Bobby Shabangu

Bobby Shabangu is a long-standing Wikimedia volunteer, community leader, and open knowledge advocate with more than a decade of experience strengthening free knowledge across Africa and the Global South. He has been an active Wikimedian since 2013, contributing to multiple African-language Wikipedias, Wikimedia Commons, Meta-Wiki, Wikidata, and the Incubator. He previously served as an administrator for both the Siswati- and IsiNdebele-language Wikipedias, helping steward the growth and quality of emerging language communities.

Bobby has held several key governance and movement-support roles within Wikimedia. He served as president of Wikimedia South Africa, where he helped expand participation, deepen partnerships, and strengthen the chapter’s organizational capacity. He also chaired the WikiIndaba Steering Committee, supporting regional collaboration and helping to guide the annual WikiIndaba conference that brings together Wikimedians from across the African continent. In addition, Bobby is a co-founder of Afrika Baraza, a platform designed to foster continental coordination, skill-building, and cross-community support.

Bobby’s professional career includes work with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and CGIAR, where he has contributed to research, communications, information, and knowledge management. He holds a BA (Hons) in Communications from the University of South Africa and has also studied Indonesian language and music theory at the Indonesian Arts Institute of Padang Panjang through the Darmasiswa program.

He lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.