Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Open Knowledge Practices Through Wikimedia Projects for Librarians in Benue State University, Benue State Nigeria (ID: 22978222)/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)
Activities Implemented include: Awareness Creation: Visits to the university librarian and the Head of Department, library and information science to notify them of the training and awareness was done within the university. Training Sessions: 5 series of online training and 2 physical training were held. The online trainings were held through zoom platform which covered the following contents:Introduction to the Wikimedia movement, its mission, and core values, Open knowledge practices through Wikimedia Projects, Creating Wikipedia Account, Wikipedia Editing with focus on articles related to Benue state and Nigeria, Wikipedia editing basics (account creation, core policies, general editing principles), Creating articles using article creation wizard or sandbox, Use of citation hunt, Wikidata basics: creating and improving items on wikidata. One-on-One Support: Ensured participants received personalized guidance to overcome individual challenges. Weekly recognition of outstanding contributors were celebrated. Results Achieved: 421 articles edited 156 wikidata items created 159 images uploaded Most effective approaches were: Hands-on practical sessions – practical editing exercises helped participants quickly build confidence and easy understanding. Recognition of effort – acknowledging outstanding contributors motivated participants and showed the value of their work. One-on one learning and follow-up: Personalized sessions helped some to understand better.
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
Link to Meta Page: https://w.wiki/DtH4 Link to outreach dashboard: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Meritkosy/Open_Knowledge_Practices_Through_Wikimedia_Projects_for_Librarians_in_Benue/home
Links to video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UJujnC07M0V_qjhVrVolTfAlU38HFZ00/view?usp=sharing Link to pictures:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dxCIO0bRmXJ7jhZJAoIpZnt46xNClEcm?usp=sharing https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Physical_training_of_Librarians_in_Benue_State_University_4.jpg
Link to diff post: https://diff.wikimedia.org/?p=169040 Links to socia media posts: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16nX2YicQ7/ https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AwL6xQxm5/ https://www.linkedin.com/posts/merit-ibekeme_wikimedia-activity-7362498209832693760-pEK3?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAADV2-O0Bi_dms36qjMEp79rF6H619zEO6gY https://www.linkedin.com/posts/merit-ibekeme_openknowledge-wikimedia-wikipedia-activity-7334927158110228480-y_vu?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAADV2-O0Bi_dms36qjMEp79rF6H619zEO6gY
Examples of articles edited on wikimedia projects: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igede_people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Akume https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q135421127 https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q134606892
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
Link to recordings https://drive.google.com/file/d/12n07wQwnIEcfn7G4r1VfZCnIUyde3KdD/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DVa9sqJWGdC_R8riTSLawFtriNpwbcDE/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o6-LwyFZfbXDKrZKZMbszOF2143aLVII/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D3mZUtZbndrbSamQziD2AH4jO56EOAWj/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)
| 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 | Agree |
| E. Encourage the retention of editors | 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: How does participation in Wikimedia projects influence librarians’ information literacy skills?
Did the project equip participants with the necessary skills and knowledge to contribute effectively to Wikimedia projects?
Did the project recruit new editors?
Did the participants contribute content to Wikipedia and it's sister projects?
How well did participants master adding reference and citation practices?
Did the project successfully foster a sustainable community of active Wikimedia editors among the participants?
How does participation in Wikimedia projects influence librarians’ information literacy skills?
The librarian's participation in Wikimedia projects significantly enhanced their information literacy skills. They developed stronger competencies in evaluating the reliability of sources, verifying facts, and distinguishing between primary and secondary resources. The process of editing reinforced digital literacy, and can be transferred to their daily library and research responsibilities.
Did the project equip participants with the necessary skills and knowledge to contribute effectively to Wikimedia projects? Yes. Through practical trainings, workshops and mentorship, participants learned how to create and edit Wikipedia articles, upload files to Wikimedia Commons, and understand the basics of Wikidata.
Did the project recruit new editors? Yes. The campaign successfully recruited new editors among the librarians, most of whom had no prior experience with Wikimedia projects. This introduced a fresh group of professionals into the Wikimedia ecosystem and expanded the local editing community in Makurdi.
Did the participants contribute content to Wikipedia and its sister projects? Yes. Participants contributed by creating and improving articles related to Nigeria and benue state, How well did participants master adding reference and citation practices? Participants showed significant improvement in mastering references and citations. At the beginning, some struggled with identifying reliable sources. However, through repeated practice and guided exercises, they became more proficient in inserting references, and adhering to Wikipedia’s standards for verifiability. Did the project successfully foster a sustainable community of active Wikimedia editors among the participants? The project laid a strong foundation for a sustainable community. A number of librarians expressed commitment to continue contributing and some joined the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria to stay engaged. Plans were initiated to establish a Wiki club within the university to sustain momentum, encourage peer learning, and integrate Wikimedia activities into academic and library services. While continuous mentorship and follow-up support are still needed. We plan to always organise monthly training on wikimedia projects.
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)
I was happy by the high level of enthusiasm from participants.This enthusiasm and eagerness to know more showed that librarians are eager to bridge the knowledge gap if given the right support.
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 have shared the project learnings on wikimedia diff blog and on social media. Also, I plan to share the project outcomes during upcoming Wikimedia meetings and conferences and in Wiki community forums to encourage replication in other states.
Link to diff post: https://diff.wikimedia.org/?p=169040
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 | 55 | 75 | Outreach Dashboard was used.
5 facilitators and 70 participants. Some participants participated online. |
| Number of editors | 50 | 70 | The outreach dashbard was used.
70 participants registered for the training. |
| Number of organizers | 5 | 5 | The outreach dashboard. |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 50 | 22 | 147 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 100 | 159 | 0 |
| Wikidata | 150 | 156 | 275 |
| 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)
2095000
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
1392.84
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/1PtQyDutcFA5eCD3KnEBE1YGfLu_2jL568uewTFaQ58s/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)
Review notes
[edit]Review notes from Program Officer:
N/A
Applicant's response to the review feedback.
N/A