitize these Public Domain works and make them easily and freely accessible to the public.
In a bid to actualize these goals, Free Knowledge Africa went into a partnership with the National Library of Nigeria. We were able to identify these Public Domain Works.
The breakdown of the Public Domain Work identified is as follows
1st Set of Works Identified – 147 Books and 146 Pictures
2nd Set of Works Identified – 87 Books and 69 Newspapers
The total Number of Works Identified was 449 intellectual resources.
Acknowledgment
To every team member, volunteer, and supporter, we extend our heartfelt gratitude. Your unwavering support has been the driving force behind our accomplishments. As we step into a new year filled with promise and potential, let’s continue to collaborate, innovate, and inspire change together.
Here’s to another year of making a positive impact and creating a better world through the collective effort of Free Knowledge Africa.
Cheers to a brighter 2024!
