About Arewa TechCom

Building a sustainable Wikimedia technical ecosystem in Northern Nigeria

Overview

Arewa TechCom is a Wikimedia technical community focused on building tools and improving contribution workflows across Wikimedia projects.

It serves as a platform for collaboration among developers, contributors, and open knowledge advocates in Northern Nigeria.

Background

Arewa TechCom emerged from the Arewa Wikimedia Hackathon.

The initiative was created to move beyond one-time events and establish a continuous, structured program where participants can develop technical skills and contribute to Wikimedia projects through real tools and solutions.

Mission

To build a sustainable ecosystem of Wikimedia developers in Northern Nigeria by fostering innovation, collaboration, and technical contributions to open knowledge platforms.

What We Do

Develop tools that improve Wikidata data quality and usability
Train new contributors in Toolforge, APIs, and Wikimedia technologies
Support collaborative open-source development
Promote the adoption and effective use of Wikimedia tools

Why It Matters

Many Wikimedia tools remain underused due to complexity or lack of awareness.

Arewa TechCom addresses this gap by:

Simplifying technical workflows
Supporting new developers
Building locally relevant solutions
Increasing participation in Wikimedia technical spaces

Focus Areas

Wikidata data quality
Toolforge applications
MediaWiki development
APIs and automation
Open-source collaboration