GLAM/Newsletter/July 2025/Contents/Nigeria report
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Expanding Access to Heritage Knowledge
Wiki in Schools - Heritage Meets Open Knowledge
The Wiki in Schools Heritage Project has continued to strengthen the connection between classroom learning and Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage. This initiative, in collaboration with the Igbo Wikimedia Community User Group, has introduced students and educators to the possibilities of contributing to global knowledge platforms while preserving local heritage narratives.
One of the highlights of this phase was a heritage-themed edit-a-thon. The event brought together participants from school and heritage user groups, supported by experienced Wikimedians who provided hands-on training on contributing images and videos to Wikimedia Commons. The sessions covered the full cycle of contribution—from image licensing and metadata standards to effective storytelling through photographs and short documentary clips.
Through this collaboration, participants learned how to upload content and how to contextualize it within Nigeria’s cultural and historical frameworks. This ensures that their contributions are both globally accessible and locally meaningful.
The Wiki in Schools project, which has been running for several months, is scheduled to conclude at the end of this month. Upon completion, the team will share impact metrics detailing the number of students trained, media files contributed, and articles improved, providing a clear view of the project’s tangible contributions to open knowledge.
Wiki Loves Monuments Advocacy - Opening Doors Through Collaboration
The Heritage Conservation Integration User Group has taken a significant step toward ensuring Nigeria’s participation in Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM)—one of the largest global photo competitions focused on heritage. This move comes in the wake of changes to the Nigerian Copyright Law of 2023, which removed Freedom of Panorama, limiting the ability of the general public to freely photograph public monuments for open use.
Recognizing the challenge, the group has worked closely with the Igbo Community Wikimedians User Group Nigeria to develop a targeted advocacy strategy. Rather than halting the movement, the plan pivots toward building partnerships with institutions that hold the legal rights to document heritage monuments. This includes museums, heritage boards, and cultural agencies whose mandates allow them to capture and archive such works.
Through these collaborations, the goal is to ensure that the photographs and media files of Nigerian monuments are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. This approach not only respects Nigerian copyright law but also upholds Wikimedia’s commitment to free cultural knowledge.
If successful, this advocacy and partnership model will serve as a blueprint for heritage documentation in countries facing similar legal restrictions—proving that legal hurdles can be navigated through strategic alliances and community-driven action.
