Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Rites and Rituals of the Niger Delta (Wiki Loves Africa ) 2026 (ID: 23628201)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
IWAI-DIALAX
- 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
[edit]- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.
Rites and Rituals of the Niger Delta (Wiki Loves Africa ) 2026
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2026-03-01 - 2026-05-30
- 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)
Wiki Loves Africa
- 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)
The Niger Delta region is rich in cultural heritage, with diverse ethnic groups such as the Ijaw, Ogoni, Ibibio, Itsekiri, and Urhobo, each preserving unique rites and rituals that mark life transitions, spirituality, and communal identity. However, many of these traditions remain undocumented and are at risk of fading from public memory due to modernization, migration, and lack of accessible visual records.
The Wiki Loves Africa 2026 – Niger Delta Edition: Rites and Rituals project seeks to address this cultural erosion by visually documenting key traditional rites and ritual practices and sharing them on Wikimedia Commons. The core challenge being tackled is the lack of visibility, preservation, and digital representation of indigenous rituals, which are often excluded from mainstream narratives and global platforms.
Our approach combines community-based documentation, capacity building, Photowalk and open access knowledge sharing. We will train 30 professional, emerging photographers and Wikimedians in the Niger Delta on ethical storytelling, multimedia production, and how to contribute to Wikimedia Commons. Through collaborative fieldwork, we aim to document at least 9 major rites and rituals in the Niger Delta including the Iria coming-of-age ceremony of womanhood in the , Ogoni ancestral rites, and the Ijaw water regatta resulting in the upload of at least 1000 which includes Pictures and Videos media files.
The project will culminate in an exhibition and award event, fostering local pride, recognizing contributors, and promoting cultural preservation. By bridging traditional knowledge and digital platforms, we aim to create lasting change in how Niger Delta cultural heritage is preserved, accessed, and celebrated globally.
We are have also triggered a partnership with Arts in the Garden City, Bonny Island Magazine and Ibani Language Development Initiative and hopefully other organization before the commencement of the campaign.
- 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.
1. Phase 1: Pre-Documentation (Dec 2025)
Documentation of the Iria Ceremony in the Grand Bonny Kingdom and Boat Reggatta
Capture visuals of women’s coming-of-age ceremony to align with the project theme and Boat Reggatta in Bonny Island .
2. Phase 2: Campaign and Context Launch/Capacity Building and Press Briefing in March
2-day Wiki Loves Africa Training Bootcamp in Port Harcourt (for 30 professional and aspiring photographers in the Niger Delta region, 20 from Wiki Niger Delta Community, while 10 photographers from Delta,Edo, Ondo, Imo, Abia, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Cross River respectively .
Train photographers on Wikimedia Commons uploads, cultural photography, storytelling and community mobilizing.
3.Phase 3: Field Documentation/Photowalk in March Community documentation of additional rituals (Ogoni, Cross-River Delta) Trained photographers mobilize their communities to document local ceremonies in their communities.
4.Phase 4: Uploads Wikimedia upload/edit-a-thon/Upload Session
5. Phase (April-March) Monitoring and Evaluation, Review
6.Phase : Judgement, Announcement of Winners and Closeout in May Exhibition and Award the best contributors, and share a documentary video on YouTube. Share on social media.
- 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 Lead(Iwai-Dialax)
Michael Diala is a driven social innovator and a community organizer who founded the Wiki Niger Delta in 2019, an informal group focused on promoting Wikimedia activities and projects in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. With a master's degree in project management, Michael has cultivated exceptional problem-solving skills and top-tier project management expertise through his unwavering passion for developing impactful solutions.
Michael has led Wiki Loves Africa Campaigns in the Niger Delta region since 2022 and last year was the co-organizer and led the Photowalk to Songhai farm .
2,Umasoye(Umasoyee) is a language activist, project manager, and communications professional passionate about Indigenous languages, cultural heritage, and community-based storytelling. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Speak Ekpeye Fluently Language Initiative (SEFLI), a nonprofit working to document, teach, and promote the Ekpeye language and traditions through digital tools, creative media, and intergenerational exchange.
Umasoye has led and contributed to Wikimedia projects that highlight local culture and knowledge, including the Ekpeye Language and Cultural Resources archive on Wikimedia Commons. Her work often explores the intersection of language, identity, and cultural expression using open knowledge platforms to preserve living traditions. Umasoyee would be supporting this project as an admin cordinator . 3.Amstrong Opulence (Armstrongopulency) is a renowned documentary photographer, whose inspiring works have gotten regional attention, he would be working on this project as the lead creative director for this documentary series.
4. LutherKing Petcan: Will support the team with WikiCommons Training, He is a culture documentarian , who is very experienced with Wikicommons Licenscing .
- 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 lovers of Photography, New and Existing Wikimedians , while the contest is open to everyone especially females in the Niger Delta region. While we hope to engage and follow up participants through a dedicated WhatsApp group. For newly trained editors, we would assign experienced editors as mentors to guide and follow up new editors.
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
No
- 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.
N/A
- 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 have discussed and extensively consulted with the Wikimedia Nigeria Usergroup about the feasibility of this campaign and possible support system which has been granted by the President, Mr Shola Olaniyan , and we have started discussions on the Wiki Niger Delta community whassap group and also from the Wiki Loves grant support Team.
- 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)
Culture, heritage or GLAM
- 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)
Increase the Sustainability of Our Movement
Learning and metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
We hope to learn how to effectively document the rites and rituals of the Niger Delta region in a way that preserves authenticity and respects cultural values.
Our main learning questions include: How can traditional rites and rituals be documented and shared while respecting cultural boundaries?
What storytelling approaches best integrate cultural practices into Wikimedia platforms?
How can partnerships with traditional custodians, institutions, and NGOs support cultural preservation through open knowledge?
New editors will be retained through hands-on training, mentorship, and continuous engagement. By connecting their editing work to their own culture and heritage, they will feel a strong sense of ownership and pride. Regular workshops, follow-up sessions, and peer support groups will keep them active and motivated to continue contributing.
Community members will stay motivated through:
Recognition and visibility for their contributions on Wikimedia projects.
Ongoing collaboration with cultural institutions and traditional custodians.
Skill development opportunities such as advanced training and leadership roles.
Community events like edit-a-thons and storytelling sessions that celebrate their work.
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 30 | |
| Number of editors | 30 | |
| Number of organizers | 3 |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | |
| Wikimedia Commons | 1000 |
| Wikidata | |
| 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)
1. Outreach dashboard tools 2. Event Page 3. Commons category tool and 4. Hashtag tools 5. Project Impact Report
Financial proposal
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sKvCKq0MVEDUriMQLXKIr_8yEO_1c8Ulr9DOdwbznoQ/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)
6629224 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.
4628.33 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).