Two South African Librarians were awarded certificates of excellence by Wikipedia.
Johannesburg, South Africa (29 August 2022) – If you’ve ever wondered who some of the contributors behind Wikipedia are, look no further. Two young and passionate librarians in the City of Johannesburg are devoted to ensuring that the online encyclopedia contains accurate information about Africa... and the platform just awarded for all their hard work!
Randburg Library’s senior librarian, Matete Lesele (31) and librarian Njabulo Mdunge (29) recently flew the City’s flag high when they were awarded certificates for their contribution during the African Librarians Week: Wikipedia Campaign in May.
Among Lesele’s contributions were on former president Nelson Mandela, 1956 Women’s March leader Helen Joseph, academic pioneer and leader Charlotte Maxeke and languages. In the process, he learned so much that he encouraged Mdunge to join the campaign. The duo added over 250.
Lesele was awarded a certificate of excellence for being the fifth-highest contributor to the campaign and the only South African in the top five. Mdunge was awarded a certificate of excellence for being one of the top 30 contributors.
Cllr Ronald Harris, who is a Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development in the City of Johannesburg, commended the duo on its achievements.
“This is a true example of our youth taking the lead in correcting the history of our democracy. The youth remain our future leaders, and it is upon us to support and guide them into the future. The City of Johannesburg is proud of their contributions.”
Lesele said the campaign was part of an outreach initiative by African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AfLIA), in collaboration with Wikimedia, to engage library communities to help fill key gaps in African content on Wikipedia by adding content and missing references to articles about Africa.
“They’re trying to give Africans the power to have their narrative told or to add citations. When I read their aim of giving Africans a voice and the power to write our stories, that’s what excited me.”
Lesele is not new to the (AfLIA) and Wikipedia campaign. In 2020, he was among the top 50 global contributors and the only one from South Africa. Originally from Acornhoek in Mpumalanga, he graduated with a degree in information science. He became a trainee librarian at Brixton Library in 2016. In 2017, he applied for a job as a librarian, and in 2020, he was appointed a senior librarian. Since then, he has received the Best Librarian of the Year and Best eLearning Librarian of the Year, among others. He has implemented several e-learning programmes in City libraries and is enthusiastic about all things digital. He speaks six languages.
“It brings me joy to know people will get verified information on South African content. We’re proud of what we do, and we love our profession,” said Lesele.
Mdunge hails from Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. He completed his degree, honours and master’s in information science from the University of Zululand. He briefly worked as an intern librarian in KwaZulu-Natal before joining the City.
“What I love about being a librarian is that you get to engage with the community and help students with the correct method of academic writing or referencing. As a librarian, you should know what’s happening in the country, current affairs and where to find information when someone comes in and wants to know more,” said Mdunge.
He encouraged other librarians to participate in the campaigns.
The dynamic duo is passionate about its work and library information science (LIS). They’re working on a project that will put the City’s LIS on the map.
“Watch the space,” they said.
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