Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Celebrating International Women Day Through The Wikimedia Projects 2026 (ID: 23726800)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
A Salisu
- 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.
Celebrating International Women Day Through The Wikimedia Projects 2026
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2026-04-01 - 2026-06-20
- 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)
Wiki Loves Women
- 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)
International Women’s Day (IWD) is observed globally on 8 March as a time to celebrate the achievements of women and to reflect on the gender gaps that still exist. Through Wikimedia projects, this campaign supports efforts to reduce the gender gap in knowledge by creating and improving content about notable women, supporting new women editors, and making sure women’s voices, especially those from underrepresented communities, are better represented in the free knowledge space.
Changes We Are Trying to Bring
The campaign, Celebrating International Women’s Day Through Wikimedia Projects 2026, aims to make Wikimedia spaces more welcoming and supportive for women. The focus is not only on encouraging women to participate, but also on helping them continue contributing with confidence over time. Through this campaign, we want to improve women’s digital skills, increase the amount and quality of content about women, and build a stronger and more connected network of women contributors within the Hausa Wikimedia community.
Main Challenges or Problems
Based on our experience from the 2025 campaign (Celebrating International Women's Day Through The Wikimedia Projects), we identified the following challenges:
- Underrepresentation of women editors: Women are still fewer in number and less visible as contributors across Wikimedia projects.
- Limited digital skills and confidence: Many women are new to editing Wikipedia, uploading files to Wikimedia Commons, or contributing to Wikidata, which affects their confidence.
- Retention challenges: Without regular mentorship and follow-up, many new women editors stop contributing after the initial training.
- Access and technical barriers: Issues such as unstable internet, limited access to devices, and lack of technical support continue to affect participation.
Main Approaches to Address These Challenges
To respond to these challenges and work toward meaningful change, the 2026 campaign will focus on the following approaches:
- Targeted outreach to reach more women and introduce them to Wikimedia projects in a clear and relatable way.
- Practical, hands-on training sessions on Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata to build real skills and confidence.
- Mentorship and guided follow-up activities to help new women editors stay active and supported.
- Flexible scheduling of activities to allow effective implementation even if events take place after International Women’s Day.
- Monitoring and evaluation of participation, content created, and editor retention to help improve the campaign as it progresses.
- 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.
Planned Activities
The campaign will be carried out through a set of connected activities aimed at building skills, encouraging active participation, and helping women remain engaged across Wikimedia projects.
Pre-Campaign Outreach and Community Engagement
- Focused outreach to women using social media, WhatsApp groups, schools, and local Wikimedia community channels.
- Registration of participants, along with a clear introduction to the campaign goals, Wikimedia projects, and the International Women’s Day theme.
- Online orientation sessions to help participants understand what to expect and prepare before the main activities begin.
Training and Capacity-Building Workshops
- Practical, hands-on training sessions for women contributors on Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata.
- Step-by-step demonstrations on creating and improving articles, adding references, uploading images, and making basic edits on Wikidata.
- All sessions will be conducted in a friendly and inclusive learning space to help new editors feel comfortable and confident.
Editing Events and Content Contribution
- Organized edit-a-thons focused on creating and improving content about notable women, women’s history, culture, and achievements.
- Uploading, organizing, and categorizing images related to women and women-led activities on Wikimedia Commons.
- Clearly defined editing tasks to support active participation and track contributions.
Mentorship and Follow-Up Support
- Creation of mentorship groups to guide and support new women editors after the main activities.
- Guided follow-up editing sessions to strengthen skills and encourage continued participation.
- Regular communication through online platforms to offer technical help and motivation.
Documentation, Monitoring, and Reporting
- Documentation of activities through photos, event pages, and feedback from participants.
- Tracking participation levels, new editors, and content contributions across Wikimedia projects.
- Preparation and sharing of reports and a Diff post to highlight results and lessons learned with the wider Wikimedia community.
Partnerships
The campaign will be implemented in collaboration with experienced Wikimedia volunteers, women facilitators, supportive male facilitators, and community organizers. Where possible, partnerships with educational institutions and women-focused organizations will be used to strengthen outreach, participation, and long-term sustainability.
- 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.
Team Description
The project will be implemented by a team of five Wikimedia contributors and community organizers. The team consists of four female members and one male member. The four female team members were the core organizers and facilitators of the 2025 (Celebrating International Women’s Day Through Wikimedia Projects) campaign and have continued to actively support women-focused Wikimedia activities in Northern Nigeria. All team members are aware of their roles and involvement in this grant application.
- User:A Salisu - I'm the overall project coordination, planning, implementation oversight, reporting, and liaison with the Wikimedia Foundation. I'm a member of Hausa Wikimedians User Group and a volunteer. I previously served as a core organizer of the 2025 International Women’s Day Wikimedia campaign and has experience leading women-focused capacity-building activities in Northern Nigeria.
- User: A'isha A Ibrahim - She is a community outreach, participant engagement, and coordination of campaign activities. She is the member of Hausa Wikimedians User Group and a volunteer. A'isha was part of the organizing and facilitation team for the 2025 campaign and has contributed to organizing and supporting multiple women-centered Wikimedia training activities in the region.
- User:Ummun Sultan - Also she will have a Training and facilitation on Wikimedia projects, including Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons. Ummun is a member of Hausa Wikimedians User Group and also a volunteer team member. She previously among the organizing team training sessions during the 2025 campaign and has experience mentoring women editors and supporting women-focused digital inclusion activities.
* User:Sirjat - She will have a mentorship, follow-up support, and guidance for new women editors. She is a member of Hausa Wikimedians User Group and a volunteer. Sirjat was also part of the organizing and facilitation team in the 2025 campaign and has supported several women-centered Wikimedia activities across Northern Nigeria.
* User: Ibrahim Sani Mustapha - He is a facilitator and will handle the responsible of technical support, facilitation, and assistance during training and editing sessions. Ibrahim is the member of Hausa Wikimedians User Group and a volunteer. Ibrahim will provide technical assistance and support during training and editing sessions to ensure smooth implementation of the campaign.
Additional Description
All team members are volunteers no salaried staff are involved in the project. The project builds on the team’s previous experience organizing and facilitating women-focused Wikimedia activities in Northern Nigeria.
- 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 campaign is designed mainly for women and young women from Northern Nigeria, especially those from communities that are often left out. It focuses on new and upcoming women Wikimedia editors, female students and teachers, women who are interested in learning digital skills and sharing open knowledge, and women with special needs or disabilities who usually face extra challenges when taking part in digital and knowledge-sharing spaces. The project aims to be inclusive by creating a safe, friendly, and supportive environment where women from different backgrounds and abilities feel welcome and encouraged to participate. Before the activities begin, participants will be reached and engaged through social media, WhatsApp groups, and community networks, as well as through partnerships with women-focused groups and local institutions to ensure even women with special needs are included. They will also take part in simple orientation sessions to help them understand Wikimedia projects and how they can contribute. During the activities, participants will receive practical and hands-on training that is easy to follow and accessible, work in small groups to learn from each other and build confidence, and get direct support from experienced facilitators and mentors who will guide them step by step. Special arrangements such as online support or assisted editing will be provided to make sure women with special needs can participate comfortably. After the activities, support will continue through mentorship groups, regular communication on WhatsApp and other platforms, follow-up editing sessions to strengthen skills, and close monitoring of contributions to help participants stay active, with extra attention given to women with special needs who may require additional guidance. This overall approach ensures that participants are supported before, during, and after the campaign, helping to build long-term involvement and inclusion in the Wikimedia community.
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
No
- 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.
N/A
- 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 idea for this campaign comes from the experience of running the same project successfully in 2025. After that campaign ended, the organizing team took time to talk with community members and participants to understand what worked well, what challenges were faced, and what could be improved. These conversations happened naturally through post-project discussions among facilitators and organizers, feedback shared by participants during and after the activities, and regular chats in community spaces like WhatsApp groups and Wikimedia forums.
The project idea was also discussed with members of the local Wikimedia community and women contributors in Northern Nigeria. Many of them supported continuing the campaign and shared practical suggestions on how to improve outreach, organize activities better, and make participation more accessible, especially for women. The four female team members who organized and facilitated the 2025 campaign were closely involved again and helped shape the 2026 plan, making sure lessons learned from the previous year were properly included.
The planned activities also fit well with other Wikimedia efforts in the region that focus on supporting women, building editing skills, and improving content. This helps avoid repeating existing work and encourages collaboration within the community. The project was publicly shared and discussed on the Hausa Wikipedia community Discussion page.
- 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)
Content Gender gap
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Gender and diversity
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Gender Identity
- 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)
Through this campaign, we want to better understand what truly helps women take part in Wikimedia projects, improve their skills, and create meaningful content, especially within the Hausa community. We are interested in seeing how well our outreach efforts reach women from different backgrounds, including women with special needs, and whether our activities make participation easier and more welcoming for them. We also want to learn how much the training sessions and mentorship support help participants feel more confident and capable when editing Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata. Another important area of learning is whether our follow-up activities actually help women stay active after the campaign and continue contributing over time. In addition, we want to look at the kind of women-related content that is created or improved, how much of it there is, and whether it helps improve the visibility and representation of women on Wikimedia platforms. Finally, we aim to understand how feedback from the community and collaboration with other contributors can help us design better projects that are more inclusive and have a stronger impact. The lessons learned from this campaign will guide future activities, improve content quality, and help build a strong and lasting network of women editors for future Wikimedia projects in Northern Nigeria.
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 60 | Number of Participants |
| Number of editors | 40 | Number of editors |
| Number of organizers | 5 | Number of Organisers |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 1000 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 100 |
| Wikidata | 100 |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | 100 |
| 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)
Wikimedia Dashboard tool
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)
2750000 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.
1926.9 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).