Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Improving for Wikipedia and Wiktionary (Kiswahili) (ID: 22705895)/Final Report

Improving for Wikipedia and Wiktionary (Kiswahili)

Rapid Fund Final Report

Report Status: Under review

Due date: 11 December 2024

Funding program: Rapid Fund

Report type: Final

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General information

Applicant username: Muddyb
Organization name: N/A
Amount awarded: 1499.14
Amount spent: 1499.14 USD, 4075000

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)

On November 1st, 2024, we conducted an in-person training session at the Muslim University of Morogoro. The training aimed to introduce participants to Wikipedia, basically on how it works through the whole editing process. We began by providing the general overview by telling them that Wikipedia is a platform that is known globally for sharing its knowledge with the world. Subsequently, participants were guided through the process of creating Wikipedia accounts and joining the dashboard to track their progress. The training session extended from morning around 900HRS to 1230HRS, followed by a resumption at 1400HRS to initiate practical Wikipedia editing.

Well, the anticipated outcomes were not fully realized, we observed notable progress. Despite the fact that they were university students, but turns out they were so unfamiliar with digital literacy beyond social media. They were heavily involved on social media lifestyle. With Wikipedia introduced before their eyes, they've shown some expressed surprise and admiration on discovering the vast knowledge available on Wikipedia. However, a noticeable fear of making errors or inadvertently damaging articles was evident. To alleviate this concern, we emphasized Wikipedia's collaborative nature and the reversibility of mistakes. By the end of the session, most participants had acquired a fundamental understanding of Wikipedia and its editing principles.

To ease the fear of editing and encourage a conducive learning environment, we employed a supportive and meaningful approach. We reassured participants that their contributions were valued and that any errors could be easily corrected by the community. To further motivate participants, we introduced a friendly competition with rewards for top performers and ensured everyone received a participation certificate. This approach accelerated a positive and collaborative learning atmosphere.

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

Here some materials used for this editathon;

Slide https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13HifjAgPaNW9QwlBivlqTVRLP-Wm3o_CGK0O7w4vXMQ/edit#slide=id.g89a0e9aa74_0_40
The text book created from the original Swahili Wikipedia tutorial pages collected in one place as a book. Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/187lFTrEmWCZVktmtloJLP4v8udJrKSTo07VvAsqJkGY/edit?usp=sharing
And the text book cover designed special for the job link is here in case anyone wants to use it; https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HgZhG73GCEXlsnvd-IlaJBHfRceR7tyG/view?usp=sharing

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)

Our efforts during the Fund period have helped to...
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	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: Learning Questions:

1. How effective are our training workshops in increasing the number of active editors on Kiswahili Wikipedia? 2. What impact does increased awareness of Wikimedia projects have on the quality and range of content in Kiswahili? 3. How do participants perceive their digital literacy skills and ability to contribute to open knowledge platforms after attending our workshops?

Data Collection:

1. We will collect data through pre- and post-workshop surveys to measure changes in participants' editing activity and confidence. 2. Conduct qualitative interviews to gather insights into participants' perceptions of digital literacy and contribution capabilities. 3. Analyze metrics on article creation, edits, and quality improvements on Wikimedia platforms to assess the overall impact of our project.

1) The workshops effectively introduced participants to Wikipedia editing, many for the first time. Attendees learned to use the internet for education rather than entertainment, gaining skills in editing and contributing articles. Several participants created accounts and began editing, with some continuing post-training during the whole day of session.

Learning Question 2: What impact does increased awareness of Wikimedia projects have on the quality and range of content in Kiswahili?*

Increased awareness of Wikimedia projects has greatly improved the quality and variety of Kiswahili content. Engaging university students, especially those studying Kiswahili, has been a key success. Their expertise has led to better-crafted articles and reduced the number of poorly written contributions.

Students have shown great interest in improving existing articles, especially in Kiswahili literature, and have raised important questions about how to further enhance content. This has brought fresh energy to the project and encouraged collaboration.

3. How do participants perceive their digital literacy skills and ability to contribute to open knowledge platforms after attending our workshops? Data Collection: 1. We will collect data through pre- and post-workshop surveys to measure changes in participants' editing activity and confidence. 2. Conduct qualitative interviews to gather insights into participants' perceptions of digital literacy and contribution capabilities. 3. Analyze metrics on article creation, edits, and quality improvements on Wikimedia platforms to assess the overall impact of our project.:*

We successfully taught participants how to edit Wikipedia. However, we also had to spend a lot of time ensuring they understood the content they were adding. Surprisingly, many of them were quite slow to grasp the concepts.

There were many more questions than actual edits being made, which suggests that they needed more time to learn. Our two-day training was interrupted by a three-hour break on Friday due to the institution's Islamic practices. While this was understandable, it did impact our training schedule and was something we hadn't anticipated. It's important to be aware of the specific context and constraints of each institution we work with.

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)

While we were able to introduce participants to Wikipedia editing, we encountered several challenges. The learning curve was steeper than expected, with participants requiring significant support to understand the content and editing process. Additionally, the institution's religious observances led to a longer-than-planned break, which disrupted our training schedule. These factors highlight the importance of considering the unique circumstances of each training environment.

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 will be sharing the key findings and insights from my project on the Wikimedia Diff blog in the near future. This will include a link to the complete report that I've prepared. I believe this will be a valuable resource for other community members who are interested in this project.

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
Number of participants	28	31
Number of editors	3	16
Number of organizers	3	3

Wikimedia project	Target	Result - Number of created pages	Result - Number of improved pages
Wikipedia	61	26	56
Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata	61
Wiktionary	107
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

10. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency. (required)

4075000

11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)

1499.14

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/1f74AphcJtKnLfqoYfbt3ocj_yyqtmhooDx974dOXdFs/edit?gid=0#gid=0

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

Review notes from Program Officer:

N/A

Applicant's response to the review feedback.

N/A