Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Africa Environment WikiFocus (ID: 23470593)/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)
Africa Environment WikiFocus implemented a series of activities aimed to improve and expanding openly accessible knowledge on environmental topics related to Tanzania and wider African region. The project combined capacity building, content creation and community engagement to ensure both immediate results and sustainable impact. Key activities implemented includes: 1. Training workshops for new and existing editors we organized training sessions to introduce participants to Wikipedia editing skills, and Wikimedia contribution, also the use of environmental sources and climate challenges 2. Edit-a-thons focused on Environmental content Dedicated editing events were conducted to translate the training into action. Participants worked on creating new articles and expanding existing ones , adding citation. Also collaborative environment that encourage teamwork and peer learning. 4. Community mobilization and coordination Continuous communication through WhatsApp groups, and direct invitations helped maintain strong participation and ensured that contributors remained active throughout the project period.
Results achieved 1.Increased the number of editors contributing to environmental topics 2.Created and improved multiple Wikipedia articles related to Tanzania's environment, climate and biodiversity. 3.Strengthened the local Wikimedia community's skills in sourcing, editing and content curation. 4. Raised awareness about the importance of Open knowledge on Africa's environmental issues
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
Wikimedia User group https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/EcoWIKI_PROJECT Project Dashboard https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/EcoWIKI_PROJECT/Africa_Environment_WikiFocus Event registration tool https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Africa_Environment_WikiFocus
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
presentation slides https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kfiZ2DJjYhdqqDLfCPOPo_gSLZm4oZdY/edit?slide=id.p16#slide=id.p16
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 | Strongly 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 | Strongly agree |
| G. Increased participants' feelings of belonging and connection to the movement | Strongly 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 can Wikimedia projects be made more accessible and relevant to Aquatics preservation and environmental relation in Zanzibar Island? This includes understanding barriers to participation and identifying effective outreach and training methods.
2. What are the most effective approaches to documenting the Aquatic environmental industry, its history, and its key players through Wikimedia projects? This will help us refine our content creation strategy and ensure we are filling meaningful knowledge gaps.
3. How can partnerships with local institutions (like 1. How can Wikimedia projects be made more accessible and relevant to filmmakers and creatives in Tanzania? This includes understanding barriers to participation and identifying effective outreach and training methods.
2. What are the most effective approaches to documenting the Tanzanian film industry, its history, and its key players through Wikimedia projects? This will help us refine our content creation strategy and ensure we are filling meaningful knowledge gaps.
3. How can partnerships with local institutions (like Pemba Channel Conservation Area (PECCA), Wildlife Conservation Society(WCS) strengthen awareness, participation, and sustainability of Wikimedia projects? We want to measure the impact of collaboration and co-creation with local stakeholders.) strengthen awareness, participation, and sustainability of Wikimedia projects in the creative sector? We want to measure the impact of collaboration and co-creation with local stakeholders.
During the implementation of the project, we were able to reflect on our learning questions and gain several important insights:-
1. Accessibility and Relevance of Wikimedia Projects to Aquatics Preservation / Environmental Work in Zanzibar We learned that many community members and environmental practitioners were not fully aware that Wikimedia projects can be used as a tool for documenting and preserving knowledge about aquatic ecosystems. The main barriers included limited awareness of editing processes, lack of confidence in using open platforms, and minimal understanding of how Wikimedia content contributes to global visibility. Through targeted outreach and hands-on training, we discovered that simplifying the training materials, demonstrating real-life use cases, and connecting the skills to participants’ daily work increased motivation and participation. This demonstrated that accessibility improves significantly when learning is practical and context-specific. Future use: We plan to continue designing training materials that are localized, practical, and focused on demonstrating real impact. We also aim to expand outreach to more environmental groups and schools to further raise awareness.
2. Effective Approaches to Documenting the Aquatic Environmental Sector We learned that collaborative research, field visits, and engaging experts (such as marine officers, environmental NGOs, and fishery practitioners) greatly improved the accuracy and quality of content added to Wikimedia platforms. Participants showed that they perform better when guided on how to verify information, use reliable sources, and tell the “story” of their industry in a structured way. We also learned that documenting industries like aquatics requires careful planning, access to verified historical records, and building trust with institutions that hold such data. Future use: We will continue strengthening our documentation strategy by establishing a more systematic approach: identifying knowledge gaps in advance, sourcing references from reliable local institutions, and involving subject-matter experts in every stage of content creation. This will help ensure the sustainability and reliability of the content. 3. Partnerships with Local Institutions (PECCA, WCS, etc.) We learned that partnerships are one of the most powerful drivers of participation, credibility, and long-term sustainability. Collaborating with institutions like PECCA and WCS increased community trust, helped us access reliable information, and expanded the impact of our activities. These institutions provided technical expertise, opened doors to new audiences, and validated the importance of documenting aquatic environments on open platforms.
However, we also learned that partnerships require early communication, clear roles, and continuous follow-up to maintain engagement. Future use: We aim to formalize partnerships through ongoing collaborations, co-creating training programs, and establishing long-term frameworks for knowledge sharing. Strengthening institutional relationships will help ensure continuity of Wikimedia activities beyond individual projects.
Overall Learning Impact In general, the learning questions helped us refine our approach, improve the inclusiveness of our training methods, and build stronger stakeholder relationships. These insights will guide future projects by encouraging more structured collaboration, improved training models, and deeper involvement of local institutions.
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)
During the implementation of our activities, a few unexpected situations occurred, both positive and challenging.
On the positive side: We experienced community engagement than anticipated more participants showed interest in contributing to Wikimedia projects, especially new users who were eager to learn editing skills. This unexpected enthusiasm helped us achieve some activities faster and with better outcomes than planned. However, we also faced some challenges. A few participants encountered technical difficulties such as account creation limits, slow internet connectivity, and limited access to devices. In addition, coordinating schedules proved harder than expected due to conflicting commitments among participants. These issues temporarily slowed down the workflow. From these experiences, we learned the importance of preparing alternative technical solutions in advance, such as creating accounts earlier, ensuring backup internet sources, and having extra devices available. We also learned that clear communication and flexible planning are essential when working with diverse community members. Overall, the unexpected events helped us improve our approach, strengthen our coordination, and better understand the needs of our community.
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)
I will share what we learned and did on social media, using pictures and videos to show the important things. I will also write a lot about what we did on Wikimedia Diff. This will help more people know about our work and help other Wikimedia groups learn from us.
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 | 14 | Event registration tool |
| Number of editors | 40 | 14 | Event registration tool |
| Number of organizers | 4 | 4 |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 60 | 58 | 111 |
| Wikimedia Commons | |||
| Wikidata | 150 | ||
| Wiktionary | |||
| Wikisource | |||
| Wikimedia Incubator | |||
| Translatewiki | 15 | 3 | 2 |
| MediaWiki | |||
| Wikiquote | |||
| Wikivoyage | |||
| Wikibooks | |||
| Wikiversity | |||
| Wikinews | |||
| Wikispecies | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 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)
8722000
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
3500
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/1BstUGDBZvMWZXFoZ-oWdqokPf_WcLm0NzPTnTkpr4h0/edit?gid=2043662447#gid=2043662447
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)
I would like to thank once again all the WMF members that helped us with this project. It is always great to work with people committed to a good cause and who share their time and experience helping others trying to promote the same goals.