Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/General Support Fund/Afroyanga Cultural Enlightenment Initiative 2026 Annual Grant

statusUnder review

Wikimedia Community Fund

Afroyanga Cultural Enlightenment Initiative 2026 Annual Grant

Fluxx IDR-GS-2509-20197

start date2026-01-01

end date2026-12-31

budget (local currency)54573.51 USD

grant typeNonprofit organization with Wikimedia mission

funding regionSSA

decision fiscal year2025-26

funding program roundRound 1

organization (if applicable)Afroyanga Cultural Enlightenment Initiative

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Applicant information

Organization name or Wikimedia Username for individuals. (required): Afroyanga Cultural Enlightenment Initiative

Do you have any approved General Support Fund requests? (required): Yes, I have already applied and received a General Support Fund

You are applying as a(n). (required): Nonprofit organization with Wikimedia mission

Are your group or organization legally registered in your country? (required): Yes

Do you have a fiscal sponsor?: Yes

Fiscal organization name.: Kiwix

Please provide links to the following documents if they are available

These documentation can be provided in your local language(s), no translations required.

Organizational website
Detailed financial reporting and/or audits
Documentation of the governance structure, board list, governance processes
Documentation of the general assembly decision on your plan

https://www.africanandproud.org/

All other official documents can be found in the organization profile.

Main proposal

1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be a title for the Meta-Wiki page. (required): Afroyanga Cultural Enlightenment Initiative 2026 Annual Grant

2. Do you want to apply for the multi-year base funding for 3 years? (required) (only for returning applicants): No

2.1. Provide a brief overview of Year 2 and Year 3 of the proposed plan and how this relates to the current proposal and your strategic plan? (required)

N/A

3. Proposed start date. (required): 2026-01-01

4. Proposed end date. (required): 2026-12-31

5. Does your organization or group have an Affiliate or Organizational Annual Plan that can help us understand your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (required): Yes; https://docs.google.com/document/d/11bytlHHgxhZHLDJx5i1RNX1V0Ge-QBGSF_a8bGwNFqI/edit?usp=sharing

6. Does your affiliate, organization or group have a Strategic Plan that can help us understand your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (required): Yes; https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP)/Strategic_Plans/2026-2027

7. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required): International (more than one country across continents or regions); Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, and Kenya.

8. What are your programs, approaches, and strategies? What are the challenges that you are trying to address and how will your strategies support you in addressing these challenges? (required)

Introduction

Afroyanga Cultural Enlightenment Initiative also known as African & Proud, our theory of change borders around the shared belief that:

 When Africans are equipped with the skills and tools to contribute to Wikimedia projects, they can document their culture and lived experiences in ways that are accurate and authentic. This increases the visibility of African knowledge across projects  like Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Wikibooks, and Commons, reduces misrepresentation, and empowers African communities with pride and agency over their narratives.

To achieve this, we intend to carry out the following programs for the year 2026;

Program 1: Culture Connect Africa Program

Culture Connect Africa (CCA) suite , is a set of interconnected initiatives designed to document and share Africa’s cultural heritage and travel knowledge across Wikimedia projects. See 2025 outreach dashboard here; https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/culture_connect_africa_2025/programs

The Culture Connect Africa Suite will now consist of Four Key Initiatives (formally three; African Film & Cinema, Afrocusine and AfroFestival);

African Film & Cinema: Building on the success of the initiative from 2025, the project is focused on documenting African films, filmmakers, actors, cultural film institutions, and cinema history. Participants create and improve articles on Wikipedia and language Wikipedia projects, upload film-related media to Wikimedia Commons, and ensure authentic narratives about African cinema are available worldwide. This project will also improve already existing content.
AfroCuisine: Dedicated to preserving Africa’s culinary heritage. Using Wikibooks (Cookbook), Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, we document African recipes, food traditions, and stories around cuisine, making them freely accessible and helping to preserve them for future generations.
AfroFestival: Celebrates Africa’s festivals and cultural events. Through contributions on Wikipedia and Commons, participants document festivals, rituals, and performance traditions while uploading photos, videos, and stories that showcase Africa’s vibrant cultural life.
AfroVoyage (NEW): Aimed at expanding and improving travel content about African destinations on Wikivoyage. Our goal is to make travel guides accurate - which needs to be updated from time to time, authentic, and user-friendly while engaging Africans to tell their own travel stories. Building on the success of Nigeria Transportation and Recreation Expedition - A project hosted by African & Proud - https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Edriiic/Nigeria_Transportation_and_Recreation_Expedition_(December_-_January)

Our approach includes:

Updating and creating city/destination guides with reliable, current information (e.g., cultural attractions, safety tips, transportation) - especially already existing articles on Wikivoyage, with the aim of making the wikimedia project more usable.
Adding authentic local perspectives often missing from global platforms.
Organizing photo walks and field documentation trips to provide high-quality images and multimedia for Wikivoyage and Wikimedia Commons.

Approaches and Strategies

Practical Wikimedia Training: In-person workshops and edit-a-thons focused on Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Wikibooks, and Commons to equip participants with hands-on wikimedia skills, constant checkups, engaging different experienced editors to foster peer-to-peer learnings.
Culturally Relevant Engagement: Using African culture, food, festivals, and travel as motivators to connect participants’ lived experiences with knowledge sharing, a recent research conducted by African & Proud suggests that participants feel more happy contributing to culturally relevant content - leveraging this report to engage our community members.
Partnerships: Collaborating with cultural institutions, other groups - Dagbani Wikimedia Groups in Ghana (confirmed and returning), Wikimedia Community UserGroup Kenya or Tanzania (engagement ongoing), tourism boards, culture groups, and creatives to ensure authenticity and wider impact.
Ongoing Mentorship & Support: Building peer contributor networks and providing long-term guidance to sustain engagement and retention, with our peer-to-peer mentorship drive and support to participants beyond the contest, we plan to have a bi-monthly knowledge sharing session to keep our participants engaged with ongoings within the community.

Challenges We Aim to Address

Underrepresentation and misrepresentation of African culture and destinations online.
Outdated or incomplete travel information about African cities and heritage sites on Wikivoyage.
Lack of contributor awareness and skills on how to effectively edit Wikimedia projects.
Insufficient multimedia and authentic perspectives about African experiences.
Low contributor retention due to lack of post-training support.

How Our Strategies Address These Challenges

AfroVoyage ensures travel guides are accurate, authentic, and continuously updated by locals with lived knowledge.
African Film & Cinema, AfroCuisine, and AfroFestival drive holistic cultural representation across Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons.
Training and mentorship build sustainable editor communities capable of consistently contributing high-quality content, further keeping experienced editors engaged with mentoring and building up new and upcoming editors
Field-based documentation and partnerships ensure access to reliable sources, updated data, and authentic multimedia content.

Through the Culture Connect Africa suite (African Film & Cinema, AfroCuisine, AfroFestival, Afrovoyage), African & Proud is building a multi-platform cultural and travel knowledge hub. Our integrated approach ensures African stories from films and food to festivals and travel guides are accurate, authentic, and up to date on Wikimedia projects, making them accessible for global audiences while empowering Africans to own and tell their narratives.

Program 2: Afroyanga Bootcamp Program

The Afroyanga Bootcamp is a flagship capacity-building program of African & Proud, directly aligned with our theory of change: by empowering emerging African leaders and content creators with practical skills, mentorship, and networks, we strengthen their ability to close knowledge gaps, amplify African voices, and contribute to sustainable growth of the Wikimedia movement.

Watch the impact video here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AFROYANGA2024_FINAL_CUT.webm

See the testimonials here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Afroyanga_Bootcamp#Testimonials

The Bootcamp is both a training ground and a leadership pipeline. Each edition produces new ambassadors and project leads who go on to design and implement Wikimedia campaigns in their local communities. This ripple effect ensures that skills, knowledge, and confidence gained at the Bootcamp extend far beyond the event itself. For the year 2026 the plan is to host a total of 25 delegates (this number includes core organizing team of 5 persons). Read the latest version of the bootcamp Structure & Curriculum here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Afroyanga_Bootcamp/Structure_%26_Curriculum/V2

Approach & Strategy

Curriculum-Driven Learning: A reviewed, modular curriculum (with updated volumes each year) ensures participants gain practical skills in content creation, project management, digital literacy, and Wikimedia governance. See the new curriculum here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Afroyanga_Bootcamp/Structure_%26_Curriculum/V2
Peer-to-Peer & Experiential Learning: Participants are trained not only by facilitators but also through peer exchange, case studies, and real editing exercises.
Leadership Development: Beyond technical editing, sessions focus on leadership, communications, and community building to prepare participants for future ambassadorial roles.
Equity & Inclusion Lens: Recruitment ensures gender balance, linguistic diversity, and representation across marginalized communities, particularly young people.
Ongoing Mentorship & Support: Alumni are integrated into our ambassador network, receiving guidance and opportunities to co-lead subsequent African & Proud projects (e.g., Culture Connect, WikiClassroom).

Challenges We Aim to Address

Knowledge Gaps on African Topics: African history, culture, and languages remain underrepresented across Wikimedia projects.
Skills & Capacity Limitations: Many young contributors lack the training and confidence to lead community projects or sustain editing activities.
Leadership Pipeline Gaps: Few structured programs exist to transition enthusiastic editors into long-term leaders within the movement.
Equity Barriers: Women, youth, and minority language speakers face systemic barriers in access, representation, and visibility.
Sustainability of Community Growth: Without consistent mentorship and training, many promising contributors disengage after initial exposure.

How Our Approach Addresses These Challenges

Closing Knowledge Gaps: The curriculum emphasizes content creation in African topics, directly increasing representation of local knowledge.
Building Capacity: Participants gain hands-on experience with Wikimedia tools, community norms, and project design, ensuring they can replicate activities locally.
Creating a Leadership Pipeline: Bootcamp alumni transition into leadership roles as ambassadors, trainers, and project co-leads, sustaining the ecosystem.
Driving Equity & Inclusion: Recruitment and facilitation strategies prioritize diversity, ensuring women and marginalized groups are empowered as knowledge leaders.
Ensuring Sustainability: The mentorship model and alumni network provide continuity, keeping participants engaged beyond the Bootcamp.

The Afroyanga Bootcamp is more than training, it is where contributors regain motivation, feel valued, and grow into leaders who sustain the Wikimedia movement in Africa. One long-standing Wikipedian put it best: The Bootcamp made me feel seen… I almost lost the motivation to contribute, but meeting like-minded peers and teaching others showed me my knowledge is relevant and needed.

For our community, the Bootcamp is a lifeline. For the Wikimedia Foundation, it is a proven way to build equity, retain contributors, and secure a pipeline of African leaders who will keep the movement thriving.

See photos from the first two editions of the bootcamp here; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Afroyanga_Bootcamp_1.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Afroyanga_Bootcamp_2.0

Program 3: WikiClassroom

WikiClassroom is an initiative under African & Proud (AP) designed to integrate Wikimedia projects especially Simple English Wikipedia & English Wikipedia into classrooms to build digital literacy, research skills, and critical thinking among students. Our goal is to catch young learners early and help them understand how reliable, verifiable information shapes the world, especially in a Nigerian context where misinformation and fake news thrive. For the year 2026 we plan to have delegates in 6 states that will carry out the projects in their individual states (Abuja, Lagos, Anambra, Kano, Ibadan and Kwara) and the target is a minimum of 2 schools per state (aim is to reach 12 schools in total). See photos here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:WikiClassroom_(A%26P)_in_Nigeria

The program involves:

Introductory Wikipedia Literacy Sessions: Teaching students how to use Wikipedia and Simple English Wikipedia as a source for research and learning.
Editing Workshops: Training students to contribute by writing and improving articles relevant to their communities, culture, and environment, very minor edits, such as punctuations, adding infobox, grammatical error for a start.
Teacher Training & Mentorship: Equipping teachers to serve as follow-up hubs for sustainability, ensuring ongoing Wikimedia engagement beyond initial workshops.
School Clubs & Peer Networks: Establishing Wikipedia Clubs in schools where students collaborate, peer-review, and grow their skills as part of their extra-curricular activities.
Scaling Through States: Building on the success of earlier editions, expanding WikiClassroom to other Nigerian states, reaching more schools, educators, and young learners.

Approaches and Strategies:

Hands-On, Beginner-Friendly Approach: Students start with Simple English Wikipedia, which is accessible and allows them to gain confidence in editing and research before progressing to full Wikipedia.
Curriculum Integration: Partnering with schools and education boards to embed Wikimedia assignments in classroom learning, so contributions align with academic work.
Teacher Hubs: Teachers are trained not just as participants but as mentors and monitoring hubs, responsible for follow-ups, ensuring sustained contributions, and guiding students.
Localized Content Creation: Students research and document Nigerian topics in simple, factual language, bridging gaps in representation.
Gamified Learning: Competitions, recognition badges, and inter-school engagement to keep students motivated. (Longterm Plan)
Strategic Scaling: Building on prior successes, expanding to multiple states with a clear focus on sustainability and measurable outcomes.

Challenges We Aim to Address:

Misinformation & Fake News: Nigerian students grow up surrounded by unreliable sources; many lack the tools to verify facts.
Digital Literacy Gaps: Most students and teachers are unaware of how Wikipedia works, limiting their ability to critically assess online content.
Underrepresentation of Nigerian Content: There is minimal coverage of Nigerian topics, culture, and languages on Wikimedia.
Lack of Sustainability: Without proper follow-up, trained students often stop contributing after initial workshops.
Language & Accessibility Barriers: Many learners struggle with technical or academic English, which makes Simple English Wikipedia an ideal entry point.

How Our Strategies Address These Challenges:

Using Wikipedia as a Research Tool: By teaching students how to critically evaluate and cite sources, we promote fact-checking habits and media literacy.
Early Engagement: Starting at a young age builds lifelong habits of critical thinking and information verification.
Teacher-Led Follow-Ups: Teachers act as local champions to mentor students, track their contributions, and serve as points of contact for African & Proud, ensuring continuity.
Simple Wikipedia as a Launchpad: Using Simple English Wikipedia reduces language barriers and helps students grasp core concepts before transitioning to other Wikimedia projects.
Scaling for Wider Impact: By expanding to other Nigerian states, we create a larger movement of informed, digitally literate youth capable of shaping narratives about Nigeria.

End Goal / Vision: The ultimate goal of WikiClassroom is to equip young Nigerians with the skills to identify reliable information, combat misinformation, and contribute their own voices to global knowledge platforms. We envision a generation that understands how truthful, well-sourced information shapes societies and democracies. In Nigeria where misinformation thrives, WikiClassroom nurtures critical thinkers and knowledge creators, ensuring that Africa’s stories are told accurately by Africans.

Program 4: AfroContent+ Workshop

While we have programs that primarily focus on recruiting new editors (and often also cater to experienced ones in a hybrid approach), the AfroContent+ Workshop is designed specifically for retaining and engaging experienced contributors. Many long-term editors rarely see programs targeted at them, and much of the content created by new editors through our projects, and by others in the movement, remains stuck at stub level on Wikipedia, Wikibooks, and Wikivoyage.

By organizing a structured program to improve up to 60% of these stub/start-class articles into usable resources, we both elevate content quality and re-engage editors who are vital to sustaining the movement.

Strategy & Approach

Scope of Platforms: English Wikipedia, Nigerian Indigenous language Wikipedias (Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba), Wikidata, Wikibooks (Cookbook), and Wikivoyage.
Workshops Delivery: Four online workshops (broad accessibility) and three in-person workshops (deep collaboration and peer learning).
Focus: Practical editing sessions on article improvement; adding references, expanding sections, enhancing structure, and ensuring multilingual coverage.
Open but Targeted: While open to all, this program intentionally targets experienced editors to recognize their expertise and strengthen retention.
Follow-Through: Tracking of improved articles and mentorship opportunities for contributors to sustain impact beyond the workshops.

Challenges Addressed

High Volume of Stub Articles: Many African-related articles lack depth, references, and usability.
Retention of Experienced Editors: Long-term contributors risk disengagement if their expertise is not recognized or channeled.
Quality Gap in Indigenous Languages: Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba Wikipedias especially require structured improvement.
Engagement for Experienced Editors: There are limited programs designed to keep experienced editors active, valued, and connected.

How the Strategy Responds to These Challenges

Stub Problem → Workshops directly focus on improving existing stubs into comprehensive, referenced articles.
Retention Challenge → By centering experienced editors, we affirm their value and keep them motivated in the movement.
Language Gap → Dedicated sessions on indigenous language Wikipedias build capacity and strengthen local content quality.
Engagement Gap → Structured, collaborative workshops provide meaningful opportunities for experienced editors to stay active and share expertise.

Business-as-Usual (BAU) Activities

Afroyanga Circles

Beyond editing projects, our community needs consistent spaces for knowledge-sharing, peer support, and collaboration. Experienced editors want to share expertise, while new editors need regular touchpoints to stay connected. Currently, opportunities for informal yet structured engagement are limited. Afroyanga Circles respond to this by creating a regular rhythm of bi-monthly meetups that keep the community active, visible, and connected. For 2026 we plan to have 1 in-person engagement and the rest (5 meet-up) will be done virtually.

Strategy & Approach

Frequency: Six bi-monthly meetups throughout the year.
Format: Flexible sessions including expert talks, panel discussions, peer-learning, and open Q&A.
Hybrid Delivery: Both online and in-person formats, depending on topic and audience reach.
Inclusivity: Open to all community members and external participants interested in Wikimedia projects.
Documentation: Key insights from each Circle will be captured and shared with the wider movement.

Challenges Addressed

Fragmented Engagement: Community members often work in silos without consistent interaction.
Knowledge Gaps: Limited access to expert advice or peer-to-peer learning opportunities.
Retention Risk: Without ongoing engagement, contributors may disengage between major projects.

How Our Approach Responds

Fragmented Engagement → Regular Circles build rhythm and foster stronger bonds.
Knowledge Gaps → Expert talks and shared experiences provide practical solutions and new skills.
Retention Risk → Continuous meetups give contributors reasons to stay active and involved beyond project-specific events.

Future Forum

Sustained growth requires constant listening and forward planning with the community. While we collect ongoing input via Google Forms, there is a need for a structured annual space to reflect, adapt, and co-create priorities with contributors.

The Future Forum ensures that our activities remain community-led, relevant, and transparent. See the recording of the Future Forum meeting done in August 2025; https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87399410531?pwd=vXbmBKu4ZyaQtnBY3ngGyVnGHx16W6.1

For 2026 the plan is to have this session between July-August 2026.

Strategy & Approach

Annual Event: One dedicated annual session to be done online, complemented by continuous online feedback collection.
Format: Review of the year’s activities, open discussion of challenges, and collaborative planning for the upcoming year.
Tools: Feedback collected through surveys, breakout discussions, and collective voting on priorities.
Inclusivity: Open to all community members and external allies who wish to shape the direction of our programs.
Transparency: Outcomes documented and published to ensure accountability.

Challenges Addressed

Feedback Gaps: Ongoing community voices are not always systematically integrated into planning.
Alignment Issues: Without structured planning, projects risk drifting from community priorities.
Trust & Transparency: Lack of visible feedback loops can weaken confidence in organizational processes.

How Our Approach Responds

Feedback Gaps → The Forum institutionalizes a culture of listening and integrating community input.
Alignment Issues → Co-creation ensures annual plans directly reflect community needs.
Trust & Transparency → Documenting and publishing outcomes strengthens accountability and ownership.

9. What categories are your main programs and related activities under? Please select all that apply. (required)


Category	Yes/No
Education	Yes
Culture, heritage or GLAM	Yes
Gender and diversity	Yes
Community support and engagement	Yes
Participation in campaigns and contests	Yes
Public policy advocacy	No
Other	No

Education

9.1.1. Select all your programs and activities for Education. (required): Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom or other Reading/Evaluating Wikipedia Training, Editing Wikipedia Training, Translation, Wikidata programs, Other Wikimedia project programs; Other programs and activities if any: N/A
9.1.2. Select all relevant audience groups for Education. (required): Secondary school students, Vocational, tertiary, or higher education, Teachers or professors; Other groups if any: N/A

Culture, heritage or GLAM

9.2. Select all your programs and activities for Culture, heritage or GLAM. (required): Introducing new approaches to underrepresented culture and heritage, e.g. decolonising or reparative work; oral and visual knowledge; outreach to communities of origin, indigenous and first nations self-determination; Other programs and activities if any: N/A

Gender and diversity

9.3. Select all your programs and activities for Gender and diversity.: Bringing in women and/or gender diverse participants and editors, Focusing on creating content about marginalized (underrepresented) communities and their knowledge, Focusing on knowledge equity by bringing in contributors from underrepresented communities, Building organizer skills in women and diversity groups, Fomenting female leadership within the movement (either staff, members or boards); Other programs and activities if any: N/A

Community support and engagement

9.4. Select all your programs and activities for Community support and engagement.: On-wiki training of community members, Off-wiki training of community members, Organizing meetups, conferences, and community events, Offering micro-funding and other financial support to community members; Other programs and activities if any: N/A

Participation in campaigns and contests

9.5. Select all campaigns that apply. (required): Not applicable; Other programs and activities if any: N/A
10. Please include a link to or upload a timeline (operational calendar) for your programs and activities. (required): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1V3p87PvGdol317zgXL8C9eANAZfVWtHcaoyDqgUYByw/edit?usp=sharing

11. Describe your team. (required)

1. Richard Edozie (Edriiic; Paid Staff; 0.6FTE) is our cofounder and Operations & Strategy Director. In 2026, he will lead 1) the strategic plan development described in our timeline above, 2) operations (bookkeeping, payroll, reporting, and compliance), 3) Developing partnerships with key stakeholders, including cultural organizations, educational institutions, and media outlets, to amplify the impact of African & Proud’s initiatives and foster community engagement, and 4) storytelling and public outreach, including social media, narrative campaigns, original content, and public speaking.

2. Kolawole Oyewole (B.Korlah; Paid Staff; 0.6FTE) is our cofounder and Programs Director. In 2025, he will lead 1) the research portion of strategic plan development, including implementing aspects of our Afroyanga Bootcamp, Culture Connect, Wiki Classroom, and Legal Accessibility Initiative (Nigeria) sections of the Strategic Plan final draft, 2) general programs administration, and 3) supporting interns and volunteers, and 4) storytelling and public outreach, including social media, narrative campaigns, original content, and public speaking.

3. Blessing Linason (Linason Blessing; Contract Staff; 0.2FTE), Community manager - Engages, supports, and grows diverse Wikimedia communities by coordinating programs, fostering partnerships, promoting inclusion, and ensuring healthy collaboration across sister projects.

Volunteer Roles with Active Leadership

1. Ọmọladéabídèmí99 (Yoruba Contributors): She will lead the WikiClassroom project in Yoruba-speaking regions, organizing outreach in high schools and managing local volunteer efforts.

2. Senator Choko (East): He will drive the WikiClassroom initiative in Eastern Nigeria, coordinating with local schools and community groups to promote Wikimedia projects.

3. Hilary (Abuja): He will facilitate the WikiClassroom project in Abuja, ensuring effective engagement with educational institutions and local communities.

4. Gwanki (North): He will oversee the WikiClassroom project in Northern Nigeria, managing volunteer activities and fostering collaboration with schools in the region.

5. Ibjaja055 (Wikipedia New Editors Support): He will manage onboarding and training of new Wikipedia editors, providing support to help them contribute effectively to Wikimedia projects.

12. Will you be working with any internal (Wikimedia) or external partners? Describe the characteristics of these partnerships and bring a few examples of the most significant partnerships. (required)

Internal Partnerships:

We will maintain regular connections with other Language Wikimedia User Groups in Nigeria, Ghana such as the Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Dagbani, Gurene, Dagaare, and Kusaal

Dagbani User Group (Ghana): They will play a critical role in implementing the Culture Connect Africa Project in Ghana, helping with regional engagement, organizing local edit-a-thons, and providing insights into local cultural content.

For 2026 we aim to form a partnership with either the Tanzania or Kenya Usergroup for the culture connect project in 2026 (Preliminary engagement ongoing)

External Partnerships:

We will continue to maintain our partnership with Universities and Schools. Through these institutions which we established partnerships with in 2025, we can reach an even larger number of students, teachers and lecturers.
We will be working and collaborating closely with the media power house in Nigeria to raise more awareness of the wikimedia programs being executed, which will help amplify our activities to a wider audience.

Punch NG Media house
Guardian Nigeria Media house

13. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select all that apply. (required): Increase the Sustainability of Our Movement, Improve User Experience, Provide for Safety and Inclusion, Coordinate Across Stakeholders, Invest in Skills and Leadership Development, Identify Topics for Impact, Innovate in Free Knowledge, Evaluate, Iterate, and Adapt

Metrics

Wikimedia Metrics

14. Please select and fill out Wikimedia Metrics for your proposal. (recommended)

14.1. Number of participants, editors, and organizers.

All metrics provided are optional, please fill them out if they are aligned with your programs and activities.

Participants, editors, and organizers
Metrics name	Target	Description
Number of all participants	1500	467 (Our existing community membership is about 467 people). We plan to engage 1500 people in total (directly or indirectly with the activities in this grant)
Number of all editors	850	To date, African & Proud has engaged 467 participants across our various initiatives. With the upcoming new projects projects, and our expansion into another African country in 2026, we project to engage around 1,500 participants throughout the year. Of these, we anticipate a ratio of 56.67% of editors (850), 41.18% new editors (350) to 30.59% retained editors (260). This reflects our ongoing efforts to expand our contributor base while maintaining strong engagement with participants from previous years. The activities funded by our 2026 initiatives will support this growth, facilitating multiple edit-a-thons, training sessions, and community engagement events to ensure robust participation and retention.
Number of new editors	350
Number of retained editors	260
Number of all organizers	12	With the expansion into another African country, more leadership roles and also addition of the new projects.
Number of new organizers	4

14.2. Number of new content contributions to Wikimedia projects. (recommended)

Contributions to Wikimedia projects
Wikimedia project	Created	Edited or improved
Wikipedia	4000	8000
Wikimedia Commons	500
Wikidata	6000	3500
Wiktionary
Wikisource
Wikimedia Incubator
Translatewiki
MediaWiki
Wikiquote
Wikivoyage	100	250
Wikibooks	6000	3500
Wikiversity
Wikinews
Wikispecies
Wikifunctions / Abstract Wikipedia

Description for Wikimedia projects contributions metrics. (optional)

Contributions to Wikipedia included African languages such as Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Dagbani, Gurene, Dagaare, Kusaal and English (Identified indigenous languages in Kenya will also be added)

Other Metrics

15. Do you have other quantitative and qualitative targets for your project (other metrics)? (required): No


Other Metrics	Description	Target
N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	N/A	N/A

Budget

16. Will you have any other revenue sources when implementing this proposal (e.g. other funding, membership contributions, donations)? (required): No

16.1. List other revenue sources. (required)

N/A

16.2. Approximately how much revenue will you have from other sources in your local currency? (required): N/A

17. Your local currency. (required): USD

18. What is the total requested amount in your local currency? (required): 54573.51 USD

Multi-year funding request summary
Year	Amount (local currency)
Year 1	N/A USD
Year 2	N/A USD
Year 3	N/A USD

19. Does this proposal include compensation for staff or contractors? (required): Yes

19.1. How many paid staff members do you plan to have? (required)

Include the number of staff and contractors during the proposal period. If you have short-term contractors or staff, please include them separately and mention their terms.

We will plan to cover the cost of 2 paid staffs and 1 contractor.

19.2. How many FTEs (full-time equivalents) in total? (required)

Include the total FTE of staff and contractors during the proposal period. If you have short-term contractors or staff, please include their FTEs with the terms separately.

Total of 1.4FTEs

19.3. Describe any staff or contractor changes compared to the current year / ongoing General Support Fund if any. (required only for returning grantees): There is no changes in any staff or contractors.

20. Please provide an overview of your overall budget categories in your local currency. The budget breakdown should include only the amount requested with this General Support Fund (required).


Budget category	Amount in local currency
Staff and contractor costs	7800 USD
Operational costs	1579.88 USD
Programmatic costs	45193.63 USD

21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1R-Cr2h--sqZpaJjkFm2_YM7wH_g8dJjs/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100702863844697065235&rtpof=true&sd=true

Additional information

22. In this optional space you can add any other additional information about your proposal or organization that you think can help us when reviewing your proposal. (optional)

Since joining the General Support Fund (GSF) in 2022, African & Proud has received support for our programs in 2023, 2024, and 2025. We are now returning for the fourth time, confident that we have built the trust of the committee and demonstrated our ability to deliver impact, grow our community, and manage resources responsibly.

Over the last three years, our growth has averaged 30% year-on-year, in community size, in the number of contributions made to Wikimedia sister projects, and in the range of programs we have successfully executed (from the Afroyanga Bootcamp to WikiClassroom to Culture Connect Africa). Each year, we have expanded both the scale and depth of our activities, bringing in new contributors while also creating pathways for experienced editors to remain engaged.

We kindly ask the committee reviewer and the Foundation to consider that our programs and proposed activities are designed to serve a broad and diverse contributor base, not just a single community. Our contributors span multiple Wikimedia sister projects, which means we must support different languages and contexts. For example, in Nigeria alone, we work with Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, and English communities, and in projects with wider scopes, such as Wikidata, Wikivoyage, and Wikibooks, the same diversity applies. Similarly, when partnering across African countries, as in the Culture Connect collaboration with the Dagbani User Group, we engage participants from multiple user groups including Dagbani, Gurene, Dagaare, and Kusaal. Meeting the needs of such a wide range of communities is always rewarding, but it also requires additional resources to deliver effectively.

See more info about our activities here; https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP)

Culture Connect 2025 Outreach dashboard: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/culture_connect_africa_2025/programs

Strategic Plans 2026-2027 - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/African_%26_Proud_(AP)/Strategic_Plans/2026-2027

Afroyanga Bootcamp Structure & Curriculum - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Afroyanga_Bootcamp/Structure_%26_Curriculum/V2

Diff Posts - https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/06/06/dagbani-wikimedians-user-group-joins-africa-proud-to-celebrate-african-film-and-cinema-on-wikipedia/

https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/03/28/culture-connect-africa-is-back/

Culture Connect Africa 2024 Impact: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/culture_connect_africa_2024/programs

Afroyanga Bootcamp 2.0 Impact: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Afroyanga_Cultural_Enlightenment_Initiative/Afroyanga_Bootcamp_2.0

Afroyanga Bootcamp 1.0 Impact: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Afroyanga_Cultural_Enlightenment_Initiative/Afroyanga_1.0

By submitting your proposal/funding request you agree that you are in agreement with the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and the Universal Code of Conduct.

We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.

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