Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda/Events & Projects/Wikimania 2022/VanMulondo/Report

How did I attend Wikimania?

I mostly attended the event virtually mainly through Pheedloop and occasionally on YouTube for the four days. I also attended our local in-person Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda event which was held on Friday the 12th of August 2022.

What did I spend the scholarship funds on?

I spent the funds on data bundles which I used to attend the online virtual sessions. I also spent the funds on transport to get me to and from the Wikimedia Community User Group in-person event. The funds were you used to also purchase a pair of headsets that I used for the virtual sessions.

Takeaways from the Wikimania sessions.

1. Digital Security Basics; This session was all about what digital security entails, it’s tools, spaces, habits and trade-offs. My strongest takeaway from this was why it is important for me as a wikimedian to care about my digital security. I learnt that I could simply be targeted for editing in a controversial topic area or by influential people or groups for putting negative content in their articles.

2. The Challenges and Opportunities of building a Community; As someone who has recently joined the Wikimedia Community User group, I believe it gave me great insight about the issues faced within a community and how to overcome them. My greatest takeaway from this session was lessons on building a community which include knowing your community status and the people of your community, being transparent about decisions as a community and creating rules, policies and workflows in the community.

3. Meet the members that are drafting the Wikimedia Movement Charter. I got to know a little about the people that are involved in this movement and their hierarchy in this committee. I learnt about what it entails and how it is possible to become a part of such a committee. I got to understand that the charter is a document that will consolidate the values and principles of Wikimedia which will define roles and responsibilities across the movement to which everyone who is willing to contribute to the vision should abide by.

How did I connect with other people during Wikimania 2022?

Although I did not connect that much with people during the virtual event, I was inspired by the people who presented and shared a little bit about themselves on the platform. It felt like being a part of a great global movement where I got to experience different cultures and learn a great deal of knowledge from different people. I celebrated Wikimania by attending the in-person event for the Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda in Kampala. I connected with different people and we exchanged ideas and shared the experiences we have had so far with Wikimedia. We had light moments, we had nice food and we even closed off the day by cutting a cake. It was a memorable experience!