The term Pool Strategic is inspired by the idea of the Wikimedia strategy within the Pool Malebo, that is, an organized pool of resources and talents mobilized from two countries linked by the Pool around a shared key objective.
In the Wikimedia context, this means bringing together a structured community of contributors, knowledge, and experiences in order to sustainably strengthen the presence of local languages in the digital space.
Pool-Strategic is therefore both a project and a strategic core: it transforms initiatives that were previously scattered into a coordinated movement, capable of giving new momentum to free knowledge in Congolese languages.
A project at the heart of local languages
The Pool-Strategic project took place from 10 August to 31 December 2025 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo, as a collaboration supported by the Wikimedia Foundation.
Its main objective was to enrich and make free knowledge more reliable in two major local languages that are lagging behind or lack visibility: tshiluba and kikongo.
For tshiluba, contributions focused on the Wikimedia Incubator and Translatewiki with a total of 1,033 contributions recorded on the Wikimedia Incubator, made by 10 active contributors.
For kikongo, the work was carried out mainly on Translatewiki.
This initiative mobilized the community around the creation, translation, and promotion of free content, thereby helping to strengthen the visibility and legitimacy of Congolese languages within the Wikimedia ecosystem.
Memories of the preparatory phas
Before the official launch of Pool-Strategic, the community was already active on the Wikimedia Incubator since December 2023.
For nearly 19 months (December 2023 – July 2025), contributors tested the viability of projects in local languages, enriched existing content, and gained valuable experience.
This exploratory phase helped to lay solid foundations, both technically and at the community level.
The 2025 Pool-Strategic project therefore fits into a logical continuity: moving from experimentation to more strategic and sustainable structuring.
Voices from the community
“Contributing in tshiluba and kikongo on Wikimedia means giving our languages a digital voice.”
— Project participant
“Pool-Strategic allowed us to turn our trials on the Incubator into a real community movement.”
— Member of the organizing team
Join the adventure
Pool-Strategic has demonstrated that it is possible to make free knowledge in local languages sustainable and richer through a structured community-based approach.
The momentum launched in 2025 opens the way for new initiatives in 2026 and beyond.
Whether you are an experienced contributor or a beginner, every contribution in tshiluba or kikongo strengthens linguistic diversity on Wikimedia.
Consult the Meta-Wiki and Translatewiki pages to follow the evolution of the projects and join the community.
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