Wikimedia Nigeria Strengthens Partnership with LASRAB to Advance Digital Heritage Preservation, Oral Knowledge Documentation

Wikimedia Nigeria Foundation has said that it visited the LASRAB Director-General, Mr Rasak Amodu, to strengthen institutional collaboration for preserving and promoting Nigeria’s cultural heritage and public knowledge resources.

According to the foundation, the meeting allowed both institutions to deepen their partnership, review past achievements, launch new heritage initiatives, and discuss strategic cooperation for the year ahead.

It noted in a statement that the Wikimedia Nigeria delegation formally presented audiovisual materials from the Nigeria Oral History Documentation Project to LASRAB for archival and educational use.

It added that the visit to LASRAB marks another major step in expanding partnerships that support free knowledge, digital preservation, and cultural documentation in Nigeria.

The meeting also revisited the 2024 collaboration between LASRAB and Wikimedia Nigeria on WikiHeritage. WikiHeritage is a global initiative using Wikimedia platforms, such as Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata, to digitally preserve and promote cultural heritage.

The meeting introduced the Nigeria Oral History and Indigenous Knowledge Documentation Initiative. This national project preserves indigenous languages, oral traditions, local histories, and cultural expressions through audiovisual documentation in native languages. The initiative, it said, has documented elements from over 250 Nigerian languages and cultures and continues to expand across the country.

Through field expeditions and interviews with local custodians of culture, oral historians, traditional rulers, storytellers, and community elders, the project, the foundation said, seeks to safeguard knowledge systems at risk of disappearing.

As part of the visit, Wikimedia Nigeria formally donated selected audiovisual documentation materials from the project to LASRAB for archival preservation, research access, and public educational presentation to visitors and researchers interested in Nigeria’s cultural heritage.

Both organisations discussed strengthening collaboration with cultural institutions, libraries, museums, historians, filmmakers, researchers, and traditional institutions to support high-quality documentation of oral knowledge and digital heritage content.

Wikimedia Nigeria and LASRAB also agreed to strengthen cooperation for the 2026 heritage and oral knowledge project reinforcing both institutions’ shared commitment to ensuring that Nigeria’s rich history, traditions, indigenous knowledge systems, and cultural identity remain accessible and preserved for future generations through digital innovation and open knowledge platforms.