CDKN - with Future Climate for Africa - has launched a video on Africa’s first Wikipedia edit-a-thon on climate change held in Cape Town in August this year.

Wikipedia receives around 19 billion page views a month and is frequently the first stop for anyone doing online research on a particular topic. It is a powerful tool that can be used to communicate climate information more widely and make it more accessible. However, Wikipedia lacks both African contributors and content. Recognising the need, CDKN, FCFA and Wikimedia South Africa organised an edit-a-thon - with the aim of enhancing the quality and accessibility of Africa-related climate information on the world’s largest encyclopedia. 

An edit-a-thon involves a group of people editing and improving a specific topic or type of content on Wikipedia, and offers training to new editors. The Cape Town event brought together 30 African climate researchers from 10 different countries across East, West, and Southern Africa. The researchers tackled some major gaps on Wikipedia where Africa-related content was lacking and found opportunities to improve the content on existing Wikipedia pages such as climate change in Africa, climate change adaptation, climate change and agriculture, and drylands.  Through this edit-a-thon, the 30,000 average monthly visitors to the updated pages will have a more comprehensive and accurate picture of climate change in Africa. Watch the video here and contribute by joining the Wikiproject climate change Africa task force. Read more about the event here.