Grants:Wikimedia UG Nigeria Grants/Wikimedia User Group Nigeria Community Support Fund/Wiki Loves Africa 2026: Rites and Rituals

Project summary

Briefly summarize your project proposal.

Wiki Loves Africa (WLA) is an annual Wikimedia Commons photo contest that encourages contributors across Africa to document and share media that represents African culture, heritage, and lived experiences. The 2026 edition, themed “Rites and Rituals,” focuses on documenting traditional and spiritual practices as well as culturally significant sites across the continent.

This project is a joint field documentation initiative by the Wikimedia Fan Club, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) and the Wikimedia Fan Club, Kwara State University (KWASU). It represents the first inter-fan-club collaboration of its kind within Kwara State. The project will involve a guided photo expedition and a structured upload/training session focused on culturally and historically significant sites in Jebba, which align with the WLA 2026 theme.Participants will document sacred landscapes, ritual sites, monuments, and cultural heritage locations, and will be trained on how to upload, categorize, and describe media accurately on Wikimedia Commons. This project will help to increase high-quality, freely licensed media documenting African rites, rituals, and heritage while strengthening collaboration within the Wikimedia community

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.

Wikimedia Commons

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: Sideeq Zakariyah Galadima
Email address: Sideeqzakariyah28@gmail.com
Address: Ilorin
Location of Project: Ilorin, Kwara state

Project class

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

Wikimedia Fan Club, Unilorin

Timeline of activities

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

5th - 28th February 2026

Project Goal

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

Create awareness about the Wiki Loves Africa 2026 program and its activities.
Recruit and train new editors through the various photo expeditions, upload sessions and edit-a-thons
Engage existing editors to contribute effectively to commons and introduce new editors to how to accurately contribute to Wiki Commons by properly adding relevant media files.
Increase high-quality documentation of African cultural heritage, rituals, and sacred sites on Wikimedia Commons.
Foster collaboration and peer learning between Wikimedia Fan Clubs in Kwara State.

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?

We will be doing one day Photo walk to 4 different sites and an edit-a-thon session. The areas we are visiting are:

Juju Rock, Jebba: A culturally and spiritually significant monolithic island-hill on the Niger River, deeply rooted in local beliefs, rituals, and historical narratives.
Jebba River: A major natural landmark with spiritual cultural, and historical relevance to surrounding communities within.
Jebba Bridge: A historically important structure symbolizing connectivity and colonial-era infrastructure.
Mungo Park Monument: A heritage monument associated with early exploration history and local narratives tied to ritual memory and place.

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.

Yes, the project concept has been shared with Wikimedia community leaders within Kwara State and we have communicated with the Wikimedia Nigeria Community leadership.

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 will promote the contest through the fan club's official Social Media platforms (Instagram). We also plan to communicate with the participants through the fan clubs' WhatsApp community group.

Instagram

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

Experienced Wikimedia editors and UNILORIN Fan Club executives like:

User:Jessephu (President)
User:Eyinjuseun (Vice president)
User:Josedimaria (General Secretary)

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 already have smartphones. All the participants are computer literates.

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

We will do a follow-up with participants, and encourage them to follow the various social media handles that promotes Wikicommons projects. We will provide them with tips on creating, and editing Wikicommons.

7. Is there anything else you want to tell us about this project? UNILORIN × KWASU (Wikimedia Fan Club Collaboration)

It will encourage cross-community learning and networking
Strengthens Wikimedia presence within Kwara State
Introduces members to collaborative documentation beyond their immediate institutions
It will also Serves as a pilot model for future inter-fan-club collaborations in Nigeria

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 - 1
Number of participants - 25
Number of new editors - 5
Number of of articles created -
Number of of articles improved -
Number of of images uploaded - 150
Number of repeat participants (for projects that include a series of events) -

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)

A dashboard will be created for this and this dashboard will linked to Wiki Loves Africa 2026 Category which will be used to track the uploads.

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)

5 points – Per Pictures uploaded on Wikimedia Commons

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).

User:Jessephu (President) alongside the (Vice president) User:Eyinjuseun are both experienced individuals with wealth of experience on Wikimedia Commons
User:Josedimaria (General Secretary): He and other executives will be incharge of logistics, coordination, and the overall organization of the event

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

As a result of the collaboration between both Wikimedia Fan Clubs, the project has been structured to ensure better coordination and convenience. The Wikimedia Fan Club, University of Ilorin, will be responsible for covering the following expenses on behalf of its members, while all other associated costs will be borne by the Kwara State University Wikimedia Fan Club.

Transportation/Hiring of Bus (to and fro) to convey 30 persons for photowalk to 4 different sites = 150,000 NGN
Food and Refreshments for the Photowalk and uploading session (4000*30) = 120,000 NGN
Photography = 20,000 NGN

Total = 290,000 NGN

Endorsements

Community members are encouraged to endorse your project request here!

User:Jessephu: I endorse this project because it will increase the visibility of the Wikimedia ecosystem in Kwara State, helping people understand that Wikimedia activities extend beyond the usual immediate fan club environment. As the first initiative of its kind in the state, it sets a strong precedent and gives the project greater relevance and impact. I believe this effort will also strengthen community engagement and contribute meaningfully to improving the Wiki Loves Africa campaign.
User:Eyinjuseun: I endorse this project as this will help wikimedia get to know the culture and heritage of Kwara state, improve engagement and create lasting impact.
User:Josedimaria: I endorse this project as it deals with a cultural exposition of the historic city of Jebba to students from the both universities where they can contribute in developing the city's article on Wikipedia and adding pictures of the city on WikiCommons.

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