Commons:Wiki Loves Earth 2025 in Uganda
Wiki Loves Earth is an international photographic competition to promote natural heritage sites around the world through Wikimedia projects mainly Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.
In Uganda, the Wikimedia Community User Group is participating for the sixth time and invites all interested volunteers to join this year's competition. There are numerous natural heritage sites in Uganda; the goal of Wiki Loves Earth is to encourage people to take pictures of these natural sites and to release them under a free license, allowing others to access them online. The local competition will run from 15 May 2025 to 15 July 2025. (when local winners will be submitted to the international competition).
Local entries will be accepted starting on 15 May 2025 until 15 July 2025. You may upload as many pictures as you want of natural sites that you have visited. The pictures don't have to be taken in May but need to be uploaded during the competition time frame to be considered.
- If you have pictures of natural sites stored on your computer since your last trip, this is a great opportunity to give them a second life in this year's Wiki Loves Earth contest.
- The contest jury will begin selecting national winners on 30 July 2025 and will choose the best 10 pictures of the natural sites in Uganda, which will be considered for the international competition for a prize.
- Besides winning prizes, your pictures could be used (by yourself or anyone else) on any Wikimedia project to contribute to the preservation of Uganda's natural heritage.
Timeline
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Start date: 15th May 2025 |
Upload period: 27 May 2025 |
15th July 2025 |
Selecting national winners : 25th July - 30 July 2025
Contacting national winners : 1 - 10 August 2025
Announcing and award of prizes : 15 - 20 2025
Submitting local winners to the international competition 30 August 2025
Meta/landing page updates and evaluation: 31 August 2025
Project Team Members
[edit]- The competition will be run by volunteers from the Wikimedia Community Usergroup in Uganda. The Core Organising Team (COT) is below.
- Sandra Aceng - Project Lead and Financials
- Shafik Mubiru - Project Coordination
- Geoffrey Kateregga - Jury Coordinator
- Jury members
- Twinamatsiko Dickson
- Muhumuza Joseph
- Henry Matovu
- International prizes
- See details on the Wiki Loves earth 2025 page
Wiki Loves Earth 2025 Photo Exhibition at the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo
[edit]Venue: Speke Resort Munyonyo
Date: 21st - 24th MAY 2025
Overview
[edit]Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda participated in the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo 2025 with the primary objective of raising awareness about Wikimedia projects and exploring collaborations within the tourism and environmental sectors. The participation was also part of the User Group's strategic outreach to promote free knowledge, citizen participation, and open access to information.
The User Group’s exhibition centered around the Wikimedia projects, particularly highlighting the Wiki Loves Earth campaign which is an annual international photographic competition focused on capturing images of natural heritage sites. This campaign resonates strongly with the expo’s broader themes of ecotourism, environmental conservation, and digital innovation in tourism.
Key Highlights
[edit]- Wikipedia as a resource for tourism and cultural content
- Wikivoyage a free travel guide that complements tourism promotion
- Wikimedia Commons as a repository for freely licensed media files
- Wiki Loves Earth the central campaign promoted during the expo
Engagement and Activities
[edit]- Interactive booth with Wikimedia swag and demonstrations
- Live editing sessions and Wikimedia Commons photo uploads
- Distribution of educational materials about Wikimedia and Wiki Loves Earth. Photos of different winners of Wiki Loves Earth throughout the years were printed and exhibited during the expo
- Discussions on how local tourism boards, tour operators, and conservation agencies can contribute content or partner with Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda not only on Wiki Loves Earth but other projects including GLAM-Wiki
Participants
[edit]The User Group was represented by the following individuals as exhibitors:
- Mubiru Shafik
- Timothy Akolamazima
- Vanessa Mulondo
However, several Wikimedians also participated in the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo 2025.
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Wikimedians at POATE 2025 held at Speke Resort Munyonyo -
School Children visited the Wikimedia Uganda Booth at POATE -
Wikimedians at POATE 2025 held at Speke Resort Munyonyo
Wiki Loves Earth 2025 Photo Hunt
[edit]Places Visited in 2025
[edit]Participants
[edit]Participants during the photo hunt in Eastern Uganda
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Wiki Loves Earth 2025 Virtual Launch
[edit]Date: 24 May 2025; Time: 10:00 AM-12:00 PM EAT
Program for Wiki Loves Earth 2025 in Uganda Official Launch Event: (Online)
[edit]| TIME | ACTIVITY | PERSON RESPONSIBLE |
| 10:00 am - 10:10 am |
|
Shafik Mubiru |
| 10:10 - 10:20 am |
|
Brian Baluku |
| 10:20 am - 10:30 am |
|
Sandra Aceng |
| 10:30 am - 11:00 am | Good photography tips and good photo captions | Vanessa Mulondo, James Wasswa, Timothy Akolamazima |
| 11:00-11:20 am |
|
Shafik Mubiru
Brian Baluku |
| 11:20-11:30am | What does a Jury look like, and what do they look for in photo reviews? | Lyndah Katusiime |
| 11:30-11:40 am | Launch + Celebrations | Shafik Mubiru |
| 11:40 am - 12: 00 pm |
|
Sandra Aceng |
Participants during the Virtual Launch
[edit]| No. | Name/User Name | Usergroup | Organisation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jozef020 | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | |
| 2. | Ssemmanda will | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | |
| 4. | Geossegawa | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | |
| 5. | Micheal Kaluba | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | |
| 6. | Baluku Brian | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | |
| 7. | Brenda Mann | ||
| 8. | Vanessa Mulondo | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | |
| 9. | Lyndah Katusiime | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | |
| 10. | Emmy Okwir Ogule | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | |
| 11. | Oruk Emmanuel | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | |
| 12. | James Wasswa | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | |
| 13. | Mucunguzi Jr Anold | ||
| 14. | Asiki Ronalio | ||
| 15. | Jamaldin Jamaldin | ||
| 16. | Osborn Anok | ||
| 17. | Emmanuel Alio Denis | ||
| 18. | Kukundakwe Leanet | ||
| 19. | Timothy Akolamazima | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | |
| 20. | Sandra Aceng | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | |
| 21. | Aaron Kalamya | ||
| 22. | Shalom Alobo | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | |
| 23. | Nakiganda Juliet | ||
| 24. | Zahara Nabaggala | ||
| 25. | Yesua Aliki | ||
| 26. | Malona Adige | ||
| 27. | Catherine Amia | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda | |
| 28. | Geoffrey Kateregga | Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda |
How to participate
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Step 1: Find protected areas, natural monuments, parks, or protected areas to photograph near you! |
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Step 2: Take as many beautiful pictures as possible, try different angles. Even if the photo does not win a prize, it can help improve a selected Wikimedia project! |
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Step 3: Make a selection of the best images, describe, name, and add other relevant details. |
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Step 4: Log in to Wikimedia Commons. If you don't have an account yet Create one - and activate your email address. |
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Step 5 : Publish (Upload) your photos |
Where are the natural sites?
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Rules and selection criteria
[edit]- Every submission should be:
- Self-taken and self-uploaded;
- Uploaded between 15 May 2025 - 15 July 2025.
- Freely licensed (This can be CC BY-SA 4.0 or any other free license, including CC0).
- An identifiable nature monument or reserve.
- Uploaded through the national campaign, automatically added with uploading via this link.
- Participants can participate in the contest with multiple photos.
- To be eligible to win a prize, participants in the contest must provide a way to contact them.
- It is recommended that the participant has an activated e-mail address in his/her preferences and has the receiving of e-mails enabled.
- If no way of contact is provided or no reaction is given, the photo(s) will stay part of the contest, but the uploader may not win a prize.
- Additional International contest rules are published here.
Statistics
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| Images Stats |
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| Videos Stats |
purge – Data as of 10:36 am, 12 October 2026
The Best Winning Video in Uganda in 2025
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Each chameleon eye can move on its own, allowing these creatures to scan two different directions simultaneously
Video: Jameswasswa
The top 10 Images in Uganda in 2025
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photo showing warm tones wrapping the chameleon in a silent blaze, as if nature paused just long enough to let it burn quietly into memory
Photograph: Jameswasswa -
The Towei - Kapchorwa View offers a stunning panorama of Eastern Uganda’s lush landscapes
Photograph: Otukei Moses -
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A Cape Buffalo out in the wild of Lake Mburo National Park, with Oxpeckers perched on its back captured in Lake Mburo National Park on 31st May 2024
Photograph: Timothy Akolamazima -
Close-up portrait features an African Wood Owl a medium-sized owl known for its distinctive appearance and nocturnal habits
Photograph: Jameswasswa -
File:A Red-winged Lark perches on a burnt tree stump, calling out into the wild landscape of Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve, Nakapiripirit District, northern Uganda, on 7th June 2025
Photograph: Timothy Akolamazima -
A herd of African buffalo stands alert, using their keen sense of smell to assess their surroundings
Photograph: Kalamyaaron -
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The top 10 Images in Uganda in 2024
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Aerial view of Lake Bunyampaka in Queen elizabeth National park, western Uganda
Photograph: Jim Joel -
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The top 10 Images in Uganda in 2023
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The top 10 Images in Uganda in 2022
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A group of Kob ewes moving through the savannah grassland at Murchison Falls National Park
Photograph: User:Timothy Akolamazima -
![Kyaninga Crater Lake as seen from above Photograph: [[User: Dixon099]]](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Lake_Kyaninga.jpg/960px-Lake_Kyaninga.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=parser&utm_content=thumbnail)
Kyaninga Crater Lake as seen from above
Photograph: [[User: Dixon099]] -
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Rothschild's giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) keeping company of each other as they move through the wilderness of Murchison Falls National Park
Photograph: User:Timothy Akolamazima -
Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) in Bwindi Impenetrable
Photograph: User:Thomas Fuhrmann
![Kyaninga Crater Lake as seen from above Photograph: [[User: Dixon099]]](/wiki/File:Lake_Kyaninga.jpg)
_in_Bwindi_Impenetrable_04.jpg)
The top 10 Images in Uganda in 2021
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The footprint of what the locals refer to be the foot of Kigere who is believed to have been escaping an eruption of the volcano
Photograph: Fiktube -
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The Amabere ga nyinamwiru as they are known locally are stalacites and stalagmites in the nyakasura falls
Photograph: Alvinategyeka -
The top 10 Images in Uganda in 2020
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Murchison Falls, top of the falls. Impressive: the water thunders down with great force.
Photograph: Susanne Elsig-Lohmann -
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These rocks at fort Partiko, built in 1872 were used as prisons for captured slaves.
Photograph: Jim Joel -
Children on a foot path heading to one of the villages in Kidepo Valley National Park
Photograph: Jim Joel -
The rocks surrounding the fort were used for long jump exercises by soldiers under Sir Samuel Baker's army at Baker's fort, 1872 Uganda.
Photograph: Jim Joel -
Kyambura Gorge also known as the valley of apes, is a forest in queen Elizabeth national park
Photograph: Jim Joel -
This rock was used as a watch tower to look out for enemies and arriving trade caravans at fort partiko baker's fort in 1872, Uganda.
Photograph: Jim Joel -
The largest of the primates of Kibale National Park in western Uganda. Here wildlife lovers trail habituated families of chimpanzees as they feed on fig fruit, their major food suppliers.
Photograph: Byekwaso Blasio -
Kingfisher live in the wooded savannas of Africa where it feeds primarily on insects. But this particular one was caught on film carrying a reptile (skink) to its nest to feed its young one. It was also observed carrying toads and frogs to the nest.
Photograph: Byekwaso Blasio -
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The 2019 winning photos in Uganda
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Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) - - Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Photograph: Thomas Fuhrmann -
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