Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/African Legislators in Red 2025 (ID: 23535160)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
Idoghor Melody
- 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.
African Legislators in Red 2025
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2025-11-01 - 2025-12-31
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
Nigeria
- 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) This project supports the Movement Strategy Goal 2030, particularly the initiative focused on advancing knowledge equity and inclusivity.
- 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)
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has had over 24,000 legislators and political appointees since the inception of modern governance structures. Yet, fewer than 8.5% of these individuals are represented on English Wikipedia. This leaves massive historical and political gaps, where the public record of Nigeria’s democratic journey remains incomplete and inaccessible.
A breakdown of the data makes this starkly clear:
- Only 7% of Senators (1979–2019) and 12% of House of Representatives members (1979–2019) are documented.
- State Houses of Assembly, with over 10,000 distinct members since 1979, have only 2.6% coverage.
- State Commissioners, who number more than 8,000, are barely represented (1% coverage).
- By contrast, categories like Presidents (88%) and Federal Ministers (35%) are better covered, but still incomplete.
- Some categories remain almost entirely absent, such as Appointed Legislative Council members (0%).
These numbers demonstrate a systemic bias: Nigerian political history is disproportionately underrepresented, particularly at subnational levels and among legislators. Without this knowledge, researchers, journalists, educators, and the Nigerian public cannot fully trace patterns of governance, representation, or the contributions of women and marginalized groups in politics.
The first edition of African Legislators in Red (2024) directly addressed this problem by creating and improving over 700 articles on English Wikipedia(as seen in this category) and over 400 articles on Hausa Wikipedia, we also added over 500 items on Wikidata amongst other results. More insights can be found on the outreach dashboard about Nigerian legislators. This was a measurable and pioneering step toward closing the gap.
The second edition will build on this foundation with a focused strategy:
- Targeting the House of Representatives, Senators, and State Houses of Assembly, where gaps are widest.
- Prioritizing women legislators and underrepresented groups.
- Conducting structured training sessions for new editors, so the work is sustainable beyond the project period.
In fact, our project will fill one of the largest content gaps on English Wikipedia concerning Nigerian democracy, ensuring that the country’s political journey is represented with breadth, accuracy, and inclusivity. To achieve these goals, this project will train and retrain both new and existing editors on how to contribute positively to articles about legislators, as well as edit in other areas, including navigating the more complex parts of Wikipedia. They will also learn how to use Wikidata and why it is an important part of this project.
The training will focus on closing knowledge gaps by digging into information about notable but often forgotten Nigerian legislators on Wikipedia and Wikidata. It will also tackle the gender gap by giving participants the resources and guidelines they need to create and improve articles about female Nigerian legislators.
We will work on improving existing articles, many of which are still stubs with no proper categorization, no descriptions, and no images. Editors will be shown how to fix these issues and how to create new, notable, and high-quality articles from scratch.
- 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.
Campaign Activities
Below are the key activities of this project:
- Onboarding
- Participants will be guided through setting up their Wikimedia account (for those without accounts), learning the basic editing interface, and understanding key community policies. They will also be introduced to the project's goals, timelines, and expectations so they can confidently take part in the training and edit-a-thon.
- Physical Training
- There will be a two-day physical training designed to give participants a solid foundation in Wikipedia and Wikidata. During the sessions, they will learn about both Subject-specific and General notability guidelines, how to find reliable sources, how to write from a neutral point of view, and other key policies needed to contribute effectively to Wikipedia.
- Virtual Training
- To give participants the knowledge and skills they need to edit, we'll also hold two online training sessions. This will make it easier for people who want to be part of the training but can't attend the physical sessions because of distance.
- Edit-a-thon
- After the two days of physical training and two days of online training, there will be a one-month edit-a-thon where participants will apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills.
- Office Hour
- There will be two office hour sessions during the edit-a-thon to address any issues participants are facing.
- Review and Certification
- The reviewers will assess the activities and contributions of the participants, and gift card vouchers will be awarded to the top three performers. Also, all participants who took part in the campaign's training and edit-a-thon will also receive certificates.
These activities will be effective because they focus on making a real difference now, while also preparing participants for the long run. The trainings and edit-a-thon will give them hands-on experience creating and improving articles about Nigerian legislators on Wikipedia.
- 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.
Project Lead
- Username: User:Idoghor Melody
- Role: Project coordinator, trainer, and reviewer.
- Details: Idoghor Melody is an experienced Nigerian Wikimedian, and a contributor to the English Wikipedia. He holds advanced user rights, including New Page Reviewer, and actively contributes to maintaining content quality and supporting the English Wikipedia community. Has clear track records on English Wikipedia. Has over 38k edits on English Wikipedia. Created over 80 articles on English Wikipedia. More insights at XTools.
Team Members
- Username: User:Ibjaja055
- Role: Trainer, and reviewer.
- Details: Has clear track records on English Wikipedia. Created/improved two (2) good article. Has over 16k edits on English Wikipedia. Leads the Wiki Afrodemics Project and won the 2023 Wikimedia User Group Nigeria Editor of the Year. More insights at XTools.
- Username: User:Vanderwaalforces
- Role: Trainer, and reviewer.
- Details: Campaign lead of Nigerian Sources Reliability Literacy. Has clear track records on English Wikipedia. Took ten (10) lists to the prestigious featured lists status (National symbols of Nigeria and List of governors of Edo State) one of which appeared on English Wikipedia's mainpage as a today's featured list. Created/improved nineteen (19) good articles. Has over 50k edits on English Wikipedia. More insights at XTools.
- 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 target participants are editors and aspiring editors, mainly from Nigeria, but also from other African countries, since this is a project focused on African legislators. In subsequent editions, we plan to focus on additional countries within Africa. Before the activities, a call for applications will be shared through Google Form, and selected participants will be admitted to join the program. A WhatsApp group will also be created before the training begins to keep participants informed and engaged throughout the activities, and it will be maintained afterward to provide ongoing mentorship and support.
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
Yes
- 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.
We will uphold the principles of youth safety through strict adherence to Wikimedia’s Friendly Space Policy. The Foundations's Youth Safety policy will be adopted for the sake of this event.
- 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.
The members of the Nigerian Wikimedia community have been informed here
- 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)
Geography
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Other
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Geographic
- 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
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
Did the project train both new and existing editors?
Did the project help close knowledge gaps by improving content about Nigerian legislators?
Did the project help close gender gaps related to Nigerian legislators?
Did the project create new articles about Nigerian legislators?
Did the project improve existing articles about Nigerian legislators?
Did participants continue contributing to Wikipedia and Wikidata after the project ended?
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 55 | This will include 52 participants and 3 organisers. |
| Number of editors | 52 | This will include both newly registered editors and returning editors. |
| Number of organizers | 3 |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 200 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 20 |
| Wikidata | 200 |
| 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)
Event Metrics will be used to track the number of participants, organizers, and editors involved in the project. Hashtags and the Outreach Dashboard will be used to monitor contributions made by participants on Wikipedia. Surveys and feedback forms will be used to gather qualitative insights into participant's learning experiences and to assess the effectiveness of the campaign.
Financial proposal
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FLh8HMJg6RgTir07TyR0D0igYLT1eTIG0fwsPwXn790/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)
4627329 NGN
- 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.
3015.41 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).