Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy/Implementation/Affiliate health criteria/Reports/2024/Wikimedia Community User Group Zambia
| Affiliate basic information | ||
|---|---|---|
| What is the affiliate name? | Wikimedia Community User Group Zambia | |
| Please list the languages supported by this affiliate | English,Bemba, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Lozi, Tonga, Luvale, Lunda, Kaonde | |
| Please list countries where this affiliate operates | Zambia | |
| Reporting timeline (e.g. January-December) | November 2023 - October 2024 | |
| Reporting year (e.g. 2024 or 2024-2025) | 2024 | |
| Primary contact (user name) | Icem4k | |
| Secondary contact (user name) | JaeZambia | |
| Goal delivery | ||
| What is the affiliate mission? | The mission of Wikimedia Community User Group Zambia is to promote the dissemination and sharing of knowledge through Wikimedia projects, including Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata. We aim to empower people to contribute to these platforms, improve the quality and accuracy of the information available, and make knowledge accessible to all. | |
| What are the affiliate goals? Link to the strategic plan, if there is one. | Wikimedia Zambia is committed to preserving and promoting Zambia’s cultural heritage by focusing on creating and translating high-quality articles in local languages, ensuring they thrive on Wikimedia platforms and safeguarding their representation. We celebrate Zambia’s culture and history by generating content that highlights the nation’s rich heritage, geography, and identity for future generations.
Our dedication to linguistic diversity includes documenting and preserving Zambia’s languages, particularly those at risk of extinction. We aim to create language versions in the Wikimedia Incubator and bring them to full Wikipedia editions, ensuring they are represented and preserved online. Through community sensitization campaigns, educational initiatives, and events, we raise awareness of the value and impact of Wikipedia in Zambia, encouraging broader participation. Ultimately, we aim to build a sustainable and inclusive Wikimedia community that is self-sufficient and long-lasting, empowering contributors to engage without external incentives. | |
| Organizational development | ||
| How does the affiliate make decisions? How are decisions communicated? | 5 | |
| What is the current state of the affiliate finances? Link to the latest financial report, if there is one. | Our user group does not have a general support fund right now. We rely on applying for rapid grants to fund our campaigns and projects. This helps us continue supporting the Wikimedia movement despite limited funding. | |
Affiliate health and resilience
| ||
| How many people participate in the decision-making process in the affiliate? | 10 | |
| Has there been any significant changes in the level of the affiliate membership body (e.g. increase/decrease of number of dues-paying members)? | 55 | |
| Are there any affiliate activities in the past year that were led by affiliate members? Please share the highlights. | Yes Regular events: WLF, WLE, and WLM | |
| Leadership and inclusion | ||
Diverse, skilled, and accountable leadership
| ||
| What kind of skills does the affiliate leadership possess? | Wikimedia Zambia possesses a range of skills including knowledge sharing, skill development, and increasing participation. They provide resource support to maximize impact, promote diversity, and foster engagement within the community. Their expertise also includes collective growth strategies, user training, community building, and translation skills to ensure inclusive and sustainable contributions. | |
| Is there any kind of succession plan for the affiliate leadership? | Yes | |
| Are there any trainings that affiliate leadership undergo before they assume their leadership position? | Yes, our leaders are trained in crisis management, fiscal responsibility. | |
| Are there any requirements for affiliate leadership to disclose their conflict(s) of interests? | Yes | |
Diversity balance (especially gender)
| ||
| What is the diversity level of the affiliate leadership and membership body? | Our leadership team is 7.27% male and 5.45% female, and our membership is 54.5% male and 45.5% female. | |
| How is the affiliate leadership encouraging gender diversity in the decision-making process(es) of the affiliate? | 60-40% | |
Universal Code of Conduct compliance
| ||
| How does the affiliate leadership ensure, enforce, and evaluate compliance with the Universal Code of Conduct obligations? | The Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC) is emphasized in all Wikimedia Community User Group Zambia trainings and activities, both online and offline. Through dedicated sessions during events like the Wiki Loves Folklore, Earth and Monuments, members are educated on its principles of respect, inclusivity, and ethical behavior. | |
| 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. | 2023-24 | |
| Community connection | ||
| How many affiliate members are active contributors to the Wikimedia projects? | TBC; most members are active in the English Wikipedia and a number are where newbies | |
| How many affiliate members are not active contributors to the Wikimedia projects? | 3 this is the supporting stuff in planning | |
| How many affiliate members are active organizers (of projects, events, conferences, initiatives, etc) within the Wikimedia movement? | 4 organizers | |
| How many people have participated in affiliate projects, events, conferences, and/or initiatives in the past year? | 45% of members participate in organized activities | |
| Partnerships and collaboration | ||
| Please list all activities/initiatives that the affiliate has organized or co-organized in past 12 months. | Wiki Loves Folklore, Wiki Loves Earth, Wiki Loves Monuments, | |
| 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) | Wikimedia Zambia strengthens its impact in education by training students and wiki editing skills, partnering with schools and universities to support learning through open knowledge, and promoting the creation and use of local content to enrich educational resources. | |
| Wikimedia Zambia values strong community governance through fair, inclusive, and transparent structures. We aim to create a space where everyone has a voice, decisions serve the collective good, and collaboration leads to long-term sustainability and unity. | ||
| Wikimedia Zambia empowers contributors with skills to engage across various wiki projects. We motivate and support them through workshops like capacity building sessions for leadership skills and strategy that enhance event planning and cross-wiki editing abilities. | ||
| What are the 3 (three) capacities that the affiliate would like to strengthen in the next 12 months? | Policy and advocacy are important for Wikimedia Zambia to create a supportive environment for free knowledge. By engaging with policymakers and stakeholders, we promote access to information, digital rights, and open knowledge. This helps ensure our work aligns with national priorities and global standards. | |
| Fundraising is crucial for the growth of Wikimedia Zambia. It helps support content creation, expand community outreach, raise awareness, and promote free knowledge. With strong financial support, we can sustain our efforts and strengthen Zambia’s presence in the global digital knowledge space. | ||
| Partnerships are key to the success of Wikimedia Zambia. They help us grow, improve local content, boost community engagement, promote digital literacy, and ensure our projects are sustainable. Together with partners, we aim to advance free and open knowledge across Zambia. | ||
| 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? | Chalo Chatu Foundation, Women's History Museum of Zambia, National Heritage Conservation Commission. | |