Grants:Wikimedia UG Nigeria Grants/Wikimedia User Group Nigeria Community Support Fund/Building a Vibrant and Inclusive Community

Project summary

Briefly summarize your project proposal.

With the introduction of Wikimedia projects in Gombe State in 2021, the level of awareness and burgeoning of volunteer contributors in the state has increased tremendously. This is largely due to the efforts and success of the pioneer project “Building Wikipedia and Community in Gombe State” and the subsequent creation and recognition of Gombe Network by the WUGN as an affiliate. Developing a vibrant Gombe Network to ensure inclusiveness and adequate representation across the State involves building a strong community of contributors, promoting diversity, and adequate representation. To further consolidate on achievement recorded, we propose to establish and nurture a vibrant network of ambassadors to promote inclusiveness and representation across the 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Gombe State, Nigeria.

Furthermore, this initiative aims to engage local contributors to participate in the Wiki Love Monuments campaign, bridge content gaps, and highlight Gombe's culture, history, and current affairs on Wikimedia platforms.

To ensure the quality of image contribution to Commons, the network will be collaborating with the Gombe Photographers' Professional Association to build the capacity of their members and participation.

Wikimedia Project

Please state the Wikimedia project your project will focus majorly on (e.g. Wi kipedia, Wikidata, etetc. It is advisable to focus on one Wikimedia project, but a maximum of two projects is allowed.

• Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia.

Contact person and Location

Please state the contact details of the contact person(s) for this project including email(s) and location. For more than one contact person, indicate sathe me details for everyone

• Full name: Ismail Atiba
• Email address: wikigombenetwork@gmail.com
• Location: Gombe State

Project class

Please state if this grant is for an individual proa project or a network/club project

• Wikimedia Gombe Network

Timeline of activities

Please state the timeline of your activities, and include the start and end date for your project

• Start date: 9th September to 9th October

Project Goal

Choose one or more of the following goals. Feel free to add or delete goals as required by your project.

1. Build a diverse and active community of Wikimedia contributors in LGAs of Gombe State.
2. Foster partnerships with local institutions, organizations, and media outlets to strengthen the network's impact.
3. Promote inclusiveness, gender diversity, and underrepresented voices in content creation.
4. Create and enhance content related to Gombe's LGAs, culture, history, and geography on Wikimedia projects through Wiki Loves Monument campaign.

Project Plan

Activities

Tell us how you'll carry out your project. Be sure to answer the following questions:

1. Are you doing one editathon or training or a series of editathons or trainings?

Awareness, Training and Editathon.

A call for participation using social media platforms and broadcast media will be utilized to targeted LGAs communities. We understand that the Wiki Loves Monuments campaign is a month-long campaign however, to ensure that the LGAs are effectively covered and impacted, will be prioritizing Gombe and Akko due LGA in the first phase of the awareness and training. Learning from program evaluation will form the basis for the planning of future activities.

2. How have you let relevant Wikimedia communities know about this proposal? You are required to provide links to on-wiki pages to inform these communities about your proposed work. Examples of places where this can be done include community discussion pages, affiliate discussion pages, or relevant project talk pages.
You may also provide information about external social media channels you may be using.

Relevant community such as the WUGN, WikiProject Nigeria will be notified

3. How will you let participants know about the edit-a-thon? In what ways will you be communicating with them?
For example, these can include on-wiki spaces, social media channels, mailing lists, messaging apps, or physical/online gatherings.

Through an open call for participation and membership, using network’s social media platforms and broadcast media will be utilized to target specific and wide range coverage of communities to raise awareness about the Wikimedia Gombe Network and planned activities.

Existing members will be notified using our Community WhatsApp group

4. Do you have experienced Wikimedia editors to lead the event? Please provide links to the usernames of these individuals.
For example: User:Kaizenify

• User: Kaizenify: is Project Director, Wikimedia Nigeria and national organizer of Wiki Loves Monuments in Nigeria. He will be available to give insights on WLM campaign.
• User: Meritkosy: is an experienced Wikimedian and program manager who will serve as a facilitator.
• User: Atibrarian: an experienced Wikimedian and pioneer of Gombe Wikimedia Community.
• User: Salis062: is a season communication strategist, Wikimedian and will be serving as communication officer
• User: Umar2z: will be serving as a support trainer

5. Do participants have the equipment or skills needed to participate and contribute high quality content? If not, how will you support them?

Yes, they have equipment. Training will be conducted to enhance their skills.

6. How will you engage participants after the event(s)?

Post training evaluation will be conducted to measure impact and learning will form strategy for future engagement. New members will be onboarded to Gombe Network’s WhatsApp group for continuous engagement and communication.

7. Is there anything else you want to tell us about this project?

Impact

How will you know if the project is successful and you've met your goals? Please include the following targets:

1. Number of events 2
2. Number of participants 30
3. Number of new editors 10
4. Number of quality images, articles created or improved 100
5. Number of repeat participants (for projects that include a series of events) 10

Metrics tracking

How do you plan to track your project metrics? The Programs & Events Dashboard tool will be utilized

Resources

What resources do you have? Include information on who is organizing the project, what they will do, and if you will receive support from anywhere else (in-kind donations or additional funding).

What resources do you need? For your funding request, list bullet points for each expense and include a total amount.

• Hall for the physical session: ₦30,000
• Promotional Materials like Banner, e-flyers: ₦10,000
• Transportation: ₦10,000
• Rental of projectors, equipment: ₦40,000
• Lunch with water 2000 per person × 30 =: ₦60,000
• Prizes for top 5 editors: ₦30,000
• Internet support for both Facilitators and participants for both online and offline sessions: ₦50,000
• Total budget: ₦230,000

Endorsements

Community members are encouraged to endorse your project request here!

 Strong support:I totally support the project's objectives to create a varied contributor community across all LGAs in Gombe State, cultivate fruitful collaborations, advance inclusivity and gender diversity, and improve content through the Wiki Loves Monuments campaign. The goals of the project aim to ensure a more fair representation while enhancing Wikimedia platforms with the distinctive culture, history, and geography of Gombe. This project has a lot of potential for both the neighborhood and the larger Wikimedia ecosystem. Umar2z (talk) 18:26, 16 August 2023 (UTC)

 Strong support:I'm thrilled to provide my support to this revolutionary endeavor. Through the Wiki Loves Monuments campaign, this effort offers a special chance to raise the voices of those who are underrepresented, highlight Gombe's rich legacy, and provide a more balanced representation on Wikimedia platforms. I am honored to back a project that makes sure Gombe's story is properly shared with the world. Umabruka (talk) 07:50, 16 August 2023 (UTC)

 Strong support I wholeheartedly endorse this thoughtfully crafted strategic initiative, as it strives to ensure inclusive and diverse representation of residents across all 11 LGAs in Gombe State, along with stakeholders. This commitment underscores the importance of fostering inclusiveness and laying the groundwork for sustainable community development. ~~~~

 Support:I strongly support and endorse this Wikimedia initiative that aims to engage local contributors in the Wiki Love Monuments campaign. This project has the potential to create a diverse and comprehensive representation of Gombe's identity, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation among people from various backgrounds. It will also serve as a documentation and celebration of Gombe's invaluable heritage in the digital space. Meritkosy (talk) 09:40, 16 August 2023 (UTC)