Student project at NU-Q amplifies voices from the Global South

Doha: Northwestern Qatar students have provided additional content on Wikipedia to give voice to underrepresented people and topics from the Global South. In a class on intercultural and international communication, the students submitted and edited English-language entries on cultural, social, and political topics related to the Global South.

Northwestern Qatar Professor Banu Akdenizli teaches the course and said that the project is “an attempt to decolonize Wikipedia” by contributing content on regions that have historically suffered from a lack of representation in academia, media, and the online world. “Not only are issues concerning the Global South not well addressed on Wikipedia, but they are also in need of improvement,” she said, stressing that Northwestern Qatar students are uniquely positioned to lead on efforts to introduce and translate content about the region as multi-lingual writers and researchers from the region.