Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy/Implementation/Affiliate health criteria/Reports/2024/Wikimédiens du Bénin User Group
| Affiliate basic information | ||
|---|---|---|
| What is the affiliate name? | Wikimédiens du Bénin User Group | |
| Please list the languages supported by this affiliate | French | |
| Please list countries where this affiliate operates | Republic of Benin | |
| Reporting timeline (e.g. January-December) | Mai → May | |
| Reporting year (e.g. 2024 or 2024-2025) | 2024-2025 | |
| Primary contact (user name) | User:Adoscam | |
| Secondary contact (user name) | User:Fawaz.tairou | |
| Goal delivery | ||
| What is the affiliate mission? | Develop a nationwide community of active contributors capable of editing articles about Benin, its history, culture, and people.
Build a community of volunteer developers to contribute to MediaWiki by fixing bugs and creating new gadgets and extensions. Promote Beninese indigenous languages on Wikipedia and its sister projects by launching editions in our local languages. Establish partnerships with national and international institutions to encourage both the use of and contributions to Wikipedia in schools and universities. | |
| What are the affiliate goals? Link to the strategic plan, if there is one. | [grant proposals] | |
| Organizational development | ||
| How does the affiliate make decisions? How are decisions communicated? | The Board of the Wikimedia Benin User Group, in collaboration with the community, volunteers, and both national and international partners—whether affiliated with the Wikimedia movement or not, ensures the proper implementation of the activities outlined in the group’s annual plan. It also oversees the monitoring and execution of various programs.
New individuals have been recruited and entrusted with greater responsibilities in project and activity management, thereby contributing significantly to the fulfillment of our mission. The current board consists of four members: two women and two men. It is supported by a gender-balanced audit committee, composed of one woman and one man, reflecting our strong commitment to gender inclusion and equity. The user group is also working to expand its presence beyond Cotonou, by establishing representatives in the northern regions and other departments of Benin. Decisions are made during meetings or general assemblies, held either in person or online, based on formal invitations and with active participation from members. | |
| What is the current state of the affiliate finances? Link to the latest financial report, if there is one. | [SAPG financial report] | |
Affiliate health and resilience
| ||
| How many people participate in the decision-making process in the affiliate? | The Board of Administration is currently composed of four voting members, ensuring a balance between decision-making and consultative roles, while promoting participatory governance within the group. It consists of Fawaz Tairou (President), Mermoze Adodo (Secretary), Hounnou Mahoussi Espérance Victoire (Treasurer and Lead for the development of wikis in local languages), and Abigaïl Agbenomba (Deputy Treasurer and Lead for gender development).
The audit committee is composed of two non-voting members: Frédéric Ahonou (First Auditor) and Chimène Yélouassi (Second Auditor). | |
| Has there been any significant changes in the level of the affiliate membership body (e.g. increase/decrease of number of dues-paying members)? | More than 40 people are listed as members, but the 2025 list is not up to date | |
| Are there any affiliate activities in the past year that were led by affiliate members? Please share the highlights. | More than six (06) members of our team, along with other community members, have worked on Wikimedia projects, events, and activities in Benin. These include: 1Lib1Ref, Art+Feminism, Feminism and Folklore, Wiki Loves Africa, Wiki Loves Earth, Wiki Loves Folklore, Wiki Loves Monuments, Wiki Loves Women, WikiForHumanRights, WikiGap, Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos, and Wikipedia Birthday Anniversary. | |
| Leadership and inclusion | ||
Diverse, skilled, and accountable leadership
| ||
| What kind of skills does the affiliate leadership possess? | Here are some training topics that a Wikimedia User Group can benefit from to grow, organize, and contribute better to the movement:
Community Project Management Group Facilitation and Leadership Skills Wikipedia Editing and Article Improvement Advanced Use of Wikimedia Tools Diversity and Inclusion Awareness Communication and Social Media Management Introduction to Technical Contribution (MediaWiki, Extensions Development) Open Data Collection and Management Conflict Management and Problem Solving Fundraising and Grant Writing | |
| Is there any kind of succession plan for the affiliate leadership? | No | |
| Are there any trainings that affiliate leadership undergo before they assume their leadership position? | Most experienced members mentor new ones in project management by involving them as assistants or co-leaders. This approach allows learning by example. Similarly, some seasoned members provide support by sharing their experience in managing Wikimedia projects within the movement | |
| Are there any requirements for affiliate leadership to disclose their conflict(s) of interests? | No | |
Diversity balance (especially gender)
| ||
| What is the diversity level of the affiliate leadership and membership body? | The board of Wikimedia Benin is composed of four members, including two women and two men. This reflects a gender-balanced representation, with 50% women and 50% men. | |
| How is the affiliate leadership encouraging gender diversity in the decision-making process(es) of the affiliate? | The implementation of innovative and high-impact initiatives such as Gender Equality, dedicated to reducing gender inequality, Afro Creative, aimed at promoting the visibility of African cinema on Wikimedia projects, and Les Sans Pages Bénin, actively contributes to highlighting women's leadership. | |
Universal Code of Conduct compliance
| ||
| How does the affiliate leadership ensure, enforce, and evaluate compliance with the Universal Code of Conduct obligations? | We do not yet reference the Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC) within our User Group, but we plan to consider its integration in the future. | |
| Engagement and Collaboration | ||
| Please share the publicly available records of regular meetings, activities, events, or conference in the past year where the affiliate has participated. | https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projet:Les_sans_pagEs#Formation_wikification,_relecture_et_labellisation_du_12_avril_2025
https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/Formation_wikification%2C_relecture_et_labellisation | |
| Community connection | ||
| How many affiliate members are active contributors to the Wikimedia projects? | Most of our contributors are active in French and in national languages, particularly on Wikipedia in Fon, the most widely spoken language in Benin. | |
| How many affiliate members are not active contributors to the Wikimedia projects? | We cannot confirm an exact number of participants, as people get involved based on their motivation. | |
| How many affiliate members are active organizers (of projects, events, conferences, initiatives, etc) within the Wikimedia movement? | We currently have 9 active individuals who manage projects | |
| How many people have participated in affiliate projects, events, conferences, and/or initiatives in the past year? | At least 100 people participated in our Wikimedia activities throughout 2024 and 2025. | |
| Partnerships and collaboration | ||
| Please list all activities/initiatives that the affiliate has organized or co-organized in past 12 months. | https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiIndaba_2024/Report/Adoscam
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Objectif_2500_articles https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:SheSaid_2024_au_B%C3%A9nin https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Gender_Equality_in_Benin https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiFranca/Micro-financement/Demande/%C2%B5Fi-2025-01-53010/Rapport https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Wikidata_12th_Birthday_in_Benin/Rapport https://wikiloves.toolforge.org/earth/2024/Benin https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Earth_2023_in_Benin https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Images_from_Wiki_Loves_Folklore_2025_in_Benin https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Images_from_Wiki_Loves_Africa_2025_in_Benin https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Hackathon_2025_au_B%C3%A9nin:_Appel_%C3%A0_participation | |
| What would affiliate leadership list as the top 3 (three) capacities of the affiliate? (e.g. evaluation, community governance, programs and events, organizational governance and resource policies, conflict management, partnerships, fundraising, communication and media relations, contributor development, on-wiki technical skills, policy advocacy, etc) | Our group has gained over five years of experience in mobilizing volunteers to build the Wikimedia community in Benin, through organizing local activities and implementing international campaigns such as Art+Feminism, Wiki Loves Africa, and 1Lib1Ref. The steady growth of our community and the increased visibility of Wikimedia projects in Benin are evidence of this. | |
| In terms of community governance, we have made efforts to ensure a transparent and participatory organization by involving new members who have been entrusted with responsibilities in project management. Additionally, several national and international partnerships have been developed to strengthen the community’s presence on the ground. | ||
| The training and capacity building of leaders and mentors are carried out through meetings held during events, programs, and networking activities. | ||
| What are the 3 (three) capacities that the affiliate would like to strengthen in the next 12 months? | We aim to continue strengthening the technical skills of our members, particularly in submitting quality articles, developing gadgets, extensions, and applications, as well as making technical contributions to projects such as Wikidata, Meta-Wiki, and others. | |
| Conflict management within the community is a skill we wish to develop. | ||
| Strengthening technical skills in fundraising and grant writing is planned through training sessions to support the development of our community. | ||
| What are the organizations, community projects, or groups that the affiliate had been working or seeking to work with to develop and support the 3 capacities? | Several wiki and non-wiki partnerships and collaborations, both nationally and internationally, have supported us in developing our community. We would like to strengthen our ties with these partners and seek new ones, including the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia France, Wikimedia Deutschland, the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), as well as universities and local organizations such as NGOs, cultural centers, libraries, and others. | |