Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda/Events & Projects/Wikimania 2022/Hillary Mbaihayo/Report
Welcome back from Wikimania 2022! Please write your report here. Once you have completed the application, please email the link to wikimania
wikimedia.org (by 20 September 2022). If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email us.
- Username
- Hillary Mbaihayo
- How did you attend Wikimania (virtually or in-person)?
My name is Hillary Mbaihayo and I am a new user to Wikimedia. Wikimania 2022 was my first wikimania to attend and I attended it virtually via the pheedloop app installed on my phone, using the link provided to watch it on my laptop and as well via the YouTube channel.
- What did you spend the scholarship funds on?
I was super excited to receive the scholarship and I had so many plans in places but as always resources are always scarce, I had to cut down on my plans and spend on what I believed was core to me and would spread love to my loved ones thus i zeroed down to the following: 1. Bought a monthly data bundle to enable attend all the sessions and as well be able to keep online as I research and be able to contribute to Wikimedia. (20GB). 2. Bought a chess board for my niece who is a fun of playing chess and has always requested me for one but was yet to get some finances availed on my side for that purpose. 3. Purchased a digital watch for my niece in boarding school who had requested for one promising me to improve on her time keeping at school and thus improving on her school grade. 4. Purchased an art piece. I always collect souvenirs every time I travel to always remind me of the place. Since wikimania2022 was held virtually, I bought an art piece to always remind me of the workshop but at the same time to support art4good, a session I loved since it supports mental health, I even day dreamt about drawing and contributing to it but alas I was reminded of the truth (In my education life I only failed in two subject areas, art and Kiswahili). 5. Spare change. Of course as my life principle, I always spare something out of all the resources I receive to prepare for any future eventualities.
- Takeaways – choose 3 specific Wikimania sessions you attended and describe your key take-aways per session.
Choosing my three best topics is quite a hard task as I am torn between choosing my best out of so many sessions which were equally good however I zeroed down to the following three; 1. Digital security basics Digital security basics was my overall best. The topic was well presented and broken down to be understood by everyone. The passwords we have always thought to be strong we actually discovered they are not. The training prompted me to change most of my passwords immediately and create a master password. I learnt new subjects such as doxing, social engineering and dictionary attack. My key takeaway from the session was to always ensure that I carry out safe browsing. 2. Art4Good Art4Good ranks well on my list as it helps people suffering with mental health. A recent report by ministry of health Uganda revealed that approximately 14 million Ugandans out of approximately 42 million suffer from mental health related disorders. The session appealed to me as it provides solutions to people on how to avoid falling into depression bi y painting away their pain. My key takeaway from this session was the reminder that we learnt to paint first before we learnt how to talk and I made a mental note to pay more attention to paintings that come my way to try and decipher the information behind the paintings. The other takeaway is to always find something to occupy me and avoid falling into depression and mental health related issues.
- How did you connect with other people during Wikimania 2022? How did you celebrate at Wikimania 2022?
My pheedloop did not work well thus I attended most of my sessions via YouTube. My greatest chance at interacting with other people was at the in person event held on the second day of wikimania2022. I was able to meet and interact with other people but notably were my two neighbours, a grants officer with whom we share similar passion for novels and libraries and a forex trader who has made it in a field where I failed miserably but promised to help me see the bright light of forex trading. I celebrated wikimania2022 with the kahoot quiz that taught us so much about Wikimedia and as a food lover, I cannot describe the celebration and forget about the heavy breakfast that we were served at the in person event followed by the three course meal (lunch). The chocolate cake shared completed the evening and like the meals before, the test was heavenly. Wikimania was fun, I literally sat watch the fun sessions and laughed my heart to the bemusement of my family members. Sessions such as walk your dog, yoga and dance party to mention but a few. Thanks to the team that uploaded the sessions on you tube to enable us watch those we missed, we are grateful. Our hope can only be that we manage to make it to the list for Singapore wikimania2023 but true to its theme, I had fun felt alive and vibrant while improving my brilliance.
- (Optional) Please share link(s) to your social media post(s) about Wikimania