Egypt Wikimedians User Group/Reports/2024

Over the year, our Group has continued to work diligently to promote free knowledge and empower community members to contribute to various Wikimedia projects. We focused efforts on creating a tangible impact through organizing edit-a-thons, training workshops, and initiatives to bridge knowledge gaps while ensuring better representation of our local communities.

Egypt Wikimedians User Group 2024 Report
January 2024 – December 2024

Through these activities, we successfully built new partnerships with educational and cultural institutions, which expanded our reach and enhanced our impact. We hope these efforts will continue to advance Wikimedia's vision of a world where everyone can freely access and contribute to knowledge.

Most of our activities revolved around the following:

1. Organizing online and offline sessions, workshops, and edit-a-thons.
2. Participation in many international conferences.
3. Participation in multiple photography contests.
4. Organizing the 12th conference of Egypt Wikimedians User Group.

user group activities

Editathons & Workshops

1. Workshops for Wikipedian Light of Knowledge WLK Round V.
2. Egyptian Female Academies Edit-a-thon: online Editathon, (From 8 to 10 March, 11 articles written).
3. 20th Arabic Wikipedia Day: online Editathon, (July 13, 25 articles written).
4. "Companions of the Prophet" workshop: online Editathon, (8-29 March).

Events

1. Wikipedia Day 2024: (Offline meeting) On January 12, 2024, Alexandria, the Group, in cooperation between the Initiatives of Wikipedian Light of Knowledge (WLK) and Wikipedian Editor Project, celebrated Wikipedia Day, which marks the 23rd anniversary of the founding of the encyclopedia. The meeting included a 48-hour editing workshop.
2. Wikimedia Summit 2024: The Group, represented by Donia El Domiaty participated in the summit, which took place in Berlin, Germany, from 19 to 21 April.
3. Wikimania 2024: The Group also participated in the 19th Wikimedia conference, which took place in Katowice, Poland, from 7 to 10 August.
4. WikiIndaba 2024: The Group also participated in Indaba conference, which took place in Johannesburg, Sandton, South Africa, from 4 to 6 October. Ibrahim Elaidy presented a session titled The importance, role and powers of the Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee (U4C), and how do you communicate with us?, and Walaa Abdel Manaem introduced a talk titled The effectiveness of individual initiatives in the Wikipedia space: a case study of Egypt (2018-2024).
5. WikiArabia 2024: The Group participated in the WikiArabia 2024 conference held in Muscat, Oman from 25-27 October. Group members took part in several sessions and participated in many events and talks:

Members of EWUG at WikiArabia 2024

6. Wikimedia Egypt Conference: 12th Edition: on December 21, 2024, in Cairo, The conference activities included three sessions; the first to honor the winners of Wikimedia competitions, the second a symposium to celebrate the World Arabic Language Day, and the third session included an edit-a-thon to edit articles and a meeting for the Group members with members of the Group's Board of Trustees.

Photography contests

1. Wiki Loves Monuments 2024 in Egypt
2. Wiki For Minorities in the Arabic Community (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place are from Egypt)
3. Wiki Loves Earth 2024 in Egypt (848 photos uploaded)
4. Wiki Loves Africa 2024 (2nd, and 3rd place are from Egypt)

• 
  2nd prize at Wiki Loves Africa 2024
• 
  3rd prize at Wiki Loves Africa 2024

Partnerships

1. General Authority For National Library & Archives (Ministry of Culture)
2. Zagazig University

Challenges

Cultural and Social Challenges

• Lack of awareness of the Wikimedia movement and its goals: Many individuals in Egyptian society may not realize the importance of Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects as a tool for disseminating knowledge.
• Cultural barriers: Some controversial topics may be considered culturally inappropriate or sensitive, which affects the creation or modification of content.

Technical Challenges

• Internet access: Despite improved infrastructure, some individuals in rural areas may face difficulty accessing the Internet or the necessary digital tools.
• Lack of technical skills: Many users may lack the technical skills to edit Wikipedia or use advanced devices.

Content-related Challenges;

• Lack of reliable sources in Arabic: This makes it difficult to document articles or create new, high-quality content.
• Cognitive biases: Focusing on certain topics may lead to neglecting other important topics, especially those related to subcultures or minorities.

Financial and organizational challenges

• Limited funding: The group may have limited financial resources to organize events or provide training.
• Time management: Most members are volunteers, and may have difficulty allocating enough time for activities alongside their personal and professional responsibilities.

Challenges related to the local community

• Lack of engagement: The group may have difficulty attracting new volunteers or keeping current members active.
• Coordination with educational institutions: Although collaboration with universities and schools is important, the group may have difficulty convincing institutions to participate.

Conclusion

Egypt Wikimedians User Group (EWUG) has contributed significantly to enriching the Arabic and knowledge content on Wikimedia projects in 2024. By writing and editing a large number of articles on Arabic Wikipedia, and uploading hundreds of images on Commons, documenting cultural, natural, and Egyptian heritage landmarks, which enhances the visual content. In addition to contributions to Wikidata. EWUG has also organized many workshops, edit-a-thons, and training sessions to introduce new individuals to Wikimedia projects and encourage them to contribute. EWUG has participated in several international conferences, where it has presented its experiences and learned from the experiences of others. Besides organizing local conferences to enhance cooperation within the community. EWUG plans to expand the scope of its activities in 2025, including: increasing high-quality articles on Wikipedia, organizing more training workshops in new regions, enhancing cooperation with cultural and educational institutions to spread free knowledge, bridging the knowledge gap in Arabic content, and contributing to enhancing the Arabic presence on the Internet.