Grants:Wikimedia UG Nigeria Grants/Wikimedia User Group Nigeria Community Support Fund/Emmanuel Obiajulu/International Day of Indigenous Peoples 2025 at Wikimedia Nigeria Imo State Network

Project summary

Briefly summarize your project proposal.

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples Campaign - Every year on August 9, the world comes together to celebrate and mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples—a day set aside to celebrate the rich cultures, knowledge systems, and contributions of indigenous communities globally. This year, the Wikimedian Nigeria Imo State Network will be joining the world to celebrate the rich culture of the Igbo indigenous people. The Igbo tribe, an indigenous people native to southeastern Nigeria, faces challenges in preserving her cultural heritage and representation online. For instance, the Igbo language is threatened by the preference for other languages perceived as a language of status and opportunity by native speakers. This has led to a decline in monolingual Igbo speakers and the deterioration of idioms, proverbs, and rhetorical elements. It's also important to note that many important stories and perspectives are missing or underrepresented in the free knowledge ecosystem, especially in African languages. Also, the Igbo indigenous people, their culture and history lack comprehensive online representation, making it difficult for people to access information about this rich and diverse heritage.Hence, the erosion of the Igbo language, traditions, and cultural identities is a significant concern that requires attention and contribute from all stakeholders.This proposal therefore, seeks to address these gaps in a meaningful way by launching a campaign that focuses on improving Wikimedia content related to indigenous peoples, with special attention to the Igbo language and identity. The goal of this campaign is to increase access to reliable knowledge about indigenous topics by translating key articles from English to Igbo on Wikipedia and improving data items on Wikidata.Our activities will include translation sessions, wikidata training, wiki common upload and community follow-ups both online and in person. Everyone, from beginners to experienced editors, will have a role to play in making this campaign a success.This is not just about editing—it’s about preserving identity, promoting linguistic diversity, and ensuring that future generations have access to knowledge in their mother tongue. By contributing in both Igbo Wikipedia and Wikidata, we’re helping build a more inclusive and representative digital space that reflects the voices and histories of our people.

Wikimedia Project

Please state the Wikimedia project your project will focus majorly on (e.g. Tyap Wikipedia, English Wikiquote, etc). It is advisable to focus on one Wikimedia project, but a maximum of two projects is allowed.

Content translation, wikidata and Wikicommon

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 same details for everyone

Full name: Obiajulu Emmanuel
Email address: emmanuelobiajulu0@gmail.com
Address: Owerri,Imo State
Location of Project: Owerri, Imo State

Project class

Please state if you are applying as an individual or a network/club

Wikimedia Nigeria Imo State Network

Timeline of activities

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

Start Date: 1st August, 2025
End Date: 31st August, 2025

Project Goal

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

Recruit new editors.
Translate contents.
Upload and add images.

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?

There will be one in-person training session and one online training session to support our editors throughout the campaign.

2. How have you let relevant Wikimedia communities know about this proposal? You may also provide information about external social media channels you may be using.

We have informed the WNUG Community.

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.

We'll promote the campaign through our social media channels, including WhatsApp groups and Instagram. Effective communication strategies will be employed to ensure widespread awareness and engagement with the campaign.

4. Do you have experienced Wikimedia editors to lead/assist the event? Please provide links to the usernames of these individuals. (NOTE: all experienced Wikimedia editors MUST endorse and sign your proposal as proof of availability)
For example: User:Kaizenify

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

Yes, participants are equipped with smartphones and laptops, ensuring their full participation in the campaign.

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

After the in-person and online training, we'll follow up with participants to ensure they follow the proper steps necessary to add images with caption to different articles.

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

N/A

Impact

How will you know if the project is successful and you've met your goals? Please include the following targets (only those applicable to your project):

Number of events - 2
Number of participants - 25
Number of new editors - 3
Number of of articles created -
Number of of articles improved - 200
Number of of images uploaded - 15
Number of repeat participants (for projects that include a series of events) - 20

Metrics tracking

How do you plan to track your project metrics? (do not create a metrics dashboard until your project has been approved for funding)

Outreach Dashboard

Contest & prize-giving events

How would decide the winners of your contest (If you are going to have a contest, what is your scoring criteria)

Every translated article 2 points
Every Wikidata 2 points
Common upload 1 point

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).

Emmanuel_Obiajulu: He is an experienced Wikimedian and has facilitated many Wikimedian projects and training. He will train participants on how to translate articles from English to Igbo, and also on uploading images on wiki commons.
Dolphyb: He is an experienced Wikimedian. He will review contributions from participants and provide relevant guidance.
Sommy_kemdi: As an experienced Wikimedian she will follow up on editors, and will facilitate the opening of Wikimedia accounts for new users.

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

Hall hire = N90,000
Internet data support for the 25 participants @1500 per person = N37,500
Lunch for the 25 participants @N3,500 per person = N87,500
Flex and communication N20,000
Projector Rental = N30,000
Logistics for participants @1500 per person = N37,500
Facilitators support (3)= N30,000
Logistics and contingency N10,000
Prize for top 3 winners N35,000
’’’Total =N377,500’’’

Endorsements

Community members are encouraged to endorse your project request here!

Submit your report