Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Wikiproject They Were Not Witches They Were Women (ID: 23468359)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
tiputini
- Organization
N/A
- If you are a group or organization leader, board member, president, executive director, or staff member at any Wikimedia group, affiliate, or Wikimedia Foundation, you are required to self-identify and present all roles. (required)
N/A
- Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)
Main Proposal
[edit]- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.
Wikiproject They Were Not Witches They Were Women
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2025-10-01 - 2026-06-30
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
Regional (more than one country in the same continent or region) We will work with Andorra, a Catalan-speaking country that also experienced witch hunts on its territory. [1]
Link 1: http://terradebruixes.cultura.ad/
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
WikiGap
- 6. What is the change you are trying to bring? What are the main challenges or problems you are trying to solve? Describe this change or challenges, as well as main approaches to achieve it. (required)
During the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, thousands of women in Catalan-speaking territories were persecuted, tried, and, in many cases, executed under accusations of witchcraft.This project’s main goal is to rescue these silenced lives from oblivion and restore the historical dignity of these women, many of whom were victims of a patriarchal system that criminalized popular knowledge, difference, or mere vulnerability.
The project "They were not witches, they were women" seeks to create a profound change in how we understand history and collective memory. On one hand, we aim to document and give visibility to these stories through Wikipedia and Wikidata, making them accessible to everyone. On the other hand, we want to promote a critical and contemporary reflection on power structures, social control, and gender-based violence that, in different forms, still persist today.
The challenges we aim to address:
- The historical erasure of women accused of witchcraft, who were victims of persecution often due to their wisdom, autonomy, or marginalization.
- The lack of female representation in historical narratives, especially in digital spaces like Wikipedia.
- The disconnection between past and present in terms of symbolic and structural violence against women.
Strategies and lines of action:
To address these challenges, we propose a series of strategies based on collaboration, knowledge creation, and collective empowerment:
- Documentation and dissemination: we will create and improve Wikipedia articles and Wikidata entries about the accused women, historical contexts, laws, trials, and their social consequences.
- Network building: we will collaborate with researchers, historians, archivists, and members of the Wikipedian community to ensure rigor, diversity, and a feminist perspective.
- Community activation: we will organize participatory activities (workshops, edit-a-thons, meetups) to engage both specialists and the general public — especially women — in recovering memory from a social justice and symbolic reparation perspective.
Why this approach?
This project helps to make visible a silenced and deeply stigmatized part of the past while strengthening the presence of women and feminist narratives in the free and collaborative digital space.
With They were not witches, they were women, we aim to drive a collective shift in how history and memory are perceived: to recover and dignify the lives of thousands of women unjustly accused of witchcraft in Catalan-speaking territories. It’s not just about documenting historical facts, but about transforming the way we understand structural violence against women — both in the past and today.
We chose this approach because the collective construction of open knowledge is a powerful tool to reshape narratives and fight inequality. Platforms like Wikipedia and Wikidata allow these stories to become visible in far-reaching environments, with direct impact on education, culture, and communities’ critical awareness. Moreover, there’s evidence that the lack of female role models in digital spaces contributes to their social invisibility.
The main issue we address is the historical oblivion and dehumanization of these women, many of whom were condemned for reasons we would now clearly recognize as forms of institutional sexism: poor women, widows, marginalized individuals, healers, or simply women who did not conform to imposed gender roles. The invisibilization of the past fuels the injustices of the present, which is why recovering these stories and making them accessible is a necessary act of symbolic reparation and social justice.
What will the impact be?
If implemented, this project will bring about real and meaningful change:
- Local communities in the territories where the persecutions occurred will experience a symbolic and emotional recovery of their past.
- Women, in particular, will feel recognized and empowered by seeing themselves reflected in history and digital culture.
- The free digital space will benefit from greater representation, inclusivity, and quality of knowledge.
Ultimately, this proposal is a commitment to memory as a tool for social transformation, to symbolic justice, and to a more plural, critical, and feminist history.
- 7. What are the planned activities? (required) Please provide a list of main activities. You can also add a link to the public page for your project where details about your project can be found. Alternatively, you can upload a timeline document. When the activities include partnerships, include details about your partners and planned partnerships.
- Three-day in-person gathering: this will be the starting point of the project. This intensive meeting allows participants to build bonds, deepen their understanding of historical and terminological content, and receive training in wiki tools and the methodologies used by Wikipedia and Wikidata. A feminist perspective will also be applied to the documentation and use of sources.
- Two online workshops: these will take place between the initial gathering and the Edit-a-thon They will serve to strengthen digital and editorial skills, provide continuity in the learning process, and support participants in writing and structuring content, ensuring the project's momentum is maintained.
- Hybrid Edit-a-thon (in-person and online): this will be the closing activity, designed to be open and participatory. It will take place in the Valls d’Àneu (Pyrenees), a symbolic and historic setting where, in 1424, the 'Ordinacions de les Valls d’Àneu' [1] were enacted — considered the first European legislation to criminalize witchcraft. This collective action allows for the creation, improvement, and dissemination of articles and data about women accused of witchcraft, the legal and social context of the time, and the contemporary implications of such persecution.
These activities are part of a comprehensive strategy of training, knowledge creation, and symbolic reparation, and they have been designed to:
- Promote collective empowerment through access to wiki documentation and editing tools.
- Connect knowledge, territory, and community from a feminist and decentralized perspective.
- Give visibility to a silenced history, generating cultural and emotional impact in the affected territories.
We believe they will be effective because they combine active learning, community involvement, and collaborative action — three key elements for the success of a transformative project like this one.
Link 1:https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%B2dex_d%E2%80%99Ordinacions_de_les_Valls_d%E2%80%99%C3%80neu (in Catalan)
- 8. Describe your team. Please provide their roles, Wikimedia Usernames and other details. (required) Include more details of the team, including their roles, usernames, Wikimedia group, and whether they are salaried, volunteers, consultants/contractors, etc. Team members involved in the grant application need to be aware of their involvement in the project.
The team is made up of two expert Wikipedians, Alzinous [1] andTiputini [2]
Links: 1.https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=Alzinous 2.https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth?target=Tiputini
- 9. Who are the target participants and from which community? How will you engage participants before and during the activities? How will you follow up with participants after the activities? (required)
The target audience of this project mainly includes:
- People interested in feminist history and memory, especially related to the persecution of women accused of witchcraft in Catalan-speaking territories.
- Members of the Wikipedian community, including both new editors and experienced contributors, who are sensitive to issues of gender, historical memory, and social justice.
- Researchers, archivists, educators, and feminist activists working in fields such as women's history, memory recovery, or collaborative knowledge building.
- Local communities from areas historically affected by persecutions, with special attention to the Valls d’Àneu and other rural or Pyrenean territories with strong heritage and symbolic value.
Before and during the activities: To ensure active, diverse, and meaningful participation, several actions will be carried out:
- Open and inclusive calls for participation, designed to reach people with varying levels of wiki experience and diverse backgrounds.
- Prior and personalized contact with participants to understand their interests, expectations, and training needs.
- Creation of a collaborative digital space, with communication channels and shared resources to encourage preparation and a sense of community.
- Use of participatory methodologies during the activities (working groups, reflection spaces, peer support), fostering peer-to-peer learning and co-creation of content.
After the activities: Follow-up efforts will aim to ensure project continuity and strengthen the community:
- Editorial support for participants who wish to continue expanding or creating articles, through digital channels offering guidance and assistance.
- A follow-up digital newsletter with updates, useful resources, project results, and related opportunities.
- Organization of follow-up virtual meetings to reflect, share learnings, and explore possibilities for continuation.
- Collective creation of a report or digital summary that highlights the work done and reinforces participants' connection with the Wikimedia movement.
We are committed to a transformative and sustainable process, where participants are not just occasional editors but active builders of memory and free knowledg*, committed to a feminist, critical, and reparative perspective on history.
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
No
- 10.1. Please provide a link to your Youth Safety Policy. (required) If the proposal indicates direct contact with children or youth, you are required to outline compliance with international and local laws for working with children and youth, and provide a youth safety policy aligned with these laws. Read more here.
N/A
- 11. How did you discuss the idea of your project with your community members and/or any relevant groups? Please describe steps taken and provide links to any on-wiki community discussion(s) about the proposal. (required) You need to inform the community and/or group, discuss the project with them, and involve them in planning this proposal. You also need to align the activities with other projects happening in the planned area of implementation to ensure collaboration within the community.
This project began in May 2021 [1] as part of the WikiProject Witches, with the goal of helping to make visible and repair the memory of women accused of witchcraft on a global scale Despite the social and media relevance of the topic—especially following Resolution 221/XIV of the Parliament of Catalonia, which calls for the symbolic reparation of these women—the project has been largely inactive over the past three years due to a lack of active leadership. For this reason, we propose to relaunch and revitalize the project, establishing strategic collaborations with key actors such as the Bruixes del Baix Gaià collective, Memory of the Witches [2], and the National Archives of Andorra, which contributes specific research on witch hunts in its territory. These partnerships ensure a solid documentary foundation and a direct connection with local communities, enriching the content and expanding the project’s territorial reach. So far, discussions about reactivating the project have taken place informally and internally within the core team. In the next phase, we plan to open a public discussion space on Wikipedia and Meta to share the proposal with the wider Wikimedia community, gather input, and encourage active participation before launching any activities. In this way, we ensure the project aligns with other related initiatives and that its implementation is the result of genuine, open collaboration with the Wikimedia community.
Links: 1. https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viquiprojecte:No_eren_bruixes,_eren_dones (in Catalan) 2. https://memoriadelasbrujas.net/en/
- 12. Does your proposal aim to work to bridge any of the content knowledge gaps (Knowledge Inequity)? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Content Gender gap
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Human Rights
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Ethnic/racial/religious or cultural background
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Identify Topics for Impact
Learning and metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
1. How can we effectively connect local historical research with content creation on the wikis?
We are interested in better understanding how to transform academic or community research—such as that from the National Archives of Andorra or local collectives—into rigorous, accessible, and engaging encyclopedic content.
2. What strategies are most effective for reactivating collaborative projects on Wikipedia after a period of inactivity?
We would like to analyze which actions (community outreach, proposed activities, external partnerships) generate the most interest and sustained participation.
3. How does a project like this impact the perception and recognition of the memory of persecuted women?
We are interested in measuring whether documentation and dissemination help shift the social and cultural perception of these often-invisibilized historical figures.
4. How can Wikimedia community activities contribute to processes of historical memory and symbolic reparation?
This key question will help us better understand the role of Wikipedia and its community in processes of historical justice and public recognition.
5. How can we promote broader and more inclusive participation in projects related to women's history?**
We hope to identify which formats or strategies encourage the involvement of women, activists, and individuals who are not part of the usual wiki environment.
To answer these questions, we will collect both quantitative data—such as participation rates, number of articles created, and diversity of contributors involved—and qualitative data—such as reflections, evaluations, and challenges encountered during the process. This will allow us to assess the project's effectiveness and improve future initiatives.
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 50 | |
| Number of editors | 25 | |
| Number of organizers | 2 |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 60 |
| Wikimedia Commons | |
| Wikidata | 500 |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies | |
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
- Optional description for content contributions.
N/A
- 19. Do you have any other project targets in numbers (metrics)? (optional)
No
| Main Open Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
- 20. What tools would you use to measure each metrics? Please refer to the guide for a list of tools. You can also write that you are not sure and need support. (required)
To measure the project’s key goals and indicators, we will primarily use the following tools:
- Programs & Events Dashboard:
This tool will allow us to closely track article creation and editing activity linked to the project, as well as participant engagement during training sessions and the Edit-a-thon. We will be able to monitor the number of articles created or improved, the number of edits, and the number of active participants.
- Qualitative surveys and feedback forms:
Additionally, we will collect qualitative data through online surveys and short interviews with participants to capture impressions, challenges, and evaluations regarding the activities and perceived impact.
- Monitoring and coordination with the Wikimedia community:
By observing discussions and interactions on wiki spaces (such as project pages and discussion forums), we will assess community reactivation and long-term involvement.
This combination of tools and methods will provide a comprehensive, both quantitative and qualitative, overview to evaluate whether the defined objectives are being met and to adjust future actions accordingly.
Financial proposal
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
- 22. and 22.1. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in your local currency. (required)
3000 EUR
- 22.2. Convert the amount requested into USD using the Oanda converter. This is done only to help you assess the USD equivalent of the requested amount. Your request should be between 500 - 5,000 USD.
3872.51 USD
- We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
Yes
Endorsements and Feedback
[edit]Please add endorsements and feedback to the grant discussion page only. Endorsements added here will be removed automatically.
Community members are invited to share meaningful feedback on the proposal and include reasons why they endorse the proposal. Consider the following:
- Stating why the proposal is important for the communities involved and why they think the strategies chosen will achieve the results that are expected.
- Highlighting any aspects they think are particularly well developed: for instance, the strategies and activities proposed, the levels of community engagement, outreach to underrepresented groups, addressing knowledge gaps, partnerships, the overall budget and learning and evaluation section of the proposal, etc.
- Highlighting if the proposal focuses on any interesting research, learning or innovation, etc. Also if it builds on learning from past proposals developed by the individual or organization, or other Wikimedia communities.
- Analyzing if the proposal is going to contribute in any way to important developments around specific Wikimedia projects or Movement Strategy.
- Analysing if the proposal is coherent in terms of the objectives, strategies, budget, and expected results (metrics).