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Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Maithili Wikipedia Meetup and Workshops (ID: 22214082)/Final Report

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Maithili Wikipedia Meetup and Workshops
Rapid Fund Final Report

Report Status: Draft

Due date: 30 March 2024

Funding program: Rapid Fund

Report type: Final

Application

This is an automatically generated Meta-Wiki page. The page was copied from Fluxx, the web service of Wikimedia Foundation Funds where the user has submitted their midpoint report. Please do not make any changes to this page because all changes will be removed after the next update. Use the discussion page for your feedback. The page was created by CR-FluxxBot.

General information

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  • Applicant username: PANKAJ DEO
  • Organization name: Maithili Wikimedians
  • Amount awarded: 4335 USD
  • Amount spent: 4335 USD

Part 1: Project and impact

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1. Describe the implemented activities and results achieved. Additionally, share which approaches were most effective in supporting you to achieve the results. (required)

The Maithili Wikipedia Meetup and Workshops project was all about energizing Maithili Wikimedians to boost the outreach activities in Nepal. The project aimed to exchange the Wiki related knowledge and experience with other Wikimedia affiliates and inspire more Maithili speaking people, specially students, and lecturers, to get involved and contribute to Maithili Wikipedia through regular meetups, hands-on training, and thoughtful discussions. It was a mix of learning, connecting, and planning for the future. The project helped us to bring back inactive MWUG community members, hosted an in-person meetup with Wikimedia Commons User Group members, welcomed fresh faces, and boosted everyone’s wiki knowledge. This project also helped us to set the stage for the long-term growth of Maithili Wikipedia. The practical training sessions, the guidance from experienced Wiki contributors, the energy of in-person meetups, and the focused efforts to reach out to college students who might want to join the initiative worked for us. Together, these efforts made the community stronger and activated the number of editors on Maithili Wikipedia.
What We Did

1. Community Meetups:

  • In-person meetups of MWUG and Commons Photographers UG members were organized. The community meetups provide a great chance for all the members to get together and exchange ideas amongst them.
  • This also turned out to be an excellent venue for discussing the movement, challenges that we faced so far, and how to go ahead with this movement.

2. Workshops:

  • To encourage and include new students in Wikipedia contributions, we have conducted training sessions. In order for them to comprehend Wikimedia Commons, we trained them on every facet of creating and refining new articles. Additionally, these workshops have served as a gateway for new volunteers and a means of re-engaging long-time contributors.

3. Community photowalk:

  • We have organized a photowalk jointly with MWUG and CPUG members around Saptari, Sunsari and Udayapur district of Nepal. We have explored and photographed the cultural and natural heritages and uploaded their photos to Wikimedia Commons.

4. Networking & Collaboration:

  • We have put a lot of effort into strengthening the bonds within our community. It's all about fostering a sense of togetherness and motivating everyone to collaborate.
  • We have also engaged in open forums to talk about the future direction of Maithili Wikipedia and brainstorm ways to enhance it further.
What We Achieved

1. Community Revivification:

  • More members started participating, both those who were already part of the Maithili Community and newcomer students who have joined the community.

2. Skill Development:

  • Each participant gets a better understanding of how to edit Wikipedia and upload the files to Wikimedia Commons effectively.

3. Growth of Content:

  • The more contributions in Maithili Wikipedia, the more the content for the readers.

4. Roadmap for Future:

  • A roadmap was drawn so that the momentum continues and the community starts sustaining itself by growing.
What Went Well

1. Hands-on Training:

  • The interactive and hands-on sessions made the students have a feel of the editing work without any inhibition from the very first instance.

2. Discussion with Regular Contributors:

  • Knowledge and experience of experienced Wikimedians in mentoring others was of extreme value, helped the new entrants to feel supported and inspired through the insights.

3. In-person Meetings:

  • Face-to-face meetings are incomparable in some way. People's sense of community was strengthened by those meetings, which also made it much easier for them to express their thoughts and work on the current tasks.

4. Targeted Outreach:

  • Getting in touch with community members who aren't actively participating in the events and recruiting new volunteers broadens the community to encourage more participation.
The Larger Context

This was beyond a project aimed at improving Maithili Wikipedia; it was all about community building. It proved how practical training, mentorship, and genuine connections can make a positive difference in cases where people were brought together and given mentorship that they needed. The story of collaboration, learning, and growth brought the project to an end.

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.
Maithili Wikimedians User Group/Events/Inter-Community Wiki Meetup
Advance Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons Workshop participants Group photo - Image by Bijay chaurasia, freely licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0.

The main goal of the meetup series is to promote and support cross-border collaboration between several Wikimedians and affiliate members in the SAARC region to find joint strategies to help each other's language communities.

The meetup series is designed to engage the community and affiliate members in real-life discussions, Wikipedia workshops, photowalks, and social events. This event will help us strengthen the capacity of our community members and motivate Wikipedia workshop attendees (newbies and students) to contribute to Wikimedia projects.

Thematic discussion

The organizers and visiting delegates will mutually discuss on Wikimedia governance, Partnership, Future of Wikimedia Movement, Wikimedia SAARC Conference and Future collaboration. This discussion will provide an opportunity for organizers and delegates to talk more about the governance and structure of the Wikimedia movement, as well as discuss the future of Wikimedia projects and initiatives.

Advance Wikipedia Workshop

Maithili Wikimedians are involve in conducting Wikipedia Awareness Program and Wikipedia Awareness Program Workshop for college students to motivate them to contribute to Wikimedia projects. The students will learn about the different ways to contribute to Wikimedia projects, as well as the benefits of doing so from the visiting delegates.

Photowalk event

The photowalk event will provide an opportunity for both parties to learn about different skills and ways to contribute images to Wikimedia Commons. The event will also help to explore different places, which are yet to be covered on Wikimedia Commons.

Gala Dinner Event

The Gala Dinner event will feature different stakeholders like the Local representatives of Nepal (Mayor, Ward Chair, Legislative members, Chief District Officer), journalists, open source enthusiasts, and other personalities. The event will bring together people from different sectors to learn about and support the Wikimedia movement. The panel discussion will be followed by a dinner, which will provide an opportunity for participants to network, share ideas, and talk with stakeholders about wiki activities in Nepal. This will help to identify opportunities for collaboration and support for the Wikimedia community in Nepal.

WikiWomen Meetup

The WikiWomen Meetup event will be focused on gathering interested female students in between Maithili Wikimedians female members and visiting female delegates. The session will bring them closer as they can discuss various female-oriented topics and projects and learn from each other.

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 Agree
B. Create a more inclusive and connected culture in our community Strongly agree
C. Develop content about underrepresented topics/groups N/A
D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives N/A
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

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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: During the project timeline, we hope to have positive answers to the following questions;

  • Were we engaged the existing Wikip(m)edians
  • Were we successfully conducted the own UG Meetup and Affiliates Meetup
  • Was the community awareness about Wikipedia successful
  • Were we able to recruit new editors
  • Were we reach to maximum number of interested persons during the project timeline

During the project timeline, we hope to have positive answers to the following questions;
Q. Were we engaged the existing Wikip(m)edians
- Yes, we were engaged with the existing as well as new Wikip(m)edians.

Q. Were we successfully conducted the own UG Meetup and Affiliates Meetup
- Yes, we did in-person meetup of Maithili Wikimedians and similarly we have also organized a meetup with Commons Photographers User Group.

Q. Was the community awareness about Wikipedia successful
- Yes, It was successful and we have recognized the students of different colleges of Rajbiraj, Nepal.

Q. Were we able to recruit new editors
- Yes there were few new editors who are continuously contributing on Wikimedia projects.

Q. Were we reach to maximum number of interested persons during the project timeline.
- We have reached college students during the project timeline but due to the limited colleges opening, we have lagged to maximize the numbers.

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)

Yes. below are the details:

Unexpected Situations and Lessons Learned

1. Positive Surprises:

  • Enhanced Participation: There were more participants than expected because the community members showed overwhelming interest in the Maithili Wikipedia.
  • Lessons: The need for more Wikimedia projects in the local language is steadily increasing, and consistent engagement will be a necessity.
  • Nurturing Cooperation and the Networking Effect: The participants seem to have shown enthusiasm toward forging new partnerships and projects.
  • Lessons: Face-to-face gatherings have been quite an effective means for sustaining the Wikimedia community.

2. Negative or Tough Situations:

  • Technical/Logistics Issues: There were issues like venue space, internet connectivity, or resource constraints that might have hindered some workshops.
  • Lessons: Detailed event planning and backup strategies are required for better service delivery.
  • Reactivating dormant members took longer than anticipated: Some of the previously active members took some time before they got motivated and went back into contributing.
  • Lessons: Regular checks-in and designed engagement strategies will be required for sustaining the community population.

3. Conclusions:
The project has probably reestablished the idea of in-person engagement, structured training, and continuous support as the way forward in building and sustaining the Maithili Wikipedia community. The various successes and challenges will be learning opportunities for similar future initiatives.

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)

Part 3: Metrics

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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 200 73 The total number of students are about 60, who participated in Maithili Wikipedia Awareness Program.
Number of editors 100 54 During the event timeline, there are total 54 new members created their account on Maithili Wikipedia.
Number of organizers 8 8 MWUG members
Wikimedia project Target Result - Number of created pages Result - Number of improved pages
Wikipedia 100
Wikimedia Commons 100

8. Other Metrics results.

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

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10. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency. (required) 574000 NPR

11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required) 4335 USD

12. Report the funds spent in the currency of your fund. (required) Provide the link to the financial report


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

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Review notes from Program Officer:

N/A

Applicant's response to the review feedback.

N/A