Between March 22nd and 23rd, our latest AfroCuration event took place in Johannesburg, South Africa. 60 students created Wikipedia articles in four South African languages, IsiZulu, Sesotho, Tshivenda, and Afrikaans. The event had as main theme “Who We Are” and aimed at encouraging the students to become knowledge producers and take ownership of the digital narrative of their communities. The students described the workshop as educational, inspirational, and fun, especially because they had the chance to meet new people from other schools. They learned about recognizing criticisms and the power and responsibility of adding new information on Wikipedia platforms. Together they created 37 articles and edited 38 articles.
The workshop was organized together with Constitution Hill Trust and with the support of Wikimedia South Africa, which are reoccurring partners in the programs. Mbali Njomane, entrepreneur and the author of Prejudic-tionary was the motivational speaker of the event and let the students develop knowledge regarding Stereotypes. The Prejudic-tionary was used as a tool to unpack stereotypes by developing an understanding of what prejudices can look like and how they are problematic.
Next AfroCuration will take place in Ghana in May. Would you like to join and take ownership of the digital narrative? Sign up here.
Claude Bunny Massassa is a contemporary artist from Gabon. She created Bunny Studio in 2016, a start-up dedicated to photography production, which became DWABI Studio in 2021. As an artist, she has represented Gabon in many international exhibitions in Senegal, Uganda, France, the United States, and Italy. In her art, she denounces social stigmas around issues of identity and mental health, and explores themes of traditions and myths.
Executive Director Kimberly Aceves- Iñiguez has been passionately committed for over 20 years to social justice organizing and advocacy efforts that bring voice and power to youth, LGBTQ people, people of color, and working-class communities in the Bay Area. Before coming on as the Executive Director for RYSE, Kimberly served as the Executive Director for Youth Together, the founding organization of the RYSE Center.
Kanwarpal Dhaliwal is one of the co-founders of RYSE and currently acts as the Associate Director. She supports and guides the implementation and integration of healing-centered practices, grounded in racial justice and liberation, and also develops, promotes, and advocates for policies, investments, practices, and research that enliven healing, justice, and liberation. Kanwarpal believes that the purpose of her work and life is to contribute to movements, communities, and legacies of liberation that honor the ancestors who fought for her existence and survival, and to forge a world that is just and gentle for future generations.
Sagal Ali is the founder and executive director of SAF. After a few years in her career in heritage protection in the cultural sector, she decided to develop the initiative to directly support young creatives in Somalia by launching her own foundation. She hopes to bridge the social gaps and inequalities women face in Somalia, both in society and in the arts scene.
Co-founders Catherine Dunga and Marleen Palmaers created Kitambo to bridge the gap between the African diaspora in Colombia and the narratives from the continent. From Kinshasa and Antwerp respectively, they work to connect African artists from the continent and their peers from the Colombian diaspora.
Martha Kazungu is a curator, art Historian and Founder of Njabala Foundation, an organization that curates periodic exhibitions and organizes a public program of activities to create a safe space for female artists to thrive and blossom.
Alicia Hansen is a photographer and teacher from New York. She founded NYC SALT in 2008 and, beyond teaching valuable creative skills to her students, has developed a long-term support system to uplift them through school and into their early artistic careers.
