Grants:Project/Rapid/OtuNwachinemere/Introduction of Wikipedia to Veritas University & FUT Minna/Report

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Goals[edit]

Did you meet your goals? Are you happy with how the project went?
No sadly I didn't and I am not happy about it. Both target schools are Institutions of higher learning and Nigeria plunged into an extensive 8 months strike that saw the education sector grind to a halt. We tried to get several extensions and renegotiate dates. Unfortunately, the management of one of the schools has become unresponsive and it wouldn't be practical to request for more extensions at this point.

We were however able to execute the project at Veritas University and successfully established the Veritas University Student Fan club at the institution. Members of the new community have gone on to participate in several contests and even emerged winners in the just concluded Wiki Loves Africa contest organized by the Igbo Wikimedia Community.

Outcome[edit]

Please report on your original project targets. Please be sure to review and provide metrics required for Rapid Grants.


Target outcome Achieved outcome Explanation
4 events 2 events The management of FUTMinna has become unresponsive despite several letters and reminders and consequent reassurances after the strike. I don't think it is practical to request another extension on the basis of a weak reassurance.
50 participants 76 participants Students of Veritas University turned up in their numbers for the 2 day event. Unfortunately, the IP block was a major challenge to registrations.
20 articles create or edited 2 articles edited + several userpages edited IP block was a major challenge and restricted participants to creating userpages on Meta.


Learning[edit]

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?
  1. Liaising with members of the local Wikimedia communities who were graduates of the institution at the Veritas University program was very instrumental to ensuring the project was executed at their institution.
  2. Paying vendors in advance was a good strategy as it helped protects us from rising inflation costs throughout the delay period.
  • What did not work so well?
  1. Unfortunately, written agreements didn't work so well with FUT Minna and the project execution remains delayed (although there still appears to be a possibility) as at the time of writing this report, it is still unlikely that the events will hold in 2023.
  2. Strike in educational institutions (which was no fault of the students) badly hampered the execution of the project at FUT Minna.
  3. IP blocks were a major headache and prevented registrations and contributions at Veritas University.
  4. The institutions appeared to renege on their earlier agreements after the hiatus with FUT Minna remaining largely unresponsive.
  5. Because we paid vendors in advance, it has become impossible to recover funds for the final 2 events although there exists the promise to still provide agreed services should the arrangements eventually come through. A pro however, is that the arrangement saved us from inflation related costs subsequently.

 

  • What would you do differently next time?
  1. Involve local communities more and leverage on their resources within educational institutions instead of focusing on trying to establish new ones.
  2. Consider the option of opting for online events in the unfortunate chance that there is a challenge with holding physical in-person events.
  3. Find a way to collect participant registration details and do batch registrations ahead of the physical meetings in case of Ip blocks.

Finances[edit]

Grant funds spent[edit]

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

Veritas University[edit]

Internet (Bundle + Router) - $120 Local transport - $85 Food for participants - $300 X 2days - $600 Food for facilitators (2 days) - $50 Accommodation - $35 X 2 X 2days = $140 Participant packs - $130 Publicity (fliers) - $45 (for both events) Merch & Swag (Stickers and Shirts) - $100 (for facilitators and participants) Hand sanitisers & Nose masks - $55 Certificates - $70 Miscellaneous - 30

Total = $1425

FUT Minna (paid in advance)[edit]

Internet (Bundle + Router) - $120 Food for participants - $300 X 2days - $600 Food for facilitators (2 days) - $50 Accommodation - $35 X 2 X 2days = $140 Participant packs - $130 Hand sanitisers & Nose masks - $55 Certificates - $70

Total = $1280

Grand Total = $2705

Remaining funds[edit]

Do you have any remaining grant funds? No, remaining funds.

Anything else[edit]

Anything else you want to share about your project?

  1. I will continue to explore the possibility of holding the pending events at FUT Minna and will update this report if efforts yield a positive result.
  2. I wish to apologize for this late reporting, it was due to several disappointments, the apparent dissatisfaction with making requests for extensions and the persistent optimism that the projects will still hold. This is way out of my nature, and I assure it will not happen again. Thank you.
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