On March 22, 2025, a special Wikipedia training workshop was held at the Karimjee Hall, Posta, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This event marked the third consecutive sponsorship of workshops by one of Tanzania’s major corporate families, Karimjee.
Prior to the event, we created a survey to track participants interested in learning about Wikipedia. The survey attracted 30 participants. See the results here: Survey Results.
From this point, we set the foundation for our workshop. Unlike the previous two workshops, this session focused primarily on adding infoboxes to articles. This direction was guided by research conducted by Dr. Aneth David (User:Asterlegorch367). After discussions among facilitators, we agreed to provide instructions on embedding infoboxes.
Workshop Commencement
The event post indicated that the workshop would begin at 10:00 AM. However, due to a few logistical challenges, all facilitators arrived slightly late. Upon arrival, we found that everything had already been arranged by the chief workshop coordinator from Karimjee, Madam Elsie Ceasarianne Eyakuze, who has been instrumental in organizing these sessions.
Before proceeding with our activities, Aneth insisted that participants have breakfast. This was done after introductions of all attendees, including those joining online. Yes, this was a hybrid workshop—both in-person and virtual.
Aneth humorously suggested sending pictures of the snacks to online participants while those present enjoyed the actual food. However, none of us facilitators (Antoni Mtavangu, Aneth, and I) managed to send the pictures—perhaps due to our own hunger!
Following a short tea break, Dr. Aneth began explaining Wikipedia infoboxes. The PowerPoint presentation can be accessed here: Presentation.
She provided a detailed and simple explanation for beginners unfamiliar with Wikipedia, covering step-by-step instructions on Wikipedia’s purpose and functions. At the end of the session, she allowed both in-person and online participants to ask questions.
It was truly a great day, as participants were eager and filled with questions. If time were not a constraint, we could have spent several more hours addressing their inquiries. We were delighted by the engagement of our participants.
Outcomes
Every event is followed by outcomes, and all activities must be recorded on the Wikipedia Outreach Dashboard. For this event, we used the following link: Outreach Dashboard. The event was also officially registered on Swahili Wikipedia: Event Registration.
Key results from the dashboard:
Articles edited: 21
Total edits: 36
Bytes added: 5.76K
References added: 0
Article views: 178
Commons uploads: 4
You may wonder why we included Commons uploads. There was a case regarding infoboxes requiring images. It became necessary to either find or upload suitable images. Toni took on the task of explaining image licensing and its benefits. Although he covered the basics, he suggested a separate session dedicated to discussing image use on Wikipedia.
To support this, four sample images were uploaded.
Additionally, the Outreach Dashboard tracks activity for a month. Our training did not provide enough knowledge for some participants, who requested an online follow-up session. As Jenga Wikipedia ya Kiswahili (JWK), we consider this event a success because it sparked interest among new participants who now wish to join our affiliate communities.
We documented both recognized and unrecognized affiliates working towards Wikimedia movements. Moreover, we continue engaging participants through a dedicated WhatsApp group specific to this editathon. We will keep updating them on progress until April 22, 2025.
On behalf of the entire Jenga Wikipedia ya Kiswahili team, in collaboration with Wikimedia Tanzania, I sincerely say THANK YOU ALL.
For more reports like this; please visit: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Jenga_Wikipedia_ya_Kiswahili/Report_24_%E2%80%94_2025
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