Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/She Said 2025 Event in Nigeria (ID: 23478605)/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)
The project was implemented through a combination of awareness activities, training sessions, and contribution-focused engagement. Awareness was created using online and offline channels, including social media outreach with digital materials and in-person conversations during public talks and community outreach. These approaches helped attract both new and returning contributors and increased visibility for the campaign.
The virtual sessions were effective in setting the context and sustaining engagement. The introductory session, which included a presentation from STEM Lab Africa, helped participants understand the importance of women’s representation in STEM and motivated contributors to engage with the project’s goals. The closing virtual session provided valuable feedback, allowing us to assess impact and identify areas for improvement.
Physical training sessions for the English and Igbo communities were central to the project’s success. The hands-on training and edit-a-thon structure improved participants’ editing confidence and resulted in the creation and improvement of Wikiquote content related to notable women. The contest at the end of the campaign further encouraged participation, recognized contributor efforts, and helped sustain engagement beyond the training period.
The most effective approaches were the combination of practical, in-person training and continuous engagement through follow-up sessions and incentives. This structure reduced barriers for new editors, improved content quality, and supported meaningful and sustained participation.
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
- Project Page: event:SheSaid 2025 Event in Nigeria - Meta-Wiki
- Dashboard: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Wiki_Loves_Women/She_Said_2025_Event_in_Nigeria
- Pictures: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SheSaid_STEM_2025_in_Nigeria_Day_1_-_34.jpg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SheSaid_STEM_2025_in_Nigeria_Day_1_-_64.jpg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SheSaid_STEM_2025_in_Nigeria_Day_1_-_39.jpg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SheSaid_STEM_2025_in_Nigeria_Day_1_-_16.jpg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SheSaid_STEM_2025_in_Nigeria_Day_1_-_16.jpg
- Social media post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/theakintundedaniel07_shesaid-shesaid-shesaid-activity-7383407210401349632-X__G?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAADoIrI4BlfQp7FntsMf4CTNfhBqM0UYIPSQ
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
Presentations and slides: https://www.figma.com/design/nqJHnatw6t7n16ujQRaeyn/SheSaid-2025-Event-in-Nigeria?node-id=72-61&t=dXbVqI0f1KXgy1g5-0
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 | Strongly agree |
| 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
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: By organizing this event, we aim to gain knowledge and achieve specific learning outcomes: 1. Project management: As the project lead and facilitator, we aim to strengthen our project management skills by taking full responsibility for planning, coordinating, and executing all aspects of the project. This includes managing resources, guiding volunteers, and ensuring that every activity aligns with the overall objectives. We will also seek to explore and highlight the significant roles women play in society, and Africa at large by using this project as a platform to better understand, document, and amplify their contributions.
2. Community Building: Our goal is to understand how communities grow and to identify the key factors and areas of interest that inspire volunteers to stay committed. We plan to implement strategies that foster long-term engagement by offering consistent support, mentorship, and sharing future Wikimedia opportunities to keep participants involved even after the project ends. In addition, our collaboration with other communities such as STEMLab Africa and AIESEC Nigeria will offer valuable insight into how different ecosystems operate. These partnerships will not only help us refine our community-building strategies but also create a cross-learning experience that benefits everyone involved.
3. Enhanced editing skills: Through hands-on participation in editing Wikiquote, we aim to enhance our skills in article creation, improvement, citation, and sourcing standards. This will not only benefit our contributions to this project but also improve our overall proficiency in editing Wikimedia projects.
4. Editor’s Challenges: Through this project, we aim to identify challenges contributors face when making contributions to projects focused on gender equity. The insights gained will help us address issues effectively for this project and future Wikimedia projects we lead as a team.
5. Feedback and Improvement: We aim to gather participant feedback to improve our project plans and initiatives, making our efforts more impactful and encouraging continuous participation in future Wikimedia Projects.
Implementing the SheSaid 2025 project helped the team translate theory into practice across coordination, community engagement, and contribution quality.
From a project management perspective, we learned the importance of early planning, clear role definition, and continuous communication in keeping volunteers aligned and motivated. Managing timelines, expectations, and partnerships reinforced the value of structure and accountability in community-led projects.
In terms of community building, we learned that sustained engagement depends on relevance, follow-up, and a sense of belonging. Participants were more likely to remain active when they received mentorship, recognition, and clear pathways to future involvement. Collaborations with external communities also highlighted how shared goals can strengthen participation when expectations are clearly aligned.
On the technical side, hands-on editing reinforced the need for practical guidance, especially around sourcing and notability, to improve contributor confidence and content quality. The project also surfaced challenges contributors face in gender-focused work, including source scarcity and hesitation around representation, underscoring the need for targeted support and documentation.
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. A key unexpected outcome was the level of interest from first-time contributors, many of whom were highly motivated but hesitant due to unfamiliarity with Wikimedia policies and editing standards.
From these experiences, I learned that strong onboarding, patient mentorship, and adaptive planning are critical to both participant success and project resilience.
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)
The team's plan is to share project learnings and results through clear documentation and intentional knowledge sharing within our respective community during community meetings and via our online channels.
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 | 50 | 119 | Data is available via Outreach Dashboard |
| Number of editors | 50 | 119 | Data is avialable via Outreach Dashboard |
| Number of organizers | 4 | 4 |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | |||
| Wikimedia Commons | |||
| Wikidata | |||
| Wiktionary | |||
| Wikisource | |||
| Wikimedia Incubator | |||
| Translatewiki | |||
| MediaWiki | |||
| Wikiquote | 350 | 2720 | 3590 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400 | ||||
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)
2269062
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
1478.64
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/1aF3_ygrzA-snkpQal6qLE6JLXYXURwCw1N-f_IUdlgc/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)