Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Application template

Amplifying African Voices Online Audio Storytelling Training for the African Wikimedia Community

Project Overview

Project Title: Amplifying African Voices Online Audio Storytelling Training for the African Wikimedia Community

Project Location: Regional (online)

Target Language: English, Hausa, Yoruba, and other local languages depending on participants

Project Description: This project aims to train members of the Wikimedia community in the art of audio storytelling, with a focus on environmental, historical, and cultural content. Through a 6-week virtual workshop series, participants will learn to use sound design, ambient audio, voiceovers, music, and archival materials to create compelling audio narratives for Wikimedia platforms. The training will equip Wikimedians especially from underrepresented communities with the skills and tools to expand knowledge equity through sound.

Goals

To equip 20+ Wikimedians with basic-to-intermediate audio storytelling skills.
To increase the presence of high-quality audio content on Wikimedia Commons and other platforms.
To promote oral knowledge, folklore, and environmental storytelling within Wikimedia projects.
To create at least 10 publishable audio stories on Wikimedia Commons in local languages.

Project Activities

Recruit participants from underrepresented communities within Wikimedia.
Deliver weekly online training sessions for 6 weeks, facilitated by User:ItzAbdullahi award-winning audio storyteller.
Provide hands-on mentorship, editing feedback, and peer review.
Facilitate the upload of completed audio stories to Wikimedia Commons.
Evaluate skills gained and publish a post-training toolkit/resource.

Impact

Impact and Learning Questions

1. How will this project improve the capacity of Wikimedia communities in the area of multimedia and audio storytelling?

2. How many participants will actively contribute new audio content to Wikimedia Commons after the training?

3. How does this project help in preserving oral traditions and environmental narratives in native languages?

4. What barriers to audio content creation (tools, skills, access) were identified and addressed?

Budget (Under $5,000 USD)

Total Budget: $4,935 USD Here is a breakdown of the estimated costs:

Equipment (One-time for facilitator use)

Laptop (Used Macbook Air or similar): $900
External sound card (Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 or similar): $180
Audio monitoring headphones (Audio-Technica M40x): $100
Studio microphone + pop filter + XLR cord: $160

Software & Tools

Audio editing software license (Adobe Audition or Reaper): $120
Internet & data costs for streaming and mentoring (6 weeks): $200

Facilitation & Training

Facilitator Honorarium: $1,500
Visual slide creation + workshop toolkit design: $180

Participant Support

Data support (20 participants x $50 each): $1000
Certificate production (design + print-ready PDF): $95

Miscellaneous

Promotion & Outreach: $200
Miscellaneous: unforeseen expenses: $300

Timeline

Project Duration: 6 Weeks (November – December 2025)

Week 1: Participant orientation, tools intro (Adobe Audition, AI audio cleaner and other mobile audio editors)

Week 2: Scriptwriting, basic storytelling voice techniques, intro to sound design

Week 3: Field recording, ambient sound, music in storytelling

Week 4: Editing and post-production

Week 5: Feedback, audio polishing, preparing for upload, upload stories to Commons

Week 6: Project showcase, final reflections

Final Week: Evaluation report, toolkit publication, and dissemination

Additional Information

All sessions will be recorded and transcribed for learning reuse.
Training will prioritize inclusivity by offering multilingual resources and guidance.
Stories created will be focused on environmental, cultural, or heritage themes relevant to African communities.