WikiFranca

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WikiFranca

A collaboration between the francophone groups of the Wikimedia movement

Telegram Discussion Group
Mailing list: wikifrancalists.wikimedia.fr

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WikiFranca is a collaboration between the French-speaking groups of the Wikimedia movement, whether they are officially recognized as affiliated or not. The goal of this collaboration is to encourage activities in the various French-language Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia and its sister projects, both on the Web and in the field. It not only allows local working groups without chapters in their country to organize activities and events in their localities and languages, but also builds a bridge between the countries participating in French-language Wikimedia projects.

Background

The idea of a partnership between francophone chapters was first discussed in 2011, at the Forum mondial de la langue française (Global Forum of the French language), where several members of Wikimédia France, Wikimedia Canada and the Quebec Committee joined forces to be present at the Forum which was held in Quebec city. The discussions were going well because creating "Francocoop", based on the model Iberocoop, was in the air.

In 2012, a first francophone chapters meeting was held at Wikimania Washington to discuss, to present projects and to exchange innovative ideas. Among the countries represented at this meeting, there were Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Switzerland and Tunisia. It was during this meeting that a collaboration between francophone chapters became evident.

At Wikimania Hong Kong in 2013, francophone chapters had a second meeting, where a coordinator has been elected and formalizing WikiFranca. A first global project was organized in October 2013, called Mois international de la contribution francophone (International Francophone Contribution Month) where 26 workshops were organized in 21 cities around the world. The event had a worldwide media coverage, which has encouraged the organizers worldwide.

Observation

The model of national chapters is effective for countries where language and culture are homogeneous, but the reality is quite different for countries where French cohabits with another language and is a minority language, or where only small groups of French-speaking Wikipedians are limited by the chronic lack of active and involved participants. It appears important that collaboration between francophone countries is in place to meet the needs of these groups.

One of the challenges of multilingual chapters is that their members work on various Wikimedia projects. This may seem insignificant, but it is clear that this create a difficulty of creating a cohesive group working since users contribute in different versions of Wikipedia, Wikisource, etc. An association of francophone chapters and user groups coordinates the efforts of those who have the desire to contribute to French Wikimedia projects.

In addition some countries do not have the possibility of forming a chapter, and it may not be a viable option, such as the countries of Francophone Africa. Quebec is another example of a francophone nation enclosed by a majority language and Quebec contributors have little difficulty to thrive in a chapter where anglophone contributors are majority. Belgium and Tunisia are experiencing similar situations.

Gallery

Photo of the group of participants in the French WikiConvention of Brussels 2019.
Photo of the group of participants in the French WikiConvention of Grenoble 2018.
African Schools Challenge WikiChallenge Ceremony in Mali, 2018.
Contribution workshop in Douala, Cameroon, 2018.
Contributory Day Germain Muller at the Strasbourg Museums Library, 2013.
Francophone Contribution Month in Oran, Algeria.
#1Lib1ref in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 2018.
Edit-a-thon social entrepreneurship at ESCP Europe, 2016.
Digital Summer School in Haiti.

Updates

2022

Novembre ː WikiFranca (association à but non lucratif) est heureuse d'accueillir en son sein un nouveau membre; il s'agit de WikiInAfrica. Cette association à but non lucratif sera officiellement présentée lors de l'Assemblée générale.
November 19-20ː WikiConvention Francophone 2022
November 18ː General Assembly of WikiFranca (non-profit association)
November 17 and 18ː International Learning and Development Days
September 9-11ː WikiFranca participates in the wikimedia summit in Berlin
Juneː WikiFranca participates in the consultation of actors of the movement pre-sent to constitute hubs
Mayː The WikiFranca committee asks Wikimedia France to organize the WikiConvention Francophone 2022 and chooses the Wikimedia Community Usergroup of Ivory Coast among the three candidates to organize the WikiConvention Francophone 2023.
March 12ː WikiFranca participates in discussion on Foundation Hubs
March 1 to 31: The International Francophone Contribution Month (link in French)
February ː development of the 2022 action plan

2021

20 Novembre : Procès verbal de l'Assemblée constitutive de WikiFranca
20 et 21 Novembre : WikiConvention Francophone 2021
13 Octobre : Réunion générale - charte de gouvernance 3ème jet et proposition de statuts
1er Septembre : Réunion générale - amendement charte de coopération et 2ème jet charte de gouvernance
15 juillet : Webinaire finances puis charte de gouvernance 1er jet
1er au 31 Mai : Mois Africain Wikipédia
1er au 31 Mars : Mois de la contribution
15 Janvier : Les 20 ans de Wikipédia en Guinée