Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/1Lib1Ref Tanzania 2026:Empowering Librarians and Students to Improve References on Swahili Wikipedia (ID: 23757034)/Final Report
Application type: Standard application
Part 1: Project and impact
1. Describe the implemented activities and results achieved. Additionally, share which approaches were most effective in supporting you to achieve the results. (required)
The project successfully implemented a series of activities aimed at improving the quality and reliability of Swahili Wikipedia through librarian and student engagement. Key activities included outreach and participant mobilization through social media and institutional networks, an online introductory session to familiarize participants with Wikimedia projects and citation practices, and an in-person workshop combined with an edit-a-thon focused on improving under-referenced Swahili Wikipedia articles. Participants received hands-on training on Wikipedia editing, reliable sourcing, and adding references, with mentorship provided by experienced Wikimedians throughout the activities.
As a result of the project, participants gained practical Wikimedia editing skills and contributed to improving Swahili Wikipedia content through the addition of references and article improvements. The most effective approaches included combining online onboarding with in-person practical training, which helped participants feel more prepared and confident during editing sessions. Partnerships and direct outreach were also highly effective in mobilizing participants, while real-time mentorship during the workshop supported participant retention, confidence, and quality contributions.
2. Documentation of your impact. Please use space below to share links that help tell your story, impact, and evaluation. (required)
Share links to:
- Project page on Meta-Wiki or any other Wikimedia project
- Dashboards and tools that you used to track contributions
- Some photos or videos from your event. Remember to share access.
You can also share links to:
- Important social media posts
- Surveys and their results
- Infographics and sound files
- Examples of content edited on Wikimedia projects
The project documentation and impact tracking can be accessed through the following links:
Project Meta page / Event page: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:1Lib1Ref_Tanzania_GWEI_2026
Outreach Dashboard (tracking contributions and metrics): https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/GWEI/1Lib1Ref_Tanzania_GWEI_2026
Additionally, share the materials and resources that you used in the implementation of your project. (required)
For example:
- Training materials and guides
- Presentations and slides
- Work processes and plans
- Any other materials your team has created or adapted and can be shared with others
Event poster / Commons media: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:1Lib1Ref_Tanzania_GWEI_2026#/media/File:1Lib1Ref_GWEI_in_Tanzania_2026.png
Resources articles:https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Makala_za_msingi_za_kamusi_elezo
3. To what extent do you agree with the following statements regarding the work carried out with this Rapid Fund? You can choose “not applicable” if your work does not relate to these goals. Required. Select one option per question. (required)
| A. Bring in participants from underrepresented groups | Strongly agree |
| B. Create a more inclusive and connected culture in our community | Agree |
| C. Develop content about underrepresented topics/groups | Agree |
| D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives | Agree |
| E. Encourage the retention of editors | Strongly agree |
| F. Encourage the retention of organizers | Agree |
| G. Increased participants' feelings of belonging and connection to the movement | Agree |
| F. Other (optional) |
Part 2: Learning
4. In your application, you outlined some learning questions. What did you learn from these learning questions when you implemented your project? How do you hope to use this learnings in the future? You can recall these learning questions below. (required)
You can recall these learning questions below: 1. How effective is librarian–student collaboration in increasing the number and quality of references added to Swahili Wikipedia articles? 2. What training and support approaches best enable new contributors to confidently add reliable references and continue editing after the activities? 3. What factors influence participant retention, especially among librarians, following training and edit-a-thon activities? 4. How do partnerships with library institutions, such as the Tanzania Library Services Board (TLSB), support outreach, participation, and sustainability of Wikimedia activities?
To answer these questions, we will collect both quantitative and qualitative data, including the number of participants trained, references added, articles improved, and active contributors after the project through our set dashboard, as well as participant feedback and reflections. These learnings will help improve future librarian-focused Wikimedia activities in Tanzania and inform similar initiatives within the Wikimedia movement.
From the implementation of the project, we learned that librarian–student collaboration is highly effective in improving Swahili Wikipedia, especially in increasing the quality and number of references added. Librarians contributed strong skills in identifying reliable sources, while students were more active in editing and technical contributions, making the collaboration productive. We also learned that hands-on training combined with real-time editing support is the most effective way to help new contributors confidently add references and participate in Wikipedia editing.
In addition, we observed that institutional partnerships, particularly with library networks, are key for successful outreach and participation, but sustained engagement requires stronger post-event follow-up. We will use these learnings to improve future activities by strengthening pre-training preparation, enhancing post-event mentorship and engagement, and building deeper, long-term collaborations with library institutions to support sustained contribution to Swahili Wikipedia.
5. Did anything unexpected or surprising happen when implementing your activities? This can include both positive and negative situations. What did you learn from those experiences? (required)
No major unexpected or surprising events occurred during the implementation of the activities. The project was implemented as planned, with smooth delivery of outreach, training, and the edit-a-thon sessions.
The only notable factor was that the budget was limited as expected, which required careful prioritization of activities. From this, we learned the importance of focusing resources on the most impactful components, such as hands-on training and the edit-a-thon, to ensure strong results within available funding.
6. What is your plan to share your project learnings and results with other community members? If you have already done it, describe how. (required)
As an admin of Swahili Wikipedia, I share project learnings and results with the community through Wikimedia discussion spaces and direct communication with editors to help improve future contributions. I also post updates on our social media pages to reach a wider audience, sharing what worked, what we learned, and how others can join and improve Swahili Wikipedia.
Part 3: Metrics
7. Wikimedia Metrics results. (required)
In your application, you set some Wikimedia targets in numbers (Wikimedia metrics). In this section, you will describe the achieved results and provide links to the tools used.
| Target | Results | Comments and tools used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 30 | 12 | |
| Number of editors | 20 | 12 | |
| Number of organizers | 3 | 3 |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 200 | 183 | 183 |
| Wikimedia Commons | |||
| Wikidata | 10 | 7 | 7 |
| Wiktionary | |||
| Wikisource | |||
| Wikimedia Incubator | |||
| Translatewiki | |||
| MediaWiki | |||
| Wikiquote | |||
| Wikivoyage | |||
| Wikibooks | |||
| Wikiversity | |||
| Wikinews | |||
| Wikispecies | |||
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
8. Other Metrics results.
In your proposal, you could also set Other Metrics targets. Please describe the achieved results and provide links to the tools used if you set Other Metrics in your application.
| Other Metrics name | Metrics Description | Target | Result | Tools and comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
9. Did you have any difficulties collecting data to measure your results? (required)
No
9.1. Please state what difficulties you had. How do you hope to overcome these challenges in the future? Do you have any recommendations for the Foundation to support you in addressing these challenges? (required)
Part 4: Financial reporting
[edit]10. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency. (required)
2855105
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
1100
12. Report the funds spent in the currency of your fund. (required)
Provide the link to the financial report https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GVVOvYErYlyfq5385F-3A6KPCzgeOXyMNsm6VXLRGEU/edit?gid=928458698#gid=928458698
12.2. If you have not already done so in your financial spending report, please provide information on changes in the budget in relation to your original proposal. (optional)
13. Do you have any unspent funds from the Fund?
No
13.1. Please list the amount and currency you did not use and explain why.
N/A
13.2. What are you planning to do with the underspent funds?
N/A
13.3. Please provide details of hope to spend these funds.
N/A
14.1. Are you in compliance with the terms outlined in the fund agreement?
Yes
14.2. Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement?
Yes
14.3. Are you in compliance with provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), and with relevant tax laws and regulations restricting the use of the Funds as outlined in the grant agreement? In summary, this is to confirm that the funds were used in alignment with the WMF mission and for charitable/nonprofit/educational purposes.
Yes
15. If you have additional recommendations or reflections that don’t fit into the above sections, please write them here. (optional)