Wikimania 2025 marked a historic milestone — for the first time, the global Wikimedia community gathered in East Africa! In this special episode of WikiAfrica Hour, we reflect on:

• What made Nairobi 2025 a truly unique Wikimania experience
• The impact on African communities, languages, and collaborations
• The behind-the-scenes challenges and success stories
• Lessons learned and inspiring moments to carry forward

Our guests are...

• Carol Mwaura, Scholarship Coordination Lead for Wikimania 2025! With 15+ years in academic, community, and institutional libraries, Carol is a Library and Information Science professional passionate about expanding access to knowledge. Beyond the library, Carol is a founding member and Co-Lead of the Wikimedia Community User Group Kenya. She champions global campaigns on open knowledge, human rights, and gender equity, and has shared her work at international conferences, including Wikimania, while serving on global scholarship committees.

• Butch Bustria, an Overseas Filipino Worker / Wikimedian (OFW) based in Singapore. Butch has dedicated his spare time to advancing Wikimedia projects since his first edit in 2005. In 2010, he co-founded Wikimedia Philippines and has since played a pivotal role in organizing ESEAP conferences across the region. He currently serves on the Regional Funds Committee for ESEAP, was Event Lead for Wikimania 2023 in Singapore, and is Vice Chair of the Wikimania Steering Committee.

• Bobby Shabangu, a passionate advocate for open knowledge and digital inclusion. Bobby has dedicated his career to expanding access to information and fostering strong community engagement. Through his roles at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Wikimedia South Africa, he has built a rich skill set in strategic communication, project management, and organisational leadership — all in service of making knowledge more open and inclusive.

Hosting them

• Romeo Ronald Lomora:, co-lead of communication committee of Wikimania 2025. Romeo is a knowledge troublemaker in the best way possible obsessed with breaking down walls between experts and everyday people. With roots in humanities, teaching, and open platforms like Wikimedia and OpenStreetMap, he spends his time turning “hard-to-reach info” into community power tools. As a leader with Open Knowledge South Sudan, Romeo champions projects that make information not just free, but freeing whether it’s about human rights, education, climate change, or just figuring out better ways communities can thrive. In short: if knowledge is power, Romeo’s guilty of distributing it without a license.

In Focus:

A collated video featuring highlights from the daily Morning Briefings, where conference speakers shared insights and takeaways. Find it here. 

Show Notes: