Education/News/October 2024/WikiChallenge African Schools wins the “Open Pedagogy” Award 2024 from OE Global
WikiChallenge African Schools wins the “Open Pedagogy” Award 2024 from OE Global
In short
The WikiChallenge African Schools won the 2024 Open Pedagogy Award of Open Education Global (aka, OE Global). The WikiChallenge is a writing competition specifically designed for pupils aged 8-13 in various French-speaking African countries and Sierra Leone organized by Wiki in Africa and Fondation Orange.
In 2023–24, the contest took place in 9 countries (Tunisie, Mali, Cameroun, Madagascar, Sénégal, Guinée, Côte d'Ivoire, RdC, and a new participant Sierra Leone).
The 12 winning schools were announced on 18 June 2024 during the opening day of the Orange Book Award for Africa (POLA) in Rabat (Morocco). In the last edition, 151 texts and more than 715 photos and 38 videos have been submitted by the children of 337 schools.
This year, a very large amount of work has been done in the communication area (Facebook page, live with guest personalities, recording of testimonials, compilation videos, etc.). The big news of the year remains however the launch of the competition in an English-speaking country.
Links
- Main page of the competition
- Facebook page of the competition
- Images on Wikimedia Commons related to the competition
- Previous update in the Education Newsletter
- The document proposed to jury members for the selection of best articles in 2024
- Poster presented at Wikimania Katowice : The poster
- Video by Brut Afrique on Facebook : The video
Presentation of the writing competition
WikiChallenge Écoles d'Afrique engages students from primary schools across Africa in contributing to Vikidia, the encyclopedia for 8- to 13-year-olds that anyone can improve. It encourages them to create and improve articles on topics related to African culture, history, environment, and more. It promotes knowledge sharing, digital literacy, and cultural diversity.
WikiChallenge Écoles d'Afrique plays a crucial role in empowering Africa’s youth, promoting digital literacy, and fostering a sense of ownership over their cultural heritage. It contributes to the growth of Africa-focused content online and ensures African perspectives are included in the global knowledge landscape.
- The specifics
- Targets students aged 9 to 13 in (mostly) French-speaking Africa;
- Organized with in the official education framework;
- Open to schools members of the Digital Schools Network of the Orange Foundation;
- Free writing theme... but encourages contributions on local cultural, historical, and environmental topics;
- Texts and illustrations are published under free licenses on Vikidia and Wikimedia Commons; and
- Winning institutions receive prizes ranging from €2,500 to €5,000 per school to spend on educational materials or school infrastructure.
- Impacts and benefits
- Promotes educational engagement and active learning among African students;
- Amplifies online representation of Africa’s culture, history, and knowledge;
- Fosters cross-cultural understanding and appreciation among students;
- Enhances digital skills and familiarity with online platforms like Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Vikidia;
- Empowers students to become contributors and creators of knowledge;
- Builds teamwork and collaboration among participants;
- Provides a platform for students to showcase their talents and creativity;
- Increases access to information about Africa for a global audience;
- Inspires a sense of pride and ownership in African heritage and identity; and
- Finally, the prizes offered to the winning schools improve the quality of the studying environment of hundreds of children.
Project impact over 6 editions
6 Editions of WikiChallenge (2017-2024)
- 12 participating countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, DRC, Ivory Coast, Guinea Conakry, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, and Sierra Leone)
- 794 participating establishments
- 618 texts proposed by children and published on Vikidia
- 3361 photos, drawings and videos published
- 74 winning schools, for the direct benefit of the hundreds of students and staff of the schools
- Skills acquired by all participating students