Tuesday, February 09, 2010

The results of the Kiswhahili #Wikipedia challenge

I received this e-mail from Christine Moon on behalf of the Kiswahili Wikipedia Challenge Team. I think it is of interest to all of us and, I want to congratulate and thank the Challenge Team and the contestants for their important and interesting work.



Since we launched the Kiswahili Wikipedia Challenge in November 2009, there has been a significant growth of the Swahili Wikipedia. In the first month alone, Swahili Wikipedia grew 30% from 2.2MM words to 2.9MM words, which can be compared to single digit organic growth for many African languages like Afrikaans and Zulu.  You can view the progress of the growth published by Wikimedia here:. The statistics are encouraging and show that the challenge was able to spur individuals who would've conventionally been consumers of Wikipedia articles to become creators of new content on Wikipedia. 
As we announce the final prize winners of this Challenge, we're quite thrilled to hear that many participants would like to continue to contribute articles and content to benefit the online community. Some participants said it well, "the winners of this challenge are all of the participants who are walking away with the knowledge gained." As Swahili Wikipedia continues to grow and is referenced by more users, all of you who participated in this Challenge can take pride in the critical role you've played in building up this rich resource.  Thank you to all those who participated and all the judges who made this a success.  Remember, this is just the  beginning! 

Now, please join me in congratulating the final prize winners.  Congratulations for your hard work and passion for Kiswahili!! 

*Final Prize Winners:*

Grand Prize Winners
Kenyatta University - Peter Kanda (Kandyzo)
JKUAT - Samson Maosa (Coolsam)
Strathmore University - Abbas Mahmoud (Abbasjnr)
University of Dar es Salaam - Maria Alphonce (Maria alphonce)

First Prize Winners
IFM - Janeth J Jonathan (Janeth J Jonathan)

JKUAT - Limoke Oscar (Limoke oscar)
Strathmore University - Daniel Kimani (Kimanikihiu)
University of Dar es Salam - Moses Kehengu (Moseske)
University of Nairobi - Peter Kamero (Kamero)
Individual - Neville Tirimba (Perijove)

Second Prize Winners
JKUAT - Eric Kosgey (Erickosgey)
JKUAT - Kenneth Kirop (Kiropkanda)

Kenyatta University - Jacob Kipkoech (Jakibiro)
Strathmore University - Mark Ekisa (Ivermac)
Strathmore University - Erick Njenga (Erick njenga)
UDSM - Mwasapi Kihongosi (Mwasapi kihongosi)

University of Nairobi - Martin Nduati (Nduati)
University of Nairobi - Damiano Wanjohi (Wawanjohi)

Third Prize Winners
Kenyatta University - Chacha Maroa (Chamaroa)
Strathmore University - Alex Wafula (Xelawefs)
Strathmore University - Patrick Kinyua (Rickiny)

3 comments:

Erik Zachte said...

It would be interesting to learn a bit about what made the jury choose winners. Volume? Quality?

Sam Coolsam Maosa said...

This is SAMSON MAOSA, one of the winners




Hi Erik. I was among the participants. Both volume and quality mattered. The judges scrutinized each article submitted individually and awarded points (a maximum of 3) depending on the quality of the article (grammatical correctness of the language, proper linking, thorough and relevant references,use of images and the general wiki formatting). The length and relevance of the chosen article was also considered. Winners were determined by the total cumulative points from all the articles submitted from each participant. Check the OFFICIAL RULES for the contest for more details.

maria said...

all i can say is that. the challenge was really, challenging, it was realy hard from the start, most of us couldnt even knw how to submit the articles, but slowly, we learnd and eventualy we bacame winners, thank to God and everyone who in one way or another has helped me in archiving this great honour.

Thanks so much and God bless you all