The Dagbani Wikimedians User Group has held its annual gathering in Wa, capital of Ghana’s Upper West Region, bringing together volunteers from different language communities to review their work and plan ahead.

The capacity-building retreat brought together members of the Kusaal Wikimedians Community, Gurene Wikimedians Community, Dagaare Wikimedians Community, and Waali Wikimedians Community. Participants used the meeting to reflect on past activities, share experiences, and discuss future projects aimed at promoting local languages online.

The main meetings and discussions were held at Dellagio Hotel in Wa, where members also took part in planning sessions and group discussions focused on strengthening collaboration across the different communities.

During the sessions, members reviewed their activities, shared experiences, and discussed how to improve the creation of online content in Ghanaian local languages. They also talked about training new volunteers and strengthening cooperation among the different language teams.

Organisers said the meeting helped the groups to better coordinate their work and support the growth of free knowledge in local languages.

Before the meeting, the teams travelled to Royal Cosy Hills Hotel in Jirapa for a retreat and team-building activities, where they continued informal discussions, networking, and group bonding.

Team leaders from the Dagbani Wikimedians Community say the calm and quiet setting at Safari Ranch Jirapa helped them rest, bond, and think clearly about the future.

Musah Fuseini, Abdul Rasheed Yussif, Rukaya Hamidu, Abdul Rafiu Fuseini, Abdul Wadud Alhassan, and Fuseini Mugisu Suhiyini said the environment allowed them to slow down, reflect, and plan new projects together.

“The peaceful environment helped us relax and think clearly,” Rukaya said. “It gave us space to connect and plan our next steps,” Abdul Rasheed added.

Participants from other language communities also shared similar experiences. Isaac Awinimi Adakuduguru, Isaac Agurwin Abande, and Engr. Mahmud Mohammed-Nurudeen represented the Kusaal Wikimedians Community. Ruth Abugpoka Ayorigya and Felicia Amoramah Ayeti took part from the Gurene community, while Paula Daara and Linus Konkor joined from the Dagaare group. Asare Paul Yaw, Umar Asiya, and Zakari Tunsung represented the Waali Community.

They said the retreat strengthened collaboration across language groups and helped build shared understanding.

“Being together helped us learn from each other,” Daara said. “We are now more united and focused on our future work,” Isaac noted.

They saw many animals including African lions, hippopotamuses, impalas, Livingstone’s elands, Indian blackbucks, nyala, Burchell’s zebras, fallow deer, alpacas, giant tortoises, civet cats, baboons, and ostriches.

The team joined guided hippo-lion tours which allowed them to safely watch the animals inside a specially designed scenic safari environment.

Officials at the ranch said the facility is designed for safari tourism and educational visits. They added that there are plans to increase the number of animal species in the coming years to attract more visitors and promote eco-tourism in northern Ghana.

Executive director for Dagbani Wikimedians User Group, Sadik Shahadu said the annual gathering remains important for strengthening collaboration among the language communities. Their goal is to continue expanding reliable information online in Dagbani, Kusaal, Gurene, Dagaare, Waali, and other Ghanaian languages.

They expressed hope that future retreats will help train more volunteers and protect local languages through digital knowledge sharing.