Education/News/April 2025/Empowering the Next Generation: Wikidata Training at Federal Government Boys College, FGBC Abuja

Empowering the Next Generation: Wikidata Training at Federal Government Boys College, FGBC Abuja.

Summary: The FGBC Wiki Club recently held a Wikidata training session, sponsored by the Igbo Wikimedians User Group. As FGBC is an all-boys school, the training focused on Nigerian men who have made significant contributions in media, STEM, sports, politics, and education. This initiative aimed to equip and introduce students and educators to the power of open knowledge and encourage meaningful contributions to wikidata.

Wikidata Edit a thon

The training took place at the School Media space in FGBC and was facilitated by Oby Ezeilo The students were introduced to the fundamentals of Wikidata, a free and open knowledge base that acts as central storage for the structured data. The training featured:

Foundational Learning: An introduction to key Wikidata concepts — items, properties, and statements.
Hands-on Sessions: Students created and edited Wikidata entries related to Nigerian men in so many fields under the guidance of the facilitator
Contextual Relevance: Participants focused on improving data about Nigerian topics — including notable personalities in sports, STEM, education, media and politics
Collaborative Spirit: Breakout sessions encouraged teamwork and critical thinking.

Participants which were students of FGBC Wiki Club engaged in hands-on exercises, learning to structure information using Wikidata properties, statements, and references. The training not only enhanced their technical skills but also deepened their appreciation for the impact of Nigerian figures in different online domains. At the end of the session, students successfully created and improved several Wikidata entries, contributing to the visibility of Nigerian men in media, STEM, sports, politics, and education.

Teachers as Champions of Open Knowledge

Some Teachers at FGBC showed great enthusiasm about integrating Wikimedia projects into classroom learning. They expressed interest in using Wikidata and other Wikimedia platforms to teach topics ranging from history and ICT to research methods.

“This kind of training should be extended to more schools. It builds both digital and civic literacy.” — Ogbonnaya Bright ICT Teacher, FGBC Abuja

Measurable Impact

Though we had two major challenges limited space and Limited hardwares to work with but By the end of the project:

23 students created their first Wiki account and Wikidata items
5 teachers were trained to become future facilitators
Topics related to Nigeria men saw over 300 new contributions on Wikidata

Looking Ahead

This training is a small but powerful step towards building a new generation of Wikimedians in Nigeria. This event was an inspiring step towards engaging young minds in open knowledge initiatives and ensuring that the legacies of notable Nigerian men are well-documented and accessible globally. With continued support and training, these students are well on their way to becoming active contributors to the Wikimedia projects.