Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Africa Wiki Women — International Women’s Day 2025:Accelerating Action for Gender Equality (ID: 22979343)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
Pellagia Njau
- 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)
N/A
- Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)
Main Proposal
[edit]- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.
Africa Wiki Women — International Women’s Day 2025: Accelerating Action for Gender Equality
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2025-04-15 - 2025-05-15
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
Regional (more than one country in the same continent or region) The campaign will be led across Africa.The initiative will involve multiple African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal and Rwanda.
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
WikiGap
- 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 Wikimedia Foundation's effort to close the gender gap across all Wikimedia platforms is visible in its annual campaigns aimed at celebrating Women with campaigns such as ChangeTheStats (https://wikimediafoundation.org/our-work/open-the-knowledge/otk-change-the-stats/#a1-who-is-represented-on-wikimedia-projects?), which revealed that 18.13% of content across all Wikimedia projects, including biographies on Wikipedia, is about women. On the English Wikipedia specifically, 19.04% of biographies are about women by analyzing statistics from Humaniki 2021 statistics (https://humaniki.wmcloud.org/gender-by-country)
In AWW’s efforts to ChangeTheStats, we launched the Africa Wiki Women - Inspire Inclusion Campaign 2024 (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Africa_Wiki_Women_IWD_-_Inspire_Inclusion_2024/Overview), expanding efforts to address the intersectionality of women’s issues in Africa by attracting the participation of 100 editors across Africa. This resulted in: 12 new articles created, 52 articles translated into local languages (Yoruba, Dagbani, Swahili, Hausa, etc.), 46 articles expanded and improved, and 89 Wikidata items created, among other contributions. Further details can be found in our report: Africa Wiki Women - Inspire Inclusion Campaign 2024.
Furthermore, thorough data analysis from Humaniki from the 52 Africa countries revealed that articles about women in Africa account for only 23.51%, while those about men make up 76.39% of the total biographies (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NvIgxsA3SUly4KHrhbOlhKRPaPNQhdIOw1fYcLCqhhE/edit?gid=0#gid=0) . This significant gender gap highlights the underrepresentation of African women on Wikipedia, limiting visibility and recognition of their contributions in various fields(https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NvIgxsA3SUly4KHrhbOlhKRPaPNQhdIOw1fYcLCqhhE/edit?gid=0#gid=0)
For this year’s campaign, Africa Wiki Women is building on the momentum from last year’s campaign, aligning with the International Women’s Day 2025 theme, “Accelerate Action for Gender Equality,” and the Wikimedia Foundation theme, “Knowledge is Human, Knowledge is Her.” Our goal is to amplify the voices and visibility of African women by ensuring they are well-represented on Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata, particularly in journalism and politics.
Our key finding reveals that: English Wikipedia lacks a consolidated category for African Women Journalists, while there is an existing category for African-American Women Journalists (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:African-American_women_journalists). To address this, we propose creating a new category for African Women Journalists, identifying and categorizing existing biographies, expanding stubs with reliable references, and creating new articles for notable journalists.
Also 52 stub articles on African women in politics from Petscan report (https://petscan.wmcloud.org/?psid=31616844)require expansion, including the addition of info boxes and more detailed sections. To address this, we propose improving these articles by adding reliable sources, expanding content, and ensuring comprehensive coverage of their contributions.
Further findings revealed that 247 articles about African women lack images or are not available in local African languages, limiting their accessibility and representation. To address this, we propose uploading relevant images to Wikimedia Commons to enhance visual representation and translating these articles into African languages to improve accessibility. As part of the Africa Wiki Women — International Women’s Day 2025: Accelerating Action for Gender Equality campaign, a series of hybrid activities will tackle systemic challenges, including cultural and structural barriers that hinder women's equal opportunities and representation in journalism and politics.
- 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.
Photo Hunting: Based on our research, we discovered that many articles about women in journalism and politics lack images, which significantly impacts their visibility and representation. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, we will organize a photo hunt activity aimed at collecting openly licensed images of these women. This activity will involve both online and in-person photo hunts in various countries, focusing on sourcing high-quality, publicly available photos. These images will then be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons to enhance visual representation on Wikipedia, helping to raise awareness and foster better recognition of these important figures.
Capacity Building and Community Engagement: To further strengthen this workshop, we will organize 9 hybrid sessions (including 5 in-person events) aimed at equipping participants with the practical skills needed to create, expand, improve, and translate Wikipedia and Wikidata entries. These sessions will also cover the process of uploading images to Wikimedia Commons, focusing on African women in politics and journalism.
Partnership and Collaboration: Partnerships with Media House, Journalist, Photographers, gender-focused organizations, women’s leadership forums, and will help to bridge knowledge gaps, provide access to critical resources, and ensure diverse representation of African women on Wikipedia and Wikidata.
- 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.
Pellagia Njau(Project Lead): She is a Tanzanian Wikimedian, a co-founder for Africa Wiki Women community organizer, and advocate for free knowledge. She joined the Wikimedia movement in 2017 as a Swahili Wikipedia editor and has since played a pivotal role in various Wikimedia campaigns and initiatives aimed at bridging the gender gap, promoting open knowledge, and increasing access to free educational resources in Tanzania and beyond. She has organized and led numerous Wikimedia campaigns, including She Said, Arts + Feminism, Visible Wiki Women, Letheredit, WikiForHuman Rights, 1Lib1Ref, Wiki Loves Africa, and Wiki Loves Monuments.
Bukola James(Trainer, Logistics Coordinator): She is one of the co-founders of the Africa Wiki Women, the first Certified Trainer of the Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom program in Nigeria, and a certified Content Campaign Organiser focused on Climate Change and Sustainability.
Ruby D-Brown(Advisory and Coordinator I, Trainer): She has been an active Wikimedia organizer for the past 6 years she has contributed to training and leading campaigns in the Wikimedia Space. She was the regional coordinator for Eduwiki in 2022, Regional coordinator for the WikiForhumanrights campaign. Some of the campaigns she has organized in the space included the Africa Wiki challenge, Wiki For Human Rights, Etc. As the co-founder of Africa Wiki Women Ruby brings onboard her extensive experience from working with diverse communities.
- 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)
The primary target participants for our initiative are female African Wikimedians, both new and existing contributors, from diverse regions across the continent. Engagement Strategies Before and During the Activities: Communication Channels: We will use a variety of communication channels such as email, social media, and community forums to connect with potential participants. These platforms will provide clear and compelling information about the initiative, its goals, and the importance of their participation. Webinars and Orientation Sessions: Pre-activity webinars and orientation sessions will be organized to familiarize participants with the initiative’s objectives, expectations, and structure. These sessions will also allow participants to ask questions and feel more confident in their involvement. Online Forums and Discussion Platforms: Dedicated online forums or discussion platforms will be created for participants to connect, share ideas, and discuss relevant topics both before and during the activities. This will help foster a sense of community and encourage continuous dialogue. Regular Updates: We will provide regular updates on the initiative’s progress, highlight success stories, and showcase the impact of participants' contributions. This will help maintain enthusiasm and motivation throughout the duration of the activities. In-person Meetups: Collaborate with Africa Wiki Women representatives and members across various African countries such as Sudan, Namibia and Gabon to organize community events and photo hunts within their local areas. Follow-Up Strategies After the Activities: Feedback Surveys: We will gather feedback from participants through surveys to assess the effectiveness of the activities and gather insights for future improvements.
- 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.
We informed the community members about the project through our social media handles (Whatsapp,Instagram,Facebook,Linkedin) and our metapage.
- 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)
Content Gender gap
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Gender and diversity
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Gender Identity
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Provide for Safety and Inclusion
Learning and metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
Impact Measurement: Assess the effectiveness of accelerated action in addressing gender imbalances on Wikimedia platforms. This includes the scale of content creation and the number of new editors retained. Sustaining Momentum: Learn how to keep the energy and momentum of the IWD campaign going throughout the year and foster long-term contributions. Gender Equality Progress: Understand the changes made in the visibility of African women’s stories and contributions on Wikimedia platforms. Community Engagement: Measure how effective partnerships were in driving the impact of the campaign, and how they can lead to future collaborations.
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 60 | |
| Number of editors | 30 | |
| Number of organizers | 5 |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 100 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 50 |
| Wikidata | 300 |
| 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 | 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)
The outreach dashboard will be utilized to track each participant's contribution
Financial proposal
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11VV5a-tqxF80HjUMP6ysFxamw4VQml4EYYd4WYDTxwA/edit?gid=0#gid=0
- 22. and 22.1. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in your local currency. (required)
12656521 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.
4894 USD
- We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
Yes
Endorsements and Feedback
[edit]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).