Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Wikivibrance International Youth Day (IYD) 2025 in Nigeria (ID: 23091041)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
Ebubechukwu1
- 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.
Wikivibrance International Youth Day (IYD) 2025 in Nigeria
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2025-07-05 - 2025-09-06
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
Nigeria
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
Wikivibrance
- 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)
With approximately 1.8 billion young people in the world, youth are uniquely positioned to bridge knowledge gaps and shape societies through open knowledge. International Youth Day (IYD), observed annually on August 12, provides a timely opportunity to celebrate youth-led innovation and address the challenges young people face globally. The 2025 theme, "Youth Empowerment for a Sustainable Future," underscores the urgent need to harness youth leadership and potential in building a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable world.
Wikivibrance events use the drive of IYD to celebrate young contributors to the Wikimedia movement. Each year, Wikivibrance campaign aligns its efforts with the global IYD theme to promote inclusive participation and bridge content gaps related to youth leadership, innovation, and sustainable development. This year, the project aims not only to increase youth participation in the Wikimedia movement but also to enhance the visibility of young leaders as key drivers of empowerment and sustainability.
However, despite the growing impact and potential of youth around the world and their participation in the Wikimedia movement, this project seeks to address the following challenges:
1. Decline in Youth Participation and Limited Inclusivity: While Wikivibrance has hosted successful local events in Nigeria, post-event engagement remains low, with fewer participants remaining active one month later. This retention gap weakens the continuity of youth-driven contributions and reduces long-term impact. Moreover, despite Nigeria’s rich linguistic diversity with over 500 languages, previous local event participation has largely focused on dominant languages such as Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo, marginalizing emerging Wikimedia communities like Igala and Fulfulde. Also, many young growing leaders active in leadership organizations remain unaware of Wikimedia’s role in preserving and sharing open knowledge.
2. Lack of Quotes from Young Leaders: Many young leaders whose work aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have existing Wikipedia articles, yet their powerful words remain undocumented on Wikiquote. A notable example is Vanessa Nakate, a Ugandan climate justice activist, who stated: “We cannot have climate justice if people are being left behind.” Quotes like these embody the intersection of equity, youth empowerment, and sustainability, which are the core themes of IYD 2025. Yet without proper documentation, such quotes risk being lost or inaccessible.
3. Minimal Translation of Young Leaders' English Wikipedia Articles into Local Nigerian Language Wikis: Language is a powerful tool of inclusion. Yet, content about young leaders is rarely translated into Igala and Fulfulde Wikipedia. Without translations, speakers and readers of these languages remain disconnected from the contributions of these young leaders in their native languages.
To address these challenges, the following approaches will be adopted:
1. Mentorship and Peer Learning: A mentorship model will be implemented whereby very experienced editors will be paired with new editors, as well as existing Wikimedia editors who need mentorship support. This approach is informed by evidence from successful Wikimedia communities, which show that mentorship boosts editor retention and stronger contributor networks.
2. Partnership with YALI (Young African Leaders Initiative): Many young people/growing leaders active in YALI are already engaged with global development goals but often lack awareness of the Wikimedia movement as a tool for sharing free knowledge. Such collaborations have been shown to strengthen the visibility of Wikimedia activities within broader youth communities.
3. Content Creation and Translation: This approach will include organizing both physical and online training sessions and edit-a-thons focused on contributing quotes from young leaders to Wikiquote. In addition, there will be translation-focused training and edit-a-thons in Igala and Fulfulde Wikipedia to bridge the translation gap. Research indicates that multilingual content creation promotes inclusion and increases access to knowledge for local language communities.
This project will positively increase the quotes of young leaders on Wikiquote, ensuring their words are preserved and made accessible to anyone seeking inspiration from their quotes. It will also increase the translation of young leaders' English Wikipedia articles into local language wikis. More importantly, it will transform one-time participants into active contributors by equipping them with mentorship, skills, and community support.
- 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.
1. Creating Awareness: We will launch an awareness campaign across Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and online community groups of our target audience. We will use the banner campaign options on Wikimedia projects to ensure widespread event publicity. A WhatsApp group will be created for interested participants to facilitate ongoing communication, resource sharing, and engagement before, during, and after the events.
2. Partnership with YALI (Young African Leaders Initiative): We will collaborate with YALI Network hubs in Lagos,Kogi, and Borno States. These partnerships will help mobilize new editors for the physical events and trainings in the respective states, leveraging YALI’s strong networks of growing young leaders passionate about empowerment, sustainability, and knowledge-sharing.
3. Wikiquote Training – Day 1 (Lagos): The first day of training in Lagos will begin with an interactive introduction to Wikiquote and its significance followed by training sessions that will cover two key areas:
- Understanding Wikiquote Editing Policies and Guidelines: Participants will learn general editing principles, quotability standards, and citation best practices.
- Improving Existing Wikiquote Pages: Hands-on training will guide participants in categorizing pages, fixing broken links, and improving existing Wikiquote pages of young leaders by adding more quotes.
After the training, participants will engage in an Edit-a-Thon, applying their new skills under the mentorship of the trainers. This approach ensures a strong balance between theoretical learning and practical contribution.
4. Wikiquote Training – Day 2 (Lagos): The second day will focus on creating new Wikiquote pages of young leaders from scratch. Training will consist of:
- Proper use of Wikiquote templates for individual quotes.
- Step-by-step guidance on creating new, well-sourced, and policy-compliant pages.
Participants will then participate in an edit-a-thon. This hands-on session will be complemented by open networking activities and interactive discussions to foster a sense of community between participants. Certificates of participation will then be awarded to all attendees.
5. Translation Training – Day 1: The physical translation training sessions will be held in Borno (Fulfulde Wiki community), and Kogi (Igala Wiki community). Participants will be introduced to the event goals and objectives, followed by training on easy navigation of their local wiki interfaces and understanding editing and translation policies. Best practices in basic editing skills and translation will be taught to bridge the translation gaps of English Wikipedia articles of young leaders into their respective local language wikis, supporting our broader strategy of inclusivity in Wikivibrance local events.
6. Translation Training – Day 2: The second day will feature a refresher translation training and translation-focused edit-a-thons in each location. Participants will apply their skills by translating these articles into indigenous languages (Igala and Fulfulde). The edit-a-thon will be complemented by networking activities and interactive discussions to strengthen community bonds. The event will conclude with an award presentation honoring outstanding young Wikimedians (a male and female) from each local community for their active involvement as a means of celebrating them, alongside the awarding of certificates of participation to attendees. This two-day model ensures strong skill acquisition in translation and leadership capacity within Wikimedia’s local language communities.
7. Virtual Reinforcement Training: To sustain contributions after the physical events, a series of virtual reinforcement trainings will be organized. These online sessions will provide additional support and refresher modules based on participant feedback. Recordings of the virtual sessions will be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, enabling participants to re-watch for better understanding.
8. Mentorship and Peer Learning: To ensure ongoing support and growth in youth participation, experienced Wikimedia editors will be paired with participants in location-based mentorship groups. Mentors will:
- Provide guidance on improving editing skills.
- Offer feedback on contributions during and after the events.
- Host virtual micro-sessions addressing specific challenges (e.g., sourcing, formatting, translation tips).
This peer learning approach is a proven strategy to boost editor retention and foster lasting networks among new and experienced contributors, aligning with our goal of increasing post-event engagement and contribution to the Wikimedia movement.
9. Contest: An online contest will be organized to encourage participants and editors to bridge gaps in quotes about young leaders on Wikiquote and translation gaps on local language wikis. Gift vouchers and WikiVibrance barnstars will be awarded to top three contributors, outstanding top two new editors, and top female editors in Borno, Kogi, and Lagos. This will serve as a strong incentive for continued engagement in future Wikimedia projects and Wikivibrance events.
- 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.
Our local activity will be organized within a global framework coordinated by the Wikivibrance global team. The global team provides essential communication materials (e.g., social media cards and posts) and communication channels.Key people for mentors are:
- User:NikosLikomitros: He is a core team member of the international Wikivibrance team and an active Wikimedian of the Wikimedia Community User Group Greece.
- User:TaronjaSatsuma: He has been an active editor since 2008, primarily contributing to the Catalan Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons. He has played a significant role as part of the global team of Wikivibrance since its inception.
Ebubechukwu1 (Project Lead): I am an experienced editor, trainer, and Kiwix Ambassador. I have led several major Wikimedia projects, including WikiGLAM Lagos, Wikipedia Awareness for Youth Corps Members, and served as the Project Lead for African Women in Education Wikiquote, SheSaid 2023 Event in Nigeria, AfroLiterature: Quotes from African Literatures, and SheSaid 2024: African Women Academics. I have a track record of strong collaboration and successful partnerships that have amplified the reach and impact of my past projects. For this project, I will oversee all aspects across the three participating communities, ensuring each component aligns with the overall goals. I will also act as a mentor in Lagos, ensuring the mentorship model runs smoothly, and will lead Wikiquote training sessions and guide participants throughout the edit-a-thons.
Kingaustin07 (Co-Facilitator and Jury): He is a skilled Wikiquote editor and trainer. He co-facilitated AfroLiterature: Quotes from African Literature and SheSaid 2024: African Women Academics, and has earned recognition in Wikiquote campaigns such as SheSaid 2022 and 2023. As a co-facilitator, he will co lead the Wikiquote training sessions and provide mentorship during the edit-a-thons. He will also serve as a jury member, evaluating participants’ contributions to ensure they meet the standards and guidelines of Wikiquote.
De-Invincible (Co-Facilitator, Fulfulde Community): He is an experienced Wikimedia trainer and editor from the Fulfulde Wikimedia community. With his experience in Fulfulde language translation, he will train participants in physical trainings in Borno State on article translation and editing. He will lead the mentorship efforts for the participants in order to build capacity and ensure continuous engagement beyond the event.
Apdoull (Co-Facilitator and Jury, Fulfulde Community): He is a Fulfulde Wikimedia editor and trainer. He will co-train participants alongside De-Invincible in Borno State, focusing on developing translation skills and co-lead the mentorship efforts for the participants. He will also serve as a jury member, evaluating participants’ contributions to ensure they meet the standards and guidelines of Fulfude Wikipedia.
AgnesAbah (Co-Facilitator, Igala Community): She is the co-founder and team lead of the Igala Wikimedia Group, as well as a project coordinator and experienced trainer. With her experience in Igala language translation, she will train participants in physical trainings in Kogi State on article translation and editing. She will lead the mentorship efforts for the participants in Kogi state order to build capacity and ensure continuous engagement beyond the event.
Ogalihillary (Co-Facilitator and Jury, Igala Community): He is an experienced Wikimedia editor and trainer, currently serving as the Wiki Loves Africa coordinator. He will co-lead training and mentorship activities with Agnes Abah in Kogi State. Also, as a jury member, he will evaluate contributions to ensure they are accurate and meet translation and content standards of Igala Wikipedia.
- 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)
Our target participants are young people aged 18–35, including university students, growing young leaders, aspiring knowledge advocates, and existing Wikimedia editors. These participants will be drawn primarily from three key Nigerian communities:
Lagos – English Wikiquote editors
Kogi State – The Igala language Wiki community
Borno State – The Fulfulde language Wiki community
We will engage members of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) chapters in each of the selected states as new participants. These individuals are ideal because of their active involvement in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), passion for social change, and strong potential to become long-term Wikimedia contributors.
1. Outreach and Mobilization: Awareness campaigns will be launched across Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and community WhatsApp groups tailored to our target audience. Banner campaigns on Wikimedia sites will also help to broaden our reach.
2. Pre-Event Onboarding: All interested participants will be added to a WhatsApp community group for pre-event communication, resource sharing, and orientation. They will receive introductory materials, a welcome video, and light preparatory tasks (e.g., account creation and basic editing tutorials) to get them ready for the physical sessions.
3. During the Events: We will conduct two-day, hands-on training and edit-a-thons across the three states, focusing on Wikiquote editing and local language translation. Practical guidance will be provided to ensure participants understand and apply the skills effectively.
To further support them, the existing WhatsApp group community will remain active during the events, providing a space to ask questions, share challenges, and offer feedback. We will also introduce a mentorship model by pairing experienced Wikimedians with new participants based on their location, allowing for personalized, region-specific guidance.
4.Post-Event Engagement
- Virtual Reinforcement Training: A series of post-event virtual sessions will be held to reinforce learning, address specific editing challenges, and encourage continued engagement. All sessions will be recorded and made available on Wikimedia Commons for reference.
- Mentorship Continuation: Participants will be added to location-based mentorship WhatsApp groups, each consisting of five participants and four assigned mentors for at least three months after the event. Mentors will conduct micro-training sessions, troubleshoot editing issues, and monitor participants’ contributions.
- Community Integration: Participants will be introduced to existing Wikimedia communities, including User Groups, language communities, thematic WikiProjects, and the WikiVibrance global community, to anchor their involvement within the broader movement. We will encourage participants to attend local Wikimedia meetups and join Wikiquote, Wikipedia, Wikidata, or language-specific Telegram or WhatsApp communities.
- Feedback and Monitoring: A monthly participant impact survey will be conducted over a three-month period after the event to assess progress, track editing activity, and identify areas where additional support may be needed.
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
Yes
- 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.
As part of our commitment to youth safety, we recognize the importance of protecting young people participating in our activities. This project involves working directly with youth aged 18–35, who are legally recognized as adults in Nigeria. Therefore, our primary engagement does not involve minors or children under the age of 18.
We will adopt and strictly adhere to the Wikimedia Foundation’s Youth Safety Policy framework[1]. This policy will be shared with all participants during every session.
- 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.
The announcement of this project has been made on the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria discussion page to inform the community about the goals and objectives of this project via this link[2]
We have also discussed the project idea with members of the Igala and Fulfulde Wiki Community respectively through community WhatsApp groups and direct outreach.
- 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)
Age (recency)
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Education
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Age (diversity of age groups)
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Invest in Skills and Leadership Development
Learning and metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
1. How does location-based mentorship influence the motivation, skill retention, and sustained participation of new Wikimedia editors after training events? We want to assess whether pairing new editors with experienced mentors in their local communities helps improve editor retention, confidence in contributing, and long-term engagement across Wikimedia projects.
2. Which approaches and tools are most effective in tracking the impact of youth participation based on geography, language focus, and Wikimedia project (Wikiquote, Igala/Fulfulde Wikipedia)? We intend to analyze the comparative effectiveness of tools such as the Outreach Dashboard, Event Metrics Tool and Hashtag Tool in measuring user contributions, monitoring regional participation, and evaluating project outcomes by focus area.
3. How successfully does the content created during this project align with and address the 2025 International Youth Day (IYD) theme? We aim to evaluate how well the project bridges knowledge gaps related to the IYD theme in ways that are timely, relevant, and impactful.
4.How effective is partnering with Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) chapters in building sustainable Wikimedia communities? We seek to learn whether collaboration with YALI chapters can drive stronger youth engagement, foster knowledge equity, and create long-lasting volunteer networks that continue contributing beyond the scope of this project.
5. How do editors perceive Wikiquote as a valuable Wikimedia project for amplifying youth voices and addressing global themes such as the International Youth Day in Wikivibrance events? This will help us understand the potential of Wikiquote in documenting notable quotes from young leaders and how participants see its role in raising awareness around youth-centered topics.
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 120 | 40 participants each from the three participating states
New Editors : 20 Returning Editors : 20 |
| Number of editors | 120 | 40 participants each from the three participating states
New Editors : 20 Returning Editors : 20 |
| Number of organizers | 6 | Two oraganizers each from the three states |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | |
| Wikimedia Commons | |
| Wikidata | |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | 250 |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies | |
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
- Optional description for content contributions.
200 wikiquote articles to be created and 50 articles to be improved
- 19. Do you have any other project targets in numbers (metrics)? (optional)
Yes
| Main Open Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Fulfude Wikipedia | The total number of young leaders articles that will be translated from English Wikipedia into Fulfude Wikipedia. | 200 |
| Igala Wikipedia | The total number of young leaders articles that will be translated from English Wikipedia into Igala Wikipedia. | 200 |
| 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 effectively track the progress and outcomes of this project we will use the combination of the following tools:
1. Event Metrics Tool (WMF Events Dashboard): This will be used to track contributions (edits, new articles, bytes added, etc.) across target Wikimedia projects (Wikiquote,Igala Wikipedia and Fulfude Wikipedia). It will also help filter data based on project focus and type of activity.
2. Outreach Dashboard (Programs & Events Dashboard): We will use this to organize cohorts of participants by location. It allows tracking of usernames, contributions by location, and individual progress during the training and editing phases, making it easy to analyze the impact of the project.
3. Hashtag Tool: This tool will allow us to monitor and search the usage of hashtags WIKIVIBRANCEIYD2025 in edit summaries across Wikiquote, Igala Wikipedia and Fulfude Wikipedia during the course of the event.
Financial proposal
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1y3g_LRGEKur9yqvN091Ofl8DludUW_-BFIpCxYomeho/edit?usp=sharing
- 22. and 22.1. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in your local currency. (required)
5459000 NGN
- 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.
3402.63 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).