Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Feminism and Folklore 2025 in Lagos (ID: 22895387)/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)
To address the limited representation of women on Nigerian Pidgin Wikipedia and the overall underdevelopment of culturally significant content in Nigerian Pidgin, we implemented a targeted, skill-based training and content creation initiative during the Feminism and Folklore 2025 campaign in Lagos. Our approach combined training, community engagement, and mentorship to empower new and existing contributors within the Wikimedians of Lagos User Group and beyond.
- Recruitment: We successfully recruited participants primarily through the Wikimedians of Lagos WhatsApp group and X (formerly Twitter) page. Our outreach also extended through other social media platforms, which allowed us to attract a diverse group of editors passionate about gender equity, culture, and local languages.
- Training: We conducted five training sessions focusing on essential Wikipedia editing skills, with a specific emphasis on writing articles in Nigerian Pidgin. Training modules included: Introduction to Wikipedia and editing basics, Evaluating articles and sources, Citations, plagiarism, and copyright, Translating articles into Nigerian Pidgin using various tools. The training utilized the Outreach Dashboard, and an on-wiki landing page was developed to provide participants with additional resources and documentation.
- Content Creation and Edit-a-thon: Participants actively engaged in creating and improving articles focused on Feminism and Folklore, particularly women-related biographies, cultural practices, and gender-equity topics. We organized two days of edit-a-thons and writing contests, which produced measurable contributions to the Nigerian Pidgin Wikipedia.
- Review and Editing: All created content underwent peer reviews and editing support from experienced editors to ensure alignment with Nigerian Pidgin Wikipedia standards. This quality assurance phase was key to maintaining credibility and improving the editing skills of participants.
Results Achieved
- Increased number of well-sourced, gender-focused articles in Nigerian Pidgin Wikipedia.
- Active engagement from new editors, with several indicating continued interest in contributing post-event.
- Improved awareness and appreciation of Nigerian Pidgin as a medium for knowledge creation.
- Strengthened sense of community among contributors through collaborative editing and mentorship.
Most Effective Approaches
Several strategies proved particularly effective in helping us achieve our goals:
- Localized Training in Nigerian Pidgin: Using Pidgin as the language of instruction made the sessions more relatable and easier to follow, especially for new editors.
- Hands-on Learning and Group Sessions: Practical exercises and peer collaboration during group editing sessions enhanced comprehension and retention.
- Mentorship and Follow-up: Ongoing support through our community WhatsApp group helped sustain participant engagement and ensured continuity beyond the training days.
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
- Dashboard
- Event Registration Tool
- Some photos your event
- Important social media posts: X invite, X post
- Survey and their result
- Infographics
- Examples of content edited on Wikimedia projects: Florence Ozor, Osai Ojigho, Feminist Coalition, Molara Wood, Ukamaka Olisakwe
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 | Strongly agree |
| D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives | Strongly 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 | 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: From this project, we hope to learn:
- The effectiveness of localized training methods for Nigerian Pidgin Wikipedia.
- Best practices for engaging new contributors and sustaining their involvement.
- Insights into how to improve the quality of gender-focused content in Nigerian Pidgin Wikipedia.
1. How effective are localized training methods for Nigerian Pidgin Wikipedia? What we learned: Localized training conducted in Nigerian Pidgin significantly improved comprehension and participation. A majority of respondents reported that training in Pidgin made Wikipedia editing more accessible and relatable. Participants found step-by-step guides and group sessions particularly effective when delivered in their language.
Future application: We plan to continue delivering future trainings in Nigerian Pidgin and to develop more learning materials in the Nigerian Pidgin. This will help lower the barrier to entry for new editors and strengthen the community of Nigerian Pidgin contributors.
2. What are the best practices for engaging new contributors and sustaining their involvement? What we learned: Participants were most motivated by three factors: the opportunity to learn new skills, contribute to gender-focused topics, and be part of a community. Follow-up mentorship and regular community engagement were identified as essential for retention. Many expressed willingness to keep contributing if they received ongoing support and recognition.
Future application: We will formalize a mentorship model and explore regular mini edit-a-thons or monthly tasks to keep new contributors active. Recognition, even beyond contests, will be integrated.
3. How can we improve the quality of gender-focused content in Nigerian Pidgin Wikipedia? What we learned: While many participants were enthusiastic about writing articles on women and folklore, challenges included translating content effectively into Nigerian Pidgin while maintaining Wikipedia style. Participants benefited from sessions on sourcing, copyright, and translation tools.
Future application: We aim to create a curated list of verified sources related to women and cultural heritage, and build a simplified style guide for writing and translating in Nigerian Pidgin. This will improve both content quality and contributor confidence.
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)
We were pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm of participants toward writing in Nigerian Pidgin. Many first-time editors expressed how empowering it felt to contribute to Wikipedia in a language they use daily.
We learned that local language projects can unlock creativity and inclusiveness in Wikimedia spaces.
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 have created a meta-wiki activity report page and have shared it with our community members and is available to other community members to read. This is the link to the page.
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 | 40 | 46 | We had 19 new participants and 27 returning participants for the events. |
| Number of editors | 40 | 46 | We had 19 newly registered users and 27 returning editors for the events |
| Number of organizers | 3 | 3 | 3 persons organized and facilitated the events |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 200 | 151 | 54 |
| Wikimedia Commons | |||
| 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)
1903950
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
1185.3
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/1HvuL2e5up4tuxYMg8gdPZqNFU22lKcOx8PLqDJwA1Ew/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)
The grant funds disbursed in the local currency (NGN) did not align with the originally requested and approved amount in the same currency. This discrepancy impacted the provisions for gifts and prizes intended for top contributors. We kindly request the grant team to take this into consideration and prioritize disbursement in the approved local currency rather than converting from USD after approval.
Review notes
[edit]Review notes from Program Officer:
N/A
Applicant's response to the review feedback.
N/A