Felix Nartey


Felix Nartey is a Ghanaian social entrepreneur and open advocate who was named the Wikimedian of the Year in August 2017 by Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales at Wikimania. He is the chapter lead and Co-founder of Creative Commons Ghana and also a cofounder of Open Foundation West Africa.

Early life

Nartey was born in Tema in Ghana. He graduated from Pope John Secondary School in 2008 and Central University with a B.Sc. in Banking and Finance in 2013, and as of 2017 was working on an M.B.A. from the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences. While studying at Central University he was appointed a Google Student Ambassador, a position that surged his interest in technology.

Career

After his first degree, he became a banker and volunteered in other capacities. Nartey served as the community manager for Wikimedia Ghana. He later co-founded Open Foundation West Africa, a non-profit organisation whose goal is to encourage the creation of content under open licenses.
Nartey works as the Global Coordinator for the Wikipedia Library at the Wikimedia Foundation. He is also a member of the interim Global Network Council of Creative Commons.

Contributions in the Open Movement

Nartey joined the Wikimedia movement in 2012. He adds content about his home country, Ghana, and leads several initiatives to promote the importance of editing Wikipedia, including GLAM activities, the Wikipedia Education Program, activities targeted at bridging the gender gap, and the Wikipedia Library.
He was a member of the Advisory Group for the transition of the Creative Commons Global Network Strategy and a member of the Drafting Committee for the Wikimedia Movement Strategy. He was also a member of the core team of the Firefox Africa Group.
In his Wikipedian of the Year dedication, Wales mentioned that Nartey played a leading role in the organisation of the 2nd Wiki Indaba conference 2017 in Accra, and has been critical in building up the local communities in Africa.