WikiIndaba 2023/Submissions/Art+Feminism West African Indigenous Language Program

Full recording of the session

ID :
Author(s): Sadik Shahadu (he/him), Kira Wisniewski (she/her)	Username(s): Shahadusadik, Kiraface	Type of submission: lightning talk
	Affiliation: Art+Feminism User Group	Theme(s): Engagement, Diversity
Abstract: This proposal highlights Art+Feminism's West African Indigenous Language Community Program, which supports smaller language Wikipedia communities and promotes the representation of Indigenous knowledge and culture. Through partnerships with Wikimedia communities in West Africa, the program has supported several projects, such as the Dagbani and Gurene Wikipedias.		Level of advancement: basic
		Special requirements: No
		Extra information: In 2020–2021, Art+Feminism started a pilot initiative to support the Atikamekw and Dagbani languages on Wikipedia as the inaugural Art+Feminism Indigenous language community program. In 2021, the program was further modified to support west African Wikimedia language projects such as Dagbani, Gurene, Moore, Kusaal, Dagaare and Twi, as well as the Pidgin language Wikipedia in Ghana. Art+Feminism's West African Indigenous Language Community Program aims to promote the representation of Indigenous knowledge and culture on Wikipedia by supporting smaller language communities. The program has been working with Wikimedia language communities in West Africa, providing them with the necessary tools to create and improve articles in West African indigenous languages such as Dagbani and Gurene Wikipedias. - Etherpad

How will this session be beneficial for the communities in the region? This proposal is about the Art+Feminism West African Indigenous Languages program and how people can get involved. The session also seeks to bring various language communities together to discuss their challenges and success stories. It provides support to individuals and communities working on indigenous and low-resourced language Wikipedia projects. It will also give those who attend a chance to talk about how important it is to decolonize knowledge production and encourage linguistic diversity on Wikipedia. During the session, we will talk about how important it is to help indigenous communities keep and share their culture and knowledge. It will also showcase the impact of collaborative efforts between Art+Feminism, Wikimedia communities, and local organizations in expanding access to information and knowledge production.

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