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.
The Wiki Loves Women Focus Group was initially formed in 2021 and consisted of 12 women representing 8 African countries ( Botswana, Nigeria, Sudan, South Africa, Zimbabwae, Kenya, Cameroun and Rwanda) and France. In 2022, the group welcomed two new members from South Africa and Tunisia, expanding its membership. As of the 2023 program, the WLW Focus Group further grew with the addition of 4 new members, making it a more diverse and inclusive community. 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
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.
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.
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.
Maram Ali Ahmed
Focus Group: Sudan
A Sudanese wikimedian, and a researcher in Material Science and Physics lecturer. One of the co-founders and program officer of the Sudanese user group that is concerned about increasing and improving the Sudanese content.
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.
Phephile Tshabangu
Focus Group: Zimbabwae
A librarian and Wikimedian from Zimbabwe.
Afek Ben Chahed
Focus Group: Tunisia
unisian, Librarian, an active member of Wikimedia Tunisia User Group since 2016 and the co-founder of Africvs, a youth collective which works on promoting and documenting the Tunisian heritage.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Goodness Ignatius
Focus Group: Nigeria
A dedicated member of the Igbo Wikimedians User Group. As a librarian, she has a passion for sharing knowledge and promoting learning, which has led her becoming an active contributor to various Wikimedia projects, including Meta-Wiki, Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikicommons, and Wikiquote.
Pearl Maatla Melamu
Focus Group: Botswana
A Wikimedian and a library intern at Arthur Portland College in Botswana.
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
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.
Nonny Ntlahla
Focus Group: South Africa
Nonny Ntlahla is a young Social Dynamics graduate and currently an enthusiastic Health and Fitness student completing their Diploma.
