The Wiki Loves Women Focus Coaching programme is a practical, action-oriented, mentored online training programme that provides skills and knowledge transfer that is specifically designed to support community leaders as they create gender-equity programmes and drives within the Wikimedia and Open movements. The Focus Coaching programme will provide ideas, guidance, skills transfer and mentorship as each Focus Group Member plans a gender-equity programme within their community, and gathers the resources and skills to implement this programme.
Focus Group coaching programme with 12 female members from Botswana, Cameroon, France, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan and Zimbabwe.The first goal of the Focus Group members is to raise awareness by organising local community participation in the #SheSaid drive. #SheSaid began as an online drive in 2020 to improve the visibility of female leaders by creating new or improving already existing Wikiquote entries. It ensures that women’s voices heard. The #SheSaid 2021 will take place from October 2021.
Meet the Focus Group Members
Focus Group
Clementine Nyirahabihirwe
Focus Group: Rwanda
Clementine Nyirahabihirwe is a Rwandan woman of 36 years old, who holds a Bachelor’s degree from the National University of Rwanda, in the faculty of Economics and Management, Economic department. She is a member of the Wikimedia User Group Rwanda, and I am one of the 4 founders of User group Rwanda, she acts as general secretary in the executive team.
Isla Haddow-Flood
Co-Project Manager
A Zimbabwean by birth, and a Capetonian by adoption, Oxford-educated Isla Haddow-Flood is a writer, editor and project strategist who is passionate about harnessing communication technology and media platforms for the advancement of open access to knowledge
Minette Lontsie
Focus Group: Cameroon
Minette Lontsie is a trained journalist, entrepreneur, and Wikimedian from Cameroon. She is passionate about creating content for Africans and filling the content gap about Africa on the internet, with a strong interest in arts and culture, gender equality, photography, and IT.
Morleen Caroline Bortman
Focus Group: Zimbabwe
Morleen Caroline Bortman's motto is to "Always leave the world in a better way than you found it". Morleen is a 58 years old Reference Librarian at a university library in Harare, Zimbabwe. She has an Honours Degree in Library and Information and Information Science.
Olla Mahadi
Focus Group: Sudan
Olla Mahadi has been a volunteer with Wikimedia since 2018 on Wiki Gap 1.0. Ever since then, she has been involved in different work related to Sudan – editing mostly and training new users, highlighting the gap in content related to women and the need to write about Sudan by Sudanese. She is the co-founder of Wikimedia Sudan User Group in 2020.
Tochi Precious Friday
Focus Group: Nigeria
Living in Abuja, Nigeria, Tochi is proudly an African Wikipedian, and initiates projects to further the Wikimedia movement (especially Igbo contribution) across Africa. Tochi founded a language centre called Smarter Language Hub where she helps to promote bilingual education and cross-cultural communication. She's a multi-linguist, lover of Arts and Culture.
Sichelesile Similo Ndlovu
Focus Group: Zimbabwe
Sichelesile lives in Matopo, Zimbabwe, and is a proudly new African Wikipedian. She has been a librarian at a boarding school for the past 11 years and holds a degree in Library and Information Science. She joined the Wiki Loves Women Focus Group to initiate projects to further the WikiAfrica movement across Africa.
Carol Mwaura (Cmwaura)
Focus Group: Kenya
Carol Mwaura (Cmwaura) is a Kenyan Librarian who is currently based in Nairobi Kenya. She am a new member of Wiki Loves Women Focus Group Members initiative in the larger movement of Wiki In Africa. She recently joined Wiki Loves Women Focus Group that focuses on contributing towards the UN’s SDG 5 Gender Equity: achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
Faith Mwanyolo
Focus Group: Kenya
Faith Mwanyolo is a computer science student at Riara University located in Nairobi, Kenya. She began to take an interest in Wiki projects in 2018 and since has organized a WikiGap event at her university, attended the Wikimania Conference in Cape Town, among other things.
Florence Devouard
Co-Project Manager
A Wikipedian since 2002, a former Chair of Wikimedia Foundation, Florence Devouard was born in France where she currently lives. Initially trained as an Agricultural Engineer, she transitioned to non-profit leadership, intercultural project management, community building, and skills transfer roles
Oteng Tiro Sandra Kolobetso
Focus Group: Botswana
Oteng Tiro Sandra Kolobetso is a volunteer in Wikipedia from Botswana. She is a graduate in BSC (HONS) in Business Information technology and has worked with the University of Botswana for 2 years as an Information Technology Officer intern. She contributes towards competitions and events that aim to increase content and contributions about a country in Wikipedia.
Candy Tricia Khohliwe
Admin Intern
Candy Tricia Khohliwe is long-term editor and belongs to the Wikimedia Botswana Usergroup. She has led two successful Wiki Loves Africa photo contest and a successful Art and Feminism Editathon and panel discussion. She has assisted and conducted key activities and for the focus group members, a group made up odd 12 women across different countries of Africa.