Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Ejanish Edit-a-thon (ID: 23759151)/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)
The Ejanish Edit-a-thon consisted of 2 sessions. Each session was about 3 hours long.
Session 1: I introduced participants to Wikipedia’s 5 pillars. I then introduced source requirements and best practices, focusing on verifiability and notability, and what the differences in copyright and plagiarism. Based on my experiences teaching Wikipedia writing classroom setting, I did a thorough overview about “no original research.”
We then evaluated 3 different Wikipedia pages relevant to the Ejanish community work.
- GALAS LGBTQ+ Armenian Society - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GALAS_LGBTQ%2B_Armenian_Society
- Armen Davoudian - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armen_Davoudian
- Zabel Yesayan (English language page) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zabel_Yesayan
- Zabel Yesayan (Armenian language page) -
https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D4%B6%D5%A1%D5%BA%D5%A5%D5%AC_%D4%B5%D5%BD%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%A1%D5%B6 Through these pages, I introduced the Talk page component, article class and content assessment, Wiki projects, actual editing (visual vs. source) and editing history. We also did group discussions about the strengths and weaknesses of these pages.
Participants then did some biographic reading on Zabel Yesayan (https://evnreport.com/raw-unfiltered/zabel-yesayan-the-hope-for-justice-hidden-in-a-matchbox/), whose literary works they had read in earlier Ejanish workshops) and we added some information onto the English language page through my account.
Session 2: The aim of this session was to begin creating an English language page for Armenian writer, Anna Davtyan. I briefly went over some of the basic materials covered in session 2 because several of the participants had not come to the first session. Because Ejanish is a reading group, we read several poems by Anna Davtyan (https://circumferencemag.com/circling-around-you-always-around-you/) and then began doing research on her. I had also printed out some materials:
- https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/generation-independence-armenias-literary-superheroes/
- https://iwp.uiowa.edu/writers/2024-resident/anna-davtyan
for participants to read through. We also read through the Armenian-language page for Davtyan and discussed issues and whether or not translation of the page was possible. By the end of the session, we created a rather sparse English language page for Anna Davtyan, which I plan to continue to work on. We also discussed the absence of an “Abril Bookstore” page on Wikipedia. Abril Bookstore is an independent Armenian bookstore operating in Glendale, California and is widely accepted as a vital cultural resource for wider Los Angeles community. We found several reliable sources that can be used to create the page with plans of future sessions to work on its creation and development.
Impact: I believe both sessions were impactful considering the limited time we had per session and considering that none of the participants had any editing experience on Wikipedia. Participants were not forced to edit any pages or even create Wikipedia accounts. I led them through all of the pages and made their suggested edits through my account. Ideally, the edit-a-thons will continue with the same participants and they will create accounts. We will then begin more active group editing on pages as they become more comfortable with the process.
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
Flyers shared on GALAS/Ejanish social media pages: https://www.instagram.com/p/DWzN9Jhj74V/?img_index=1 https://www.instagram.com/p/DXKLMVCFJNX/?img_index=1
New page created during event: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Davtyan
Pages edited during event: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zabel_Yesayan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armen_Davoudian
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
I adapted and used the Wikipedia Training Models found here: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/training/editing-wikipedia
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 | Strongly agree |
| C. Develop content about underrepresented topics/groups | Agree |
| D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives | Agree |
| E. Encourage the retention of editors | Neither agree nor disagree |
| F. Encourage the retention of organizers | Agree |
| G. Increased participants' feelings of belonging and connection to the movement | 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: What led to participants joining the edit-a-thon event? How familiar were they with the Wikipedia editing process before the event? How comfortable are they editing on Wikipedia after the 2 sessions? How confident do they feel writing/editing topics that they are interested in but do not have particular expertise in? Would participants be interested in a specific translation workshop specifically for working on translating Wikipedia pages into English? Would participants be interested in quarterly longer form group edit-a-thons? How likely is it that participants will continue editing Wikipedia pages on their own? Would participants be interested in virtual edit-a-thons? How better can we publicize the event in terms of descriptions, expectations, and outcomes?
I have not yet conducted a formal survey of the participants, however, I can address some of these questions based on attendance and discussion.
- All of the participants who joined the edit-a-thon were those who had attended previous Ejanish events, even though the event was open to anyone who wanted to join and was publicized on social media.
- None of the participants were familiar with the Wikipedia editing process.
- Only a few of the participants created Wikipedia accounts at the end of the event. Most shared that they would like to begin editing but would prefer more group sessions to and work on the editing in groups.
- All of the participants were interested in more edit-a-thons.
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)
I expected more of the participants to at least create Wikipedia accounts. In my discussions, it became clear that because they were so unfamiliar with Wikipedia editing and rules, they were there to learn rather than directly edit.
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 am working on a survey to send out to participants. I will share the survey with the Ejanish community and work on developing more sessions based on survey results.
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 | 25 | 20 | |
| Number of editors | 25 | 5 | |
| Number of organizers | 2 | 2 |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 10 | ||
| 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)
685.02
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
685.02
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?
Yes
13.1. Please list the amount and currency you did not use and explain why.
Less money than anticipated was spent on both food/refreshments and materials.
$214.98 (USD) of the $900 was not used.
13.2. What are you planning to do with the underspent funds?
B. Propose to use them to partially or fully fund a new/future request with PO approval
13.3. Please provide details of hope to spend these funds.
If possible, I would like to conduct one more session with Ejanish either in the Fall 2026, or Spring 2027 and use the funds toward the space rental. If not, I will send back to WMF. Please indicate how to proceed.
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)