Selam Tesfaye was surprised on her birthday

Various Ethiopian tiktok videos of the week. Selam Tesfaye's surprised on her birthday. Once the competition closed in April 2023, it was the incredible task of the five-tier jury process to pick out the winners. 

After an initial review of all the entries by a volunteer team of Wiki Loves Africa organizers and Wikipedians, the international jury of 11 professional photographers and 5 filmmakers from across Africa and Wikimedia, photographic specialists from around the world considered and deliberated on the collections. 

The quality of images was a key criterion in the photographic selection, as was the encyclopedic value of each image, and whether an image was visually arresting, well-framed, and related to the theme. It was equally important to unearth the unexpected. 

The film jury was tasked with selecting a winner from the 228 videos uploaded during the contest. The process first commenced with a first review that saw the number reduced to 51 after which the jury began voting using Google Forms all through the rest of the process. 

In the end, 3 videos were identified for the 2 available categories of Best Video and the African Environment prizes. It is worth noting here that this Video jury was the very first of its kind in the Wikimedia / Wiki Loves X space.

The 2023 Wiki Loves Africa winners across five prize categories hail from four different countries – Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, and Cote d’Ivoire. International juror and long-time Wikimedia contributor, Michael Maggs, said of Maikatanga’s winning image “This striking photograph captures the stark reality of communities engulfed by floodwaters. The vibrant colors and clarity heighten the emotional intensity and visual impact of the image.”

Maikatanga showed his appreciation of the recognition Wiki Loves Africa has given his work by saying“Let me express that it is a true honor to attain this special recognition from you. Words cannot express enough how honored I am for this prize you have given me.”