I Chose to Preserve, Not Just Translate: Keeping Setswana Alive on Wikipedia

Imagine reading all the important information on Wikipedia in your own local language? Exciting, enriching and inclusive right? Well, that is what me and thousands of volunteers from Botswana and across the world are striving for in local representation!

Women pounding sorghum

Allow me to share my wonderful journey with you as a Wikimedian. My name is Olga Tladi with wiki username Olgatladi2020

The Genesis…

I am from Botswana and work as an academic librarian at Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST). I am passionate about learning new things and applying them in real life situations. I also love travelling, reading and cooking. During Covid-19 pandemic, when the rest of the world was locked up inside our homes, I discovered something worthwhile to pass my time on, which also later became my passion.”Wikipedia Editing”. A colleague had seen on facebook about the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AFLIA) Wikipedia editing challenge for librarians and invited us to the webinar.That moment became a turning point in my encounter and future engagement with wikis. I was able to join then got involved with the Wikipedia in African Libraries course organised by AFLIA and this deepened my interest and gave birth to something to be proud of-Wiki-editing, a skill I wish to pass on to others as well.

Through the course I learnt from Alice Kibombo (our Wikipedian-in-Residence by then) for the 1lib1ref campaign that there is a Wikimedia Usercommunity group Botswana that is available for community engagement which I then joined in 2023. Since joining the usergroup, I have participated in different campaigns, editathons, strategy bootcamp and even organised an outreach for my local Palapye community 2024. This year in February, I realised I still have a lot to learn in our local Setswana language translation.Setswana language is one of the official languages in Botswana. When a call for volunteers in my Wikimedia User Community Group Botswana was announced, I took a decision to do more. I applied and joined the Setswana Wikipedia volunteer focus group. The Wikimedia Volunteer Focus Group is a structured volunteer engagement initiative for our community user group.The period of engagement was for three months (Feb-April 2026).This has been one of the most meaningful, enriching experiences in my journey of promoting language, culture, and access to knowledge. When I first became part of the group, I was motivated by the desire to see Setswana language represented more strongly on digital platforms. I realized that many people, especially young learners and elders who are more comfortable reading Setswana, had limited access to information in their own language on the internet.

Shared interest… volunteer family

As a volunteer, I worked together with other five passionate contributors from various parts of Botswana to translate articles from English into Setswana and create new content about Botswana’s history, culture, enviroment, education, politics, and notable people.I chose my theme for “Botswana Politicians.” Translating articles was not only about changing words from one language to another, but also about making the information culturally relevant and understandable for Setswana readers. At first, the work was challenging.Why?? Firstly, because setswana has no standard version and there are different pronunciations and dialects to it. Secondly, when translating difficult terms that did not have direct Setswana meanings became a challenge. Those challenges helped me grow and learn. Lastly, Wikipedia has strict guidelines on writing, referencing, and neutrality. Learning how to edit articles, add citations, and use Wikipedia formatting whilst maintaining neutrality required patience and continuous practice. We had fortnightly meetings to support each other and resolve challenges arising. Overall this improved my research, writing, translation, editorial and digital literacy skills.

Wikimedia Botswana members at a Bootcamp Group photograph of participants at the Africa Wiki Women “Accelerating Action for Gender Equality ” In-person training event in Botswana

The work

Translating articles was not only about changing words from one language to another, but also about making information culturally relevant and understandable for Setswana readers. Through this work, I improved my research, writing, translation, and digital literacy skills. One of the most rewarding parts of the experience was knowing that our contributions help preserve and promote Setswana for future generations.I felt proud knowing that someone, somewhere, could now read that information in Setswana. We were given a target of 30 articles to improve monthly and track on a spreadsheet every month accompanied by a report and most times we surpassed this target.

Overall, the support from fellow volunteers made the learning process easier and enjoyable.The volunteer group also created a sense of community and collaboration. Working with people who share the same passion for indigenous languages inspired me to contribute even more.The experience has been educational, empowering, and fulfilling and I gained a deeper appreciation for Botswana’s cultural heritage. I was privileged to support one of the office hours for the Setswana Challenge for Adopt a School Programme where I led the training.To date I have helped improve about 60 pages,with 1795 edits in global edits count,with the highest contribution being on wikidata by 656 edits, followed by setswana with 594 edits and then wikicommons with 377 edits. For the duration of the focus group I was able to edit 95214 characters and add 129 references, and 21 files to wiki commons.

Technical support from other volunteers at Africa Wiki Women in-person training

Where to from here??

Looking back, I am grateful that I took the step to join the focus group because it gave me knowledge, skills, a wiki family, confidence, deeper appreciation of my heritage and a sense of purpose as an open science advocate. It is my ultimate dream to one day attend the Wiki-Indaba or Wikimania in person.With this experience I plan to mobilise more empowerment sessions for my local community of Palapye and start a wiki club for the students at my university. I would like to appeal to everyone who can, to consider being a volunteer to contribute because every edit, no matter how small, helps build a more informed and inclusive world. As the saying goes “ Rome was not built in one day “!

You can learn about our community on;

Facebook Wikimedia User Community Group Botswana

Youtube Wikimedia Community User Group Botswana