Community Resources and Partnerships/India Rapid Project/Wiki Sangam Wikipedia 25 Celebration and Child Labour Awareness through School and Village Outreach
Applicant
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
Shadabgdg
- Organization
N/A
- If you are a group or organization leader, board member, president, executive director, or staff member at any Wikimedia group, affiliate, or Wikimedia Foundation, you are required to self-identify and present all roles. (required)
N/A
- Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)
N/A
Project
[edit]- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.
Wiki Sangam Wikipedia 25 Celebration and Child Labour Awareness through School and Village Outreach
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2026-06-01 - 2026-07-30
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
India
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
Wikipedia Birthday or Anniversary
- 6. What is the change you are trying to bring? What are the main challenges or problems you are trying to solve? Describe this change or challenges, as well as main approaches to achieve it. (required)
With Wiki Sangam, this project aims to create a meaningful shift in how rural communities and students engage with open knowledge by moving them from passive readers of Wikipedia to active contributors. In many of the villages we plan to reach, people use Wikipedia regularly but are not aware that they can shape and improve it. By connecting Wikipedia’s 25th birthday with the World Day Against Child Labour on 12 June, the project transforms a global celebration into a locally relevant opportunity for civic awareness, critical engagement, and participation in open knowledge.
The broader change this project seeks to contribute to is increased knowledge equity and stronger representation of underrepresented communities within the Wikimedia movement. Rural students and community members often remain excluded from participation due to limited exposure, lack of confidence, and absence of locally grounded outreach. This project addresses that gap by introducing Wikimedia projects in a way that is accessible, relevant, and connected to real-world social issues such as child labour.
The project adopts a grassroots, in-person engagement approach through school-based knowledge hubs and village outreach. This model is intentionally designed to reach both students and community members beyond formal education systems, ensuring inclusive participation. We believe this approach will be effective because locally rooted, face-to-face engagement has consistently shown higher levels of trust, participation, and retention compared to one-time or purely online interventions.
Rather than positioning Wikipedia’s birthday as a standalone celebration, this proposal frames it as a thematic campaign that connects awareness, learning, and participation. By making open knowledge personally relevant and socially meaningful, the project aims to foster long-term engagement and build a sustainable pathway for new contributors. Ultimately, it seeks to ensure that more people from these communities not only access knowledge but also actively contribute to it, strengthening the diversity and inclusiveness of the global knowledge ecosystem.
- 7. What are the planned activities? (required) Please provide a list of main activities. You can also add a link to the public page for your project where details about your project can be found. Alternatively, you can upload a timeline document. When the activities include partnerships, include details about your partners and planned partnerships.
Kindly find the detailed activity plan here: [1]
Our major activities for this project include:
- Wikipedia 25 School-Based Celebration Hubs:<br>We will organize two school-based celebration events as knowledge hubs, bringing together students from nearby schools. These events will introduce participants to Wikipedia, celebrate its 25-year journey, and engage them in discussions around open knowledge and participation.
- Thematic Awareness Sessions on Child Labour:<br>In alignment with the World Day Against Child Labour (12 June), we will conduct awareness sessions within schools and communities to promote understanding of child labour, its impact, and the importance of reliable information in addressing such social issues.
- Village Outreach and Community Engagement:<br>We will conduct outreach visits in nearby villages to directly engage community members, raise awareness, and encourage participation in Wikimedia platforms. This will ensure inclusion beyond formal education spaces.
- Introductory Wikimedia Training Sessions:<br>Participants will be introduced to the basics of Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, including how to access, evaluate, and contribute to open knowledge.
- Follow-up Engagement and Community Building:<br>We will maintain engagement with interested participants through follow-up interactions, aiming to build a sustainable community of new contributors from the target regions.
Planned partnerships include collaboration with local schools for hosting the hub events and outreach support, along with potential engagement of educators and community members to facilitate participation and continuity.
- 8. Describe your team. Please provide their roles, Wikimedia Usernames and other details. (required) Include more details of the team, including their roles, usernames, Wikimedia group, and whether they are salaried, volunteers, consultants/contractors, etc.
(Shadabgdg) will serve as the Project Lead, overseeing overall planning, coordination, and execution of the project under the Wiki Sangam initiative. Dumbledore Potter will act as Co-Lead, supporting program design, on-ground coordination, and community engagement activities.
The core team also includes experienced Wikimedians such as zaidusyy, Kavaljeet Singh, and 3MindedScholar, who will contribute to training, outreach, and participant support during the activities. They will assist in facilitating Wikimedia sessions, mentoring new participants, and ensuring smooth execution of both school-based hubs and village outreach efforts.
In addition, local volunteers and community members will support coordination with schools, participant mobilization, and logistics during events. The project is primarily volunteer-driven, and all team members are contributing in a voluntary capacity. There are no salaried staff roles in this project.
- 9. Who are the target participants and from which community? How will you engage participants before and during the activities? How will you follow up with participants after the activities? (required)
The primary target participants for this project are students from the host schools and nearby schools, teachers, youth from surrounding villages, and local community members who are interested in learning about open knowledge and social awareness. We especially aim to reach participants from rural and semi-rural communities where exposure to Wikimedia projects is still limited and where awareness around child labour and the role of reliable information can have strong local relevance. Our approach is designed to be inclusive, with a focus on first-time participants, young learners, and community members who may not have previously engaged with Wikimedia spaces.
Before the activities, we will engage participants through direct outreach to schools and village communities, along with coordination with teachers, local supporters, and community contacts. We will share simple introductory messages about Wikipedia 25, the purpose of the events, and the link between open knowledge and child labour awareness. For school participants, we will work through teachers and school administration to identify interested students and prepare them in advance. For village participants, we will use local outreach and personal communication to build trust and encourage participation.
During the activities, participants will be welcomed through short orientation sessions that explain Wikimedia, the relevance of Wikipedia, and the theme of the campaign. We will use interactive and beginner-friendly formats so that participants feel comfortable asking questions and taking part. The sessions will be designed to encourage participation from both students and community members, with a focus on learning, discussion, and simple hands-on introduction to Wikimedia projects.
After the activities, we will follow up with interested participants through WhatsApp or other community communication channels, along with direct contact from the organizing team and school supporters. Participants who show interest will be encouraged to stay connected for future Wikimedia learning and contribution opportunities. We will also maintain follow-up communication to share useful resources, answer questions, and invite them to future Wiki Sangam activities so that the engagement continues beyond a single event.
- 9.1. If your project includes in-person activities, are there any international participants travelling to India for them? (required)
- No
- 9.1.1. List all countries of participation. (required)
- 9.2. Will the project be transferring funds to any international participants? (required)
- No
- 9.2.1. List all international participants receiving funding and their countries. (required)
N/A
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
- Yes
- 10.1. Please provide a link to your Youth Safety Policy. (required) If the proposal indicates direct contact with children or youth, you are required to outline compliance with international and local laws for working with children and youth, and provide a youth safety policy aligned with these laws. Read more here.
We will adhere strictly to the Wikimedia friendly space policy, WMF Youth Safety policy and the Universal Code of Conduct all through the project activities.
- 11. How did you discuss the idea of your project with your community members and/or any relevant groups? Please describe steps taken and provide links to any on-wiki community discussion(s) about the proposal. (required) You need to inform the community and/or group, discuss the project with them, and involve them in planning this proposal. You also need to align the activities with other projects happening in the planned area of implementation to ensure collaboration within the community.
The idea and overall approach for this project have been discussed among Wiki Sangam members through internal communication channels such as WhatsApp and planning discussions, along with informal virtual meetings. These discussions included regional contributors who provided inputs on the outreach model, thematic focus, and implementation strategy.
The proposal has been shaped through these collaborative discussions, with a particular focus on aligning Wikipedia 25 celebrations with socially relevant themes like child labour awareness, and ensuring that the approach is practical for school-based and village-level engagement.
We will continue refining the project plan and implementation details through ongoing discussions and coordination with community members and local stakeholders. The broader activity plan and updates related to this project will be documented on Meta-Wiki for transparency and community reference: Wiki Sangam/Activity Plan/Wikipedia 25 Celebration and Child Labour Awareness 2026
- 12. Does your proposal aim to work to bridge any of the content knowledge gaps (Knowledge Inequity)? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Geography
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Human Rights
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Geographic
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Innovate in Free Knowledge
Metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
Through this project, we want to learn whether a school-based hub model combined with village outreach can make Wikipedia feel more relevant, accessible, and useful for rural communities. We also want to understand whether linking Wikipedia’s 25th birthday with a socially important theme like child labour increases participant interest, trust, and engagement more effectively than a celebration-only approach.
Our key learning questions are:
- Does bringing Wikimedia outreach directly into schools and villages increase awareness, trust, and participation among first-time contributors from rural communities?
- Does connecting Wikipedia 25 with child labour awareness help participants better understand the value of reliable information and open knowledge in their daily lives?
- Which part of the project model supports the strongest follow-up engagement: the school hubs, village outreach, or post-event digital communication?
We will gather insights through participant interaction, informal feedback, facilitator observations, and follow-up engagement in our communication channels. These learnings will help us improve future Wiki Sangam activities and build a more effective, community-centered model for Wikimedia outreach in rural India.
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 70 | We expect 70 participants in total, including 55 new participants and around 15 returning participants. |
| Number of editors | 20 | |
| Number of organizers | 12 |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | |
| Wikimedia Commons | 800 |
| Wikidata | |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies | |
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
- Optional description for content contributions.
We expect to upload approximately 800 quality images to Wikimedia Commons, focusing on relevant and well-documented visuals from outreach activities, local contexts, and awareness initiatives related to the project theme.
- 19. Do you have any other project targets in numbers (metrics)? (optional)
Yes
| Main Open Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| New member sign-ups | We aim to generate new member sign-ups within the Wikimedia ecosystem, especially through Wikimedia Commons and related participation pathways, as a result of outreach and awareness activities. | 50 |
| Participant retention | We aim to retain participants for continued engagement after the activities through follow-up communication, community groups, and future Wikimedia participation opportunities. | 15 |
| Diff blog publication | We aim to publish Diff blog post highlighting the participation and experiences of school students and community members, documenting the Wikipedia 25 celebration, child labour awareness activities, and grassroots engagement outcomes. | 2 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
- 20. What tools would you use to measure each metrics? Please refer to the guide for a list of tools. You can also write that you are not sure and need support. (required)
EventMetrics
Budget
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kZACJPYZWb2BK_tVF7guXbiDdkXGkmwF_kncb4BHewA/edit?usp=sharing
- 22. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in Indian Rupees. (required)
86000 INR
- 22.1. Convert the amount requested into USD using the Oanda converter. This is done to help you assess the USD equivalent of the requested amount. Your request should be between 500 - 5,000 USD. (required)
915.99 USD
- By submitting this proposal request you agree with the Institutional Partner Privacy Policy, Application Privacy Statements, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
Yes
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