Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Advancing Wikimedia in Jos Through a Follow-up to Our Previous Initiative (ID: 22972323)/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)
Implemented Activities and Results Achieved
During this project, we carried out several activities that helped us engage the community in Jos and promote Wikimedia projects.
- Three-Day Wiki Tour in Jos: We visited different interesting places in the city, met with local people, and talked to them about Wikimedia projects. We explained how these platforms work and why they are important for sharing free knowledge. While doing this, we also took many photographs of the places we visited so they can be added to Wikimedia Commons.
- One-Day Online Meeting and Training: We held a virtual session with participants to give them an introduction to editing Wikipedia, contributing to Wikimedia Commons, and other Wikimedia projects.
- In-Person Training Workshop: As planned, we organized a physical training session in Jos. This allowed participants to have hands-on experience with editing, uploading photos, and exploring other Wikimedia platforms.
- Follow-Up Online Meeting: After the main activities, we held another online session to check on participants’ progress, answer their questions, and give them further guidance.
Results Achieved
- We engaged a total of 30 active editors during the project.
- Together, participants made 4,550 article edits and created 1,861 new articles on Wikipedia.
- A total of 241 photographs were uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, many of them showing notable locations in Jos.
- On Wikidata, participants created 1,893 new items and improved 35 existing items.
- More people in Jos now know about Wikimedia projects and understand how they can contribute.
- Participants gained hands-on skills in editing Wikipedia, uploading to Wikimedia Commons, and creating Wikidata entries.
- We built a strong connection with participants, many of whom have shown interest in continuing to contribute.
Most Effective Approaches
- The Wiki Tour worked very well because it gave us a chance to meet people in person, have real conversations, and build trust.
- The Hands-On In-Person Training helped participants learn faster and feel more confident in contributing.
- The Follow-Up Online Meeting kept the momentum going and encouraged participants to stay active even after the main event.
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
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
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 | Agree |
| B. Create a more inclusive and connected culture in our community | Agree |
| C. Develop content about underrepresented topics/groups | Strongly agree |
| D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives | Strongly 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: We want to learn the best ways to build and sustain a Wikimedia community in Jos, where interest is growing but engagement is still low. This project will help us understand how to keep new contributors motivated and support them beyond training. We also want to see how students, professionals, and other participants respond to Wikimedia projects and what challenges they face. These insights will guide us in improving future projects and making Wikimedia more accessible in similar regions.
Learning from Our Project
When we planned this project, we had some big questions we wanted to answer — and running the activities gave us a lot of insight.
- Engaging the Hausa community on human rights, health, and environment topics:
We found that a mix of in-person and online activities works best. The Wiki Tour allowed us to meet people face-to-face, build trust, and spark curiosity. Then, the online follow-up sessions kept the conversation going and gave participants the chance to keep learning at their own pace.
- Effective training methods:
Hands-on training proved far more effective than just presentations. When participants could actually try editing, uploading images, and creating Wikidata items during the session, they learned faster and felt more confident. Pairing new editors with more experienced ones also helped them pick up skills more quickly.
- Supporting new editors to stay active:
We learned that follow-up is essential. Regular check-ins through online meetings and WhatsApp helped participants feel supported. Giving them small editing challenges after the training kept them engaged and motivated to contribute.
- Partnerships with experts:
Even though we didn’t have formal partnerships with experts in this project, we noticed that participants who already had knowledge in certain topics produced better-quality articles. This confirmed that working with subject experts in future will make our content even stronger.
- Increasing participation from women and youth:
We saw that personal invitations, choosing topics that matter to them, and creating a friendly, inclusive atmosphere encouraged more women and young people to join. We made some progress here, but we plan to work more closely with women’s groups, schools, and youth clubs in future campaigns.
How We Will Use These Learnings in the Future
- Keep combining in-person and online activities to build trust and maintain momentum.
- Focus on hands-on, practical training and mentorship pairing for new editors.
- Strengthen outreach to women and youth through local partnerships and relevant topics.
- Involve more subject experts in human rights, health, and environmental fields to improve article quality.
- Maintain active communication channels to support and encourage editors after training.
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)
While implementing this project, we experienced both positive and challenging surprises. On the positive side, we were amazed by the diversity of cultures that took part in our activities. Participants came from different cultural backgrounds, and many of them were completely new to Wikimedia. This created a vibrant and inclusive learning environment where people shared different perspectives and ideas. It also showed us how Wikimedia projects can unite people from different walks of life under a common goal of contributing to free knowledge.
On the other hand, we faced an unexpected challenge on the first day of our Wiki Tour when we were unable to enter the University of Jos premises due to security restrictions. This caused a delay in our schedule. However, on the second day, after completing the necessary procedures, we were legally allowed to enter, and the activity went ahead as planned. From this experience, we learned the importance of securing all official permissions and clearances in advance, especially when visiting locations with strict entry regulations. Overall, these experiences reminded us of the value of flexibility, cultural inclusion, and careful logistical planning in successfully delivering Wikimedia projects.
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)
We will share our learnings by documenting the project on Meta-Wiki, presenting at community meetings, and using social media to highlight results and stories. Photos from the Wiki Tour will be uploaded to Commons, and we will engage women’s groups, youth clubs, and local organizations to spread awareness. We also plan to present at events like Wiki Indaba and WikiConference Nigeria, and hold peer-learning sessions with other Wikimedia communities.
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 | 40 | 40 | Number of participants |
| Number of editors | 30 | 30 | Number of participants |
| Number of organizers | 4 | 5 | Number of organisers |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 1000 | 1860 | 4550 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 150 | 241 | 241 |
| Wikidata | 100 | 222 | 222 |
| 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)
2250000
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
830.7
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/1rD4OAo0SwNKXWnQNi2cOvPjYpY7L_qRKZOQRjI8EY5M/edit?usp=drivesdk
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?
No
14.2. Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement?
No
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.
No
15. If you have additional recommendations or reflections that don’t fit into the above sections, please write them here. (optional)
Review notes
[edit]Review notes from Program Officer:
N/A
Applicant's response to the review feedback.
N/A