Wikimedia Community User Group Tanzania/Annual Report 2024/2025

Executive Summary

From May 2024 to April 2025, the Wikimedia Community User Group Tanzania focused on building strong foundations for the future. Instead of doing many short activities, the community chose to invest in people, planning, and structure so that future Wikimedia work in Tanzania can be stronger, more sustainable, and locally led.

Annual Activities and Achievements

• First Quarter (May – July 2024): Foundation Setting & Planning Inception

Strategic Review Workshop: We held a hybrid leadership meeting in Dar es Salaam where community leaders reviewed the user group’s past work, identified skill and capacity gaps, and agreed to focus the year on better planning and training local trainers.

Stakeholder Consultations: Initiated structured dialogues with key members, past participants, academic advisors, and GLAM professionals to gather input on skills needed and potential project directions.

"Train the Trainer" (TTT) Curriculum Development: Began the adaptation and localization of global Wikimedia training resources into a structured Swahili-medium curriculum suitable for the Tanzanian context, focusing on pedagogy and practical facilitation.

Administrative Capacity Building: Implemented new digital tools (shared calendar, Trello project board, Google Drive structure, google mailing list) to improve internal coordination, task tracking, and documentation practices.

• Second Quarter (August – October 2024): Capacity Building Intensive

Trainer Recruitment and Selection: Launched an open call for the "Wikimedia Tanzania Certified Facilitator" program. Screened applications and selected 15 committed volunteers from across the country based on their Wikimedia experience, community involvement, and facilitation potential.

Phase 1 Training – Core Wikimedia Skills: Conducted the first module of the TTT program virtually, focusing on advanced editing, communication on-wiki, and an in-depth exploration of Wikidata, Wikisource, and Commons. Included assignments on improving existing Swahili Wikipedia articles.

Community Engagement Framework Draft: Developed the first draft of a community engagement and conflict resolution guide to standardize facilitator interactions and ensure safe, inclusive spaces at all events.

• Third Quarter (November 2024 – January 2025): Deep Planning and Project Ideation

Phase 2 Training Facilitation & Pedagogy: Conducted the second, crucial module of the TTT program in a hybrid format. Focused on practical facilitation skills, designing inclusive workshops, adult learning principles, and adapting to diverse audiences (students, librarians, professionals). Included a mandatory micro-teaching practicum.

Project Brainstorming Hackathon: Hosted a two-day hybrid brainstorming session in Dodoma involving the new trainer cohort, leadership, and external experts from education, tech, and cultural sectors. The session generated over 20 project ideas using design-thinking methodologies.

Project Pipeline Development: Filtered and developed the top 5 ideas into formal project concept notes. These included:

WikiShule Yetu: Embedding Wikipedia in secondary school ICT curricula.

Wikidata for Tanzanian Heritage: Structured data project for museums and historic sites.

Swahili Oral Citations Project: Pilot for documenting oral history as verifiable sources.

WikiFarmer Initiative: Addressing agricultural knowledge gaps on Wikipedia.

University WikiClubs Consortium: Revitalising and networking university-based clubs.

Future Visioning Session: Held a dedicated session to map out a 5-year vision, discussing pathways from a User Group to a potential Chapter, including necessary legal, financial, and operational milestones.

• Fourth Quarter (February – April 2025): Consolidation and Forward Pathway

TTT Certification and Graduation: Successfully concluded the program. 12 participants completed all modules and practicums, graduating as the first batch of Wikimedia Tanzania Certified Facilitators in a virtual ceremony. They are now equipped to lead future edit-a-thons, workshops, and outreach.

Strategic Plan 2025-2028 Finalization: Synthesized all planning work into a living, three years strategic document titled "Maono yetu 2028" (Our Vision 2028). The plan outlines strategic pillars: Education, Culture & Heritage, Open Data, and Community Health.

Partnership Building for Implementation: Presented the project concept notes and strategic plan to potential institutional partners (e.g., COSTECH, National Museum, University of Dar es Salaam) to secure letters of support for future grant applications.

Annual General Meeting (AGM): Conducted a virtual AGM in April 2025 to present this annual report, introduce the new facilitator cohort, ratify the strategic plan, and elect members to the planning committee for 2025/2026.

Programs and Impact

1. Capacity Building Program: Direct Outcome: Created a sustainable training engine within Tanzania. Reduced dependency on external trainers and built deep local expertise.

Impact Metric: 12 certified facilitators (8 female, 4 male) ready to lead at least 2 activities each in the coming year, capable of training hundreds of new contributors.

2. Strategic Planning Process:

Direct Outcome: Shifted from reactive to proactive operations. Created a clear, community owned roadmap aligned with local needs and global movement strategy.

Impact Metric: Production of a formal Strategic Plan 2025-2028 and 5 detailed Project Concept Notes ready for funding and execution.

3. Community Health & Governance:

Direct Outcome: Improved internal processes, documentation, and a clearer vision for growth and potential chapter development.

Impact Metric: Established a formal trainer registry, updated internal governance guidelines, and a clearer leadership succession plan.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

Managing Expectations: Communicating the value of a "planning year" with fewer public edit-a-thons was challenging but necessary. We learned that clear, consistent communication via our mailing list and social media was key to maintaining community trust.

Resource Intensity: Developing and running a high quality trainer program demanded significant volunteer time and focus. This highlighted the need for dedicated grant support for capacity building as a core activity, not just project execution.

Virtual Fatigue: Sustaining engagement in a prolonged virtual training program required creative session formats, breakout rooms, and fostering strong peer support networks among trainees.

Lesson: Investing in planning and people is not a diversion from the mission, it is the essential foundation for achieving the mission at scale and with quality. This year proved that a strong foundation will amplify all future project outcomes.

Way Forward

The period from May 2024 to April 2025 has successfully repositioned the Wikimedia Community User Group Tanzania. We are no longer just organizers of events; we are builders of a sustainable, skilled, and strategic local movement. The 12 certified facilitators are our greatest asset, and the "Maono yetu 2028" strategic plan is our compass.

In the 2025/2026 cycle, we will transition decisively to the implementation phase, launching pilot projects from our new pipeline. We will begin with WikiShule Yetu and Wikidata for Tanzanian Heritage, led by our new facilitators and guided by our strategic pillars. We will actively seek partnerships and funding to scale these initiatives. The foundation has been poured; now we begin to build the future of free knowledge in Tanzania.

Conclusion

Wikimedia Tanzania User Group extends it's gratitude and appreciate the cooperation, collaboration and engagements from all organizations, individuals, affiliates and Chapters for the productive collaboration.