Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Wikimedia Engagement and Community Development in Northern Cyprus Through University Clubs (ID: 23553028)/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)
During the reporting period, we successfully implemented a diverse set of activities that significantly expanded the reach and impact of our Wikimedia community. These activities strengthened collaboration between universities, increased public awareness of free knowledge, enhanced participants' editing skills, and encouraged long-term engagement with Wikimedia projects.
Konferans: Vikipedi 2026 was organized as a collaborative conference bringing together students from both AÖA and METU, alongside members of the local community. Hosted in AÖA, the event featured four experienced Wikimedian speakers to share their expertise on Wikimedia projects, free knowledge, and collaborative content creation. More than 40 participants, including students and academic staff, attended the conference. The event received positive coverage in local media and was officially congratulated by the university administration.
The WikiCamp brought together members of both Wiki Student Clubs for an intensive skill-building experience. Over the course of more than 18 sessions, participants received in-depth training on Wikimedia editing, research methods, content creation, and collaborative workflows. The program also included practical activities such as two photowalks, contributions to Wikimedia Commons, and recordings for Lingua Libre, including documentation of local dialect and pronunciations. These hands-on activities enabled participants to contribute high-quality multimedia content while improving their technical and research skills.
At the METU NCC Spring Fest, our interactive Wikimedia stand introduced more than 500 students to Wikipedia, Wikimedia projects, and the concept of free knowledge. Through quizzes, conversations, and engaging activities, we raised awareness about our student clubs and encouraged students to join future events. The festival provided an excellent opportunity to reach audiences who had little or no previous exposure to Wikimedia communities.
The AÖA Library Open Knowledge Corner was established as a permanent educational installation promoting free knowledge and open access. A dedicated wall in the university library was transformed into an attractive information hub featuring posters, infographics, and educational materials about Wikipedia, Wikimedia projects, digital literacy, verifiability, collaboration, and open knowledge principles. The installation continues to serve students, academics, and researchers beyond the reporting period, providing a sustainable resource that encourages curiosity and participation in the Wikimedia movement.
We also organized a Women in Red edit-a-thon in partnership with two local civil society organizations. The workshop attracted nearly 30 participants, who collectively created more than 30 new biographies of notable women on Wikipedia. This activity directly contributed to reducing the gender gap in Wikimedia content while introducing many participants to Wikipedia editing for the first time. The collaboration with local organizations broadened our audience and strengthened relationships with community partners, making this one of the most impactful activities of the reporting 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
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Konferans_Vikipedi_2026_04.jpg
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
https://canva.link/7lpji8zo85ftr7s https://canva.link/8tf089f6x6ylc9n https://canva.link/i8v38fi3fve1jvg
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 | Agree |
| F. Encourage the retention of organizers | Agree |
| G. Increased participants' feelings of belonging and connection to the movement | Agree |
| F. Other (optional) | The perspectives of Turkish Cypriot women and prospective teachers were likely represented on Wikipedia to such an extent for the first time. |
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:
- Which methods could be used to encourage deeper involvement and contributions, and how might youth participation or youth-driven initiatives shape these outcomes?
- How effectively did our approach communicate the importance of open knowledge to the audience, and in what areas did it not meet expectations?
- Have we given prospective contributors straightforward and thorough direction on how they can engage meaningfully while building their own skills?
Which methods could be used to encourage deeper involvement and contributions, and how might youth participation or youth-driven initiatives shape these outcomes?
We learned that hands-on, community-based activities such as edit-a-thons, WikiCamp, and collaborative events were the most effective ways to encourage deeper involvement and sustained contributions. Student-led initiatives and Wiki Student Clubs played a key role in motivating youth participation and creating a sense of ownership within the community.
How effectively did our approach communicate the importance of open knowledge to the audience, and in what areas did it not meet expectations?
Our outreach activities, particularly the conference and Spring Fest stand successfully communicated the value of open knowledge to a broad audience. However, we also learned that one-time awareness activities should be followed by structured opportunities for continued participation to better convert interest into active contributions.
Have we given prospective contributors straightforward and thorough direction on how they can engage meaningfully while building their own skills?
Providing practical training, mentoring, and clear participation pathways helped prospective contributors gain confidence and develop editing skills. In the future, we plan to strengthen follow-up support and create additional opportunities for participants to remain active and take on leadership roles within the Wikimedia community.
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 unexpected challenge was convincing students to commit to the WikiCamp, showing us that intensive activities require stronger promotion and follow-up. On the positive side, the conference exceeded our expectations, receiving strong interest from both students and academics. It was recognized as one of the university's achievements of the year and highlighted during official ceremonies.
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 plan to share our results through several channels. Next year, we will expand the Open Knowledge Corner by displaying posters from all Wikimedia activities organized over the past two years. We will continue contributing to the Wikipedia column in the university magazine, create a dedicated Meta page for the conference to establish it as an annual event, and publish an annual summary on Diff highlighting our activities, outcomes, and lessons learned.
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 | 100 | 80 | |
| Number of editors | 25 | 40 | |
| Number of organizers | 11 | 18 | The organizing team was expanded to support the additional Women in Red workshop. |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 100 | ||
| Wikimedia Commons | 250 | ||
| Wikidata | 50 | ||
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
9. Did you have any difficulties collecting data to measure your results? (required)
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)
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
12. Report the funds spent in the currency of your fund. (required)
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?
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?
14.2. Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement?
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.
15. If you have additional recommendations or reflections that don’t fit into the above sections, please write them here. (optional)