Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Wiki Loves Earth in Northern Ghana (ID: 22990410)/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 Tamale Wiki Hub successfully organized the Wiki Loves Earth Ghana 2025 campaign from May 11 – July 30, 2025, as part of the global Wiki Loves Earth contest. The campaign aimed to document Ghana’s protected natural heritage sites by encouraging participants to capture and upload freely licensed images to Wikimedia Commons.
Implemented activities in this project included: Awareness creation: Flyers were designed and circulated; a WhatsApp group was created to keep members informed. Capacity building: We hosted a Wiki Loves Earth launch webinar on June 11, 2025, which introduced members to the contest, its goals, and uploading guidelines. Additionally, an in-person Wikimedia Commons training for 27 members focused on contest rules, image quality, and upload procedures. Field trips: Members visited six protected sites (Bui National Park, Digya National Park, Tongo Hills, Kyabobo National Park, Gbele Forest Reserve, and Paga Crocodile Pond). Monitoring contributions: A Wiki Loves Earth Ghana dashboard was created to track uploads and ensure accountability.
Results achieved: 1,720 images uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. 49 images (3%) already in use on Wikimedia projects. 38 total uploaders, including 20 new contributors (53%) who joined during the contest. Stronger awareness of environmental conservation and the importance of documenting Ghana’s natural heritage. Improved contributor skills in photography, Wikimedia Commons uploads, and article illustration.
Effective approaches: Combining online (webinars, WhatsApp updates) and offline training (hub workshops) ensured participants were well-prepared. Field trips created an exciting, practical way to contribute, motivating participants. The use of a dashboard improved transparency, tracking, and recognition of contributors’ work.
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 on Meta-Wiki: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_Earth_2025_in_Ghana
Dashboard and tools: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Tamale_Wiki_Hub/Wiki_Loves_Earth_2025_in_Northern_Ghana?enroll= https://wikiloves.toolforge.org/earth/2025/Ghana/users
Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OBgZykXD0Q5IPx2tZfPDABoJeOscQAH5?usp=drive_link
Social media posts: 1. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/abdul-rahim-ziblim_wikiabrlovesabrearthabr2025abrinabrghana-activity-7365021249359486977-fXK3?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAADbsd2YBMLczEW-qw9BjJxOZdLLXsQPykiM 2. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/abdul-rahim-ziblim_wikiabrlovesabrearthabratabrtongoabrhills-activity-7360590927771365376-1GiK?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAADbsd2YBMLczEW-qw9BjJxOZdLLXsQPykiM 3. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/abdul-rahim-ziblim_finalabrcallabrforabrsubmissionsabrwikiabrlovesabrearthabr2025abrinabrghana-activity-7353794823058771968-RnWK?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAADbsd2YBMLczEW-qw9BjJxOZdLLXsQPykiM 4. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/abdul-rahim-ziblim_wikiabrlovesabrearthabr2025-activity-7341014864150056961-HlFK?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAADbsd2YBMLczEW-qw9BjJxOZdLLXsQPykiM 5. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/abdul-rahim-ziblim_wikiabrlovesabrearthabr2025abrinabrnorthernabrghana-activity-7338675527039246338-C_sK?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAADbsd2YBMLczEW-qw9BjJxOZdLLXsQPykiM 6. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/abdul-rahim-ziblim_over-the-past-weeks-our-wiki-loves-earth-activity-7365504992671064064-GpGk?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAADbsd2YBMLczEW-qw9BjJxOZdLLXsQPykiM
Campaign launch flyer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lnHzCwupQA4mvfDVdzW9pjHAYf9UsmO_/view?usp=drivesdk Reminder flyer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lmracNMfb_kxbQoydRy8N0KU4GDCPlcf/view?usp=drivesdk Jury recruitment flyer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10y3VNdVoiHIILLAsYUtKLZ5zAagqY5-s/view?usp=drivesdk
Example of content edited on wiki projects: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bui_National_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyabobo_National_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paga_Crocodile_Pond https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3012611 https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60980 https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15119966 https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25347
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
Launch and orientation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kiM6Jg93O9zB8HMBxdOjQcxLKXM5g_pO/edit?slide=id.p1#slide=id.p1
Jury recruitment form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ILBQukGVvwYbJG8atHJy74V8yhryOD7SmozXE6bv2wY/edit
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: We look forward to learning what best works when encouraging local communities to contribute to Wikimedia projects through this Wiki Loves Earth 2025 project in poorly documented regions like northern Ghana. Focus is on understanding how best to motivate and train participants to upload content of higher quality to Wikimedia Commons and how to hold participants engagement long-term, post-contest. We also want to learn about how the use of freely licensed images is opening up new avenues in creating awareness about environmental conservation and documenting northern Ghana's natural heritage. Our goal in capturing this experience is to document both this process and its outcome so that we can articulate best practices to replicate in future initiatives, to reinforce the Wikimedia movement in West Africa and beyond.
Encouragement works best through hands-on participation: Field trips and practical photography activities proved more engaging than theoretical training alone. Motivation and quality improve with training: The Wikimedia Commons sessions greatly enhanced participants’ ability to produce usable images. Sustaining engagement requires continued opportunities: Many new contributors showed interest in future campaigns beyond the contest period, suggesting long-term mentorship and follow-up activities are key. Freely licensed images drive awareness: Uploads from Northern Ghana’s poorly documented sites created new opportunities for educators, researchers, and Wikimedia editors to use visuals in knowledge dissemination.
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)
Initially, we planned to visit each site and return on the same day. However, due to the distance of the locations, we had to travel and stay overnight in order to have the photowalk the following day. The team then visited two places at a time within three days, with two overnight stays. This was more economical and time efficient but tiresome. Weather disruptions: Heavy rainfall during visits to the protected areas made our photowalk challenging, as a result, taking of pictures were affected. However, participants demonstrated resilience throughout the activities. Security issues: We encountered unexpected community conflicts at one the protected area we visited, but with local hospitality and protection from the forest rangers, we completed activities safely. Health issues: One participant fell ill during a trip, and the absence of a first aid kit was a key lesson for future projects. Navigation problems: During our visit to Gbele Forest Reserve, we initially arrived at the wrong location. For that reason, we alternatively visited the Paga Crocodile Pond, which was the nearest protected area, in order to make up for it.
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)
Within Wikimedia community: We will document our learnings and outcomes on Meta-Wiki and Wikimedia Commons campaign categories. Local sharing: Results will be presented at Tamale Wiki Hub meetings and through our WhatsApp and social media platforms. Regional sharing: We will share report with Open Foundation West Africa and other Wikimedia hubs to replicate best practices in similar contexts. We also held an online session to announce the winners of the Wiki Loves Earth 2025 contest, which we used as an opportunity to share with participant the outcome and learning of the entire campaign.
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 | 70 | 38 | |
| Number of editors | 20 | 38 | |
| Number of organizers | 6 | 6 |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 20 | 0 | 15 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 800 | 1720 | 0 |
| Wikidata | 5 | 0 | 15 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Images Uploaded on Wikimedia Commons | Other images will be used in contributing to other wikimedia projects | |||
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)
38978.4
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
3497.29
12. Report the funds spent in the currency of your fund. (required)
Upload the financial report
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)
A dedicated camera for the Tamale Wiki Hub would greatly help in capturing images and videos of culture and heritage in Northern Ghana and not just for Wiki Loves Earth. This will also reduce the amount of money used for the rental of cameras each year. Having first aid kits during field trips is essential for participant safety.
Review notes
[edit]Review notes from Program Officer:
N/A
Applicant's response to the review feedback.
N/A