Komon:Wuki nCat Afi̱rika 2025/Nka̱nda̱n
Rule 1: All photos must be taken by the person submitting them. Unless, they are uploaded during a registered mass upload session. Your image must have your name, username or nom de plume on the uploaded file.
Rule 2: Entries will only be accepted if uploaded between the 1st March to 30th April 2025. You can enter media that was taken at any time, even historic photographs (as long as you own the copyright on these photographs or they are in the public domain), but they must be uploaded during those dates. Photographs that are already on Commons and re-uploaded are not eligible.
Rule 3: Participants must be registered on Wikimedia Commons and be contactable. Please enable e-mail on Wikimedia Commons when registering so we can contact you if your image is chosen for a prize.
Rule 4: All entries submitted to the contest must be under a free licence (or in the public domain). In most cases, the photo will automatically be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 (CC-BY-SA 4.0). Read more about the cc-by-sa license here.
Rule 5: Images that are less than 2 mb or have watermarks or embedded signatures will not be eligible.
Rule 6: Pictures or media must be categorised under Images from Wiki Loves Africa 2025 to be eligible.
Rule 7: To be considered for the video prize, the file must be uploaded in a video format (.ogg, .ogv, or .webm) that is accepted on Wikimedia Commons. Please note that the audio and visual quality and storytelling will be taken into account for your file to be eligible for a prize.
Rule 8: Do NOT use AI to generate images. The international jury will not review any image or series of images that have been generated by AI.
Ineligibility
- Photographs that are already on Commons (this means re-uploading is not allowed).
- As the images will be hosted on Wikimedia Commons, all entries must fall within Commons scope. Any that do not will be disqualified and may be deleted without notice.
- Images with watermarks, timestamps or image credits on the picture itself or any other kind of editing which associates the image with the uploader are not eligible.
- Images that have been generated by AI are not eligible.
Ta̱fwat fak-a̱lyiat
The judging will be done by a panel of international Wikipedians, professional photographers and subject specialists, based of thumb rules of photography and as well as the community standards.
- A good photo has a good story to tell.
- A good photo removes all unnecessary distractions from the chief element, so that the latter is not out of the focus.
- Potential usefulness and overall value of the image (including its licensing) to the Wikimedia projects.
- Technical quality – Image parameters such as focus, lighting, saturation, ISO etc. will be taken into consideration.
The jury will judge individual entries based on the following criteria:
- Technical quality
- Originality
- Potential usefulness and overall value of the image (including its licensing) to the Wikimedia projects.
What prizes are up for grabs?
There are several prizes up for grabs, both nationally and internationally. For national prizes, please see what events are being held locally in your country.
At the international level, there are 3 main prizes for Wiki Loves Africa, and as with every year, there will be two additional prize categories for photos and media.
The 2025 international prizes still to be announced. Below are the 2024 Prizes and categories for reference:
Photography:
- Za̱nang 1: US$1000
- Za̱nang 2: US$900
- Za̱nang 3: ’US$700'
- Wilson Oluoha prize : US$ 1000
Media (Video, Audio, Graphics, Photo Essays):
- Best audio : US$ 700
- Wiki Loves Africa video prize - Narrative: USD 1,000
- Wiki Loves Africa video prize - Reportage : USD 1000
- Wiki Loves Africa video prize - Clip : USD 200
Disclaimer: Prize money may be dispensed in a gift card or voucher format
- For information on the differences between video prize categories, click here, and on how to submit a Special Collection or Photo Essay, click here
Naat mbwuot fak-a̱lyiat
International jury process and National processes are independent.
The International winners will not be selected until June or July 2025. Every year, there is a rigorous process involving three stages that makes sure that only the very best of the best are selected as the International Prize Winners. You can review this three step process along with the 2025 Jury Team on the 2025 International Jury page.
While the International Jury process is active, National Winners are usually announced by the country teams. There are prizes for incredible photos being awarded via this process. Check out the 2024 National Winners here!!. For 2023 winners click here!!
Á̱niet-yaa̱ywan ba
Each year it is a tough choice to choose the final winning images. The 2025 winners will not be announced until July/August 2025, but there are many beautiful winning photos that have been selected over the last 10 years!