African & Proud (AP)
Read our Annual Report 2023
| Afroyanga Cultural Enlightenment Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
.svg) Africa | |
| Location | Global Online Community-based |
| Volunteers | 293 |
| Key people | |
| Mobile number | +234-08172029879 +234-07049827991 |
| Website | https://www.africanandproud.org/ |
| E-mail address | info africanandproud org |
| @african_proud1 | |
| @proudlyafro | |
| Remarks | Linkedin @africanandproud |
Afroyanga Cultural Enlightenment Initiative popularly known as African & Proud (AP) is a group of volunteer Wikimedia editors who are proud of Africa and are committed to promoting and projecting Africa, Africans, and her culture, festivals, cuisines, quotes, and various African-related information to the world's largest free encyclopedia and her sister projects.
The Journey
African & Proud began in 2019 with the vision of empowering African communities to document their rich cultural heritage on global digital platforms like Wikimedia. Founded by Kolawole Oyewole and Edozie Richard, the initiative started with WikiFestival Nigeria, which focused on creating and improving articles related to Nigerian festivals. As the movement grew, it expanded into documenting Nigerian Cuisine and other unique cultural elements, becoming the first initiative to bring Wikibooks'cookbooks to the Nigerian ecosystem by contributing recipes and cultural content. By 2021, African & Proud extended her reach to include educational initiatives like the WikiClassroom Project, introducing Wikimedia to school communities and youth through NYSC corps members. In 2023, AP received its first General Support Fund, which helped formalize the organization's structure and launch key initiatives like the Afroyanga Bootcamp, aimed at building contributor capacity and leadership among African youth. Today, African & Proud is committed to a decentralized and scalable approach to ensure that young Africans can authentically and sustainably tell their own cultural stories on global platform such as Wikimedia Platforms, driving forward the movement for a well-represented, thriving African cultural narrative.
The initiative mission is to empower Africans in local communities by providing comprehensive training, capacity-building programs, and the resources needed to document and share African culture, heritage, and stories on Wikimedia platforms. Through our key initiatives, Culture Connect Africa, WikiClassroom and Afroyanga Bootcamp, we engage participants to develop digital literacy and content creation skills, fostering collaboration across African borders. Our mission is to ensure that African cultural heritage is represented by Africans, for Africans, creating a unified movement that enriches global understanding and amplifies African narratives in an authentic way. By forming partnerships, building local capacity, and creating sustainable content, African & Proud actively works to shape a more inclusive and accurate digital portrayal of Africa today.
Vision
To build a thriving Pan-African movement that celebrates, preserves, and amplifies the rich cultural diversity of Africa by empowering Africans in local communities to document and share their culture, heritage, stories, and traditions on global Wikimedia platforms, taking back the power to shape our own narratives. African & Proud envisions a world where Africans from different countries collaborate seamlessly to ensure that the continent’s heritage is authentically represented by Africans, for Africans. By connecting communities across borders, we aim to foster unity, pride, and mutual understanding, making African culture accessible globally while inspiring a collective cultural identity that transcends national boundaries.
Unique Selling Perspective
African & Proud is a Pan-African, community-driven initiative focused on empowering younger generations in local communities to take control of their cultural narratives and document, celebrate, and amplify African heritage on Wikimedia platforms. By establishing early pathways for youth participation, AP is building a sustainable, long-term network of contributors who will ensure that African cultural heritage is authentically represented by Africans, for Africans. Through initiatives like Culture Connect Africa, WikiClassroom and Afroyanga Bootcamp, AP not only trains individuals but also creates a pipeline of future leaders and digital storytellers. Younger participants from diverse backgrounds bring fresh perspectives, ensuring that cultural documentation remains vibrant, innovative, and relevant—enriching African representation globally while supporting the future sustainability of the Wikimedia community.
Objectives
- Increase Representation of African Cultural Heritage on Wikimedia Platforms.
- Empower Young Africans to Take Control of Cultural Narratives.
- Build Capacity for Sustainable Digital Content Creation.
- Foster Pan-African Collaboration and Unity.
- Expand the Movement Across Africa in Phased Steps.
- Ensure the Long-term Sustainability of the Wikimedia Movement.
- Establish Strong Local Networks of Cultural Custodians.
- Promote Pride in African Heritage Among Local Communities.
- Inject Fresh Perspectives and Innovation into Cultural Documentation.
Strategic plans
Theory of Change
African & Proud (AP) is on a transformative journey to build a thriving, sustainable, and inclusive representation of African culture in the global knowledge ecosystem. Our ultimate end goal is to create a world where African culture is authentically and richly represented on global digital platforms, celebrated by both Africans and people around the world, and shared through narratives crafted by the communities that live these cultures. Just as ingredients are transformed into a finished dish, AP transforms scattered, underrepresented cultural elements into a comprehensive and accessible cultural narrative that everyone can experience.
At the core of this transformation is our belief that representation matters and that cultural narratives are most powerful when documented by those who live them. Today, the underrepresentation of Africa in digital repositories creates a gap in how the world understands and appreciates the continent's diversity and richness. African & Proud starts with the "raw ingredients"—the diverse cultures, stories, festivals, cuisines, and traditions of Africa—and empowers local communities to transform these into digital assets that are accessible globally.
Through our programs, such as CultureConnect and Afroyanga Bootcamp, we provide the skills and tools needed to empower individuals, particularly younger generations, to take ownership of documenting their heritage. These activities act as the "blending and cooking" processes—turning individual cultural elements into a unified, rich representation of African culture that is not only documented but also celebrated and connected to a wider global audience. CultureConnect brings together distinct cultural aspects such as cuisine, festivals, and cinema, while Afroyanga Bootcamp builds participants' capacity, giving them the skills and confidence to contribute meaningfully and sustainably.
Our focus on the younger generation ensures a pipeline of new energy and perspectives, essential to making the movement future-proof and sustainable. Just as a cook thoughtfully combines ingredients to create something nourishing and delightful, we blend the knowledge of young contributors with the experiences of seasoned volunteers to create a thriving community that continually expands and deepens Africa’s representation. These young contributors bring fresh perspectives that ensure the Wikimedia movement remains vibrant and adaptable, while also fostering a sense of cultural pride among Africans.
The process of this transformation is grounded in phased expansion: starting with a solid foundation in Nigeria, expanding into Ghana, and progressively reaching more countries across the continent. Each step of this journey builds a resilient, Pan-African network of contributors who are empowered to tell their own stories. As different regions come together, they create a powerful and interconnected community that documents, celebrates, and amplifies African culture in a way that no external perspective can replicate.
The end goal—the "stew" we are working towards—is a comprehensive, accurate, and widely accessible digital representation of African culture. This representation is not only for global audiences but also for future generations of Africans who will be able to see themselves, their heritage, and their history fully and authentically reflected. This digital presence is built by Africans, for Africans, ensuring that the power of cultural representation remains with those whose stories are being told.
In achieving this, African & Proud contributes to a global understanding of Africa that is rooted in authenticity and inclusivity, changing the way African culture is perceived and appreciated, and empowering local communities to become the custodians of their narratives. This transformative journey, from "raw ingredients" to a rich and celebrated cultural "stew," is what drives African & Proud and underpins our commitment to building a vibrant, united, and sustainable Pan-African movement.
Some activity
Done August 2024 Afroyanga Bootcamp:Join us for the second edition of the Afroyanga Bootcamp, happening from August 21st-26th, 2024. This year, we're bringing together young Africans from various backgrounds to connect, learn, and contribute to Wikimedia projects.
Doing... Culture Connect Africa: Culture Connect Africa 2024 is an initiative encompassing three transformative projects; AfroCuisine, Wiki Festival, and African Cinema/Film Editathon. These projects collectively aim to amplify the rich tapestry of African cultures, filling content gaps on Wikimedia platforms and fostering a more inclusive representation of African heritage.- Done September 2023 Afroyanga Bootcamp: The Afroyanga 1.0 Bootcamp is a physical capacity-building conference held in Nigeria, with participants from various states across the country. This boot camp is dedicated to empowering individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute effectively to Wikimedia Foundation projects while focusing on personal development and networking opportunities.
- Done June - July 2023 AfroCuisine: A follow-up project to Nigerian Cuisine, the contest aims at documenting African cuisines and further showcasing the African cuisines on Wikibooks' cookbooks, Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons and other project. The project will build on the success recorded during the pilot Nigerian Cuisine, by now extending to create more African cuisine content.
- Done September - October 2022 WikiClassroom Campaign: WikiClassroom is a promotional movement where both students and teachers are sufficiently informed and enlightened on Wikipedia and its sister's project and its potential as a reliable learning resource.
- Done July 2022 - September 2022 Art+Feminism 2022 Campaign: The project joined the Art+Feminism 2022 campaign by creating/improving articles about Nigerian women on Wikipedia.
- Done May 2022 - July 2022 Nigerian Cuisine: The project aims at bridging the content gap on Nigerian Cuisine on Wikipedia and cookbooks on Wikibooks, with special emphasis on training on how to edit the Cookbook, and at the time, the cookbook had little or no content, this project bridged that gap.
- Done March 2022 Promotion of Wikimedia Projects to Edo State NYSC Corp members: Promoting Wikimedia Projects to NYSC Corp members in Edo State, Nigeria with the aim of equipping them with knowledge about Wikipedia and Wikivoyage and how they can use the platforms and become a part of it.
- Done December 2021 - January 2022 Nigeria Transportation and Recreation Expedition: The project aimed at creating and improving the content on Nigeria's Transportation and Recreational centers on Wikivoyage and English Wikipedia while promoting travel information and tourism in Nigeria. The project saw over 4.820K articles relating to Nigeria's Transportation and Recreational centers created/improved.
- Done July - August 2021 WikiFestival Nigeria: The project aimed at bridging the festival gap that exists on Wikipedia with a focus on Nigerian-related festival content. The project saw over 236 articles relating to Nigeria Festivals created/improved.
Core team
Contact
