SWiP Wikipedia Workshop: Advancing South African Languages

We are excited to announce the SADiLaR–Wikipedia–PanSALB (SWiP) Workshop, taking place at the University of Pretoria from 29–30 September 2025.

The SWiP initiative is a collaborative effort by the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR), Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia), and the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB).

Why SWiP?

The project brings together communities of language practice — including universities, language directorates, and language entities — to advance and celebrate the use of South African languages.

Project Aims

• To encourage language communities of practice to actively contribute to Wikipedia.
• To provide hands-on training in creating new entries and extending existing language resources.
• To make South Africa’s linguistic heritage more visible and accessible in the digital space.

Event Details

📅 Date: 29–30 September 2025
🕘 Time: 09:00 onwards
📍 Venue: University of Pretoria

👉 RSVP here: https://forms.gle/4KLdacet27ZhPV6N9

Collaboration Partners

This workshop is a collaboration of:

• University of Pretoria Faculty of Education
• Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), Republic of South Africa
• SADiLaR (South African Centre for Digital Language Resources)
• Wikipedia
• Wikimedia ZA
• UNESCO International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032)
• PanSALB (Pan South African Language Board)
• Data Science for Social Impact (DSFSI), University of Pretoria
• African Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AfriDSAI), University of Pretoria

With the extended support of the AI4D African Language Lab at UP.