The Wiki Loves Africa media contest has returned for its 5th edition. If you are passionate about telling the African story using visual depictions like photographs and videos, then this contest would definitely interest you.
Wiki Loves Africa is an initiative of the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organisation that aims to make information widely accessible on the internet. The foundation also runs Wikipedia – the free online encyclopaedia that maintains over 5.7million articles in English language and many millions more in other languages.
Wiki Loves Africa is as an opportunity for Africans to showcase the richness of our culture and the beauty of our people. Submissions to the Wiki Loves Africa contest will be used on Wikipedia and other project websites of the Wikimedia Foundation to improve the visibility of African content online.
Every edition of the contest heralds a specific theme that addresses a part of the African culture that appreciates in value when represented using visual art forms like photographs and videos. Themes like Cuisine, Fashion and Adornment, Music and Dance, and People at work, have been used in past editions of the contest. Check out past winning entries on the Wiki Commons site.
The Contest
The theme for this year’s contest is ‘Play’. According to Commons, the theme calls for submissions that portray joyful and serious games, sport, and recreation in the form of board or mental games, physical fun or contests, playful interactions, theatrical and musical performances, etc.
Depictions of Play can also include objects like toys and sports equipment, animals playing in their natural environment, and buildings in urban and rural spaces that are dedicated to play activities (stadiums, playgrounds, sports fields). You can learn more about the theme here.
Prize
There are several prizes to grab from participating in the Wiki Loves Africa contest.
- 1st prize: USD 1000
- 2nd prize: USD 800
- 3rd prize: USD 500
Additional categories:
- Women in Sport: USD 500
- Culturally specific or traditional formal forms of play, recreation or events: USD 500
Each winner will also receive a pack of goodies (proposed: a hat “I edit Wikipedia from Africa”, a branded battery, stickers)
In addition, all top 15 winners of the international contest + the additional categories will each receive a hat + stickers + a certificate
How to Participate
The contest runs from Feb 1, 2019, to March 1, 2019. Everyone is welcome to join in the fun. All that’s required is that you sign up on Wiki Commons and start uploading your content.
Rules
To be sure the contest runs smoothly without any copyright infringement, Wiki Loves Africa have a few ground rules that participants should adhere to:
- Contestants must submit original content. All images and or videos must be taken by the person submitting them.
- You can only make submissions between 1st of February 2019 to 1st of March 2019. However, you can submit any media owned or copyrighted by you irrespective of when it was captured.
- Images must not have watermarks or embedded signatures since entries will automatically be submitted under a free licence.
Find out more about the contest here.
Featured image source: Wiki Loves Africa
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