By Victor Essang
UYO
Wikimedia User Group Nigeria has launched a new branch, Akwa Ibom Network and inaugurated its leadership with a mandate to promote Wikimedia projects and activities in the state.
Wikimedia User Group Nigeria is the local Wikimedia affiliate covering Nigeria. It supports volunteer editors and contributors to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects such as Commons, Wikidata, Wikivoyage, which are independently run by the Wikimedia Foundation.
Performing the launch recently in Uyo, the programme director, Wikimedia Nigeria, Mr Ayokomi Oyeyemi, said the essence of establishing the network was to tell Akwa Ibom stories for people to see and acknowledge.
Oyeyemi said “there is a lot about Akwa Ibom that is not in the internet. We want to push the narrative about Akwa Ibom State and the Nigerian visibility.”
He called on Akwa Ibom people to be part of the network, noting that “volunteering will give you some level of access to information, build your writing skills, improve your reading culture, and expose you to travelling opportunities.”
The programme director, who stressed the need to tell positive stories about Nigeria and Akwa Ibom through Wikipedia, said the platform is an online encyclopedia owned by Wikimedia Foundation which one can get credible information.
The programme director who said they have other Wikimedia projects aside from Wikipedia, mentioned them to include Commons, Wikidata, Wikisource and Wikivoyage.
He said the vision of the foundation and the essence of the Wikimedia projects, “is for everyone to have access to information free of charge.”
The launch of the network also featured the inauguration of the leadership of the new branch, with Andikan Eduok emerging as president.
Other members of the executive are: Utibe Silas, vice president; Itoro Umoren, programmes manager and Victor Ibok, project coordinator.
Inaugurating the leadership, the community director, Wikipedia Nigeria, Kayode Yusuf, congratulated them on their emergence and charged them to live upto the expectation of their office, saying “we have the mandate to carry out Wikipedia activities across the country.”
Yusuf, who said “we have a lot to do as a community”, pledged the support of the group to the leadership of Akwa Ibom Network to enable them succeed.
The president of the network, Eduok, expressed gratitude to the group for finding her fit to lead.
She pledged the resolve of the network to focus on raising awareness about Wikimedia projects in Akwa Ibom State.
While announcing plans to embark on workshops, training and events, she noted that the aim would be to help volunteers learn how to contribute to platforms like Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata and Wikisource.
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