Grants talk:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Our Voice Matters (ID: 22828484)

Update on your application

Hello @Femonics,

Thank you for submitting an application.

I've reached out to you for a 1-1 chat via email.

Looking forward to connecting.

Regards, Jacqueline JChen (WMF) (talk) 03:40, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

Leaning to oppose

Although I appreciate working to develop the Urdu community, I do not feel that this proposal is worth supporting. The proposal comes from someone who has hardly made any contribututions on Urdu-projects, let alone a single edit. Metrics are worrysome. I cannot trust that they even understand how copyright works given their blatant copyright violations on Wikimedia Commons. Their last edit on Commons dated 2 January 2022 is an outright copyright violation. It does appear that they have made some edits on English Wikipedia, but their live contributions like en:User:Femonics/Farhat Bashir are again worrying.

Apart from the lack of on-wiki policies and guidelines, I do not see any update from the user on any community pages, including those on Urdu projects. I cannot trust a beginner to lead such a program. My suggestion to the Femonics would be to consult established editors from Pakistan, in making this proposal a better one. You might consider seeking beneficial ideas from @Saqib, @Tahir mq, @امین اکبر, or others, whose on-wiki activities, I have been following for quite a while, and two of them are admins on Urdu Wikipedia. I am certain that they'd be glad in helping you improve this proposal. Moreover, it is not clear in the proposal that who the community members are in "At Wikimania 2024- Poland, I discussed the idea with the community from the neighboring country who encouraged me to apply". I'd be glad to know that.

Thirdly, a proposal seeking a support of 4826 USD, and targeting only "20 Wikipedia articles and 100 images on Wikimedia Commons", does not seem to align with its description of focusing on "Urdu content". _signed, Aafi ^(talk) 08:04, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

My observation on this proposal comes as a volunteer admin on Wikimedia Commons and Urdu Wikipedia. I'd be glad to help identify better pathways, if asked for help. However, currently the Urdu-community that this proposal seems to engage has been sidelined, from what I can see. Let me know if I am wrong. _signed, Aafi ^(talk) 08:05, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

I suspect there might be misuse of WMF funds because, like Aafi mentioned, this editor has no editing history and if they’re using another account, they really need to declare it. I don’t want to assume bad faith, but their lack of editing history definitely gives me this impression. Sometimes great things can be accomplished without any funding. For example, I organized several Wiki Loves competition - all without any financial support from WMF. --Saqib (talk) 11:04, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

Dear Saqib, Thank you for your sharing the suspicion not in in the bad faith. I appreciate your contributions. May i ask how many female editors were you able to bring to the Wikipedia especially from Pakistan? since there are not that many editors let alone female editors writing in English or Urdu Language from Pakistan, the proposal was a clear effort to spread the word to the females across colleges and universities. Also if you had read the proposal or had gone through my previous work you would have noticed that my model is to always engage an expert in hybrid edit a thons. since women already face mobility issues, it would have been not fair to ask them to manage the Photo walk on their own or to do the mobilization activities without financial support. Rapid Funds are there for this particular reason.... I myself have conducted many Edit a Thons from my personal funds however, i cannot expect others to manage the activities from their own pocket too. Femonics (talk) 06:17, 21 November 2024 (UTC)

Thank you for your feedback. since this was my first time applying for the Rapid funds, i would be more considerate of the feedback from Pakistani Urdu Community. Please note that the numbers were quoted after careful consideration of the new editors and by reviewing what other successful proposal's scope was. With my extensive experience of community mobilization and event organization, I come as a coordinator to design and implement the activities, as my proposal mentioned for technical part i always bring in the experts as I was going to do by bringing in experts from India and Pakistan in the hybrid Edit A Thon. I look forward to your support in my next proposal to make it more practical. Femonics (talk) 06:24, 21 November 2024 (UTC)

@Femonics, Don't be disheartened. A feedback is always a way to improve. I hope you consider my comments above with a positive prism, and develop in those areas. Feel free to reach out through an email/talk-page message, in case you need my assistance. I am really happy with the enthusiasm that you have showed but on the other side, a lot is missing, which should be working on. _signed, Aafi ^(talk) 11:12, 21 November 2024 (UTC)

Endorsement from Lajmmoore (talk)

1. Why the proposal is important for your community and why you think the strategies chosen will achieve the results that are expected?

I volunteered with Femonics during the pandemic to run an event for Wikiproject Women in Red's 24 hour Editathon for Ada Lovelace. She is a skilled workshop leader and is passionate about gender representation.

2. Could you highlight any aspects that you think are particularly well developed: for instance, the strategies and activities proposed, the levels of community engagement, outreach to underrepresented groups, addressing knowledge gaps, partnerships, the overall budget and learning and evaluation section of the proposal, etc?

I can only comment from a gender equity perspective, but it seems to me that this is a fantastic opportunity for the Wikimedia movement to introduce new editors to the movement, either as ongoing volunteers or advocates once the programme is concluded. It will bring new partners into the movement, which I hope we can all agree is a good thing

3. Could you highlight if the proposal focuses on any interesting research, learning or innovation, etc. Also if it builds on learning from past proposals developed by the individual or organization, or other Wikimedia communities?

I think this builds of some of the work done during the pandemic.

4. Do you think the proposal is going to contribute in any way to important developments around specific Wikimedia projects or Movement Strategy?

Absolutely, working towards gender equity across Wikipedias is part of the movement strategy. I'd also add that creating women-only or women-majority spaces to learn to edit is very important, as we know that there can be resistance to women editing within the movement. I have experienced this on English Wikipedia, but I of course hope Urdu Wikipedia has a different environment.

5. Do you think if the proposal is coherent in terms of the objectives, strategies, budget and expected results (metrics)?

It seems much of the budget goes on project management, which I think is fair. A project like this deserves to be successful and sometimes that is funding expert management. Lajmmoore (talk) 17:55, 20 November 2024 (UTC)

Thank you for the endorsement. Though its disappointing to see that the proposal could not make it this time. However the community support and the endorsement means a lot. This sure will serve as a motivation for me not to get discouraged but to build on the feedback and apply again next time. Femonics (talk) 06:29, 21 November 2024 (UTC)

Endorsement from Ruby D-Brown (talk)

This seems to be a very interesting project and I look forward to the outcome hence my endorsement Ruby D-Brown (talk) 21:16, 20 November 2024 (UTC)

--Ruby D-Brown (talk) 21:16, 20 November 2024 (UTC)

Thank you for the endorsement. Though the proposal could not be accepted this time but this sure will serve as a motivation to keep contributing to my mission of bridging the content gender gap on Wikipedia Femonics (talk) 06:06, 21 November 2024 (UTC)

An update on your application

Hello @Femonics,

Thank you for putting in an application. It was also really good to connect with you on a call. Thank you for your time.

Your grant application has been extensively reviewed by a team comprising of a) the South Asia Regional Funds Committee, b) Programme Officer, c) Regional based thematic/ function leads and d) specific representatives that you mentioned on our call.

At this time, we are unable to approve your grant application in the current scope. Still, we are heartened by your interest and enthusiasm for the Wikimedia movement and hope that you will be able to contribute in ways that are accessible to you before taking the lead on a resourcing project.

Once again, we thank you for your interest and hope you continue to be well.

Regards, Jacqueline JChen (WMF) (talk) 05:41, 21 November 2024 (UTC)

Thank you for following up with me. I will build on the feedback and will come back with stronger proposal next time. Femonics (talk) 06:07, 21 November 2024 (UTC)

Endorsement from Jalu (talk)

 Strong support This initiative is both timely and necessary, addressing critical gaps in global knowledge equity. As someone deeply committed to fostering diversity and inclusion within the Wikimedia movement, I understand the urgent need to bridge the content gender gap on Wikipedia. The lack of female perspectives and the underrepresentation of diverse languages, including Urdu, perpetuates an imbalance in the way knowledge is created and accessed. I have seen firsthand the transformative impact of initiatives that provide women with the skills and confidence to share their expertise. This work not only improves the quality and breadth of Wikipedia’s content but also increases the visibility of women-related issues, which are often overlooked. By empowering women as knowledge creators and amplifying Urdu content, this proposal will contribute to a more equitable platform that reflects the richness of our shared human experience. --Jalu (talk) 13:41, 21 November 2024 (UTC)