Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Exploring Hidden Heritage, Documenting Culture, History, and Tourism in Borno Through Wikimedia (ID: 22985238)/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 project was successfully carried out with strong community engagement, leading to remarkable and lasting results. Over 250 high resolution images capturing Borno State rich cultural, historical and tourism heritage were documented and shared on Wikimedia Commons. Additionally, more than 15 Wikipedia articles were created or significantly improved in both English and Hausa, highlighting key landmarks, traditions, and historical figures. More than 30 participants were trained through hands on workshops, gaining practical skills in Wikimedia editing, cultural documentation, and open licensing. The active involvement of traditional leaders, local historians, and community members played a central role. They facilitated access to heritage sites, shared invaluable cultural insights, and ensured that the content remained authentic and respectful. This strong local support not only enriched the quality and depth of the documentation but also fostered a sense of pride and ownership within the community. The project successfully brought global attention to Borno hidden heritage while empowering local contributors to continue preserving their history through open knowledge platforms.
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
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 | Agree |
| D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives | 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 | 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: This project aims to understand how to best document underrepresented regions and get new people involved in Wikimedia. Key questions include: How can we effectively document cultural sites in conflict areas? What strategies best engage local communities and experts? How do we ensure continued participation after training? What challenges arise during documentation in remote areas, and how can we overcome them? How do high-quality images and articles impact Wikipedia's representation of the region? Data from participation, uploads, article improvements, and follow-up will help answer these questions and inform future cultural heritage projects on Wikimedia.
You can recall these learning questions below: This project is all about documenting and boosting the visibility of important cultural and tourist sites in the region.
Through implementation, we discovered that community trust and active involvement are essential to success. By engaging traditional leaders, elders, and youth from the outset, we were able to access hidden heritage sites and foster a strong sense of local ownership. We also found that hands-on, locally delivered training sessions were the most effective way to build contributor capacity. Participants responded positively to practical, culturally relevant workshops conducted in local languages, which made the learning process more engaging, inclusive, and impactful. These lessons will guide future projects across Northern Nigeria to ensure greater participation, cultural accuracy, and long term impact on Wikimedia platforms.
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)
During the project, we were positively surprised by the strong interest and support from local youth and community leaders, which boosted participation and enriched documentation.
One of the first and most unexpected challenges we encountered was the difficulty in verifying historical information, as much of Borno heritage is rooted in oral tradition rather than written records. Many important stories and details about historical sites were shared by word of mouth, passed down through generations. This meant we had to rely heavily on community elders and local historians, often comparing different versions of the same story to ensure accuracy.
Another challenge was limited internet access in some areas, which made it difficult to upload content or conduct online training sessions in real time. We adapted by using offline tools and rescheduling uploads for when better connectivity was available.
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)
We intend to share our project insights by organizing community gatherings and feedback events. and project updates will be shared via social media channels and WhatsApp groups.
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 | 50 | 32 | |
| Number of editors | 30 | 32 | |
| Number of organizers | 4 | 4 |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 400 | 912 | 2081 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 200 | 215 | 215 |
| Wikidata | 400 | 73 | 1097 |
| 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)
2160000
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
1433.13
12. Report the funds spent in the currency of your fund. (required)
Provide the link to the financial report [12]
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