Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Let's Connect Peer Learning Program Across Zones in Nigeria. (ID: 22895391)

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Applicant Details

Main Wikimedia username. (required)

Linason Blessing

Organization

N/A

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)

N/A

Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)

Main Proposal

1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.

Let's Connect Peer Learning Program Across Zones in Nigeria.

2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.

2025-02-10 - 2025-07-12

4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)

Nigeria

5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)

Let's Connect Peer Learning Program

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)

This project's scope is to expand the implementation of the Let’s Connect Peer Learning Program beyond Kwara State to other regions in Nigeria following recommendations from past implementation as well as the feedback gathered during the Wiki Conference Nigeria. Kwara, one of the six states in the North-Central geopolitical zone, has hosted two successful LC local implementations. Building on this success, this project aims to extend its reach to other states in the North-Central zone ( Kogi and Abuja), other geo-political zones such as South-East (e.g., Anambra and Imo), South-South (e.g., Rivers and Akwa Ibom), North-East (e.g., Gombe), and South-West (e.g., Oyo, Osun, and Ogun). This implementation aims to provide financial and logistical support for 20 participants, including the project team and a few organizers from Kwara who participated in the earlier implementations to also act as mentors. These participants will engage in learning clinics and connection sessions throughout the implementation period. The expansion of this program is based on the strong interest shown by project organizers from other regions, particularly after the Let’s Connect panel session at WikiConference Nigeria, where participants expressed their eagerness to join future implementations. By expanding, we hope to increase community engagement and share valuable skills, as participants often pass on the knowledge gained from the program to their local communities, and to also create a more inclusive and collaborative environment, allowing more project organizers to benefit from shared knowledge, network building, and new skill development offered through let’s connect programs. The project has several key goals, which include expanding regional engagements, enhancing participant interaction through physical learning clinics, providing access to training resources, and addressing the evolving needs of participants by introducing new on-wiki and off-wiki skills. Some of the on-wiki skills we have identified through these participants’ Let's Connect’s profiles are Using Wikisource, Organizing Small Editing Events, Campaign and Contests, Wikimedia Incubator and Setting up Wikimedia Projects in New Languages, Processes and Tools to Promote Healthy Interactions on Wiki and Effective training for Newcomers/ Newcomer Experience. We also aim to encourage new off-wiki skills like Knowledge Management and Documentation, Creating, managing and sharing tutorials and resources, and Community development, capacity building and Skills development, that address participants’ quest for new knowledge. For example, in the second implementation, participants learned practical off-wiki skills like Effective Time Management for Project Organizers, Managing Partnerships, and the Basic Use of Figma and Canva, all of which have proven valuable in their projects. Since the organizing team for this grant may not have the expertise to deliver content on some of the topics for the learning clinics, we will reach out within the Wikimedia community in our country to identify individuals with the necessary skills who are willing to share. We will also collaborate with the Let's Connect Sub-Saharan Africa Liaison Officer to support this effort in the global Wikimedia community. From previous feedback, we learned that the physical learning clinics during the second implementation were particularly effective in fostering deeper connections and better engagement. Therefore, we plan to host a physical learning clinic to enhance collaboration among participants. The first implementation, held from September 2022 to March 2023, provided support for 13 active Wikimedians and project organizers from Kwara State, resulting in the sharing of 19 skills. The second implementation, running from November 2023 to March 2024, supported 10 active Kwara-based Wikimedians and led to the sharing of 12 skills, and two physical learning clinics. To date, we have shared 31 skills through these two implementations and have held five learning clinics, further solidifying the program’s impact. These implementations have proven to be impactful, as demonstrated by the feedback gathered during the evaluation conducted after the project's completion. Participants shared how they have applied the skills learned to enhance their Wikimedia contributions. For example, one participant highlighted learning practical skills such as Time Management for Project Organizers and the Basic Use of Fountain Tools. These skills have enabled them to organize and manage Wikimedia events more effectively. The evaluation also revealed that the program encouraged interaction and collaboration among participants. Many appreciated the opportunity to share their knowledge, with one participant even facilitating a session on Leadership Skills and their importance to project organizers within the Wikimedia context. This not only solidified their understanding but also boosted their confidence as contributors and community leaders. The skills acquired have led to tangible outcomes. Participants reported increased activity on Wikimedia projects, such as organizing small editing events, implementing effective newcomer training strategies, and utilizing tools like Canva and Figma to create resources for their projects. The Let’s Connect Peer Learning Program provides an open and secure platform for Wikimedians to exchange and acquire a range of skills, including organizational, programmatic, interpersonal, and Wikimedia-related expertise. This initiative aligns with the Movement Strategy, emphasizing knowledge-sharing, skill-building, people-centeredness, and solidarity. The overarching objective is to cultivate a learning culture that adapts to local contexts and regional dynamics, while addressing the availability, workloads, needs, and diversity of participants. This proposal seeks to address barriers that often hinder participation and knowledge sharing, such as lack of connectivity, limited access to technology, and time constraints. To support attendees, the program will provide the 20 participants, whose profiles are on this proposal, with scholarships to attend and participate in learning clinics. In previous implementations, participants received a $20 scholarship per session attended. However, inflation in the country has posed challenges, prompting the need for increased funding. This will enable the program to support a larger number of organizers from both current and new regions and to cover logistical expenses for organising a physical learning clinic at a location to be determined. The project aims to highlight and empower participants with skills that can be shared with their respective communities. The ultimate goal is to nurture an inclusive learning community that promotes active engagement, collaboration, and growth within the Let’s Connect Peer Learning Program.

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.

For this grant, we will be using two Let’s Connect strategies which are Participants-led Connections/Cluster Connections and Learning Clinics:

1. Participants-led Connections/Cluster Connections (online): The participants of this project will be grouped into 4 clusters, with each cluster having 5 members, and these clusters will be formed based on the skills they are interested in developing and/or sharing with peers. Each group will host connections that will be led by each participant. We will make use of breakout rooms and this will require a subscription on Zoom. This will also require initial preparation of minimum 1 hour to review materials, a 1.5 hour connection, and also a minimum of 1.5 hours follow-up of learning materials. Each group will have a total of 5 cluster connections.

2. Learning Clinics: We hope to organise three learning clinics (two virtual and one physical) opened to participants in host location. These learning clinics will be organised according to the skills that participants want to develop and where we feel able to share our experiences and skills as a group of individuals. Based on the results from the second implementation and also the skill directories of potential participants, we will select skills that participants showed interest in learning. We will send out a survey, containing these skills, to enable participants to choose their 3 most desired skills. The 3 most desired skills from the survey's responses will be the topics of the 3 learning clinics the team will organize. We will look out for practical skills that will involve hands-on practicals to make it easier for participants to understand and practice. We will also collaborate with the Let’s Connect Working group to support us in defining the clinic structure and learning dynamics and evaluation tools. Learning clinics are 2h live workshop-like sessions to learn, share and practice skills. Participants will be required to take some time to review material beforehand which takes approximately 1 hour of their time and also to engage with learning material after the session which may take a minimum of 3 hours of their time. After all virtual sessions have been completed, we will ask the participants that are part of this proposal to know if any of them wants to share any of the acquired skills with their community physically. This will serve as our third and only physical learning clinic.

We will be organizing all Learning Clinics and connections in the first and second quarters of 2025; however, this may change due to any logistical or community dynamics that may arise. There will be a total of 30 participants in attendance (for the online learning clinics): (a) For the physical learning clinic, one of the 20 Let's Connect members referenced in this grant, who is eager to share their acquired skills, will host the session within their community. They will be joined by a few team members and other participants located nearby. The session will accommodate a total of 15 attendees who are registered Let's Connect members from the host community. In cases where there are fewer than 15 registered members, we will identify Wikimedia project organizers within the community and invite them to participate. This approach also serves as an opportunity to encourage these organizers to register on Let’s Connect, expanding the program’s reach and engagement. (b) For the online learning clinic, we will also have the 20 Let's Connect members that are a part of this grant (including the team) and 10 other registered Let's Connect members in Nigeria that are interested in the skills we want to share.

Here is a summary of the details of activities for each strategy. Participants-led Connections: Target participants: 20 Activities: (i) Group participants into 4 groups based on the skills they are interested in developing and/or sharing with peers. (ii) Design the Session Structure (iii) Organise logistical support so that participants can actively be part of the connections organised by their groups. Time dedication: about 4 to 6 hours per connection per participant. Number of sessions: each participant should participate in at least 5 participant-led connections during the period of this grant. Investments: Logistical support and time dedication to participate

Learning Clinics: Target participants: 30 Activities: (i) Organise three (3) Learning Clinic. This involves activities such as: Preparation: (i) Determining the topic/skill to share (ii) Organising the registration form (iii) Designing the Learning Clinic session structure and learning outcomes (iv) Organising the invites. (v) Organising any pre-session material to review and sending it to participants. (vi) Communicating the Learning Clinic (vii) Inviting any interesting experiences (case studies) within Wikimedian communities or outside organisations, to share during the session as part of the learning dynamic. During the session: (i) Facilitating the session After the session: (i) Preparing and sending learning material to participants (ii) Organising material on the future Let’s Connect meta resource page for public use (under construction) (iii) Send a follow-up evaluation survey to participants (iv) Analyse the feedback and include the results and learning in grant report. All of these activities will be done in coordination with the Let’s Connect working group. Time dedication: approximately 12 hours to organise each Learning Clinic. Number of sessions: the team will organize three (3) learning clinics during the grant period. Investments: To cover any logistical needs (platform and venue, connectivity, communications) and time dedication to organise the learning clinics.

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.

I have a team of five (5) active Wikimedians and registered Let’s Connect members (including myself), that will ensure the diligent implementation of this program. We are:

Linason Blessing (Lead): she is a certified Librarian of the Librarians' Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN) she was a facilitator for the first Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom in Nigeria, She facilitated in the Lets connect Kwara Implementations She led the Wikipedia awareness for Library and Information Science Students in Nigeria, she also led Wiki Loves Libraries 2.0 Nigeria. She is a Wikibrarian and she has also participated in various Wikimedia projects such as WikiLoveAfrica, WPWP, Wikidata (Media personalities in Nigeria), Winner of WPWP Kwara and Wikidata Media personality in Nigeria, WikiGLAM Awareness for Libraries and Librarians in Kwara, Wikidata for Libraries and Librarians in Nigeria, 1lib1ref 2022 Kwara, etc. She is the Co-Founder of the Kwara State University Fan Club.

Ridzaina (project Co-lead): She was the project lead for the Let's Connect Peer Learning Program in Kwara that has been implemented twice in Kwara state. She is also the project lead for the WikiNaijaNames project to document indigenous Nigerian names on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. She is a Wikimedia volunteer from Nigeria who has gained extensive experience as a facilitator and editor in various Wikimedia projects. Some of these projects include Wiki loves SDGs, WikiGLAM, 1lib1ref, Wikidata for Libraries and Librarians in Nigeria, Wikidata for Novels and Novelists in Nigeria, WikiLovesLibraries, Promoting Nigerian Books and Authors, Celtic Knot Kwara, and more. She has also served as a facilitator for Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom programs in Kwara, Nigeria, for teachers and secondary school students.

James Rhoda (project facilitator and disbursement of fund): She is an experienced Wikimedian, who has participated in various Wikimedia projects (as a facilitator as well as an editor) namely; Some of these projects include Wiki loves SDGs, WikiGLAM, 1lib1ref, Wikidata for Libraries and Librarians in Nigeria, Wikidata for Novels and Novelists in Nigeria, WikiLovesLibraries, Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom for Secondary School students, Promoting Nigerian Books and Authors, Celtic Knot Kwara, and more.

Mijesty (communication expert): Miracle James is an experienced Wikimedian and member of the Wikimedia user group Nigeria who has participated in several Wikipedia projects as a volunteer, she also led the Wikipedia awareness in Offa community and has facilitated several Wikimedia projects.

Bukky658: Let’s Connect Working Group Liaison Officer representing Sub-saharan Africa who will be acting as the advisor for the team.

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)

For the Participants Led Connections/Cluster Connections, this fund will be supporting 20 participants, who are currently registered with Let’s Connect, or will register as part of our communications and engagement efforts. These participants are currently registered with their profiles created are: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Let%27s_Connect_Profile/Adegboye_Barakat_Olamide https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Let%27s_Connect_Profile/Blessing_Linason_Chemataon https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Let%27s_Connect_Profile/Rhoda_Oyindamola_James https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Let%27s_Connect_Profile/Miracle_Abayomi_James https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Let%27s_Connect_Profile/Iwuala,_Lucy_Chinyeaka https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Let%27s_Connect_Profile/Ibekeme_Merit_Kosisochukwu https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Let%27s_Connect_Profile/Abah_Agnes https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Let%27s_Connect_Profile/Omolade_Dorcas_Abidemi https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Let%27s_Connect_Profile/Ogali_Hilary_Onuh https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Let%27s_Connect_Profile/Levi_Kambai_Timothy https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Let%27s_Connect_Profile/Muib_Shefiu https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Let%27s_Connect_Profile/Opeolu,_Bolaji_Paul https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Let%27s_Connect_Profile/John_Joy The participants that are registered but yet to have a profile are: Nwonwu Uchechukwu P, Dr Marve, SuperSwift, Ei’eke, James Moore200, B.Korlah, and Andikan Efiok Eduok. For the Learning Clinics, we will invite 10 other registered Let's Connect members in Nigeria that are interested in the skills we want to share and other Wikimedia project organizers within the community who are not registered on Let’s Connect but would love to participate. This will serve as an avenue to introduce them to and register them on Let's Connect, for the physical learning clinics. We will also be working with the Let's Connect working group to define other Let's Connect participants within our region, that may be interested in the skill that will be shared in our online Learning Clinic so we can invite them to register for the clinic and participate.

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.

This project will involve youths and we will follow the Wikimedia Youth Safety Policy stated here (https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Friendly_space_policy#Youth_Safety) to ensure that every participant is safe and well cared for. We are also going to promote the Let’s Connect learning culture in all the spaces participants benefited from this proposal and also develop a friendly space policy for the Learning clinics we organize. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Knowledge_Sharing/Connect#Fomenting_the_%E2%80%9CLet's_Connect%E2%80%9D_environment_and_culture

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.

I have informed the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria about this proposal. You can find the notification in this link:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_User_Group_Nigeria#Let's_Connect_Peer_Learning_Program_Across_Zones_in_Nigeria.

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)

Not applicable

13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)

Education

14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)

Geographic

15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)

Invest in Skills and Leadership Development

Learning and metrics

17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)

Through this project, we hope to address key learning questions that will help us understand the effectiveness of our efforts and guide future implementations:

1. How does expanding the Let’s Connect Peer Learning Program to new regions impact participation, skill-sharing, and community engagement in the Wikimedia movement?

2. What skills do participants find most valuable, and how are these skills applied to enhance their contributions to Wikimedia projects and their local communities?

3. What factors contribute to or hinder successful implementation and engagement in learning clinics?

4. To what extent does peer learning enhance the learning experience and outcomes for participants?

5. How can we improve the sustainability and scalability of the Let’s Connect program in Nigeria and beyond?

6. What are the key financial and logistical considerations for scaling this program, and how can we optimize funding to reach more participants while maintaining program quality?

7. Is the financial support provided through this funding helping to reduce barriers such as connectivity issues, access to technology, or logistical challenges, particularly in underrepresented regions?

8. Are there any other existing barriers to participation, and how can they be addressed in future implementations?

9. Are the learning methods and resources offered adequately meeting the needs and interests of participants?

18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)

Number of participants, editors, and organizers
Other Metrics	Target	Optional description
Number of participants	30	For the first strategy, 20 participants will be benefiting directly from the funding of this proposal. For the second strategy, 30 participants will be benefiting directly from the funding of this proposal.
Number of editors	30	20 participants are already Wikimedia editors and registered Let's connect participants and their usernames are already attached to this proposal. We hope to get 10 more participants that are also active Wikimedians in Nigeria, registered with Let's connect, that will be interested in the skills we will share in the online learning clinic we will organize. We will also send out invites to Wikimedia Project Organizers in the host community of the physical learning clinic, but are not yet registered on Let's Connect, to attend the physical learning clinic we will organize and be introduced to Let's Connect.
Number of organizers	5	Linason Blessing- Project Lead, Ridzaina - Project Co-lead & Project facilitator , James Rhoda - Project facilitator and Disbursement of fund, Mijesty - Communication expert, Bukky658 - Let’s Connect Working Group Liaison Officer representing Sub-saharan Africa who will be acting as the advisor for the team.

Number of content contributions to Wikimedia projects
Wikimedia project	Number of content created or improved
Wikipedia	0
Wikimedia Commons	0
Wikidata	0
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 Data
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)

The tools that will be used will be: Let’s Connect general participants’ evaluation survey Let’s Connect semi-structured interview for participants Let’s Connect Learning Clinic evaluation survey Registration of participants in Learning Clinics and 1:1 connections. This registration will be monitored by the group responsible for this project with the support of the Let’s Connect Working group.

Financial proposal

21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1V36ejSu4uK347fxFUxmRriPJhXSJKKaSNujID22vtOA/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)

6492107 NGN

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.

3849 USD

We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.

Yes

Endorsements and Feedback

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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).

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