By Mmaduabuchi Onwumelu
The President of Wikimedia Anambra Network, a subsidiary of the Wikimedia User Group, Nigeria, Dr Ngozi Osuchukwu, says that Anambra State is conspicuously lagging behind in Wikidata.
Dr Osuchukwu stated this on Wednesday, 17th April, during the opening of a 2-week training titled, “Building the Repositories of Sectors in Anambra State for Knowledge and Sustained Data: Mapping out all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Streets and Markets in Anambra State on Wikidata”.
According to the University don, they were partnership with Anambra State ICT Agency and that they were committed to providing Anambra State with global visibility, attracting investment opportunities, and driving developmental advancements across sectors in the state.
The Group President said the decision followed findings indicating what she described as the state’s conspicuous lagging in Wikidata, even as she stated that Anambra’s low Wikidata records were adversely affecting the state, adding that that Wikidata assured Global Visibility.
She emphasized the group’s effort in changing the narrative by showcasing the state’s wealth of information and opportunities on the world’s largest encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
The Wikidata boss noted that the goal would be achieved through awareness creation on all the state’s MDAs, streets and markets through the Wikidata programme targeted at enhancing both the state’s economy and standard of living of the citizenry.
‘Wikidata is a repository of information where items, sectors, fields, organisations, as well as their location pictures worth knowing, are compiled so people can easily locate them on the Google map.
‘Anambra State is conspicuously lagging behind in Wikidata. As a big state and light of the nation, it should not be found wanting when it comes to visibility in the country and across the globe.
‘Our target is to ensure that the state is prominent and visible for the world to know all that are in the state. Mind you, Anambra has the largest market in West Africa. These and more are what we want to showcase.
‘Today is in-person training which will be followed by online training for the remaining weeks. For this particular activity, we’re targeting a minimum of 150 markets out of the over 400 markets we have in the state. We are grateful to Anambra ICT Agency for their collaboration and cooperation,’ she said.
Expressing optimism over the trainees’ active participation in documenting all sectors of the state, Osuchukwu said the training would offer them opportunity to build their skills in Wikidata and ignite their interests towards adding more value to themselves and society.
The Special Assistant to the Governor on MDA Support, Mr. Castro Ideke, who spoke in place of the MD/CEO of the Anambra State ICT Agency, commended the initiative, describing it as laudable and one that would undoubtedly place Anambra on the global map.
‘On behalf of the MD/CEO, we will do our best to support this by ensuring that only correct and authentic data is put out there,’ Mr. Ideke added.
