WikiForHumanRights in Nigeria 2024 Campaign Virtual Launch 

On June 28, 2024, the WikiForHumanRights (W4HR) in Nigeria 2024 Campaign hosted its virtual launch, attracting 100 participants from 21 states in Nigeria. The event, led by 2 National coordinators, 7 community coordinators, and 6 working team members as part of the W4HR 2024 international campaign, celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The meeting lasted for 2 hours and aimed to encourage various Wikimedia communities to create knowledge that documents: “How Human Rights Knowledge Creates a Sustainable Future.”

The W4HR in Nigeria 2024 campaign focuses on raising awareness and understanding of human rights issues related to sustainability in Nigeria. It addresses topics such as sustainable agriculture, environmental sustainability, clean water, and waste management. The campaign identifies significant knowledge gaps on Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikivoyage regarding these issues in Nigeria, particularly in local languages like Igala, Yoruba, Igbo, Tyap, and Hausa, which hampers community awareness and engagement. The campaign aims to achieve a target of 1,230 articles, items, and media files through content expansion, translation, and creation. To reach this goal, 148 new and existing editors were recruited across 7 communities, exceeding expectations before the virtual launch with 228 registered participants. These participants include students and professionals from different communities, who are passionate about enhancing quality of information and accessibility, aligning efforts with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and international human rights standards.

Key Highlights

The virtual launch, moderated by Miracle James, commenced with an inspiring talk from Euphemia Uwandu, Program Officer for Campaign Programs at the Wikimedia Foundation. Euphemia, who also serves as the Coordinator and general overseer of the WikiForHumanRights Campaigns, set the tone by providing a brief introduction to the campaign, highlighting its aims, objectives, and goals, and encouraging participants to contribute. The session proceeded to showcase one of our partners as part of our Partners Spotlight activities, aiming to educate participants on how they can contribute to the campaign by learning from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working on similar themes. The spotlight was on Plogging Nigeria, a non-profit organization that promotes environmental sustainability through organized activities called ‘Plogging Episodes’ among others. Mayokun Iyaomolere, the Founder of Plogging Nigeria, spoke about their initiatives aligning with the W4HR in Nigeria Campaign, with a specific focus on waste management and environmental sustainability.

The session then advanced with an overview from Kemi Makinde, one of the National Coordinators for the W4HR in Nigeria 2024, who enlightened participants on the theme and relevance of the campaign, as well as the timeline of implementation. This was followed by an introduction to the experienced trainers and reviewers who will be leading the general training, as documented on the campaign’s homepage. The trainers and reviewers, carefully selected based on their previous experience in leading similar trainings and coordinating campaigns, included:

1. Rhoda James– is the Wikidata Trainer for the W4HR in Nigeria 2024 and the creative director at the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria.
2. Iwuala Lucy– is the Wikivoyage and Wikimedia Commons Trainer and Reviewer for the W4HR in Nigeria 2024 and a language professional with a degree in Language Studies. She is an advocate for indigenous language revitalization and free knowledge dissemination. She is also a member of the Regional Grant Committee, Charter Electoral Committee and Social Media Manager/Member, Wiki Loves Monuments International Team
3. Barakat Adegboye– is the W4HR in Nigeria 2024 Wikipedia Trainer and a Wikimedia Volunteer from Nigeria. She also serve as the Programs Lead (Intern) at the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria.
4. Muib Shefiu– is an experienced Wikimedia Editor who has created hundreds of articles on the English Wikipedia. He has organised and facilitated different Wikimedia programmes. He is the founder of Afrodemics and the winner of the 2023 Wikimedia User Group Nigeria Editor of the year award. Currently, he is a new page reviewer on the English Wikipedia and also a reviewer for this Campaign. 
5. Blessing Linason – is the Wikidata Reviewer for the W4HR in Nigeria 2024 and the Co-founder Kwara State University Wikimedia Fan Club.

The session further proceeded with an introduction to the local coordinators who shed more light on their individual community activities and expectations from their members as champions contributing to this campaign. The communities included:

1. WUGN Anambra Network led by Dr. Ngozi Osuchukwu
2. Igala Community led by Agnes Abah
3. WUGN Osun led by Adetoro Praise
4. Port Harcourt Wikimedia Nigeria Hub led by Jeremiah Ugwulebo
5. WUGN Kaduna Network led by Ramatu A Haliru
6. WUGN Imo Imo Network led by Emmanuel Obiajulu
7. WUGN Gombe Network led by Ismael Atiba

Upon completion of the introductions from both local coordinators and the working team, as one of the National Coordinators for this campaign, I (Bukola James) took the lead in walking participants through the Campaign  home page, resources, topic List, and reports to support their contributions. This was followed by a practical explanation by the reviewers, explaining the score guide and criteria for rewards at the end of the project.

Conclusion

The virtual launch concluded with an interactive Q&A session where participants had the opportunity to express their concerns and ask questions for clarity. At the end of the Q&A, participants had the opportunity to interact and network among themselves.

For those who may have missed the session, the link to access it is available on the community training schedule. Additionally, we encourage you to register under any of the 7 organizing communities to be part of our upcoming training sessions and to ensure you receive timely email notifications one hour before each online session begins. Let’s work together to create knowledge for a sustainable future and bridge the gap in information about sustainable agriculture, environmental sustainability, clean water, and waste management.

A big thank you to all the Wikimedia Foundation, Coordinators, Working Team, Partners, and Participants!