Grants talk:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/General Support Fund/Free Knowledge Africa General Support Fund FY 26

-Feedback regarding your application-

Latest comment: 5 months ago2 comments2 people in discussion

Thank you very much for your application. We appreciate your continuous efforts in increasing equitable access to information by making Nigerian public domain works openly available online. The Committee would like to recognize that the strength of your proposal lies in its ability to focus on the digitization of public domain materials, transcription of historical newspapers into audio formats, and community engagement through training sessions on Wikidata and Wikisource.

The WMF Community Resources team and the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Funds Committee have convened to review your application and we have the following points for feedback before reaching a final decision. Upon reviewing your application, we would like to bring your attention to a number of points:

Proposed programs, approaches and strategies are very limited, focusing only on training local volunteers and librarians on how to use Wikisource, Wikidata, and other Open Educational Resources (OER) platforms and hosting workshops and engagement sessions to build a network of skilled contributors who can preserve and share Nigeria’s intellectual heritage.

Poor allocation of the requested budget, with more than 55% allocated to personnel costs. Would you kindly review it and increase the funds allocated to programs. Also, in the same budget, kindly reduce to only one 1 member who will participate in the Wikimania Conference in France.

The metrics need to be revised upwards:

- 1,500 items on Wikimedia Commons

- 1,000 + 500 articles on Wikidata

- 500 + 500 articles on Wikisource

Public Policy Advocacy review feedback

The GA team needs more information to reach a decision about this application.

Target. What do you wish to accomplish related to the Nigerian Copyright Act of 2022? How will this benefit the free knowledge movement? We would like to know why you are targeting this Act and what you wish to change within the Act.

Target. This Act was passed in 2022, which indicates it is probably not a topic that the government is keen to discuss since a decision has recently been made about it. What opportunities exist to influence a recently established Act? Is there public debate, or an official copyright reform movement that is putting the Act back in parliamentary debates?

Tactics. This answer lacks the detail we asked for. We encourage the applicant to look at the examples of successful proposals that we have on the meta-wiki page to better understand the application standard that is expected. Our questions:
- What do you wish to accomplish by attending parliamentary sessions - how will you make a meaningful contribution when you are in the sessions?
- What stakeholders do you plan to meet with, and do you have existing relationships with them? If not, then how do you plan to go about identifying relevant stakeholders and establishing meetings with them?
- What is the public petition that you mention? What does it ask for? Do you have plans beyond signing the petition, to help push the demands that are made in the petition and force the government to take it into consideration?

How do you plan to work with other Wikimedian affiliates in Nigeria that are focused on copyright advocacy (for example, Igbo Wikimedians, Wikimedia UG Nigeria, and Tyap Wikimedia)? It is important to participate in policy discussions as a united front so that government stakeholders are not confused and we don’t appear disorganized as a movement.

Thank you very much, and please feel free to share your feedback in this discussion page by Sunday, November 9, 2025 at 12 PM UTC.

Wishing you the best of luck.

On behalf of the WMF Community Resources team and the SSA Regional Funding Committee WBuloso-WMF (talk) 19:57, 31 October 2025 (UTC)Reply

Dear Funding Committee,

Thank you for taking the time to review our application and provide feedback.

Our approach is intentionally focused on quality rather than quantity. By narrowing our scope to training local volunteers and librarians on how to effectively use Wikisource, Wikidata, and other OER platforms, we can ensure our efforts are both efficient and impactful. This focused approach allows us to build a strong foundation of skilled contributors who can sustain and expand the work beyond the project period. The librarians trained through this program will also be equipped to digitize and share materials from their own collections, increasing the number of Nigerian public-domain works available online and helping to preserve and promote Nigeria’s intellectual heritage.
We appreciate the feedback regarding budget allocation. We are not certain how the estimate of 55% for personnel costs was calculated. According to our current budget, approximately 44% of the total grant amount is allocated to personnel. While this may appear slightly higher than average, it reflects the labor-intensive nature of our activities, which require significant time and expertise for coordination, training, and community engagement. These personnel contributions are essential to ensuring that program activities are effectively implemented and that the impact of the project is both meaningful and sustainable. We have also reduced the Wikimedia participation to one person and redirected the funds towards digitizing more items
the metrics have been revised

Public Advocacy Feedback response

Target: What we wish to accomplish related to the Nigerian Copyright Act of 2022

Free Knowledge Africa (FKA) seeks to influence the interpretation and implementation of the Nigerian Copyright Act 2022 to ensure that its provisions advance public access to knowledge, cultural heritage, and education. Our advocacy does not aim to amend the Act but rather to shape how the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) applies its regulatory powers—especially around public interest, education, and access provisions. Specifically, we want to:

Promote a clear and inclusive interpretation of the “public interest” clause (Section 35) that enables access, digitization, and preservation of cultural works.
Encourage the NCC to recognize open access, Creative Commons licensing, and Wikimedia projects as legitimate frameworks supporting the Act’s goals.
Build stronger collaboration between the NCC, the National Library, and other knowledge institutions to ensure public interest is consistently considered in copyright regulation.
Advocate that NCC’s forthcoming regulations and stakeholder consultations explicitly include civil society, academic, and Wikimedia communities.

By doing this, we help align Nigerian copyright practice with the global free knowledge movement, ensuring the law protects creators while also empowering learners, educators, and cultural heritage communities.

Target: Why Target a newly established Act

Although the Nigerian Copyright Act was enacted in 2022, implementation is still evolving. The NCC continues to issue regulations, hold consultations, and define key operational aspects. This offers an immediate advocacy opportunity around how the public interest clause (Section 35) is applied — which gives the NCC the discretion to authorize use of works “in the public interest.” This provision provides a strong entry point for promoting open access to digitized materials and supporting educational and cultural use. There is ongoing room for public influence, as the NCC is required to consult with stakeholders in implementing the Act. Free Knowledge Africa will use this period to advocate for frameworks that balance creator rights with public access.

Tactics

1. Attending NCC and National Assembly sessions

Our participation will be active and evidence-based. We intend to:

Submit policy briefs that demonstrate how the “public interest” clause can practically support education, open culture, and innovation.
Present case studies from Wikimedia projects and GLAM digitization partnerships that show public benefit in action.
Engage directly with the Senate and House Committees on Arts, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy to encourage parliamentary oversight that ensures implementation aligns with public interest objectives.

2. Stakeholders and existing relationships

Free Knowledge Africa already has established relationships with:

The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) through participation in prior copyright awareness and digital heritage events.
The National Library of Nigeria, through our collaborative digitization and open access initiatives.
GLAM professionals and cultural institutions, through ongoing partnerships that promote public domain preservation.

We will build on these relationships to coordinate roundtables and advocacy meetings, ensuring that our engagement is credible and inclusive.

3. Public petition

The public petition will call on the NCC and the National Assembly to:

Recognize and strengthen the public interest provisions in implementation guidelines.
Include civil society and Wikimedia communities in all regulatory consultations.
Endorse the formation of a National Open Knowledge and Access Forum to advise on open licensing and public domain policy.

Beyond collecting signatures, we will:

Submit the petition to both the NCC and the National Assembly Committees on Arts, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy.
Organize media campaigns and open letters to sustain visibility and public support.
Engage parliamentarians to follow up on the petition through committee discussions and oversight actions.

4. Collaboration with other Wikimedia affiliates

We recognize the importance of unity and coherence across the Wikimedia movement.To that end, FKA will:

Collaborate with Wikimedia User Group Nigeria, Igbo Wikimedians, and Tyap Wikimedians to craft a joint policy statement on copyright interpretation and open knowledge.
Participate in regular coordination calls and shared advocacy workshops to ensure consistent messaging.
Co-host advocacy events and campaigns under a unified “Wikimedia for Public Interest” banner.

Expected Benefits to the Free Knowledge Movement

Greater legal clarity and flexibility for Wikimedia and GLAM projects in Nigeria.
Strengthened collaboration between the NCC, National Library, and open knowledge advocates.
A more enabling regulatory environment for digitization, cultural preservation, and educational access.
A united Wikimedia advocacy network engaging constructively with government stakeholders.

The Nigerian Copyright Act 2022, while new, offers an important opportunity to advance public interest and open knowledge through its implementation phase. By focusing our advocacy on interpretation, collaboration, and oversight, Free Knowledge Africa aims to help ensure the Act truly reflects Nigeria’s commitment to creativity, education, and equitable access to knowledge.

On behalf of the Free Knowledge Africa team, Bilijin (talk) 00:44, 9 November 2025 (UTC)Reply

Free Knowledge Africa Fund approved in the amount of 25,000 USD

Dear Free Knowledge Africa Team,

Thank you for submitting your application seeking General Support Funds - Wikimedia Community Fund. The SSA Regional Committee and Staff have thoroughly reviewed, discussed and deliberated upon your application and made the decision to fund you at 25,000 USD (fiscal sponsor fees included) for a grant period of 1st January to 31st December 2026.

Here are a few points to note;

We found your proposed work on Public Policy Advocacy to be well structured, hence we have approved the amount of $5,000 to be allocated to the program. We support the idea of influencing how the regulation will be applied; however you will need more direction and support when it comes to the tactics and strategies you are planning to apply. We will work with you to strengthen the community engagement in the field of PPA.

We recommend that you add volunteers to each of the roles requested so as to ensure knowledge transfer. We also recommend that you reduce the number of participants to Wikimania 2026 at only 1 staff.

As mentioned in the feedback and now here, we see no value in implementing the public domain outreach.

We hope to continue having regular conversations over the course of your grant implementation. Do set up a regular schedule to connect with your Programme Officer based on your needs. The reporting requirements for the grant will be shared in your grant agreement and on Fluxx. All reports are to be completed and submitted via Fluxx.

Once again, Congratulations! We thank you for your participation in the grant application process and hope to continue to journey with you as you embark on a new year of project implementation.

On behalf of the WMF Community Resources team and the SSA Regional Funding Committee.

Kind regards, CapitainAfrika (talk)