Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Arewa Wikimedia Hackathon Building Wikidata Tools in Northern Nigeria (ID: 23724406)/Final Report
Application type: Tech project
Parts 1-3: Project and impact
1. What was built or achieved during the project, and how did it align with your original goals, milestones and technical plan? (required)
The Arewa Wikimedia Hackathon 2026 successfully brought together developers, Wikimedians, and new contributors in Abuja, Nigeria to strengthen Wikimedia technical capacity and encourage hands-on participation in Wikimedia tool development.
The project aligned closely with the original goals of introducing participants to the Wikimedia technical ecosystem, improving Wikimedia-related tools, and building a sustainable technical community in Northern Nigeria through Arewa TechCom.
During the hackathon, participants were introduced to Wikimedia development workflows, including Phabricator task management, collaborative development practices, and Wikimedia technical contribution pathways. The event focused on practical learning through live demonstrations, guided hacking sessions, and collaborative problem-solving.
One of the key tools showcased and improved during the event was the Wikidata Reference Validator, a tool designed to identify broken or missing references on Wikidata. Participants explored feature improvements, UI ideas, and workflows around data quality and Wikimedia tool building. Discussions and prototype ideas also emerged around future projects such as a Wikidata Task Generator aka (Scout) to support contributor onboarding and task discovery.
The hackathon also contributed to the formal launch and growth of Arewa TechCom, a Wikimedia technical community focused on supporting developers, open-source collaboration, and Wikimedia technical contributions across Northern Nigeria.
The project milestones around community engagement, onboarding contributors, introducing Wikimedia technical infrastructure, and facilitating collaborative tool development were successfully achieved. Public documentation for the event was also created through Meta-Wiki pages, Commons uploads, Phabricator task boards, GitHub repositories, and a published Diff article highlighting the initiative and its impact.
2. Share links that demonstrate your project's impact, usage, and technical outcomes. (required)
Required links:
- Project page on relevant Wikimedia spaces (e.g. Phabricator, Wikimedia projects, Toolforge)
- Code repository (e.g. Gerrit, GitHub or GitLab)
- Documentation or user guides
- Dashboards, metrics tools, or analytics used to track usage or contributions
Optional links you may include:
- Diff or mailing list announcements
- Community feedback
- Demos or product presentations
- Survey results or user testing feedback
- Examples of integrations or usage within Wikimedia projects
Project and Event Pages
• Arewa TechCom (Meta-Wiki): [1]
• Arewa Wikimedia Hackathon 2026: [2]
• Wikimedia Hackathon 2026 Satellite Events listing: [3]
Technical Work and Repositories
• Wikidata Reference Validator (live tool): [4]
• Hackathon project repository: [5]
• Wikidata Reference Validator repository: [6]
Phabricator and Technical Collaboration
• Arewa Hackathon Phabricator Workboard: [7] and [8]
• Wikimedia Phabricator: [9]
Documentation and Community Impact
• Diff article: [10]
• Commons event image: [11]
![[11]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arewa_Wikimedia_Hackathon2.jpg){kind=link}
• Collaboration image: [12]
![[12]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arewa_Hackathon7.jpg){kind=link}
Wikidata weekly summary feature: Wikidata:Status updates/2026 05 11 - Wikidata
Participation and Contribution Tracking
• Event registration form: [13]
• Arewa TechCom Developers page: [14]
3. What are the key lessons you learned during this project, both technical and non-technical? (required)
One of the key lessons from this project was the importance of creating beginner-friendly pathways into Wikimedia technical spaces. Many participants were interested in contributing technically but were unfamiliar with development workflows, local setup processes, and Wikimedia-specific platforms such as Phabricator and Toolforge. This reinforced the need for guided onboarding, simpler starter tasks, and collaborative team-based learning approaches during technical events.
From a technical perspective, the project highlighted the value of working on practical, real-world problems to improve learning and engagement. Demonstrating and improving existing tools such as the Wikidata Reference Validator helped participants better understand how Wikimedia APIs, Wikidata workflows, and open-source collaboration function in practice. Breaking projects into smaller, achievable tasks also proved effective for encouraging participation and reducing technical barriers for newcomers.
Another important lesson was the significance of documentation and public visibility. Creating Meta-Wiki pages, Phabricator workboards, GitHub repositories, Commons uploads, and a Diff article helped document the project’s outcomes and increased visibility for Wikimedia technical activities in Northern Nigeria. This also demonstrated how strong documentation can support future collaboration, sustainability, and funding opportunities.
On the community side, the hackathon showed that there is growing interest in Wikimedia technical contribution spaces within Northern Nigeria when contributors are given the right support structure and collaborative environment. The project also reinforced the importance of building sustainable technical communities beyond one-time events, which contributed to the continued development of Arewa TechCom as a long-term initiative.
4. How did the Wikimedia community or your target audience engage with your project during its development or release? (required)
The Wikimedia community and target audience engaged with the project in multiple ways before, during, and after the hackathon. Prior to the event, participants engaged through community outreach, registration, and discussions within the newly created Arewa TechCom communication channels. Interest came from both experienced Wikimedians and newcomers interested in Wikimedia technical contributions and open-source development.
During the hackathon, participants actively engaged through hands-on collaboration sessions, live demonstrations, technical discussions, and team-based problem solving. Contributors explored Wikimedia development workflows, interacted with tools such as the Wikidata Reference Validator, and participated in guided hacking sessions focused on improving Wikimedia-related tools and workflows. Participants also engaged with Phabricator task boards to track work, discuss ideas, and collaborate on technical improvements.
The project also received engagement and visibility from the broader Wikimedia technical community through the Wikimedia Hackathon ecosystem. Tasks associated with the project were added to and reviewed within Wikimedia Phabricator boards, helping connect local work to wider Wikimedia technical spaces.
Following the event, public documentation on Meta-Wiki, Commons, GitHub, and Diff helped extend community engagement beyond the hackathon itself. The published Diff article highlighting the Arewa TechCom Hackathon increased visibility for the initiative and generated positive feedback from members of the Wikimedia movement. The project also contributed to continued interest in Arewa TechCom as a growing Wikimedia technical community focused on collaboration, mentorship, and tool development in Northern Nigeria.
5. What risks or challenges did you encounter (related to delivery, safety, or security), and how did you address them? (required)
One of the main challenges encountered during the project was supporting participants with different levels of technical experience within a limited hackathon timeframe. While some participants were already familiar with programming and Wikimedia workflows, many newcomers had limited experience with local development environments, Python setup, Git workflows, and Wikimedia technical platforms such as Phabricator and Toolforge.
To address this, the hackathon adopted a collaborative and beginner-friendly structure. Participants were encouraged to work in teams, guided tasks were created on Phabricator, and live demonstrations were used to simplify technical concepts and workflows. Existing tools, such as the Wikidata Reference Validator, were also used as practical learning examples to reduce barriers for participation and help contributors engage with real-world Wikimedia development processes.
Another challenge involved balancing technical depth with accessibility for new contributors. To manage this, tasks were broken into smaller and more achievable components, allowing participants with varying skill levels to contribute meaningfully through UI improvements, discussions, testing, documentation, and feature exploration.
From an operational perspective, coordinating logistics, technical resources, and documentation within a short project timeline required careful planning. This was addressed through pre-event preparation, structured workflows, and the use of Wikimedia collaboration platforms including Meta-Wiki, Commons, GitHub, and Phabricator for organizing project materials and communication.
No major safety or security incidents occurred during the project. The event was conducted in a collaborative and respectful environment, with an emphasis on open participation, teamwork, and constructive engagement throughout the hackathon.
6. Who will maintain the project going forward, and what is your plan for long-term maintenance? (required)
The project and related technical initiatives will continue to be maintained through Arewa TechCom, the Wikimedia technical community that emerged and expanded through the hackathon. Ongoing maintenance and coordination will primarily be led by the project organizer, JosefAnthony, alongside contributors and community members participating in Arewa TechCom activities.
The Wikidata Reference Validator and related projects are publicly hosted on collaborative platforms including GitHub, GitLab, Toolforge, Meta-Wiki, and Phabricator, making it easier for contributors to continue improving the tools, report issues, and participate in future development. The use of open-source workflows and public documentation also supports long-term sustainability and transparency.
The long-term maintenance plan focuses on continuing community engagement, onboarding new technical contributors, and organizing follow-up collaboration sessions around Wikimedia tool development and technical learning. Future improvements to the tools and infrastructure will continue to be tracked through Phabricator workboards and collaborative repositories.
In addition to maintaining existing tools, Arewa TechCom plans to continue expanding Wikimedia technical participation in Northern Nigeria by supporting mentorship, practical learning opportunities, and new contributor onboarding into Wikimedia technical spaces. The project is intended to serve as a foundation for continued technical collaboration and future Wikimedia-focused development initiatives in the region.
(questions 7-9 are skipped)
Part 4: Financial reporting
[edit]10. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency. (required)
1384890
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
1000
12. Report the funds spent in the currency of your fund. (required)
Upload the financial report
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)
The project remained generally aligned with the approved budget and proposed activities. Minor adjustments were made across some expense categories during implementation due to local pricing variations and operational needs during the hackathon. These adjustments included slight changes in costs related to materials, documentation, and miscellaneous operational expenses.
All expenditures remained consistent with the original goals of organizing the Arewa Wikimedia Hackathon 2026, supporting participant engagement, facilitating Wikimedia technical collaboration, and strengthening technical capacity within the Wikimedia community in Northern Nigeria.
No major deviations were made from the approved project scope, and all funds were used in support of Wikimedia-related educational, technical, and community-focused activities as outlined in the original proposal.
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)