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I joined the Wikimedia Foundation through the Igbo Wikimedians User Group in 2021. I have been contributing in my local language, Igbo, but I decided to explore the English Wikisource in 2025 when Lucy, a fellow Wikimedian, shared the link for participation in the Free Knowledge Africa program. This would be my first time trying my hands on English Wikisource. I’ve always been passionate about free knowledge and the idea that information should be accessible to everyone, regardless of location or background. The Bootcamp felt like the perfect opportunity to: Contribute to something meaningful and lasting while at the same time exploring a new digital skill. Joining a global community of contributors had me challenge myself in a structured competition.

Stepping Into English Wikisource: My First Impression

At first glance, Wikisource looked simple, like just text on a page. But the deeper I went, the more I realized how rich and technical the process of text validation, proofreading, structuring, and formatting could be. For example, I was excited about

• How rewarding digitization can be
• The amount of detail that goes into proofreading
• How historical documents in the Public Domain categories that I worked on came alive. The fact that I wasn’t just typing but was helping preserve cultural history.

The Bootcamp Experience: Learning, Community, and Growth

The Bootcamp was not just about creating an index, proofreading, validating, and transclusion. It was about learning from experts, collaborating with others, and discovering the joy of open knowledge. Some highlights for me: The hands-on sessions that demystified the Wikisource tools, the feedback from facilitators that improved my accuracy, and meeting other participants from different regions and backgrounds

The Contest: What It Took to Win 3rd Place and the Best Quality Contributor Prize

I proofread five Public Domain texts on Nigerian Government books and newspapers with their indexes created and proofread over 293 pages accurately. The friendly competitiveness kept me motivated. There were moments I was tired, moments I felt stuck, and moments I thought I was falling behind. But the community spirit made me keep going. I had to proofread multiple pages with precision, correct OCR errors, understand formatting rules, manage my time, and push myself beyond my comfort zone. What still amazes me is not just the position, but how much I grew through the process. Each page I worked on felt like a step toward a bigger goal. When the final results were announced, and I saw my name in the top three, I realized just how far I’d come. Check here and here.

What I Hope to Do Next

Part of the reason I joined this bootcamp was because I am transitioning into Tech and working with tags and few formatting codes during the bootcamp made me feel techie already. I have been learning and leveraging the Technical aspect of Wikimedia Technical projects and hope to keep growing from there. This experience has opened doors for me, and I plan to keep contributing to Wikisource, improving my skills, and possibly mentoring new contributors someday.

Above all, I hope to:

• Encourage more people (especially beginners) to join
• Spread awareness about open knowledge
• Continue digitization work that preserves African history

Final Words

I am grateful to God for strength and wisdom and Free Knowledge Africa for this Wikisource Bootcamp 2025. Congratulations to all winners and participants. We all grow together.

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