By Khalifa Hemed
Published May 4, 2018
Winners for the annual Wiki Loves Africa photographic and media competition have been announced.
While Yann Macherez of Tanzania won the first prize of US$600 with a photo titled ‘Gift of the Ocean’ and Marco Gualazzini of Somalia took the second prize of US$400 with ‘A man carries a huge hammerhead shark through the streets of Mogadishu’, Egypt’s Hassanelsayadd, with ‘Traditional goat herders in Egypt’, took the third prize of US$200 in the contest that ran between October 1 and November 30, 2017.
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Wiki Loves Africa, that organised the contest, says the theme for its ‘annual visual celebration of Africa’s cultural diversity on Wikipedia’ in 2017 was ‘celebrating People at Work’, and that ‘entries were welcome from anywhere on the continent and beyond’.
Some 18 294 photographs by 2 473 people are reported to have been entered for consideration from which those by Macherez, Gualazzini and el Sayadd were selected as the best by the international jury. There are six winners at the international level.
Bentaylor13413 won the Organizers prize (US$200) with ‘Glass blowing in Swaziland’ photo essay and videos.
Prizes were also given to photographic collections or photo essays that illustrated either Women at Work or Rare or Traditional ways of working, the organisers of the contest say.
While Eric Atie from Nigeria won Rare or Threatened Traditional Ways of Working photo essay category, the winner for the Women at Work category was Rachelclarareed with Zanzibar seaweeds in Tanzania. Each walked away with US$200.
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Other prizes for photo essays, Wiki Loves Africa says, were chosen by the organisers and fellow Wikimedians.
“Everyone was encouraged to contribute relevant photos to the competition. Events were held in 11 countries – Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania and Tunisia – to build Wikipedia savvy communities around the competition,” says Isla Haddow-Flood of Wiki Loves Africa. “These events took on the form of introductory workshops, photographic excursions and upload sessions. The events also encouraged ongoing pride in local heritage and cultural practice, as well as fostering a culture of contribution to the internet to shake up the single story of Africa.”
Saying Wiki Loves Africa contest has over the last four years encouraged the donation of around 40 000 photographs to Wikimedia Commons for potential use on Wikipedia, Haddow-Flood says “In the first year, under the theme Cuisine, 873 people contributed 6 116 photographs. Cultural Fashion and Adornment was the theme for the next year, 2015, which saw 722 people contribute over 7 500 photographs. In 2016, Music and Dance contributed 7 917 files from 836 people. In 2017, under the theme People at Work 18 294 photographs were entered by 2 473 people.”
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