Image Credit: File:WLA Photo Walk to Buguma City 26.jpg by Dappasolomon001, CC-BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
As the final images were uploaded and the contest officially closed at the end of April, Wiki Loves Africa 2025 once again proved what’s possible when community, creativity, and purpose come together to document our collective diversity. This year’s theme — “Farm to Plate” — opened the door for contributors to document Africa’s food systems in all their variety, beauty, and complexity.
From fertile farms to busy kitchens, street food stalls to family dinners, the entries submitted showed that African food is more than sustenance — it’s culture, history, resilience, and care.
Campaign by the Numbers
The numbers tell the story of a campaign that reached across the continent and delivered real impact:
- 30,544 media files uploaded to Wikimedia Commons
- 30,398 images
- 132 videos
- 14 audio recordings
- 30,398 images
- Submissions from 45 Wikimedia communities across 34 African countries by 876 participants
- 12 trainings and webinars—organised by the international team, and hosted by experts in their fields—to build participant skills and improve submission quality.
- Dozens of local trainings, photo walks, workshops, and uploading sessions
These contributions didn’t just hit volume — they brought depth. Contributors captured meaningful moments, traditions, and environments that reflect the realities and richness of African food journeys.
Stories Behind the Stats
Submissions featured everything from harvesting jasmine by hand in Egypt, to the preparation of beloved dishes like Afang soup and Nri Ogaranya echoing the preparation of ukwa, a popular nigerian dish.
The submissions showed farmers tending land, vendors at market, hands washing cassava, and families sharing meals. They didn’t just document food, elevated stories of the labour, tradition, and love behind each bite.
And for the first time at this scale, contributors leaned into video and audio to bring a multi-sensory layer to their stories — the sound of oil sizzling, the clatter of market stalls, the laughter of shared meals. These stories resonated not just locally, but continent-wide.
Training That Made It Possible
A big part of what made this year’s campaign so successful was the series of 12 webinars and trainings hosted by organizers throughout March and April. These sessions focused on:
- How to upload media to Wikimedia Commons
- Best practices for photography, video, and sound quality
- How to tell compelling stories through visual media
- Licensing and copyright essentials
- The “Farm to Plate” theme and how to document it meaningfully
The goal wasn’t just participation — it was empowered participation. And that showed in the quality and originality of the uploads.
These valuable resources are available to watch on our YouTube channel. For a full list of training activities and links, check the Training Event Calendar on the Wiki Loves Africa 2025 News page.
What’s Next?
An international jury of veteran Wikimedians, photographers and filmmakers will review the submissions and select the international winners in the multiple prize categories for photography, video and audio. Winners will be announced in August 2025 at Wikimania in Kenya.