Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Cybersecurity Literacy Awareness Amongst Wikimedians (ID: 23645615)/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)
WikiActivate Africa organized the Cybersecurity for Wikimedians Workshop on 8th February 2026 as a virtual event aimed at closing the digital security gap among Wikimedians across Africa. The workshop brought together 22 participants from Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, and Kenya, covering topics including Threat Detection, Data Protection, Compliance and Risk Management, Wikimedia's stance on Cybersecurity, and maintaining content integrity. To mobilize participation, the team developed event flyers, a registration form, and distributed announcements across multiple channels including WikiActivate Africa WhatsApp and Telegram communities, Wiki Nigeria UG channels, Wikimedia Africa Telegram groups, and the African Digest mailing list. Community members further amplified outreach through personal networks, resulting in 85 total registrations. During the workshop, 22 participants were actively trained on cybersecurity policies and ethical contribution practices on Wikiquote and Wikipedia. Of these, 15 participants went on to make 863 contributions across Wikiquote and Wikipedia, focusing on technology-related articles and quotes. Participants reported increased confidence in making ethical, verifiable contributions while maintaining safe online practices. The event also contributed to broader community engagement by involving both new and returning editors. Contribution tracking was done through the Outreach Dashboard and manual records maintained on the Meta event page.
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
Project page on Meta-Wiki: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Cybersecurity_Literacy_For_Wikimedians
Dashboards and tools that you used to track contributions: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Wiki_Activate_Africa/Cybersecurity_Literacy_for_Wikimedians?enroll=zludectr
Meta Page Table for manual contribution track: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Cybersecurity_Literacy_For_Wikimedians#List_of_Wikipedia_articles_edited/created_by_participants_table_1
Recording of virtual training:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTjJN9_5Xlc
Example of Articles that was edited: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Science_and_technology_in_Africa
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 | Agree |
| B. Create a more inclusive and connected culture in our community | Agree |
| C. Develop content about underrepresented topics/groups | Not applicable |
| D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives | Neither agree nor disagree |
| 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: Through this project, I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the specific cybersecurity challenges that Wikimedians in emerging African communities encounter in their daily contribution activities. While we recognize that threats such as phishing, account hacking, and online harassment exist, there is limited data on how these issues uniquely impact volunteers who rely predominantly on mobile devices and who may not have access to formal digital safety resources. By engaging participants directly, I aim to learn which security interventions are most effective, what barriers prevent contributors from adopting safe practices, and how localized training can better address community needs.
Going into the project, the key learning questions centered on understanding the specific cybersecurity challenges faced by Wikimedians in African communities, particularly around contributors, barriers to safe practice adoption, and the effectiveness of localized cybersecurity training interventions. Implementing the workshop provided concrete answers to each of these areas. On the question of which cybersecurity challenges are most prevalent, direct engagement with participants revealed that account security, specifically weak password practices and unfamiliarity with two-factor authentication, was the most commonly shared vulnerability. Many contributors were unaware that their Wikimedia accounts could be targeted, as they viewed their editing activities as low-risk. Phishing awareness was also notably low among newer contributors, particularly those accessing platforms primarily through mobile browsers rather than desktop environments. Regarding barriers to adopting safe practices, the workshop raised two significant obstacles. First, most participants had never received structured digital safety training, and the available online resources were not tailored to the Wikimedia context. Second, mobile-first contributors faced practical limitations, security tools and browser extensions commonly recommended in cybersecurity guidance are often desktop-centric, making them inaccessible or difficult to use on smartphones. This confirmed the gap identified in the original learning question. On the effectiveness of localized training, the virtual format with real-time interaction proved highly effective. Participants responded positively to examples drawn from their own editing experiences, and the inclusion of Wikimedia-specific scenarios, such as handling vandalism, managing account integrity on Wikimedia projects, and understanding Wikimedia's own cybersecurity stance, made the training relevant and actionable. Post-session feedback reflected increased confidence in applying what was learned.
These learnings will directly inform how we will design and deliver future digital safety programming. The finding that community-specific, scenario-based learning is more effective than generic cybersecurity content will guide curriculum development going forward.
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 encouraging and unexpected outcomes was the high registration rate relative to the team's initial expectations. Receiving 85 registrations for a virtual workshop significantly exceeded projections and signaled a much stronger community appetite for cybersecurity education than anticipated. It demonstrated that when content is relevant and the outreach is community-driven, volunteers are willing and eager to engage. Another positive surprise was the enthusiasm participants showed for Wikiquote as a contribution platform. Several contributors who had previously struggled to make edits on Wikipedia successfully completed contributions on Wikiquote, which boosted both their confidence and their overall participation in the Wikimedia ecosystem.
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)
I plan to write and publish a Diff article to share our experience and learnings with the wider community. Additionally, the event Meta page has already been shared across various community groups for improved visibility.
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 | 20 | 22 | Dashboard and Zoom |
| Number of editors | 10 | 15 | Outreach Dashboard |
| Number of organizers | 3 | 3 |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 50 | 2 | 133 |
| Wikimedia Commons | |||
| Wikidata | |||
| Wiktionary | |||
| Wikisource | |||
| Wikimedia Incubator | |||
| Translatewiki | |||
| MediaWiki | |||
| Wikiquote | 100 | 68 | 116 |
| 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)
2281904
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
1600
12. Report the funds spent in the currency of your fund. (required)
Provide the link to the financial report https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FNNqXkKkAQXOKm1Hkx2FszOvBzYJM-8c8KtjXcX5Jb4/edit?usp=sharing
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)
N/A