Languages are more than words — they carry the identity, history, and culture of entire communities. In this episode of WikiAfrica Hour, we explore how Wikimedia projects are helping to preserve and celebrate Africa’s linguistic diversity.

From the efforts of Wikitongues and Lingua Libre to document endangered and indigenous languages, to the challenges faced by local contributors, this conversation dives deep into why language matters in open knowledge.

Watch the episode and listen to what our guests share: their experiences, collaborations, and hopes for the future — including the role of AI, partnerships, and how young people can take pride in contributing to Wikimedia projects in their mother tongues.

Date & time: 

Wednesday 26th Nov 2025, at 4 pm UTC

Guest Host:

• Lucy Iwuala: Lucy Chinyeaka Iwuala is a language professional and community engagement strategist with expertise in language localisation, digital content management, and multilingual project coordination. Her work bridges gender, linguistic and cultural gaps, ensuring inclusive and accessible communication for global audiences. She is a Wikimedian and Igbo Lingua translation manager in the Global Voices Community.

Guests:

• Tochi Precious: Tochi is a Language Activist, Multilingual Project Manager, Co-founder & Executive Director of Igbo Wikimedia Organization, and Wikimedian in Residence at Wikitongues. She's a member of the Language Committee and a Board Member at Wiki in Africa and African.
• Subhashish Panigrahi: a documentary filmmaker and multimedia artist whose work advocates for the protection of endangered and indigenous languages. As a community manager, Panigrahi led different roles at Wikimedia Foundation, Centre for Internet and Society, Mozilla, and the Internet Society from 2012 to 2019.
• Sara Thomas: Dr Sara Thomas is a Programme Manager at Wikimedia UK, with a remit for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and volunteering across the UK. She was formerly Wikimedian in Residence at Museums Galleries Scotland, and the Scottish Library and Information Council.
• Hugo LOPEZ: a former sinologist, Wikimedian in residence (University of Toulouse), senior Wikimedian for 2 decades. In the past decade, Hugo helped document hundreds languages as the main coordinator of Wikimedia’s language diversity recording project Lingualibre.org. He also co-maintainer SignIt, a sign language web extension and work on a Whistled Occitan dictionary.

In Focus section

Inspiring open interview with Tochi Precious: https://youtu.be/BEseDI0t24E?si=X26lWLsqGewJ-sMf

In this inspiring interview, Tochi opens up about her journey in the open movement, the challenges and possibilities in language activism, and what “openness” truly means to her. She shares heartfelt advice about empathy, leadership, gender, and the future of open knowledge.