At Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda (WCUGU), we believe free knowledge thrives when communities, institutions, and innovators work together. Formal partnerships, sealed through signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), allow us to scale impact, build sustainable programmes, and ensure Ugandan voices, languages, culture, and heritage are better represented on Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and related platforms.
In recent months we have formalized three particularly exciting collaborations: with the Community Libraries Association of Uganda (COLAU), Sunbird AI, Uganda Premier League (UPL) and Kabale University. Each partnership strengthens a different pillar of our work libraries and GLAM, language technology, and higher education while advancing our shared commitment to inclusive, locally relevant open knowledge.
Community Libraries Association of Uganda (COLAU): Mapping Knowledge Access Across the Country
Libraries are vital gateways to information, education, and community development. Our partnership with COLAU, formalized through a signed MoU, focuses on expanding access to knowledge and documenting Uganda’s cultural and educational resources under the GLAM-Wiki banner.
A flagship joint effort has been the Ugandan Libraries Geo Quest. Together we mapped community and public libraries, collected high-quality photographs (now available on Wikimedia Commons), created and enriched Wikidata items with locations, descriptions, and images, and produced an interactive map of libraries across the country. COLAU staff participated in fieldwork, shared records, and advised on practical approaches, while our volunteers trained librarians and association members on contributing to Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Commons.
This collaboration embeds Wikimedia skills within library institutions, supports the creation of Wikimedia clubs linked to libraries that already have computers and internet access, and helps ensure that even remote communities can discover and contribute to free knowledge resources. It is a practical step toward stronger institutional ownership of open knowledge work in Uganda.
Sunbird AI: Accelerating Local-Language Content with Homegrown Technology
Many Ugandan languages remain under-represented online. Our partnership with Sunbird AI, a Ugandan non-profit developing practical AI systems for African languages directly addresses this gap, especially for the Runyankore (Runyankole) Wikipedia incubator and other local languages.
Through a formal collaboration, Sunbird AI’s Sunflower model (a large language model trained on dozens of Ugandan languages) has been integrated into Wikimedia workflows. This led to a customised Wiki Translate tool that supports unlimited-character translations, dramatically speeding up content creation. Editors report roughly a 50% reduction in time spent on initial drafts: the AI handles a large share of the translation work, while human contributors focus on cultural accuracy, nuance, consistency, and quality.
The results in the Runyankore incubator have been striking rapid growth in articles, editors, and edits within a relatively short period. Feedback from Wikimedia volunteers also helps improve the model itself, creating a valuable local feedback loop. This partnership exemplifies how open-source, context-aware AI can serve the free knowledge movement rather than replace human expertise, and it positions Uganda as a leader in using technology for linguistic equity.
Kabale University: Building Digital Skills and a Runyankore Wikipedia Community
Higher education institutions are natural homes for Wikimedia engagement. Our MoU with Kabale University, signed by Vice Chancellor Dr. Joy Constance Kwesiga and WCUGU Executive Director Michael Kaluba (with witnesses including Joan Nantumbwe), formalises a shared commitment to free knowledge, digital skills, and student participation on Wikimedia platforms.
Key outcomes so far include:
- The launch of a Wikimedia Club at Kabale University.
- The joint inauguration of the Runyankore/Rukiga Wikipedia Incubation Project (theme: “Digitising Our Heritage, Building Our Community”), held on campus.
- Training sessions, edit-a-thons, and mentorship programmes that introduce students and scholars to Wikipedia editing, translation tools (including the Sunbird-supported Wiki Translate tool), style conventions, and Wikimedia ethics.
- Steady growth in Runyankore content, with hundreds of pages and articles created and thousands of edits contributed by a growing community of editors.
Located in a region where Runyankore and Rukiga are widely spoken, Kabale University provides an ideal base for nurturing native-speaker contributors and ensuring the incubator reflects local knowledge, culture, and perspectives. The partnership also expands Wikimedia presence beyond the central region and builds long-term capacity among the next generation of knowledge creators.
Uganda Premier League: Raising the Visibility of Ugandan Football
We have also signed an MoU with the Uganda Premier League. This partnership focuses on enriching coverage of the league, its member clubs, players, coaches, stadiums, and history across Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and other Wikimedia platforms. The collaboration increases global visibility of Ugandan football and gives our volunteers access to stadiums during matches for documentation and photography. It forms an important part of our broader Wiki Loves Sport efforts, helping ensure that the stories and achievements of Uganda’s football community are freely accessible to the world.
Other Active Collaborations
Beyond these formal MoUs, we continue working closely with a range of partners who share our goals, even without signed agreements in every case. These include Makerere University, Busitema University, Soroti University and Lira University (through thriving Wiki Clubs and student engagement), the Uganda Community Museums Association (UCOMA) on museum mapping and heritage documentation, and longstanding collaborators such as OpenStreetMap Uganda on mapping and open data initiatives. These relationships keep growing through joint activities, shared training, and mutual support.
Looking Ahead
These four partnerships; COLAU for libraries and cultural institutions, Sunbird AI for language technology, Uganda Premier League (UPL), and Kabale University for education and language incubation illustrate how formal collaboration multiplies impact. They help us train more people, create more relevant content, document Uganda’s heritage more thoroughly, and close knowledge gaps in both English and local languages.
We are grateful to our partners for their commitment and look forward to deepening these relationships through joint activities, shared learning, and measurable results. Partnerships make knowledge stronger. If you are a librarian, educator, technologist, student, or community member interested in contributing, we invite you to join us. Together we can continue building a richer, more inclusive open knowledge ecosystem for Uganda and the world.
For more information about Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda and our programmes, visit our Meta-Wiki page or follow @WikimediaUganda on social media.
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