Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Africa Wiki Challenge in Tanzania 2025 (ID: 23091390)

This is an automatically generated Meta-Wiki page. The page was copied from Fluxx, the web service of Wikimedia Foundation Funds where the user has submitted their application. Please do not make any changes to this page because all changes will be removed after the next update. Use the discussion page for your feedback. The page was created by CR-FluxxBot.

Applicant Details

Main Wikimedia username. (required)

Husseyn Issa

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)

I'm a group leader of an informal Wikimedia group.

Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)

Group Name: Global WikiEducation Initiative

Roles:

1. Program Lead - Tanzania: The Program Lead oversees the planning, execution, and evaluation of all educational activities under the Global WikiEducation Initiative in Tanzania. This includes coordinating programs like Kiwix4Schools, Wikipedia in Education, and other Wikimedia-based educational projects. I now establish close ties with the Wikipedia & Educational User Group for future partnership and collaboration.

2. Technical Support: Responsible for handling the technical needs of all education-related Wikimedia programs. This includes providing technical assistance for offline platforms like Kiwix, supporting training on Wikimedia platforms, solving user issues, and collaborating with developers and communities to improve accessibility to Wikimedia resources.

3. Outreach and Community Engagement: Engages with local communities, schools, universities, and education stakeholders to promote Wikimedia’s educational initiatives. Responsibilities include organizing awareness campaigns, partnerships, educational edit-a-thons, and fostering long-term collaboration with institutions.

4. Educational Content Curation: Ensures that educational content on Wikimedia projects (such as Wikipedia articles, Wikimedia Commons media, Wikisource documents) is accurate, relevant, and culturally appropriate. Works closely with subject matter experts to align Wikimedia content with curricula and community needs.

5. Training Facilitators: Organizes and conducts training sessions for educators, students, librarians, and other community members. These sessions cover effective use of Wikimedia projects for learning, teaching, and knowledge sharing, including both online and offline (e.g., Kiwix) access to Wikimedia resources.

6. Monitoring and Evaluation: Assesses the impact of all Global WikiEducation Initiative activities. This role involves setting clear goals, defining success indicators, collecting and analyzing data, and reporting on the outcomes of education programs to inform continuous improvement and stakeholder reporting.

7. Institutional Liaison: Serves as the main contact point between Global WikiEducation Initiative and educational institutions (schools, universities, libraries). Builds and maintains partnerships, addresses concerns, coordinates institutional projects, and ensures smooth integration of Wikimedia educational tools and projects.

8. Communication and Documentation: Manages internal and external communication for the education activities. Responsibilities include documenting program progress, collecting success stories, managing newsletters(future aspect), updating our Meta page, and ensuring that achievements and lessons are shared with my local community and abroad.

9. Education Activities Coordination: Coordinates across all Wikimedia-related education initiatives (such as Kiwix4Schools, Wikipedia in the Classroom, Computer Scientist Editathons) under the Global WikiEducation Initiative. Ensures synergy, avoids duplication of efforts, and promotes a unified strategy towards accessible and inclusive education through open knowledge.

Main Proposal

1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.

Africa Wiki Challenge in Tanzania 2025

2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.

2025-07-01 - 2025-08-01

4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)

Tanzania

5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)

Other (please specify) Africa Wiki Challenge

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)

The Africa Wiki Challenge 2025 aligns with the continental theme: “Reclaiming Our Narrative: Justice for Africans and the Diaspora through Reparation.” This theme addresses the urgent need to correct historical imbalances, document suppressed stories, and amplify African voices in the context of colonialism, slavery, and systemic exploitation. It supports the African Union’s ongoing movement for justice and reparations, advocating for the rightful restoration of African dignity, memory, and equity. Despite Africa’s rich and diverse history, the continent and its diaspora remain underrepresented or misrepresented on global knowledge platforms like Wikipedia. Historical narratives are often portrayed through colonial or Western lenses, while African perspectives on justice, resistance, and healing are rarely documented. In Tanzania specifically, there is limited local documentation on colonial resistance movements, traditional justice systems, and the long-term impacts of foreign exploitation.

To address this, the Africa Wiki Challenge in Tanzania this year will be a collaborative initiative uniting individuals and communities across Tanzania to improve the representation of African knowledge on Swahili Wikipedia. Building on the momentum of our successful 2024 campaign—where we witnessed significant improvements to various Wikipedia articles and the creation of new ones—this year’s effort continues to grow. [See contributions](https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Global_WikiEducation_Initiative/Africa_Wiki_Challenge_2024_in_Tanzania)

This year’s project brings together communities who want to be part of the AWC organization, independent editors (both in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar) who are passionate about contributing to our growing Swahili wikipedia, educators in various educational institutions and for this sake we have strong ties with one of the best tech college in Tanzania i.e Dar Es Salaam Institute Of Technology (DIT) which will be in hand with us in making sure we make an amazing campaign, and also the presence of private sectors such as Azam Tv for collaboration, and ICP Builders in Tanzania will surely advocates to enrich greater audience and participation.

The key challenge we are trying to solve: Lack of representation of African voices and narratives related to historical injustices, resistance, and reparation movements. Across Tanzania and the broader African context, historical accounts of colonial exploitation, enslavement, and resistance movements are often underrepresented or misrepresented in global knowledge platforms like Swahili Wikipedia. These omissions perpetuate the silencing of African voices that have shaped the continent’s history. Specifically, in Tanzania, critical movements like the Maji Maji Rebellion and the struggle for independence remain insufficiently documented on Swahili Wikipedia. There is also a scarcity of content related to reparations and the ongoing pursuit of justice for colonial crimes and the African diaspora. This gap limits opportunities for Africans to contribute to their own historical narratives and prevents the world from fully understanding the African fight for justice and reparations.

Missing content on the social, economic, and psychological impacts of colonial and post-colonial exploitation in Tanzania. The long-term effects of colonial rule on Tanzania, including economic inequality, land dispossession, and psychological trauma, are often overlooked. These impacts continue to shape Tanzanian society today, influencing gender disparities and cultural conflicts. However, this crucial content is largely missing from global knowledge platforms like Swahili Wikipedia and needs to be documented to provide a more accurate historical narrative and support reparative justice efforts.

The joint team in Tanzanian will organize targeted editing workshops, outreach programs, content creation sprints, and an awarding ceremony to engage the local community. These efforts will be supported by a central Meta page (which wil be created here) [1] with suggested topics and resources to guide participants in contributing to Wikipedia.

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.

1. Online Session for Pre event awareness. We will start a pre event which will be conducted online so as to introduce our project to the community. We will use platforms such as Whatsapp Community, Posts on social media such as in the Instagram account of Global WikiEducation Initiative [ https://www.instagram.com/global_wikieducation?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==], and conduct zoom meetings.

2.In-person event.

A public launch event in Dar es Salaam to introduce the campaign, raise awareness about the theme, and encourage participation.
Stakeholders, volunteers, educators, and digital rights activists will be invited.
Event includes talks on Wikipedia editing, African narratives, and reparations.

3.Award Ceremony & Recognition Event (Finalizing the Challenge): Organize an online award ceremony to celebrate the conclusion of the Challenge and acknowledge the contributions of participants. Potential Award Categories: a. Prize for the best contributions to articles on reparations, justice, and African diaspora issues. b. Outstanding Contribution to Localizing African Narratives Recognizing significant work in creating or expanding content centered around African perspectives and histories. c. Best Use of Multimedia to Enhance African Historical Narratives Acknowledging the effective use of multimedia elements to bring African justice and history topics to life.

All activities and resources will be coordinated via a public Meta page:

  [Africa Wiki Challenge 2025 Tanzania – Meta Page (Coming Soon)](https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Global_WikiEducation_Initiative/Programs)

This page will include timelines, suggested articles, documentation tools, and weekly progress updates.

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. Team members involved in the grant application need to be aware of their involvement in the project.

1. Project Lead: Name Hussein Issa ( Global WikiEducation Initiative) Wikimedia Username: Husseyn Issa Role: Overall project management, coordination, and reporting.

2. Training & Community Engagement Lead:

Name: Pellagia Njau (Global WikiEducation Initiative) Wikimedia Username: Pellagia Njau Role: Organizing workshops, training sessions, and community outreach.

3. Technical & Metrics Coordinator: Name : Johnson Massawe (Global WikiEducation Initiative) Wikimedia Username: Jonny Frosty Role:Managing dashboards, tracking event metrics, and ensuring data accuracy.

4.Communications & Social Media Lead: Name: Joshua Beatus Wikimedia Username: JOSHUA BEATUS Role: Promoting events, managing participant engagement, and handling communications.

5. Dickson Kojo Anane Program Officer Open Foundation West Africa(OFWA). Role: Advisor.

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)

Our target participants include Tanzanian wikipedia editors, Wikimedia community members across different areas, and new editors interested in open knowledge and local history.

To engage them before the activities, we will conduct outreach through social media, university networks, and community platforms, followed by online registration and pre-event posts to introduce Wikipedia editing and the goals of the program.

During the activities, we will ensure interactive participation through the arranged edit-a-thon, Wiki booths like the WikiSwahili Corner and gamified sessions. After the activities, we will maintain engagement by offering our social media account where they can still get in contact with the organizing team ,also at the end of the challenge recognizing top contributors,collecting feedback and involving participants in future campaigns and Wikimedia events.

10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)

No

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.

N/A

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.

Collaborate with Global wiki education initiative team [2], individual swahili editors in both Tanzania mainland and those in Zanzibar who are interested in Africa Wiki Challenge, had a discussion with user:Jonny Frosty who had also the interested of this year’s campaign as well on the idea of implementation [3], planning and execution and discuss on how to construct better plans so as to conduct the events. Hosted discussions on WhatsApp groups and Telegram.

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)

Other Important Topics (topics considered to be of impact or important in the specific context)

13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)

Advocacy

14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)

Ethnic/racial/religious or cultural background

15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)

Increase the Sustainability of Our Movement

Learning and metrics

17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)

1. By the end of this project we will be able to know what motivates new swahili wikipedia editors and educators in Tanzania to start editing Swahili Wikipedia, and how can we support them to keep contributing after the event? 2. By the end we will be able to know types of activities (e.g., workshops, challenges, cultural booths) which are easiest for new participants to join and learn from? 3. In the end we can be able to know how can we build stronger collaboration between Tanzania Wikimedians and local communities (like schools, libraries, and cultural groups) to support Swahili content creation? 4. Atleast by the end of this project we will be able to know the most effective ways to keep in touch with participants after the event and help them grow as active Wikimedians?

18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)

Number of participants, editors, and organizers
Other Metrics	Target	Optional description
Number of participants	30
Number of editors	20
Number of organizers	4

Number of content contributions to Wikimedia projects
Wikimedia project	Number of content created or improved
Wikipedia	200
Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata
Wiktionary
Wikisource
Wikimedia Incubator
Translatewiki
MediaWiki
Wikiquote
Wikivoyage
Wikibooks
Wikiversity
Wikinews
Wikispecies
Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia

Optional description for content contributions.

N/A

19. Do you have any other project targets in numbers (metrics)? (optional)

No

Main Open Metrics Data
Main Open 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

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)

-Hashtags, Program Dashboard, Event Registration Tool and Google Forms.

Financial proposal

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

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ywSUqTuqkGXIR0dtSJfHQpM9Mt6C8RLha1Gj4ubpE7E/edit?usp=sharing

22. and 22.1. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in your local currency. (required)

7100000 TZS

22.2. Convert the amount requested into USD using the Oanda converter. This is done only to help you assess the USD equivalent of the requested amount. Your request should be between 500 - 5,000 USD.

2641 USD

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

Yes

Endorsements and Feedback

Please add endorsements and feedback to the grant discussion page only. Endorsements added here will be removed automatically.

Community members are invited to share meaningful feedback on the proposal and include reasons why they endorse the proposal. Consider the following:

Stating why the proposal is important for the communities involved and why they think the strategies chosen will achieve the results that are expected.
Highlighting any aspects they think are particularly well developed: for instance, the strategies and activities proposed, the levels of community engagement, outreach to underrepresented groups, addressing knowledge gaps, partnerships, the overall budget and learning and evaluation section of the proposal, etc.
Highlighting if the proposal focuses on any interesting research, learning or innovation, etc. Also if it builds on learning from past proposals developed by the individual or organization, or other Wikimedia communities.
Analyzing if the proposal is going to contribute in any way to important developments around specific Wikimedia projects or Movement Strategy.
Analysing if the proposal is coherent in terms of the objectives, strategies, budget, and expected results (metrics).

Endorse