Wikimedia Foundation/Communications/WikiCelebrate/hu
The Wikimedia movement exists because of the contributions of countless volunteers and other Wikimedians from around the world, people from diverse backgrounds and life experiences contributing to the sum of human knowledge. The sheer magnitude of this global collaboration baffles most outside our movement. Many editors have long contributed independently without much acknowledgement, and some like it that way. For others, love and recognition from peers can go a long way to encourage and uplift. We are here to celebrate the exceptional people of Wikimedia, the pillars of our movement, the puzzle pieces of our ever-expanding universe of knowledge.
Celebrating Wikimedians
Barnstars are a beloved way of expressing gratitude for each other in the movement, but often without further public attention. We have no shortage of amazing contributors to celebrate and we are dedicating this space to them. WikiCelebrate is an easy, collaborative way to spotlight Wikimedians and their amazing work throughout the year. Each month we will celebrate a different Wikimedian and invite your help in further celebrating them! If you know them, share a great anecdote about your work with them. If there are others we should celebrate, please nominate them. In addition to your love and gratitude of course, the Celebrated Wikimedians will receive a limited edition barnstar, a small gift, and posts on Diff and social media.
Read about all the previous Celebrated Wikimedians!
We plan on presenting the Wikimedians of the Year in this space as well and will soon create an in memoriam page as we mark the passing of fellow Wikimedia friends and colleagues.
Mea Hanohano
The word 'wiki' is at the root of our nomenclature. That’s Hawaiian for quick. Honouring this quintessential term, we are calling this section hanohano for honour, distinction, and prestige, and adding mea to create mea hanohano, an honourable person. So, we are here to celebrate honourable Wikimedians of the highest distinction and prestige, Wikimedians of exceptional commitment and contribution.
This month we celebrate...
Donatien Kangah
This month we Wikicelebrate one of such volunteers: Donatien Kangah (User:Papischou), a Wikimedian from Côte d'Ivoire, editor of French language Wikipedia, a community leader active on local, regional, and global levels, a huge football fan, and the co-creator of the Wikimedia Community User Group Côte d'Ivoire.
Donatien is an experienced Wikipedia trainer, and a member of Wikifranca micro grant committee. He supported Wikimania through his activity in the scholarship committee, worked in the capacity building group for Movement Strategy and collaborated with communities from Senegal, Togo, Chad and Guinea. Most of his engagement is connected to the Community User Group Côte d'Ivoire, which he co-founded and which he now leads.
For Donatien the value of editing lies in learning through sharing. “Each act of sharing knowledge in Wikipedia is about checking sources, discovering new facts. Even if I already know a lot about the topic, I discover new facts in sources. It is like swimming in information. Sharing knowledge is not a passive process, it is a constant discovery. Through contributing I have learned a lot about my country, Africa and the world. Editing allows you to grow through giving”, says Donatien.