Grants:Project/Rapid/Fouadas/AOOM/Report

Report accepted

This report for a Rapid Grant approved in FY 2019-20 has been reviewed and accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

• To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:Project/Rapid/Fouadas/AOOM.
• You may still comment on this report on its discussion page, or visit the discussion page to read the discussion about this report.
• You are welcome to Email rapidgrants at wikimedia dot org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.

Goals

Did you meet your goals? The Art on our Mind research project began organizing Wikipedia workshops so as to create a self-learning platform which invites post- and undergraduate students at Wits University, creatives in different art education institutions in Johannesburg and the public to turn the research results about South African women-of-colour (WOC) creatives into Wikipedia articles. We did not manage to achieve the full range of goals which we had aimed for. However, during the year-long project phase, a small group of dedicated Wikipedia editors formed met regularly to strategise and plan for future activities. As a result, new collaborations were set up locally, with Market Photo Workshops, Phototool and Bridge Books in Johannesburg which however were halted due to the Covid19 pandemic.

Did you meet your goals? Are you happy with how the project went? The project was an important step to develop a long-term strategy for Art on our Mind project generating content for Wikipedia in the future. There are many dimensions to the learning curve of this project, things to consider when working with under- and postgraduate student volunteers and when organizing workshops for the public. We mostly worked with creatives and indivisuals who are invested in expanding knowledge on South African art and culture (photography, literature, cinema), however we learned that individuals are facing various challenges, not having laptops available, and/or data to work online, and having the spare to dedicate on Wikipedia editing. While the number of new Wikipedia editors who joined the Wikipedia workshops over the past years seem encouraging, we learned that most of the participants did not continue editing Wikipedia after registration during the workshop. At the same time, we managed to point out the importance of widening the presence of South African creatives on Wikipedia, as creatives benefit from referencing and showcasing precursors in the field. The outreach projects which started in the beginning of 2020 were successful, however they had to stop due to the Covid19 pandemic.

Outcome

Please report on your original project targets.

Target outcome	Achieved outcome	Explanation
12 Wikipedia workshops	5 Wikipedia Workshops at Wits Writing Centre; 3 Workshops at Market Photo Workshop; 1 Workshop at Phototool; 1 Workshop at Bridge Books.	It was difficult for the public to join workshops held at Wits Writing Centre. Due to campus access restrictions the meetings were moved to Wits Art Museum. In both venues, internet access was not available at all times.
Workshop on oral history methods	The Art on our Mind oral history workshop was held successfully and participants attended the introduction workshop hosted by the Wits History Workshop in February 2020.	These workshops were just a start as the inclusion of interviews and oral data is relevant for the Art on our Mind research project.
Invite Wikipedia experts for a panel to Afems conference, 5-7 September 2019 at Wits University	The panel presentation with Isla Haddow-Flood and Bobby Shabangu and was held successfully on 7 September 2019 at African Feminisms Conference at Wits University, the video documentation is available on youtube.	The panel discussion highlighted relevant questions which need to be asked when it comes to editing Wikipedia content on South African art and culture.
Number of total participants: 8-12 editors/session	38 participants (total participants joining workshops over the project phase), of which: 14 participants registered at Art on our Mind; 7 registered participants registered at Market Photo Workshop; 11 registered participants registered at Phototool; 6 registered participants registered at Bridge Books.	We had hoped for more participants to remain active after the workshops.
Number of articles created or improved: 12 articles created, 50 articles improved	Total: 8 articles created, 40 articles edited, of which: Art on our Mind: 4 articles created, 34 articles edited; Market Photo Workshop: 2 articles created, 2 articles edited; Phototool: 2 articles created (4 in progress), 4 articles edited.	Many articles are still in the pipeline, need to be finalised.
Number of photos uploaded to Wikimedia Commons: 12-50 photos	Art on our Mind: 5 Commons uploads; Market Photo Workshop: 2 Commons uploads; Phototool: 13 Commons uploads.

Learning

Projects do not always go according to plan. Sharing what you learned can help you and others plan similar projects in the future. Help the movement learn from your experience by answering the following questions:

• What worked well?

The outreach projects seemed more successful as participants joined because they were invested in the organisation or initiative, whereas it was difficult to find common fields of interest in workshops where students from different fields and the public participated.

• What did not work so well?

Growing the community of Wikipedia editors and recruit new editors working with under- and postgraduate students was more difficult than envisioned, for several reasons: Regularly scheduled Wikipedia workshops had to be paused during exam times.

• What would you do differently next time?

We will develop Wikipedia workshops which are dedicated to a topic, a field of activity (art, literature, cinema) as participants are more invested in editing or creating content they are concerned about.

Finances

Grant funds spent

Please describe how much grant money you spent for approved expenses, and tell us what you spent it on.

No.	Item	Price (ZAR)	Notes
1.	Food and beverages	5,660.86
2.	Transport	827.05	We experienced a lower demand of transport costs from participants than expected.
3.	Travel speaker (CPT-JNB)	3,363.00	The travel cost for the speaker at African Feminisms Conference was higher than expected.
4.	Accommodation speaker (3 nights)	2,959.50	The travel cost for the speaker at African Feminisms Conference was higher than expected.
5.	Conference registration speaker	1,000.00	The registration cost for two speakers were covered, not one.
6.	Supper	803,50
7.	Catering event at Afems 2019	2,742.50	The amount contribute for catering at Afems conference was higher than expected.
8.	Print of posters	501.00
9.	Workshop material (flip chart, stationery)	518.34
10.	Material for banner painting	0,00	The advertising of events was covered by Afems conference.
	Total:	ZAR 18,375.75

Remaining funds

Do you have any remaining grant funds? No.

Anything else

Anything else you want to share about your project?