Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Building Cameroonian Knowledge on English Wikipedia (ID: 23940477)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
essa237 (talk • accounts • contributions • edit count)
- 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.
Building Cameroonian Knowledge on English Wikipedia
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2026-09-01 - 2026-09-30
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
Cameroon
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
Not applicable
- 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)
Cameroon has a rich history, culture, and notable people, but much of this knowledge is either missing or underrepresented on English Wikipedia. To better understand these gaps, I developed the Wiki-Gap Analyzer, a tool that analyzes article coverage across different language editions of Wikipedia and identifies important topics that are missing or underrepresented. The insights from the tool will help participants identify priority topics for article creation, translation, and improvement throughout the project.
The project builds on lessons learned from the Mboa Forward Community Days pilot, A virtual training I volunteered to lead and mentor interested volunteers in Yaounde, Cameroon. You can read about the impacts and lessons from the pilot program here. One important lesson was that new editors need more than a one-day training. They need ongoing support to understand Wikipedia's policies, improve their editing skills, and gain the confidence to continue contributing.
To support this work, participants will use the Wiki-Gap Analyzer. It identifies important Cameroonian articles that are available on French Wikipedia but missing from English Wikipedia. This will help participants focus on topics that address real knowledge gaps. Check it out here
Live data compiled by the Wikimedia API is shown in my custom-built Wiki-Gap Analyzer. As seen in the image in this drive, please check it out here
We will also create Wikidata items for New articles that will be created during the project, and also those that don not exist, but are notable.
This project seeks to address three key challenges:
- Limited coverage of Cameroon on English Wikipedia. Many important topics about Cameroon are available only on French Wikipedia, while others are missing completely. This limits access to knowledge for English-speaking readers.
- Limited support for new contributors. Many new editors struggle with sourcing, formatting, and Wikipedia's editing guidelines. Without proper guidance, some become discouraged when their work is challenged or deleted.
- Low editor retention. Many contributors stop editing after training events because they do not receive continued support. This project focuses on mentorship to help participants remain active contributors beyond the training.
Change or challenges, as well as main approaches we will implore: 1. Practical training on article creation and translation
Participants will receive hands-on training on creating new Wikipedia articles, translating articles from French Wikipedia into English, improving existing articles, and following Wikipedia's policies on reliable sourcing and neutrality, and also Wikidata editing.
2. Focus on priority Cameroonian topics
Participants will work from a carefully prepared list of notable Cameroonian topics. Some topics will be translated from French Wikipedia into English, while others will be created from reliable sources because they are not yet covered. This ensures that every contribution fills an important knowledge gap.
3. Continuous mentorship
Instead of ending support after the training, participants will receive weekly mentorship through online sessions and a dedicated Telegram group where they can ask questions, receive feedback, and improve their work before publishing.
4. Quality review before publication
Facilitators will review participants' drafts and provide guidance on citations, formatting, and Wikipedia's content policies. This will help participants publish higher-quality articles and reduce the chances of their work being deleted.
- 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.
The project will be implemented over one months through the following activities:
- Recruit 40 bilingual participants from universities, and other interested groups in Yaoundé.
- Organize an introductory training on Wikipedia editing, article creation, article translation, and basic Wikidata editing.
- Provide participants with a list of priority Cameroonian topics for article creation, translation, and improvement.
- Hold weekly mentorship sessions where facilitators review drafts, answer questions, and provide individual support.
- Support participants in creating new articles, translating existing articles into English, improving related Wikipedia articles, and making basic improvements to Wikidata where appropriate.
- Organize a final review session to evaluate the project's outcomes, celebrate participants' achievements, and encourage continued participation in Wikimedia activities.
- 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.
- Essa237 (Wah Vanessa) - Project Lead & Technical Mentor:
I am a full-stack developer, technical mentor, specializing in building the data-driven tool to be used for this project. Successfully served as the independent organizer and manager of the un-funded Mboa Forward May 20 Community Days Campaign, gaining direct experience tracking community metrics.Actively engaged as a technical mentor within the WikiMentor Africa network. Demonstrated movement leadership as an invited speaker at the Africa Wiki Women Summit and as a hands-on trainer during the Africa Wiki Women April Edit-a-thon Campaign, where I specialized in facilitating cross-wiki article translation sessions.Will oversee the entire lifecycle of this project.
- Nangeh (Salah Heidi Nangeh) - Communications, Outreach & Community Manager:
She is a communications and digital marketing professional specializing in content strategy, social media management, copywriting, and brand communications. She brings extensive expertise in creating engaging media assets, developing targeted digital campaigns, and building meaningful connections with audiences. She will lead participant recruitment and public outreach for the campaign, utilizing her digital marketing expertise to design flyers and social media campaigns to attract a high-quality bilingual cohort. During the program, she will manage the cohort’s online community channels to maintain engagement, and she will coordinate the final participant testimonial collection and outreach reporting for the upcoming Wikimedia Diff blog post.
- Melcatherine (Mel-Catherine Atuma) - Mentorship Support & Advisory:
She is an active African community leader, Ambassador, and a fellow of the Africa Wiki Women Leadership and Mentorship Program.
She will be handling community alignment advisory, cross-program synergy tracking, and cohort feedback help to ensure long-term editor retention.
- Andikan Efiok Eduok - Facilitator:
She is an experienced Wikimedian, open knowledge advocate, and community organizer. She is a 2026 Code for Africa Fellow and previously served as the Administrative Co-Lead of the Africa Wiki Women Leadership and Mentorship Program, where she supported emerging Wikimedia leaders across Africa. She is the founder of the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria - Akwa Ibom Network and has organized and facilitated several Wikimedia training and capacity-building initiatives, including the South-South Train-the-Trainers (TTT) Program in Nigeria. She will serve as a facilitator and mentor, supporting participants during training and mentorship sessions. She will guide participants on article creation, content improvement, Wikipedia policies, and community best practices, while also providing feedback to help improve the quality of contributions throughout the project.
- 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 project will engage 40 bilingual (French and English) university students, young professionals, members of local technology communities, and other interested volunteers in Yaoundé who are interested in open knowledge but have little or no experience contributing to Wikimedia projects.
Participants will be recruited through universities, technology communities such as Rebase Code Camp, and social media. Throughout the project, they will stay connected through a dedicated Telegram group where they can ask questions, receive mentorship, share their progress, and support one another.
After the project, participants will be encouraged to continue contributing through local Wikimedia activities, editing campaigns, and community events. Active participants will also be introduced to broader Wikimedia communities and future opportunities for learning and collaboration.
- 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.
This is the link to the youth policy. The policy will be read out to everyone at the start of each training. It will also be shared in the project's WhatsApp group.
- 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.
I have informed the Cameroonian Wikimedia Community here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedians_of_Cameroon_User_Group#c-Essa237-20260701174200-Community_Notification:_Grant_Proposal_for_Building_Cameroonian_knowledge_on_Eng
- 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)
Language
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Education
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Linguistic / Language
- 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)
This project will help us better understand how structured mentorship and targeted content selection can improve the quality and sustainability of contributions from new Wikimedia editors in Cameroon.
We hope to learn how:
- Does combining practical training with ongoing mentorship improve newcomer retention and editing confidence compared to one-time training events?
- How effective is the Wiki-Gap Analyzer in helping contributors identify and prioritize important Cameroonian topics for article creation, translation, and improvement?
- What challenges do bilingual contributors face when creating and translating articles, and what support helps them succeed?
- Which mentorship approaches are most effective in helping new editors publish quality articles that meet Wikipedia's standards?
The lessons from this project will help us improve future training programs, strengthen mentorship for new contributors, and refine the use of the Wiki-Gap Analyzer to support Wikimedia communities working to bridge knowledge gaps.
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 45 | |
| Number of editors | 40 | |
| Number of organizers | 5 |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 100 |
| Wikimedia Commons | |
| Wikidata | 100 |
| 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 Wikimedia outreach dashboard and Google sheet will be used to measure metrics
Financial proposal
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
- 22. and 22.1. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in your local currency. (required)
2297500 XAF
- 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.
3995.26 USD
- By submitting your proposal/funding request you confirm that you have read and agree to the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy, and the 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).