The Wiki-Imagine Lagos Writing Contest aims to document Lagos’ cultural landmarks and festivals, with prizes up to N500,000 for top entries.

The Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, in collaboration with the Wikimedia Nigeria Foundation, has launched the highly-anticipated **Wiki-Imagine Lagos Writing Contest**, an initiative aimed at digitally documenting Lagos’ underrepresented cultural landmarks, festivals, and tourist sites on Wikipedia.

The virtual event featured insightful presentations by tourism experts, including Dr. Isaac Olatunde, Secretary to Wikimedia Nigeria’s Board of Trustees, who reaffirmed their commitment to preserving Lagos’ cultural heritage.

Barakat Adegboye, Wikimedian-in-Residence, detailed the initiative’s mission to make Lagos’ cultural assets globally accessible.

Ambassador Olaniyan, Chairman of Wikimedia Nigeria’s Board of Trustees, called the project “groundbreaking,” emphasizing the need to highlight Lagos’ 160+ tourism assets, of which 70% lack sufficient media representation.

The initiative also incorporates QR codes at heritage sites to provide detailed Wikipedia links for visitors.

Tourism and media experts such as Pelu Awofeso and Okorie Uguru praised the contest for its potential to transform Lagos’ global visibility and promote cultural pride.

Information Technology expert Melvin Iteghete lauded the use of tech in bridging tourism gaps, while state commissioner Toke Benson-Awoyinka highlighted the role of journalism in amplifying Lagos’ tourism assets worldwide.

The contest, open until **November 30, 2024**, encourages travel writers and journalists to publish articles spotlighting Lagos’ heritage.

Winners will receive prizes of **N500,000**, **N300,000**, and **N200,000**.

For more details and participation guidelines, writers can visit the **Wiki-Imagine Lagos** project page.