Wikipedia:WikiProject Cameroon/Wikivillages of Cameroon

Our contest #Wikivillages is now over! See complete list of award winners below.



#Wikivillages (Wikivillages of Cameroon) is a leading encyclopedic writing contest focusing on the villages of Cameroon, running from May 20 to November 20, 2016 and organized by AGRIPO (Agriculteurs Professionnels du Cameroun )- the head office of which is based in Tayap (Nyong-et-Kéllé).

Cameroon consists of 10 regions, including 2 English-speaking ones: contestants were thus welcomed to participate in either French or English.

List of award winners
All submitted entries have been evaluated by an independent jury of 5 people from 4 countries. The winners are :
 * 1st prize: a check for 1 000 000 FCFA : fr:Balessing (User:Diange007)
 * 2nd prize: a check for 250 000 FCFA : fr:Boura I (User:MBATAKA)
 * 3rd prize: a check for 200 000 FCFA : fr:Ebogo (User:Loicebode)
 * 4th prize: a check for 150 000 FCFA : fr:Nkollo (User:Elisée Ndoumbe)
 * 5th prize: a check for 100 000 FCFA : fr:Baloumgou (User:Hiobson)

User:Mbashie is awarded a Special prize (camera) for his numerous and steady contributions on the English Wikipedia

User:Perez Mekem is awarded a Special prize (tablet computer) for his remarkable photographic contributions.

Congratulations to all the prize winners and thank you to all the participants!

The villages of Cameroon
The village is Cameroon’s core administrative and cultural structure. Capitalizing, networking and spreading information on the villages of a country, also means stimulating the dynamics of development at its basis. An encyclopedic knowledge of the villages would facilitate the elaboration, the implementation and the follow-up of local development projects thanks to reliable data and indicators built upon coherent objectives and based on facts.

Cameroon has an approximate number of 13,000 villages, all of them linked with 360 communes. In May 2016, only 36 of them have an article on English Wikipedia.

The purpose of this initiative was to encourage the creation of new articles, within the strict respect of the rules set by Wikipedia (neutrality, production of reliable sources)

Objectives
« A contest, what for? »

A pioneer in Africa, #Wikivillages aims at:


 * Favoring the sharing and dissemination of documented information on the history, geography, culture, economy, way of life, rich heritage and assets of the Cameroonian villages,
 * Fighting the digital divide in breaking the isolation of Cameroonian villages and their communities,
 * Enabling the latter to communicate via the Internet on development issues and actions.

Villages with an online article before May 20, 2016
(in English) Amchide · Bakebe · Bamunkumbit · Batoufam · Bisoro · Chomba · Debundscha · Elogbatindi · Etoko · Fifinda · Gbiti · Goura · Grand Batanga · Guirvidig · Guneku · Lafé-Baleng · Lélé · Limani · Lolabé · Lolo, Cameroon · Malaba · Mbilé · Mbola · Mbule · Mundame · Mvomeka'a · Ngaoubela · Nkuv · Oshie · Otélé · Rhumsiki · Somié · Soppo · Tatum · Tayap · Tinechung

Articles created after May 20, 2016

 * 12 villages were created in English, all from the Northwest Region :
 * 1) Baba I
 * 2) Babessi (village)
 * 3) Babungo (village)
 * 4) Baligansin
 * 5) Baligashu
 * 6) Balikumbat
 * 7) Bamali
 * 8) Bambalang (village)
 * 9) Bamessing
 * 10) Bamunka
 * 11) Bangulan
 * 12) Wainamah


 * 1,354 villages were created in French. See full list here.

Timeline
“When is it possible to participate?”


 * #Wikivillages was launched on May 20, 2016 (0:00 GMT)- marking Cameroon 44th National Day – for a period of 6 months.
 * Deadline for submission is November 20, 2016 (23:59 GMT)
 * Results were announced on January 20, 2017.

Rules and Regulations

 * Rules in English
 * fr:Projet:Wikivillages du Cameroun/Règlement détaillé (in French)

Evaluation Criteria
“Who will choose the winners and how ?”

The jury will consist of 5 independent personalities, representing the different specificities of the contest. Members of the jury will select the articles on a competitive basis according to the following criteria:


 * Technical quality (structuring, encyclopedic approach, content and layout)
 * Linguistic quality (spelling, style, syntax, typography)
 * Material density (number of lines, words or characters)
 * Originality as well as utilitarian and global value (educational, historical, economic and/or cultural value)
 * Quality of the references and illustrations of the articles (maps, pictures).

The presence of relevant pictures illustrating the text will provide a considerable advantage.

Registration/ Contest Entry
“How I can enter the contest?” Contestants had to register on a platform that verified the legal existence of the village and its administrative attachment.

Toolbox
“''I would really like to participate, but I have never contributed to Wikipedia. How do I get started?''”

Here are a few leads:
 * Wikipedia Made Easy: What you really need to know on just one page
 * Editing Wikipedia (the official guide to download)
 * Wikipedia help pages
 * Wikipedia Commons help pages

“Despite the help pages, I can’t find the answer to my question.”


 * Do not hesitate to either ask your question here
 * Or to contact Elns or Ji-Elle

Press coverage

 * Maati Bargach, « Un concours pour créer des articles Wikipédia sur les villages du Cameroun », RFI Afrique, 20 May 2016
 * Duplicate content : africain.info, africatime.com , camerlinked.com , cameroonvoice.com , camerpost.com , jobincameroon.com , journaldebangui.com , journalducameroun.org , lebledparle.com , madeinmboa.net.
 * « Contest: Write about your encampment on Wikipedia and win up to to 1 million CFA F », lcclc.info, 21 May 2016
 * Duplicate content : celebsnewz.com

External resources

 * Registration platform (closed)
 * Contest Facebook pages
 * AGRIPO website
 * Wikimedia Commons (already available pictures related to Cameroon)
 * Wikimedia Commons (uploading new images)