Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Wikipedia Trainings in Lebanon & Egypt (ID: 22673846)/Final Report
Report Status: Accepted
Due date: 17 September 2024
Funding program: Rapid Fund
Report type: Final
This is an automatically generated Meta-Wiki page. The page was copied from Fluxx, the web service of Wikimedia Foundation Funds where the user has submitted their midpoint report. Please do not make any changes to this page because all changes will be removed after the next update. Use the discussion page for your feedback. The page was created by CR-FluxxBot.General information
[edit]- Applicant username: ShahenWasHere
- Organization name: N/A
- Amount awarded: 2900
- Amount spent: 2778 USD, 1016976
Part 1: Project and impact
[edit]1. Describe the implemented activities and results achieved. Additionally, share which approaches were most effective in supporting you to achieve the results. (required)
Our initiative focused on engaging the Western Armenian-speaking community in Lebanon through Wikipedia editing training sessions and workshops. The primary aim was to foster a sense of community, raise awareness about Wikimedia projects, and encourage long-term contributions to the Western Armenian Wikipedia.
Main Activities
1. Outreach and Participant Engagement:
- We began by reaching out to youth centers, student associations, scouts organizations, school clubs, and Armenian Studies university programs to identify potential participants. - Our outreach methods included social media announcements, emails, WhatsApp texts, and social media messaging. We also held Google Meet sessions for initial discussions and to explain the project goals to current community members. - Public events were organized to engage a broader audience and provide an overview of Wikipedia's significance, particularly in preserving the Western Armenian language.
2. Training Sessions:
- We conducted a series of Wikipedia editing workshops in Beirut, targeting individuals aged 16 and above. These sessions focused on teaching participants the basics of Wikipedia editing, content creation, and how to follow guidelines. - The training sessions were tailored to meet the specific needs of the participants, with hands-on activities that allowed them to immediately apply what they learned.
3. Follow-up and Community Building:
- After the training sessions, we maintained engagement through a dedicated email group where participants could ask questions, share their progress, and receive guidance from experienced editors. - We also encouraged participants to join the Western Armenian Wikipedia community, ensuring they could continue contributing and receive support.
Results Achieved
- We successfully engaged a number of young Western Armenian speakers, many of whom showed interest in becoming long-term contributors to Wikipedia.
- Content Contributions: Participants added new content to the Western Armenian Wikipedia, with a focus on topics they chose as interesting to themselves.
- Community Growth: A sense of community was fostered among the participants, many of whom were eager to stay involved in future Wikimedia activities.
Effective Approaches
1. Direct and Personalized Communication:
- Using a personal approach for outreach with key target community managers was one of the most effective methods in engaging community members. It provided a direct and immediate way to share information, answer questions, and build trust with potential participants.
2. Hands-On, Interactive Training:
- The training sessions were designed to be hands-on, which allowed participants to apply what they were learning. This approach boosted engagement and helped reinforce the skills being taught.
3. Continuous Support via Digital Platforms:
- Creating a follow-up email group ensured that participants could continue learning and contributing after the formal sessions were over. It also built a sense of community and allowed us to address questions or challenges in real-time.
Lessons Learned
Key Do’s:
- Engage through Direct Communication: Personal outreach via messaging platforms proved more effective than general social media posts alone. Direct communication built stronger connections and ensured better attendance.
- Tailor Training to Participants: Customizing the workshops to meet the specific interests and skill levels of participants helped increase engagement and participation.
- Offer Post-Event Support: Having a structured follow-up system kept the participants involved and ensured they had the resources needed to continue contributing.
Key Don’ts:
- Don’t Rely Solely on Public Announcements: General social media posts and Facebook events were not as effective in recruiting participants. Personal outreach and follow-up were essential.
- Avoid Overloading Participants: Keeping the training sessions focused and digestible was important. Attempting to cover too much information at once could overwhelm new contributors.
We look forward to continuing to grow the community in Lebanon and expanding to other Western Armenian-speaking regions in the future.
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
We have not yet created a Meta-Wiki page for this project yet.
Find the link to photos from different events in this folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1E7OYxr4J1vcJh4V2v5wmQmP_Qo6_D3jd?usp=sharing
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
Find the material used to implement our project: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18TPI90aq-gRAnKBlL6Ghc7Ue7LnjWHMi?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 | Agree |
| C. Develop content about underrepresented topics/groups | 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) |
Part 2: Learning
[edit]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: Learning Questions for the Project
Our project aims to foster a spirit of participation in Wikimedia projects among Western Armenian-speaking communities in Lebanon and Egypt. By doing so, we hope to contribute to the longevity and prosperity of the Western Armenian language in a meaningful, open-source manner on Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons. Here are the main learning questions we aim to explore through this initiative:
1. Engagement and Participation
How effective are our outreach methods in attracting new contributors to Wikimedia projects?
We will measure the number of new participants registered for the training sessions and their subsequent activity on Wikipedia.
What motivates individuals to start and continue contributing to Wikimedia projects?**
- Surveys and interviews will be conducted with participants to understand their motivations and barriers to ongoing involvement.
2. Skill Development and Knowledge Transfer
- How well do the training sessions improve participants' skills in Wikipedia editing and Wikimedia Commons contributions?
- Pre- and post-training assessments will be used to evaluate the improvement in participants' editing skills and understanding of Wikimedia policies.
- What specific aspects of the training are most and least effective?
- Feedback forms and direct observations during training sessions will help identify which training components are most beneficial and which need improvement.
3. Community Building and Sustainability
- How successful are we in building a supportive community of Western Armenian Wikimedia contributors?
- The establishment of mentorship programs, online forums, and regular meetups will be evaluated based on participation rates and community engagement metrics.
- What challenges do participants face in maintaining their involvement post-training, and how can these be mitigated?
- Follow-up surveys and discussions with participants will provide insights into the challenges they face and potential solutions for sustained engagement.
4. Impact on Western Armenian Language and Culture
- What is the impact of increased Wikimedia contributions on the digital presence of the Western Armenian language?
- The quantity and quality of Western Armenian content added to Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons will be tracked and analyzed.
- How do these contributions help in preserving and promoting Western Armenian culture and history?
- Content analysis will be conducted to evaluate the cultural and historical significance of the contributions made by participants.
5. Youth Engagement and Safety
- How effective is our youth safety policy in ensuring a safe and positive experience for young participants?
- Incident reports, participant feedback, and compliance checks will be used to assess the effectiveness of the youth safety measures.
- What are the best practices for engaging youth in Wikimedia projects while ensuring their safety and compliance with local laws?
- Lessons learned from the implementation of our safety policies will be documented and shared for future reference.
By collecting and analyzing data related to these questions, we hope to gain valuable insights into the most effective strategies for engaging Western Armenian-speaking communities in Wikimedia projects. These insights will not only help improve our current initiatives but also guide future efforts in promoting the Western Armenian language and culture through open-source, collaborative platforms like Wikipedia.
Through the implementation of our project in Lebanon, we gathered valuable insights that helped answer several of the learning questions we initially posed. These lessons will guide our future projects and decisions, especially as we continue to expand efforts to engage the Western Armenian-speaking community in Wikimedia projects.
1. Engagement and Participation
- How effective are our outreach methods in attracting new contributors to Wikimedia projects?
- Answer: Our outreach methods, particularly direct communication proved highly effective in engaging participants. Social media posts had less impact, underscoring the importance of personal, targeted outreach. Participants responded positively to being contacted individually, which built trust and encouraged participation. - Future Application: We will continue prioritizing personalized outreach methods in future initiatives. This approach can also be expanded to other diaspora communities, ensuring more significant engagement across different regions.
- What motivates individuals to start and continue contributing to Wikimedia projects?
- Answer: Participants were primarily motivated by the opportunity to contribute to the preservation and promotion of Western Armenian culture and language. Many were passionate about ensuring that future generations have open-source access to Armenian knowledge in their native language. - Future Application: We will highlight the cultural and linguistic importance of Wikimedia projects in future outreach. Emphasizing the tangible impact of their contributions to preserving Western Armenian heritage will continue to resonate with potential contributors.
2. Skill Development and Knowledge Transfer
- How well do the training sessions improve participants' skills in Wikipedia editing and Wikimedia Commons contributions?
- Answer: Participants received the new skill of Wikipedia editing skills after the training sessions. Many who had never edited before felt empowered to create and edit content independently. This was confirmed through post-training feedback and the content they subsequently contributed to Wikipedia. - Future Application: We will maintain a hands-on approach in our training sessions, allowing participants to apply their learning in real-time. In future sessions, we may incorporate more advanced editing techniques for returning participants who want to further hone their skills.
- What specific aspects of the training are most and least effective?
- Answer: Hands-on activities and real-time feedback were the most effective aspects of the training. Participants responded well to working directly on articles and receiving immediate support. The least effective aspect was covering too much content at once, as some participants felt overwhelmed with the amount of information. - Future Application: We will simplify initial training sessions for newcomers and gradually introduce more complex topics. Breaking down training into digestible segments and spreading out sessions may help alleviate the information overload some participants experienced.
3. Community Building and Sustainability
- How successful are we in building a supportive community of Western Armenian Wikimedia contributors?
- Answer: The project succeeded in creating a sense of community among the participants. - Future Application: To ensure sustainability, we will formalize mentorship programs and continue facilitating online meetups. We aim to establish more structured follow-up activities such as monthly check-ins and group editing sessions to keep the community engaged over the long term.
- What challenges do participants face in maintaining their involvement post-training, and how can these be mitigated?
- Answer: Time constraints, good access to reliable WiFi and electricity as the economic situation worsens in Lebanon, and lack of ongoing mentorship were the main challenges participants faced in staying active post-training. - Future Application: We will introduce regular, scheduled follow-up activities and ensure that each participant has access to a mentor for additional guidance. We will also try to rent out places ourselves instead of visiting their own centers to ensure guaranteed flow of electricity. Thankfully, we bought a mobile data package and were able to share our personal mobile hotspots in case the internet wasn't working properly.
4. Impact on Western Armenian Language and Culture
- What is the impact of increased Wikimedia contributions on the digital presence of the Western Armenian language?
- Answer: The contributions made during the project increased the availability of Western Armenian content on Wikipedia, albeit in small numbers. - Future Application: We plan to continue prioritizing culturally relevant content in future initiatives. Identifying underrepresented areas of Western Armenian culture will help guide our efforts, ensuring that our contributions have a lasting impact on the language’s digital presence.
- How do these contributions help in preserving and promoting Western Armenian culture and history?
- Answer: The contributions helped preserve and promote Western Armenian culture by creating an open-source Wiki platform where cultural topics could be accessed and read in the Western Armenian language. Participants felt they were actively contributing to cultural preservation in a meaningful way. - Future Application: We will continue to emphasize this aspect in future projects, encouraging participants to focus on topics that have cultural significance or are otherwise underrepresented in the online Armenian community.
5. Youth Engagement and Safety
- How effective is our youth safety policy in ensuring a safe and positive experience for young participants?
- Answer: Our youth safety policy was effective, with no incidents reported. The youngest participants were aged 16, and no explicit content was shown during the sessions. Participants felt comfortable and engaged in a positive learning environment. - Future Application: We will continue to ensure that youth participants are provided with a safe, supportive environment in future activities. Adhering to international and local youth safety guidelines will remain a top priority.
- What are the best practices for engaging youth in Wikimedia projects while ensuring their safety and compliance with local laws?
- Answer: We learned that clear communication about expectations, along with providing age-appropriate content, is key to engaging youth safely. Ensuring responsible adult supervision and support throughout the sessions was also crucial. - Future Application: We will continue following our youth safety protocols and continue to provide an open, educational, and secure environment for young participants in all future Wikimedia initiatives.
Applying the Learnings to Future Work
Based on these learnings, we plan to:
- Expand Personalized Outreach: Continue leveraging direct communication for participant engagement and adapt this approach for other diaspora communities.
- Simplify Training Sessions: Introduce more phased training for new editors while offering advanced sessions for returning participants to avoid overwhelming newcomers.
- Foster Long-Term Community Building: Develop more structured follow-up initiatives, including mentorship programs and monthly activities, to keep contributors engaged and connected.
- Strengthen Youth Safety: Maintain strict adherence to safety policies, ensuring that youth participation remains secure and compliant with legal requirements.
These insights will help us refine our strategies, improve our training and community-building efforts, and ensure sustained growth for Western Armenian contributions to Wikimedia projects.
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)
During the week of our arrival in Lebanon, the political situation unexpectedly deteriorated. Hourly border clashes erupted in the south of Lebanon, and given the small size of the country, this unrest affected daily life throughout the nation. To make matters worse, Beirut was hit by a drone, leading to the temporary suspension of all flights in and out of Lebanon for several days. This created a significant level of uncertainty and concern, as we feared we might get stuck in the country. Fortunately, we managed to avoid that scenario.
However, the escalating security issues prompted many last-minute cancellations from our partners. Several youth centers and scout organizations that had previously confirmed their participation were forced to cancel their plans, disrupting our schedule. As a result, the majority of the workshops we had planned at these locations had to be called off.
Despite these unexpected challenges, we adapted by requesting the email addresses of the potential participants who were unable to attend in person. We contacted them remotely, and some have already started editing Wikipedia with our guidance via WhatsApp and Google Meet. This experience taught us that flexibility and preparedness for last-minute changes are essential when working in politically unstable regions.
Key Learnings from the Experience: 1. Adaptability: We learned the importance of having contingency plans in place. When faced with unexpected cancellations, we quickly shifted to remote guidance to ensure that our work continued. 2. Remote Engagement: This situation reinforced the value of online tools for sustaining engagement with participants. WhatsApp and Google Meet proved effective in continuing our training remotely, even when in-person sessions were impossible. 3. Flexibility in Scheduling: In regions with volatile political environments, it’s essential to build flexibility into the project schedule. Being ready for last-minute changes ensures that the project can still meet its objectives despite external challenges. 4. Safety and Communication: Staying informed about the security situation and maintaining open communication with local partners allowed us to navigate the challenges more effectively. Future projects in similar contexts will need to prioritize both real-time situational awareness and strong communication channels.
This experience, while challenging, helped us strengthen our resilience and taught us valuable lessons that will shape the planning and execution of future activities.
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 only shared our project learnings and results with our community members, not yet with the public, but we plan to do so using a variety of available resources. Here’s our plan for sharing these insights:
1. **Meta-Wiki Report**: We will publish detailed reports of the project outcomes on Meta-Wiki and the Western Armenian Wikipedia project pages. This will ensure that all Wikimedians, especially those involved in Western Armenian language initiatives, have access to the project’s insights and data.
2. Social Media: We will leverage social media platforms to reach a broader audience, including sharing success stories, learnings, and highlights from the project. This will help us engage not only the Wikimedia community but also others interested in supporting Western Armenian language initiatives.
3. Mailing Lists and Newsletters: We will use our mailing lists for our newsletters to share our experiences and encourage ongoing dialogue.
5. Workshops and Presentations: In future Wikimedia-related conferences or regional meetups, we will present the results and lessons learned from this project. This will be a platform to showcase the project's success and challenges, fostering collaboration and ideas for similar initiatives.
Part 3: Metrics
[edit]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 | 250 | 30 | We initially aimed to reach 250 participants through our training sessions and activities. However, due to the unstable political situation in Lebanon, we were only able to engage 30 individuals. Despite the lower numbers, the participants who engaged showed significant interest and involvement in contributing to Wikimedia projects. |
| Number of editors | 50 | 10 | We initially set a target of 50 editors for our project. However, we were only able to engage 10 editors due to the unstable political situation in Lebanon and continuous WiFi and electricity problems. Tracking the progress was also challenging, as some participants completed their edits well over a week after the sessions. Despite these difficulties, the editors who participated made meaningful contributions to Wikimedia projects. |
| Number of organizers | 7 | 3 |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 50 | ||
| Wikimedia Commons | 100 | ||
| Wikidata | |||
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Article Contributions | We aim to reach 200+ article contributions. This is the number of contributions made during and after the trainings have been conducted, by the users who learned about the Wiki projects during the trainings. | 200 | 50 | We aimed to achieve 200+ article contributions as a result of our training sessions. Unfortunately, due to the unstable political situation and technical issues, we only managed to reach 50 edits. Despite this shortfall, the contributions made were valuable and demonstrated the potential for impact if conditions had been more stable. |
| Wikimedia Commons Uploaded Images | We aim to strictly increase the number of Wikimedia Commons image uploads during and after the training sessions. | 100 | 0 | |
9. Did you have any difficulties collecting data to measure your results? (required)
Yes
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)
Yes, we faced significant difficulties in collecting data to measure our results. The unstable political situation in Lebanon, combined with persistent WiFi and electricity issues, made it exceptionally challenging to track and record the impact of our training sessions. These circumstances not only disrupted our ability to engage effectively with participants but also impeded our efforts to monitor their contributions in real-time.
Many of the edits and contributions were completed after the training sessions had ended, which further complicated our data collection and analysis. This gap between training and contribution made it hard to accurately gauge the immediate impact of our efforts.
To overcome these challenges in the future, we plan to implement more robust contingency plans, including backup data collection methods and improved communication strategies to stay connected with participants regardless of external disruptions. We will also explore alternative tools and platforms that can help mitigate the impact of technical issues.
We hope that the Foundation can support us by offering flexibility in project timelines to accommodate unforeseen disruptions. Additionally, guidance on handling data collection in politically unstable or resource-constrained environments would be invaluable. Despite these hurdles, our commitment to fostering Wikimedia participation remains strong, and we are determined to continue making a positive impact on the Western Armenian-speaking community.
Part 4: Financial reporting
[edit]10. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency. (required)
1016976
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
2778
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/1E4Z_BlOFuDMt4YDLRbO3HIDQSSLK3uSh2lAgoYCp-Vs/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)
1. Flights: We spent $170 more than anticipated on flights. This was due to the grant funds arriving later than expected, causing us to book flights during high season when prices were significantly higher.
2. Banner: We spent $13 more than initially planned on the banner. This increase was due to miscalculations and rising prices driven by inflation. We ensured it was the most economical option available.
3. Mobile Data: We allocated $40 from our miscellaneous budget to purchase mobile data in Lebanon. This was necessary to create a personal hotspot for participants due to the unstable WiFi situation.
These adjustments were essential for the smooth execution of our project and to address the challenges we faced on the ground.
13. Do you have any unspent funds from the Fund?
Yes
13.1. Please list the amount and currency you did not use and explain why.
$122 USD
13.2. What are you planning to do with the underspent funds?
A. Propose to use the underspent funds within this Fund period with PO approval
13.3. Please provide details of hope to spend these funds.
We have not spent $122 of the grant funds, and we plan to use this remaining amount to upgrade to MailChimp's larger bundle. This upgrade is necessary because our newsletter subscriber base for the Wikimedians of Western Armenian Language User Group has grown significantly. This investment will help us better manage and communicate with our expanding audience.
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)
Review notes
[edit]Review notes from Program Officer:
N/A
Applicant's response to the review feedback.
N/A