Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Editors Retainership Program in Dutse, Jigawa State (ID: 23746130)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
Dranty18 (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.
Editors Retainership Program in Dutse, Jigawa State
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2026-04-30 - 2026-05-30
- 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)
Other (please specify) Editors Retention, mentorship and trainings
- 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)
Over the past few years, the Wikimedia movement in northern Nigeria has seen an increase in new editors through short-term activities such as training workshops, awareness sessions, and edit-a-thons. These activities have successfully introduced youth, students, educators, and local language advocates to Wikipedia and its sister projects. However, despite these gains, editor retention remains a major challenge, particularly after the completion of funded activities. In Dutse, Jigawa State, several outreach and training initiatives have engaged dozens of participants and generated initial enthusiasm for contributing to Wikimedia projects. Yet, only a small proportion of trained participants continue editing consistently after the events. This drop-off is largely due to the absence of structured post-training mentorship, limited access to editing resources such as data and devices, and insufficient opportunities for continuous engagement within the local Wikimedia community. New editors often struggle to apply Wikimedia policies and technical skills independently, leading to reduced confidence and eventual disengagement. This challenge represents an immediate and practical gap that can be effectively addressed through a Rapid Fund supported intervention. Without targeted follow-up activities such as mentorship sessions, regular community meetups, peer support structures, and access to basic editing resources the investment made in training new editors risks yielding only short-term outcomes. The lack of sustained participation also limits the growth of locally relevant content and indigenous language contributions from Jigawa State.
By focusing on short-term, high-impact strategies that strengthen mentorship, provide essential editing support, and encourage ongoing participation, this Rapid Fund initiative seeks to improve editor retention and community cohesion in Dutse. The proposed intervention aligns with the Rapid Fund’s goal of enabling Wikimedia communities to respond quickly to identified needs, strengthen local capacity, and support contributors to remain active beyond initial training activities.
- 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 Editors Retainership Program in Dutse, Jigawa State is designed to improve the retention and sustained participation of newly trained Wikimedia editors by providing structured mentorship, regular engagement, and access to editing resources. The project will run through a series of interconnected activities focused on skills development, community building, and long-term editor support.
- Planned ActivitiesA
- Community Needs Assessment and Editor Mapping
We will conduct a short needs assessment with previously trained editors in Dutse to understand barriers to continued participation, including access to devices, internet connectivity, language challenges, and mentorship gaps. This will include mapping inactive and semi-active editors for targeted re-engagement.
- Editors Retainership Onboarding Session
A physical onboarding workshop will be organized to reintroduce selected participants to Wikimedia projects, community norms, and the goals of the retainership program. This session will set expectations, introduce mentors, and outline monthly engagement activities.
- Mentorship and Peer-Support Program
Participants will be grouped and assigned experienced Wikimedia editors as mentors. Mentorship will include:
- Monthly guided editing sessions (online and offline)
- One-on-one follow-ups for technical and content support
- Peer learning through small editing groups
NB: This activity aims to build confidence and reduce early editor drop-off. Monthly Edit-a-thons and Thematic Editing Sessions A series of monthly edit-a-thons will be organized focusing on locally relevant topics such as:
- Jigawa State history and culture
- Minority and local languages
- Notable people and places from Dutse and surrounding communities
NB: These sessions will provide structured opportunities for consistent contribution.
- Capacity Building on Advanced Editing Skills
Targeted training sessions will be held on:
- Article improvement and sourcing
- Wikimedia Commons uploads and licensing
- Basic Wikidata contributions
- Translation and content creation in local languages (where applicable)
- Provision of Editing Support and Resources
To address participation barriers, limited support will be provided in the form of:
- Internet/data support during scheduled activities
- Shared editing resources and documentation
- Access to a dedicated communication channel (WhatsApp/Telegram) for ongoing support
- Community Engagement and Feedback Sessions
Regular feedback and reflection meetings will be held to assess progress, document challenges, and adapt activities. These sessions will also help identify emerging leaders for future community sustainability.
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting
The project will track editor retention, contribution levels, and participant engagement throughout the program. Learning outcomes and challenges will be documented and shared on a public Meta-Wiki project page to inform future retention-focused initiatives.
- 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.
- Project Lead
- Details: {{|uFulani215}} is the pioneer and experienced Wikimedian in Northern Nigeria and also a dedicated community leader and open knowledge advocate committed to promoting digital inclusion, language preservation, and cultural documentation across Wiki communities.
- Responsibility: {{|uFulani215}} will be the project coordinator and he will lead all the activities related to the project and team coordination.
- Details: {{|u Mamman AA}} is an experienced Wikimedia volunteer who has been contributing to Wikimedia and its sister projects for years. He has created close to 300 articles in local languages about Northern Nigeria and jigawa state in particular. He has over 42,000 edits across Wikimedia Foundation projects and has improved many articles to good articles.
- Responsibility: Wikipedia mentor and he will train the participants on editing skills.
- Project Facilitator
- Details: Adamu mc is a dedicated language professional and community engagement strategist with expertise in language localization, digital content management, and multilingual project coordination. His work bridges linguistic and cultural gaps, ensuring inclusive and accessible communication for global audiences.
- Project Anchor
- Responsibility: {{u|Adamu mc will serve as the project anchor for the project, he will ensure that all the sessions run smoothly and align perfectly with the project target.
- 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)
We are focusing on retaining and supporting editors from Dutse, Jigawa State, with particular priority given to youth, students, language advocates, and emerging contributors who have participated in previous Wikimedia trainings and edit-a-thons in the area. This focus is informed by our community reports, which show a high drop-off rate in active editing after initial training, resulting in limited growth of locally relevant content and underrepresentation of topics related to Jigawa State and northern Nigeria.
Through this Editors Retainership Program, selected participants will receive continuous mentorship, peer support, and structured follow-up activities aimed at strengthening their editing skills and long-term engagement. After the program, retained editors will be integrated into the Dutse Wikimedia Network, where they will be guided on how to initiate and sustain local projects, mobilize resources, and contribute consistently to Wikipedia and its sister projects.
- 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.
[The Youth Safety Policy https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Friendly_space_policy#Youth_Safety] would be summarised and read at the beginning of each event
- 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 discussed this initiative with members of the Dutse Wikimedia Network, as well as experienced editors and organizers involved in Wikimedia activities in Jigawa State. These discussions helped shape the design of the Editors Retainership Program, particularly around mentorship needs, editor motivation, and sustainable community engagement. In addition, I consulted with other relevant Wikimedia communities in northern Nigeria to draw from shared experiences on editor retention, capacity building, and long-term participation. Insights from these engagements informed our approach to supporting editors in Dutse, ensuring the program responds directly to local challenges and community priorities.
- 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)
Geography
- 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)
Digital Access
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Invest in Skills and Leadership Development
Learning and metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
- Did the Editors Retainership Program in Dutse, Jigawa State onboard 40 participants?
- Did the program provide mentorship for participants on Wikipedia and Wikidata?
- Did the program provide mentorship on resource mobilisation and sustainability?
- Did the program provide supervised edit-a-thons to build editing confidence in the State ?
- Did participants showcase their proposed community projects?
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 40 | The total number of participants that would be onboarded by the project |
| Number of editors | 30 | The total number of editors would be onboarded. It will be a mixture of new and returning users. The would be divided into three. A group of ten and would be handled by each of the facilitators. |
| Number of organizers | 4 | The facilitators would handle a group of ten participants, and there would be a rotation of mentors after each month |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 300 |
| Wikimedia Commons | |
| Wikidata | 200 |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies | |
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
- Optional description for content contributions.
After a month of training, each participant will be guided for three months of hands-on experience training.
- 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 |
- 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 Outrach Dashboard and participants contribution form
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)
5906904 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.
4152.56 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).