Being part of these volunteers who work daily to improve Wikipedia with great articles, was one of the cherished dream of this young 22 years old student, who became a Wikimedia Cote d’Ivoire volunteer in September 2016.
En effet, Keita Moussa is used to use Wikipedia for his Uni research. He wanted to go further and then discovered that he could also become a contributor to Wikipedia. Without wasting time, he got in touch with the members of the association Wikimedia Côte d’Ivoire and thanks to their help, he started to familiarise himself with Wikipedia. Since then, as a volunteer for Wiki Loves Women project, project aimed at adding new content on Ivorian women, Moussa loves taking part in the soirées contributives, and improve or add new articles or help with uploading new photos.
One of the main reasons why Moussa wanted to become a volunteer was the fact that he wanted to use his free time to widen the content on Wikipedia and develop new skills that ‘we learn in the School of Life.’
Only 5 months after starting, the benefits are huge. At an academic level, he developed new writing skills. He is ahead of his peers when it comes to personal development. He is slowly building a solid network of different members of the association Wikimedia Côte d’Ivoire, with whom learning becomes a real pleasure. And the ‘soirées contributives’ allow him to understand the meaning of team work and time management. At the end of the day, he is slowly becoming more efficient and professional in his job.
Well equipped with his new skills and experience, he wants to send this message: « I invite everyone who is not a member of the association to join the community to help the project ‘Wiki Loves Women’ succeed. As all these women will go one day, what we have written on them will always be there and be useful not only for us but also for the next generations.. »
Moreover, Moussa would like to remind everyone that is hesitant to use Wikipedia, that the information that editors give are fair, exact and verified. « This digital and open library is an unthinkable educational source, so you must get to know it so you can use it for all your research in any field. »
Carine Famien