Wiki Loves Women/Focus Group/Wiki OTO

Introduction

The Wiki Oto – Which means unique in Yoruba– is a new campaign started by members of the Wiki Loves Women Focus Group in 2025. It is part of the group’s new learning-by-practicing approach, developed after three years of the leadership program. The campaign works to reduce the lack of information about African women on Wikimedia platforms. It encourages people around the world to create, improve, and add content that shows the achievements of African women. The campaign focuses on adding and improving structured data about African women and their contributions on Wikidata, with the possibility of expanding to other Wikimedia projects in the future.

Throughout the year, participants from around the world are encouraged to celebrate and document the richness and uniqueness of African women, on Wikidata. Every two months, a new theme will be announced by the Wiki Loves Women Focus Group members, highlighting the contributions of African women.

Background

The Wiki Oto Global Campaign was created with two main purposes:

1. Learning by Practicing:

This campaign stems from a collective decision by the Wiki Loves Women Focus Group to shift their approach to a more practical and engaging model. The need for this change became evident after the group observed a decline in member engagement under the old structure of working sessions.

These sessions, while informative, often lacked the hands-on opportunities needed to develop tangible skills and foster active participation. To address this, the campaign was designed to focus on learning by practicing, offering members real-world experience in contributing to Wikimedia projects, managing campaigns, and driving impactful initiatives. This new approach not only motivates members but also ensures they gain valuable skills in project management, community building, and content creation.

2. Addressing the Gender Gap on Wikidata:

Wikidata, while a vital platform for structured knowledge, highlights the significant gender gap that persists across Wikimedia projects. Studies show that women represent less than 20% of biographies across Wikimedia platforms, with African women being even more underrepresented. For instance, data from past Wikimedia analyses indicate that African women account for only a small fraction of entries on Wikidata, despite their significant contributions to history, culture, and society. This campaign aims to tackle this disparity by focusing on creating and enriching structured data about African women, ensuring their achievements and stories are documented, celebrated, and made accessible to a global audience.

By combining these two purposes, the Wiki Oto Global Campaign not only strengthens the skills of its members but also contributes to reducing the knowledge and representation gaps on Wikidata, with a particular focus on African women.

Goals

Internal Goals (Focus Group Members' Skills):

Enhance the skills of Wiki Loves Women Focus Group members in project management, community engagement, communications and strategic planning.
Provide hands-on experience in creating and enriching structured data on Wikidata.
Develop members’ capacity in training and mentoring contributors globally.
Foster collaboration and teamwork within the focus group, promoting innovation and shared learning.

External Goals (Addressing the Gender Gap on Wikidata):

Reduce the gender gap on Wikidata by increasing structured data about African women and their contributions.
Engage participants worldwide to create and improve content related to African women.
Promote diversity and inclusivity on Wikimedia platforms by amplifying African women’s representation.
Build a global community committed to documenting African women’s achievements, ensuring their stories are preserved and accessible.

Themes

Every 2 months the WLW FG members will vote for the new theme. Please visit this page to stay informed about updates on the new theme.

To share your suggestions, please visit the Wiki Oto talk page and contribute your ideas there.

How to participate?

If you are interested in participating and receiving updates about the Wiki Oto Global Campaign, please add your username below. Once you add your username, you will receive updates about the current theme, training sessions, and ways to contribute to your talk page. We look forward to having you join the campaign and work together to amplify the voices of African women!

UserːAfek91
Ourytima (talk) 19:36, 29 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Add your username here..