{"id":6687,"date":"2023-08-11T08:55:29","date_gmt":"2023-08-11T08:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/swip\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T16:30:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T14:30:27","slug":"swip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/swip\/","title":{"rendered":"SADiLaR-Wikipedia-PanSALB (SWiP) Project"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"182\" src=\"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Swip-Project-Logo-Redraw-300x182.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Swip-Project-Logo-Redraw-300x182.png 300w, https:\/\/sadilar.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Swip-Project-Logo-Redraw-768x466.png 768w, https:\/\/sadilar.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Swip-Project-Logo-Redraw.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Preserving Languages: Open, Free and Accessible Knowledge for All<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">The&nbsp;<strong>SADiLaR\u2013Wikipedia\u2013PanSALB (SWiP)<\/strong>&nbsp;project is a national collaborative initiative between the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources&nbsp;(SADiLaR), Wikimedia ZA, and the Pan South African Language Board&nbsp;(PanSALB).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SWiP promotes the preservation, development, and digital visibility of South African languages by empowering communities to create and expand content on Wikipedia in their own languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context and Significance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>South African languages remain underrepresented in digital spaces. SWiP addresses this gap by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Increasing high-quality Wikipedia content in South African languages<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Training new contributors in digital authorship<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Strengthening collaboration between universities and language bodies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Promoting inclusive access to knowledge for all<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>By positioning Wikipedia as a platform for language preservation, SWiP contributes to the sustainability of indigenous languages in the digital age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Project&nbsp;Journey<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Phase 1 (September 2023 \u2013 October 2024) | Completed<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Phase 1 was officially launched on 22 September 2023 at the University of South Africa&nbsp;in Pretoria. The launch highlighted isiNdebele and encouraged greater participation from amaNdebele contributors, addressing limited digital representation of the language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Achievements<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Authorship Workshops<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Conducted across nine provinces<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>18 universities participated<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>986 participants trained in Wikipedia editing and content creation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Science Forum South Africa 2024 Side Event<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Expanded outreach to broader language communities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Strengthened national awareness of digital language preservation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>SWiP Writing Competition<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>56 active editors participated<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Winners and runners-up recognised for each South African written language<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Overall top contributor honoured<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Phase 1 successfully built a community of skilled contributors committed to growing African language content online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2023- 2025 Highlights<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Workshops were successfully hosted at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>North-West University<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of Cape Town<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of Pretoria<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mangosuthu University of Technology<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of Johannesburg<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of Mpumalanga<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of Limpopo<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of Venda&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Vaal University of Technology<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cape Peninsula University of Technology<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Walter Sisulu University<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sol Plaatje University<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tshwane University of Technology&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Nelson Mandela University<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of Zululand<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of Freestate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of South Africa<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Central University&nbsp;of Technology<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of Eswatini<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2026 Upcoming SWiP Workshops<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Scheduled at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of the Western Cape<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stellenbosch University<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of the Witwatersrand<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of KwaZulu-Natal<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Durban University of Technology<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of Fort Hare<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rhodes University<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Continental Expansion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>SWiP is expanding beyond South Africa to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Botswana<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Zimbabwe<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Edit-a-Thons<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Planned at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of Mpumalanga<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of Venda<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>University of Limpopo<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Get Involved<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>SWiP welcomes participation from organisations, universities, and individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Organisations Can:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Provide financial support for workshops and competitions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sponsor and host edit-a-thons<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Establish recognition and award programmes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Develop school and community-based language initiatives<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Universities Can:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Partner with SWiP to host workshops<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Integrate Wikipedia authorship into coursework<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Encourage student and staff participation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Individuals Can:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Volunteer at workshops and events<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Contribute and edit Wikipedia in their language<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mentor new contributors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Together, we can ensure South African languages thrive in digital spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Contact Us<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about the SWiP project:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">\ud83d\udce7&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"mailto:swip@sadilar.org\">swip@sadilar.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Preserving Languages: Open, Free and Accessible Knowledge for All The&nbsp;SADiLaR\u2013Wikipedia\u2013PanSALB (SWiP)&nbsp;project is a national collaborative initiative between the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources&nbsp;(SADiLaR), Wikimedia ZA, and the Pan South African Language Board&nbsp;(PanSALB). SWiP promotes the preservation, development, and digital visibility of South African languages by empowering communities to create and expand content on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":6686,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[730],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/252"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6687"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12226,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6687\/revisions\/12226"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sadilar.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}