Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Improving Local wikipedia, Dinka and Bari (ID: 23653041)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
Lomoraronald
- Organization
Open Knowledge South Sudan
- 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)
I'm a group leader of a Wikimedia User Group (submitted to the Affiliation Committee).
- Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)
I lead the team in the strategic development of the community
Main Proposal
[edit]- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.
Improving Local wikipedia, Dinka and Bari
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2026-01-08 - 2026-02-28
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
South Sudan
- 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) Improving the Language wikipedia
- 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)
We aim to strengthen local language knowledge production in South Sudan by revitalizing the Dinka and Bari Wikipedias, which currently have very limited content and participation. The main challenges include low awareness of these Wikipedias among native speakers, language standardization difficulties due to multiple dialects, limited digital literacy, and weak collaboration with existing language and cultural groups. To address these, we will partner with Dinka and Bari language associations, schools, and cultural networks to train community members in editing and translation, create localized learning materials, and encourage youth participation. Our goal is to build active communities of contributors who take pride in documenting and sharing knowledge in their mother tongues, making Dinka and Bari visible, accessible, and growing on Wikimedia platforms.
- 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.
Our main activities will focus on community engagement, training, and content development for the Dinka and Bari Wikipedias. We will begin by mapping and building partnerships with existing Dinka and Bari language associations, cultural centers, and educational institutions to identify active speakers and local champions. Next, we will organize a series of training workshops in Juba and selected regions where these languages are spoken, introducing participants to Wikipedia editing, translation, and open knowledge principles. We will then develop simple editing guides and glossaries in both languages to support consistent contributions. To encourage continued participation, we will launch monthly online and in-person edit-a-thons focused on creating and improving articles on culture, history, education, and daily life. Throughout the project, we will document our progress on the Wikimedia Community User Group South Sudan’s Meta page and promote collaboration between experienced Wikimedians and local language contributors to ensure sustainability.
- 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.
1. Project Manager: Romeo Ronald Lomora User: Lomoraronald
- Responsible for overall project coordination, planning, and management.
- Ensures the project stays on track, meets objectives, and maintains communication with team members and stakeholders.
2. Researcher: Yesua Aliki Uriah
- Conducts in-depth research on South Sudan's tribes and ethnic groups, identifying communities in need of documentation.
- Assists in gathering background information and historical context for the project.
3. Community Engagement Coordinator: Arop Mathew User: Aropmathewdaniel
- Engages with local communities, cultural organizations, and community leaders to build relationships and gain support for the project.
- Facilitates community meetings, workshops, and consultations.
4. Fieldwork Team: Likambu Isaac User: LikamboisaacK
- Comprised of field researchers, interviewers, and photographers/videographers.
- Collects oral histories, conducts interviews, records performances, and captures photographs/videos during field visits to tribal communities.
5. Multimedia Editors: Wani Yusif User: Waniyusif94
- Skilled in audio and video editing software to process and enhance the collected multimedia content.
- Ensures the quality and clarity of audio and video recordings.
6. Archivist and Metadata Specialist: Woja Emmanuel Wani: User: Woja Emmanuel
- Organizes and catalogs the collected multimedia content.
- Adds metadata, descriptions, and tags to facilitate efficient search and navigation within the digital archive.
7. Wikimedia Commons Trainer/ Facilitator: George Levi User: George Levi
- Manages the uploading and sharing of multimedia content on Wikimedia Commons.
- Ensures compliance with Wikimedia Commons guidelines and licensing requirements.
- Provides ongoing support and maintenance of the project's presence on Wikimedia Commons.
- 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)
Our target participants are native Dinka and Bari speakers, including teachers, university students, language activists, cultural group members, and youth interested in promoting their mother tongues online. We will engage participants before the activities through community outreach and coordination with local language associations, universities, and cultural leaders who will help identify active and motivated members. During the activities, we will use interactive, hands-on training sessions that allow participants to practice editing, translating, and creating articles while learning about Wikimedia’s open knowledge values. After the trainings, we will create online follow-up groups (via WhatsApp and Telegram) for mentorship and continued collaboration, organize monthly edit-a-thons to keep participants active, and highlight top contributors through recognition and visibility on Wikimedia platforms. This ongoing support will help transform trainees into active community contributors and local ambassadors for the Dinka and Bari Wikipedias.
- 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.
- 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.
We discussed the idea of this project through consultations within the Wikimedia Community User Group South Sudan and initial conversations with Dinka and Bari language representatives who are already involved in cultural and language promotion activities. The idea emerged from our ongoing discussions about the need to grow local language Wikipedias and ensure South Sudanese knowledge is represented online. We shared the proposal concept through our community WhatsApp and Telegram groups, inviting feedback from active members who expressed interest in supporting training and translation activities. We also reached out to Dinka and Bari language associations and university departments in Juba to explore collaboration and confirm their willingness to participate in the project. As part of our next steps, we will post the project proposal and discussion summary on our Meta-Wiki page for Wikimedia Community User Group South Sudan (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Community_User_Group_South_Sudan ) to invite broader feedback and align our efforts with other ongoing Wikimedia initiatives in the region.
- 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)
Cultural background, ethnicity, religion, racial
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Advocacy
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Ethnic/racial/religious or cultural background
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Identify Topics for Impact
Learning and metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
Through this project, we hope to learn how to effectively build and sustain active Wikipedia communities in local South Sudanese languages. Our main learning questions include: 1) What strategies work best for engaging native speakers with little or no prior experience in Wikimedia projects? 2) How can collaboration with language and cultural associations strengthen contributions to Dinka and Bari Wikipedias? 3) What tools, training methods, or support structures most effectively help new editors continue contributing after initial workshops? 4) How can challenges around dialect differences and language standardization be addressed to ensure consistent content quality? The data and feedback we collect from participants, partners, and edit-a-thon outcomes will help us answer these questions and guide future efforts to expand local language Wikipedias in South Sudan.
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 80 | We expect to engage a total of 80 participants throughout the project. Out of these, approximately 60 will be new participants mainly native Dinka and Bari speakers who will be introduced to Wikimedia projects for the first time through our trainings and edit-a-thons. The remaining 20 will be returning participants, including experienced members of the Wikimedia Community User Group South Sudan who will serve as trainers, facilitators, and mentors to support the new editors. |
| Number of editors | 50 | We aim to have a total of 50 active editors contributing to the Dinka and Bari Wikipedias through this project. Among them, 35 will be newly registered users who will create accounts and begin editing during the training workshops and edit-a-thons, while 15 will be returning editors from the Wikimedia Community User Group South Sudan and regional Wikimedia communities who will mentor, support, and contribute to content development throughout the project. |
| Number of organizers | 12 | We plan to involve a total of 12 organizers for this project. This includes 6 trainers and facilitators who will lead the workshops and edit-a-thons, 3 outreach coordinators who will engage Dinka and Bari communities and recruit participants, 2 content advisors to support quality and consistency in language contributions, and 1 project coordinator responsible for overall planning, monitoring, and reporting. All organizers will either be experienced Wikimedians or local language experts, ensuring smooth implementation and guidance for participants. |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 100 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 100 |
| Wikidata | 100 |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies | |
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
- Optional description for content contributions.
N/A
- 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 | 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)
Dashboard
Financial proposal
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13O-qR7KIWA_sv2RUP_ipj8O7P-gofLk1702WZjZrurg/edit?usp=sharing
- 22. and 22.1. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in your local currency. (required)
2402402 SSP
- 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.
4000 USD
- We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and 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).