Wiki In Africa and their organising associate, Wikimedia Usergroup Côte d’Ivoire, have launched the Africa Environment WikiFocus to enhance the protection and understanding of local weather and environment-related matters on Wikipedia, significantly in Africa. The month-long WikiFocus encourages Wikimedia and local weather activists throughout the continent (and past) so as to add factual knowledge and researched content material about all aspects of Africa’s local weather.
The Afrobarometer report (2019) discovered that solely 28% of Africans (in 34 international locations surveyed) have been conscious of local weather change as an idea. This worrying lack of information is partly resulting from a pervasive lack of visibility of related details about Local weather, Climate, and Local weather Change, particularly from the media, throughout Africa. Wikipedia is without doubt one of the few media platforms that individuals throughout Africa can entry free of charge.
Africa is without doubt one of the areas most weak to the impacts of local weather change. Africa is chargeable for solely round 4% of world greenhouse fuel emissions. Nonetheless, will probably be disproportionately affected by local weather change. Local weather change will considerably affect Africa, stories the United Nations. Anticipated impacts embrace elevated frequency and severity of droughts, floods, and different excessive climate occasions that may harm crops and infrastructure and trigger meals shortages. The United Nations Growth Programme (UNDP) has launched estimates that local weather change may cut back crop yields in Africa by as much as 30% by 2050.
The Africa Atmosphere WikiFocus will incorporate up-to-date factual knowledge and analysis, some provided explicitly by the African Union and organisations lively within the local weather and environmental sector. It would additionally elevate consciousness of those challenges by enhancing the protection of local weather and environment-related matters on Wikipedia. The initiative brings collectively local weather consultants, environmental organisations, and Wikipedians to create high-quality, well-researched articles which can be freely accessible to a broad viewers.
Seventeen volunteer Wikimedia communities throughout Anglophone and Francophone Africa will host in-person enhancing occasions in March and April. Extra on-line coaching classes (watch this one on YouTube) will share the information required so as to add content material to Wikipedia.
Africa’s Wikimedia communities have supplied different methods to take part via targeted alignment with a number of current Wiki In Africa initiatives. The reside month-to-month Wiki Africa Hour was the platform for the launch occasion. Watch the launch on YouTube. The Wiki Loves Women annual Inform Us About Her picture description drive concentrates on photographs of Women on the Frontline of Climate.
This 12 months, Africa’s most substantial annual photograph contest, Wiki Loves Africa, requires the entry of photographs, video, audio, diagrams, and photograph essays that depict Local weather & Climate. The intentional alignment by Wiki in Africa between the 2 initiatives – Wiki Loves Africa and the Africa Atmosphere WikiFocus – has seen the addition of two prizes to the Wiki Loves Africa prize classes. The Africa Atmosphere WikiFocus has sponsored two Wiki Loves Africa media classes for the very best illustration of the affect of local weather change: the very best video and the very best photograph essay.
The WikiFocus is a venture created and developed by Wiki In Africa (WIA) and Wikimedia Community User Group Côte d’Ivoire (WMUG IC) as an integral a part of the African Knowledge Initiative (AKI) collection of campaigns.
The African Information Initiative is supported by the African Union, Wikimedia Foundation, and Africa No Filter. The Africa Atmosphere WikiFocus is a content material creation and contribution WikiFocus that launched on the African Union’s Wangari Maathai Day (third of March).
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