Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Sesotho Chronicles - A tale of Two different Othorgraphies (ID: 23628492)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
KeMang??
- 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)
Other
- 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.
Sesotho Chronicles - A tale of Two different Othorgraphies
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2026-01-16 - 2026-05-31
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
Regional (more than one country in the same continent or region) Cape Town, South Africa (Kobo Table Talks) Feb 2026 Bloemfontein, South Africa (Basotho Lekgotla), March 2026 Maseru, Lesotho (Lesotho User Group set up and activation) April 2026 Mamafubedu, South Africa (Lekgotla), May 2026
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
Not applicable
- 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)
BACKGROUND Sesotho, also known as Southern Sotho, has its origins stretching back to many centuries ago. It belongs to the Nguni branch of the Bantu language family, sharing a common ancestor with languages like Zulu and Xhosa. Around the 15th and 16th centuries, the ancestors of the Basotho people migrated southward, settling in present-day Lesotho.
CHALLENGE Sesotho has two main orthographies: the older Lesotho version, which is more common in Lesotho and uses diacritics on vowels, and the newer South African version, which is used in South Africa (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesotho_orthography) While speakers of both countries use the same language, the different orthographies create challenges for translators and readers in both nations, though the core language remains the same, as Sesotho is spoken by over 5 million people in Southern Africa. Sesotho serves as the official language of Lesotho and is one of South Africa’s 11 official languages. It is a vital part of Basotho culture and heritage. Sesotho’s presence extends beyond Lesotho’s borders. Significant communities in South Africa, particularly in the Free State province, speak Sesotho. This geographical spread reflects the historical migrations of the Basotho people and their enduring cultural identity. These communities play a crucial role in maintaining the vibrancy of Sesotho and ensuring its continued use by future generations. The current challenge of Sesotho orthography on Wikipedia is clearly visible and contradicts the edits or contributions of active editors. Besides, Lesotho residents are not fully aware of platforms such as Wikipedia and the fact that they can contribute in their own language! The current translation tool supports the Sesotho spoken and written in Lesotho. Most of the articles on Sesotho Wikipedia are in Lesotho orthography; as a matter of fact, the Sesotho Wikipedia has so many discrepancies and reads nonsense, which is a problem we are trying to solve. By establishing an informal user group in Lesotho as well as providing editing lessons and workshops, we will make sure Sesotho thrives and that it has its own administrators. One key motivation is the upcoming Wikimania in Paris in 2026. With the event being organized by Francophone countries in Paris, it presents a significant opportunity for collaboration—particularly given the historical ties between the Sesotho language and the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society, whose work shaped the written form of Sesotho. It would be fitting for both Lesotho and the broader Sesotho community to be part of this global conversation.
APPROACHES/REMEDIES In celebration of 200 years of the Basotho nation in 2024, Wikimedia South Africa partnered with the Rhino Heritage Park and Elandskop Outdoor Museum to host workshops to train the youth and the community on how to edit Wikipedia in Mamafubedu, Petrus Steyn,Free State, South Africa. (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/BaSesotho_200_Years_Project_Workshop) This was a second editing workshop aimed at recruiting new editors and growing the number of articles on Sesotho Wikipedia. Through BaSesotho Workshops and Kobo Talks campaigns, we can separate the two orthographies and, at the same time, grow Sesotho entries on Wikipedia. We also hope to clear Sesotho Wikipedia reader confusion: Readers of one orthography may have difficulty with the other, particularly when encountering texts written with different spelling conventions.
Translation challenges: The orthographic differences can complicate the process of translating texts into Sesotho, as experienced on the Wikipedia Translation tool. National division: The existence of two independent orthographies can create a sense of division among the Basotho people in different spheres of life, including education and religion. We hope with this project, we can resolve, document, and preserve the two divergent orthographies used by the two countries with the largest number of first-language speakers.
- 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.
MAIN ACTIVITIES
1.KOBO TABLE TALKS, CAPE TOWN,SOUTH AFRICA
As a first step, we plan to present a talk at the upcoming Kobo Table Talks in February 2026—an academic and cultural platform to be held at the University of Cape Town. The event brings together scholars, designers, cultural commentators, and historians for a rigorous exploration of the Basotho language, attire, food, and their historical significance. (https://humanities.uct.ac.za/articles/2025-03-07-reflecting-kobo-table-talks-celebration-basotho-blankets-cultural-and-academic-legacy) At this event we will facilitate introduction to Wikipedia,assist in creating new accounts, present the challenge of two different orthographies, and find solutions.
2. Lekgotla (Gathering) Bloemfontein, South Africa, March 2026 A lekgotla is a Sesotho term in South Africa as well as Lesotho that refers to a meeting or get-together and is based on the traditional concept of elders gathering to ponder and question. Here we will gather the public members, relevant organizations, and academics, as well as anyone interested in contributing to Sesotho Wikipedia in partnership with Sesotho Literary Museum. The aim here is to encourage dialogue and recruit as well as facilitate basic workshops on how to edit Wikipedia, run an informal group and so forth. The Lekgotla will invite academics, scholars, and language practitioners, as well as students in Bloemfontein. An edit workshop will take place as well as content creation.
3. Maseru, Lesotho (Lesotho User Group set up and activation) April 2026 A two-day Editing workshop as well as recruiting new editors in partnership with with Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Lesotho. Assist in identifying a group for Lesotho (informal). A visit to Morija Museum and Archives—this is important to access the sources and research material for referencing purposes. We aim to identify and recruit new participants (50 editors for the workshop), providing them with necessary skills and support to contribute to Wikipedia. The community will then focus on creating and translating articles, covering topics such as history, culture, personalities, and a diverse range of content, as well as uploading 500 photos on Commons. Our main goal will be to increase the number of Sesotho articles and editors on Wikipedia; we will enhance the language’s online presence, making it more accessible to Sesotho speakers worldwide.
4.Our last Lekgotla will be hosted at Rhino Heritage Park in
partnership with Eladskop Museum in Mamafubedu Petrus Steyn, here our community of Sesotho in Mamafubedu will meet up and recap.
A continuation of account and content creations, with a recap on lessons learned or hacks from Cape Town, Maseru, and Bloemfontein.
- 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.
@KeMang?? Myself , Project manager and experienced Wikipedia facilitator and organizer @Slippery-slope, an experienced Wikipedian ,Librarian and facilitator. @Mmaditopo Coordinator and Logistics Manager @Sankomota Secondary facilitator and Sesotho contributor @Pereng015 Sesotho Wikipedia editor and volunteer
- 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)
The target participants will be the students, academics, a person in the street or /and anyone interested in becoming a Sesotho editor in Cape Town, Bloemfontein (South Africa), and Maseru (Lesotho). We will rely more on social media platforms to engage with participants on awareness of wikimedia, recruitment, training, and assisting them to add quality contributions to the newly created Sesotho (Lesotho) wikipedia before and during activities. Participants will be encouraged to join all the social media platforms of the group or the community social media pages.
- 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 been discussing the issue of the different orthographies since 2024 as the South African Sesotho language community. We also had an informal discussion with the members of the WMZA chapter, who took note of our worries. We mentioned our intention to begin this project in January 2026 in an official email to WMZA, as well as during our community meeting and WhatsApp converstaions.
- 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)
Geography
- 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)
Linguistic / Language
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Provide for Safety and Inclusion
Learning and metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
Through this project, we hope to learn:
1. How to simulate and start a new user group in another country
2. training new editors from Lesotho not only to create accounts but also remain active contributors after the event
What strategies can we best use to write and separate the two Sesotho orthographies in South Africa and Lesotho? How can we collaborate with institutions and with local organizations as well as community leaders to strengthen awareness and long-term engagement with Wikimedia projects, especially Sesotho Language community. Learn how to grow the two different Sesotho orthographies together
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 150 | 50 participants at each gathering or session |
| Number of editors | 150 | |
| Number of organizers | 5 |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 500 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 1000 |
| Wikidata | 50 |
| 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)
We will rely heavily on the Dashboard as with the past local Edit-a-thons (https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/) And as well as Xtools (https://xtools.wmcloud.org/ec)
Financial proposal
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1U4QqlgceFkMzDdSnTLcO5um1Cyr4ed1U39_sz5LcyUo/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)
86000 ZAR
- 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.
4960.82 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).