User:Essa237
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Hello!
I'm Wah Vanessa, also known across Wikimedia projects as Essa237. I am a Wikimedian from Cameroon, a full-stack web developer, technical educator, community volunteer, and advocate for open knowledge. My Wikimedia work focuses on improving the representation of African people, communities, organizations, ideas, and histories while helping new contributors learn how to participate confidently and responsibly. Outside Wikimedia, I build technology solutions, teach programming and robotics, support technology communities, and explore the intersection of software development, artificial intelligence, education, and digital knowledge preservation. |
I contribute across several Wikimedia projects, including:
| English Wikipedia Article creation and improvement |
French Wikipedia Editing and translation |
Wikidata Structured open data |
| Meta-Wiki Movement participation |
Wikiquote African voices and quotations |
Wikimedia Commons Media and documentation |
I began contributing to Wikimedia because I wanted to help improve the online representation of Africa and make reliable knowledge about African people, communities, and experiences easier to access.
Since joining the movement, I have:
- Created and improved articles on English and French Wikipedia.
- Contributed structured information to Wikidata.
- Participated in Wikimedia campaigns and edit-a-thons.
- Supported new contributors through mentorship and practical training.
- Organized community editing activities.
- Facilitated beginner-friendly learning sessions.
- Assisted contributors with research, sourcing, translation, and article development.
- Encouraged responsible editing and respect for Wikimedia policies.
I support Wikimedia communities by helping contributors understand both the technical and policy-related sides of editing.
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Areas in which I support newcomers
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Community activities
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I was selected for the second cohort of the EduWiki Hub Mentorship Program. Through the program, I am strengthening my Wikimedia knowledge, collaboration, leadership, and community-building skills through structured mentorship and peer learning.
- Mentee in the On-Wiki Skills Mentorship Programme, Cohort 2.
- Facilitator for Wikimedia learning sessions.
- Supported new contributors in understanding editing workflows, sourcing, translation, and Wikimedia best practices.
- Facilitated learning activities across Wikipedia and Wikidata.
I served as an organizer and facilitator for the Mboa Forward Community Days, a contributor-development campaign organized through the Wiki Alliance for Open Knowledge.
My responsibilities included:
- Organizing and facilitating training sessions.
- Onboarding and mentoring new editors.
- Teaching Wikipedia policies and editing best practices.
- Helping contributors understand notability and reliable sourcing.
- Supporting article creation, improvement, translation, and referencing.
- Reviewing contributors' work and providing feedback.
- Helping participants respond to editing challenges.
Campaign results:
| 32 Articles created |
35 Articles improved |
214 Edits |
12 Editors |
| 104 References added |
6,000+ Words contributed |
13 Editors onboarded |
588 Article views |
I support the Wiki Alliance for Open Knowledge in developing contributors, strengthening Wikimedia participation, and promoting open knowledge in Cameroon.
I participate in Wikiquote initiatives focused on increasing the visibility of African voices. My interests include creating and improving properly sourced quotation pages for notable African writers, academics, leaders, activists, and creatives.
- Selected for the EduWiki Hub Mentorship Program, Cohort 2.
- Selected as a mentee in the Africa Wiki Women On-Wiki Skills Mentorship Programme.
- Facilitated Wikimedia training and learning sessions.
- Organized the Mboa Forward Community Days campaign.
- Helped onboard and support new Wikimedia contributors in Cameroon.
- Contributed across English Wikipedia, French Wikipedia, Wikidata, Meta-Wiki, Wikiquote, and Wikimedia Commons.
- Supported editors with article research, translation, sourcing, and policy compliance.
- Contributed to a Wikimedia-related tool during a hackathon.
- Participated in campaigns promoting the representation of African knowledge and voices.
| Cameroon | African history | Women in technology | Education |
| Software engineering | Artificial intelligence | Open source | Robotics |
| Digital literacy | Community building | Multilingual knowledge | Wikimedia movement |
Outside Wikimedia, I:
- Build full-stack web applications.
- Teach programming, robotics, and digital skills.
- Mentor aspiring developers and technology learners.
- Support and organize technology communities.
- Create technical documentation and learning resources.
- Advocate for accessible digital education and opportunities across Africa.
Questions, collaboration ideas, or editing discussions are welcome.
I have participated in onboarding and mentorship activities for new contributors involved in the Mboa campaign, including User:Leila237. We may occasionally edit from the same physical location or network environment during campaign-related activities.
The “237” in our usernames refers to Cameroon's international country calling code, which is commonly used by Cameroonians in online usernames. We are separate individuals and maintain independent Wikimedia accounts.