Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Swahili Shesaid 2025 Campaign (ID: 23549764)/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)
Implemented Activities and Results Achieved – Swahili SheSaid 2025 Campaign
During the Swahili SheSaid 2025 Campaign in Tanzania, the following core activities were planned and implemented to increase the visibility of women scientists and contributors on Swahili Wikiquote:
Implemented Activities
Awareness and Outreach:
Designed and published digital posters and flyers to invite participants and raise campaign awareness.
Carried out outreach through local networks to engage Swahili-speaking editors and women, youth, and emerging contributors.
Online Launch Session:
Held an online launch to introduce the campaign objectives and explain how to participate, increasing understanding and interest among potential editors.
Training and Edit-a-Thon:
Conducted in-person training and edit-a-thon sessions to develop participants’ skills in adding and improving quotes from women scientists on Swahili Wikiquote. The workshops guided editors on selecting reliable sources, translation, formatting, and citation practices.
Ongoing Mentorship:
Facilitated follow-up sessions in online groups to mentor participants, provide technical assistance, and track editing progress.
Content Development:
Developed and shared a “red list” of notable women scientists whose quotes were missing from Swahili Wikiquote, helping to focus contributor efforts.
Contributor Recognition:
Organized a contest element to reward the top contributors, which encouraged motivation and sustained participation throughout the campaign period.
Results Achieved
The campaign successfully engaged members of the Swahili-speaking Wikipedia community, particularly women and emerging editors. Through the combination of training, mentorship, and active editing sessions:
Participants gained practical editing experience on Swahili Wikiquote, improving their skills in sourcing, translation, and content formatting.
The campaign contributed to narrowing the gender content gap by increasing the visibility and accessibility of quotes from women scientists in the Swahili language.
Participants were empowered to continue contributing to Wikimedia projects beyond the campaign, with follow-up support helping to sustain engagement.
Most Effective Approaches
Several approaches significantly supported achieving these results:
Hands-On Editing Training: Practical workshops and edit-a-thons were highly effective in building participants’ confidence and editing skills.
Targeted Outreach: Using visual materials and digital outreach helped attract diverse contributors from within the Swahili-speaking community.
Ongoing Support & Mentorship: Follow-up sessions in online groups provided continuous guidance, reinforcing learning and encouraging sustained participation.
Recognition and Incentives: The contest format with rewards motivated editors to contribute actively and helped maintain high engagement throughout the campaign period.
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
Event metapage: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Swahili_Shesaid_2025_Campaign
Photos uploaded on commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:SheSaid_Tanzania_2025
Important social media posts: https://www.instagram.com/p/DRp2H9aFzUS/?img_index=2&igsh=ZnJoc2JhZ3Q2OGU=
Content edited: https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wq/sw/Ellen_Johnson_Sirleaf
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://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1EnBKRDGwcpbIz4rmfUPwctsH_2zju8AUx4UIpFOGHaM/edit?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 | 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: Through this project, we hope to learn more about how to effectively close the visibility gap of women’s voices on Swahili Wikiquote and how to sustain contributor engagement beyond the campaign. The main learning questions we aim to explore are:
How effective are our outreach and engagement strategies in attracting new contributors, especially women and youth, to Swahili Wikiquote?
What training and support methods best help participants develop the skills and confidence to continue contributing after the campaign?
How does creating and improving entries in Swahili language increase access and visibility of women’s voices in our communities?
What forms of motivation (recognition, prizes, community support) are most impactful in retaining contributors for future Wikimedia campaigns?
During the implementation of the SheSaid campaign, our learning questions focused on understanding how to effectively engage new women contributors, how to sustain participation beyond initial trainings, and what support structures are most helpful for first-time editors contributing in Swahili-language Wikimedia projects.
From these learning questions, we learned that hands-on practical training combined with continuous mentorship is essential for building confidence among new editors. Many participants were enthusiastic but unfamiliar with Wikimedia editing tools; guided edit-a-thons and follow-up online support significantly improved retention and contribution quality. We also learned that targeted outreach through community networks and visually engaging communication materials was highly effective in attracting women and youth who had never edited before.
Another key learning was that language-specific support matters. Providing training and guidance in Swahili lowered technical and language barriers, enabling participants to contribute more comfortably and consistently. Additionally, introducing recognition and friendly competition elements motivated participants to remain active throughout the campaign period.
In the future, we will use these learnings to:
Design future campaigns with a stronger emphasis on mentorship and post-training follow-up.
Continue offering local-language training to increase accessibility.
Strengthen partnerships with local institutions and community groups for broader outreach.
Incorporate recognition mechanisms to sustain volunteer motivation.
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)
One positive and surprising outcome was the high level of interest from first-time women contributors, especially students and young professionals. We initially expected moderate participation, but outreach efforts generated greater engagement than anticipated. Many participants were highly motivated to contribute content about notable women, which exceeded our expectations and strengthened community energy around the campaign.
On the challenging side, we encountered technical and connectivity limitations during some online sessions. Unstable internet access and limited access to laptops for a few participants affected real-time participation. Additionally, some new editors required more time and support than planned to understand Wikimedia editing guidelines, which extended training and mentorship efforts beyond our initial schedule.
From these experiences, we learned that:
Strong community interest exists when campaigns are well-communicated and locally relevant.
Hybrid approaches (combining in-person and online sessions) are important to accommodate connectivity challenges.
Extra time for mentorship and follow-up should be built into future project plans.
Providing offline preparation materials and step-by-step guides helps participants learn at their own pace.
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)
We have shared our project learnings and results with other community members to support knowledge exchange and replication of good practices within the Wikimedia movement.
We shared our outcomes through the Meta-Wiki project pages, where we published activity reports, results, and documentation for public access. We also presented key findings during community meetings, online discussion forums, and regional Wikimedia gatherings, allowing other organizers and affiliates to learn from our experiences.
Additionally, we used social media platforms, community mailing lists, and WhatsApp/Telegram groups to share highlights, impact stories, and participant testimonials. Training materials, outreach resources, and mentorship guides developed during the campaign were shared openly so other communities could adapt them for similar initiatives.
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 | 40 | 40 | Event registration tool and Google Form |
| Number of editors | 30 | 35 | vent registration tool and Google Form |
| Number of organizers | 4 | 4 | vent registration tool and Google Form |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | |||
| Wikimedia Commons | |||
| Wikidata | |||
| Wiktionary | |||
| Wikisource | |||
| Wikimedia Incubator | 181 | 191 | |
| Translatewiki | |||
| MediaWiki | |||
| Wikiquote | 100 | ||
| 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)
6185868
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
2500
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/1WspYtJbTVW4s0M486hgV8CTvw85520P36t2GLOHcTqc/edit?gid=0#gid=0
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)