Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Building Igala Wikipedia Community Through Campus Engagement (ID: 22884637)/Final Report
Application type: Standard application
Part 1: Project and impact
1. Describe the implemented activities and results achieved. Additionally, share which approaches were most effective in supporting you to achieve the results. (required)
Overview of the Initiative
As part of the campaign "Building Igala Wikipedia Community Through Campus Engagement" (April 4 – June 22, 2025), we set out to raise awareness and empower students at Prince Abubakar Audu University (Anyigba), formerly called Kogi State University Ayigba, Kogi State Polytechnic (Lokoja), and Federal Polytechnic Idah to contribute to Igala-language Wikipedia.
What We Did – Activities & Methods
1. Virtual Launch (April 4, 2025) We kicked off with a webinar-style launch, introducing the goals: preserving Igala culture and language online, teaching about Wikipedia basics, and encouraging student participation. This helped attract initial interest and set a collaborative tone . link to the video on my drive https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-7L9NIlSAFezVcXPzIy2T8f2t9dsI4i1/view?usp=sharing
2. Campus Outreach/Sensitization and On-site Workshops (May 2025) At each of the three institutions, we held practical, hands-on workshops where students: Created Wikipedia accounts
Learned how to edit and contribute
Developed new articles
Enhanced existing Igala articles
Cited sources and followed content guidelines
Every training session included group exercises and mentorship from experienced Igala Wikipedians for real-time support.
4. Follow-Up & Community Support After the workshops, participants were connected with volunteer mentors for continued guidance. We provided ongoing support, helping with technical issues, refining edits, and encouraging sustained community involvement.
Results & Impact
Participants Engaged: A total of 95 participants across the three institutions actively took part in the program.
Content Created: Participants contributed 203 new Igala-language articles.
Content Improved: They also enhanced 210 existing articles, resulting in over 400 pieces of enriched or new content.
These contributions significantly boosted the visibility and richness of Igala content on Wikimedia platforms.
What worked well, strategy, and why It was effective
Blended Launch Model: The virtual launch allowed broad reach, while in-person sessions enabled deeper learning.
Institutional Collaboration: Working directly with universities facilitated access to eager students and seamless event logistics.
Hands-On Training: Practical, interactive learning helped students gain confidence and become productive immediately.
Ongoing Mentorship: Continued guidance after training increased editor retention and improved contribution quality.
Participants expressed that editing in Igala was not just educational, it felt like a way to preserve and honor their heritage.
Takeaways The "Building Igala Wikipedia Community Through Campus Engagement" program successfully Enlisted nearly 100 motivated young contributors
Generated a wealth of new and improved Igala-language articles
Laid the foundation for a growing, self-sustaining Igala community
2. Documentation of your impact. Please use space below to share links that help tell your story, impact, and evaluation. (required)
Share links to:
- Project page on Meta-Wiki or any other Wikimedia project
- Dashboards and tools that you used to track contributions
- Some photos or videos from your event. Remember to share access.
You can also share links to:
- Important social media posts
- Surveys and their results
- Infographics and sound files
- Examples of content edited on Wikimedia projects
Link to Project Page on Meta https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Building_Igala_Wikipedia_Community_Through_Campus_Engagement
Link to Outreach dashboard https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Igala_Wikimedia_Community/Building_Igala_Wikipedia_Community_Through_Campus_Engagement
Link to Virtual Launch Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-7L9NIlSAFezVcXPzIy2T8f2t9dsI4i1/view?usp=sharing
Some photos or videos from your event: Link to the outreach event at Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, formerly Kogi State University on Wikimedia commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Building_Igala_Wikipedia_Community_Through_Campus_Engagement_In_PAAU
Link to outreach event held at Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, Kogi State https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Building_Igala_Wikipedia_Community_Through_Campus_Engagement_In_KSP
Link to outreach event held at Federal Polytechnic Idah https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Building_Igala_Wikipedia_Community_Through_Campus_Engagement_In_FPI
Additionally, share the materials and resources that you used in the implementation of your project. (required)
For example:
- Training materials and guides
- Presentations and slides
- Work processes and plans
- Any other materials your team has created or adapted and can be shared with others
3. To what extent do you agree with the following statements regarding the work carried out with this Rapid Fund? You can choose “not applicable” if your work does not relate to these goals. Required. Select one option per question. (required)
| A. Bring in participants from underrepresented groups | Strongly agree |
| B. Create a more inclusive and connected culture in our community | Strongly agree |
| C. Develop content about underrepresented topics/groups | Strongly agree |
| D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives | Strongly agree |
| E. Encourage the retention of editors | Strongly agree |
| F. Encourage the retention of organizers | Strongly agree |
| G. Increased participants' feelings of belonging and connection to the movement | Strongly agree |
| F. Other (optional) |
Part 2: Learning
4. In your application, you outlined some learning questions. What did you learn from these learning questions when you implemented your project? How do you hope to use this learnings in the future? You can recall these learning questions below. (required)
You can recall these learning questions below: How many volunteers were recruited, and what were some of the challenges you faced? How many of the recruited volunteers have been retained, and how do you intend to keep them active after the program? How would you manage the partnership to ensure that it is continuously impactful?
In the course of implementing the Building Igala Wikipedia Community Through Campus Engagement project, I focused on the learning questions outlined in my grant application, and they helped guide both the execution and evaluation of the project.
1. How many volunteers were recruited, and what were some of the challenges faced? We successfully recruited a total of 70 volunteers from Prince Abubakar Audu University, Kogi State Polytechnic, and Federal Polytechnic Idah, aside from our 25 old participants that joined us during the event. One major challenge we faced was that many students had tight academic schedules, which made it difficult to get their full participation.
2. How many of the recruited volunteers have been retained, and how do you intend to keep them active after the program? Out of the total number recruited, 20 volunteers have remained active and continue to contribute to Igala Wikipedia. To keep them engaged, we established a dedicated WhatsApp group for communication, mentorship, and sharing of editing opportunities. We also plan to hold periodic follow-up sessions and community contests to sustain their interest and participation.
3. How would you manage the partnership to ensure that it is continuously impactful? We maintained close contact with key academic staff and student leaders in the partner institutions, which was crucial for mobilization and logistics.
Overall Learnings and
From these learning questions, I realized the importance of building not just a one-time training experience but a system of ongoing support for new contributors. I also learned that building trust and collaboration with institutions requires continuous engagement.
5. Did anything unexpected or surprising happen when implementing your activities? This can include both positive and negative situations. What did you learn from those experiences? (required)
One of the most positive surprise and encouraging outcomes was the enthusiasm and curiosity shown by students who had never heard of Igala Wikipedia editing. Many participants expressed a strong sense of pride in contributing content in their native language. Their level of interest exceeded our expectations. It highlighted the untapped potential of young people in preserving and promoting their language digitally.
6. What is your plan to share your project learnings and results with other community members? If you have already done it, describe how. (required)
To ensure that the learnings and results from the Building Igala Wikipedia Community Through Campus Engagement project are shared widely and meaningfully with other community members, we intend to;
1. Community Report and Blog Post: We plan to publish a comprehensive blog post on Diff and share a community report through Meta-Wiki. This will outline our achievements, challenges, and key lessons learned and serve as a resource for other communities undertaking similar outreach in underrepresented languages.
2. Community Zoom Meeting and Presentation: We will host a virtual learning and sharing session with members of the Igala Wikimedia Community and other interested Wikimedia groups in Nigeria. This will provide an opportunity to present our results, highlight success stories, and discuss practical ways others can adapt or replicate our approach in their own contexts.
3. WhatsApp Group: We will continue using our existing community WhatsApp group to share insights, tips, and success stories from the project. These platforms also allow for real-time interaction and exchange of feedback among community members.
6. Collaboration with Igbo Wikimedia User Group: We also plan to engage with the Igbo Wikimedia User Group through joint conversations and online meetups to exchange strategies on volunteer recruitment and retention in local language projects.
Part 3: Metrics
7. Wikimedia Metrics results. (required)
In your application, you set some Wikimedia targets in numbers (Wikimedia metrics). In this section, you will describe the achieved results and provide links to the tools used.
| Target | Results | Comments and tools used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 75 | 95 | |
| Number of editors | 75 | 95 | |
| Number of organizers | 4 | 4 |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 200 | 203 | 210 |
| Wikimedia Commons | |||
| Wikidata | |||
| Wiktionary | |||
| Wikisource | |||
| Wikimedia Incubator | |||
| Translatewiki | |||
| MediaWiki | |||
| Wikiquote | |||
| Wikivoyage | |||
| Wikibooks | |||
| Wikiversity | |||
| Wikinews | |||
| Wikispecies | |||
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
8. Other Metrics results.
In your proposal, you could also set Other Metrics targets. Please describe the achieved results and provide links to the tools used if you set Other Metrics in your application.
| Other Metrics name | Metrics Description | Target | Result | Tools and comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
9. Did you have any difficulties collecting data to measure your results? (required)
No
9.1. Please state what difficulties you had. How do you hope to overcome these challenges in the future? Do you have any recommendations for the Foundation to support you in addressing these challenges? (required)
Part 4: Financial reporting
[edit]10. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency. (required)
2236410
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
1500
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)
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)
Review notes
[edit]Review notes from Program Officer:
N/A
Applicant's response to the review feedback.
N/A