Wikimedia South Africa/Internship Programme
The Wikimedia South Africa (WMZA) Internship Programme aims to provide an opportunity for young South African graduates from previously disadvantaged communities to gain experience in the labor market and give them a leg up to get employment opportunities while introducing them to Wikimedia.
Background
[edit]South Africa is beset by a high number of unemployed young graduates who find it difficult to break into the labor market due to lack of work experience.[1] These youths are also the largest speakers of the eleven South African official languages which are part of the small language Wikipedias and have seen minimal growth over the years. Notwithstanding that most young people in South Africa use smartphones to communicate, connect to social media, search for jobs and access Wikipedia for general and academic use. The legacy of apartheid has continued to affect them, especially those from previously segregated communities with lack of resources including costs associated with transport, data, printing and other contingencies, [2] making it difficult for them to look for employment let alone begin to think about contributing to free knowledge on Wikipedia.
Our goal
[edit]The goal of this internship is focused on three areas, namely;
- Creating Employment Opportunities: Enabling young graduates to amass experience that will make it easy for them to find employment.
- Activating New Users: Raising awareness about Wikipedia and its sister projects with the hope that interns will continue editing Wikimedia after the internship comes to an end.
- Enhance the visibility of the chapter in the media: Generate public awareness about Wikimedia South Africa Chapter and its projects and good works through the use of social media and mainstream media (e.g Radio, Print and Television) , Create awareness about small language Wikipedias, Conceptualise Communication strategies - unconventional to Wikimedia- to communicate Wikipedia that will appeal to youth.
How will we work
[edit]This internship is not paid Wikipedia editing, but it is intended for youths who have already graduated in Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, Advertising or related fields but are looking to gain experience in Digital Communications. Therefore, the idea is not to spoon-feed or micro-manage interns but it is to let them gain practical experience and skills on top of their academic training. In this regard, we will register them on WikimediaZA Chapter's mailing list and introduce them to our South African Wikimedia Community members as well as our partners and stakeholder, then teach them basic communications strategies on how to upload content on our social media pages as well as Wikimedia meta and Wikimedia Commons. This will be coupled by weekly planning meetings on tasks to be executed on weekly basis under the supervision and guidance of WikimediaZA Board Chapter Members Bobbyshabangu, Mchuchushupai and NobantuModise. Tasks assigned to interns will be as follows:
- Planning of media campaigns and events
- Updating social media pages
- Creating Video/YouTube Content
- Writing Press releases and Media advisories
- Assist administrator in Branding and setting up Wikimedia events
- Capturing impact stories and publicising on Meta
- Organise TV, Radio and Print interviews for selected Chapter board member to generate publicity about WMZA's projects and raise awareness about Wikimedia.
- Assist in creating and monitoring dashboard for Wikimedia events
- Basic knowledge of image and video editing required.
How will we measure success
[edit]The recruitment of 4 interns who will be divided into two cohorts for an internship that will run for a period of one year was advertised on all WikimediaZA social media platforms and can be viewed HERE. The first cohort of two interns will kick-off by doing the first six months followed by the second cohort of two which will run for the remaining 6 months.
We will consider the project successful if the following milestones are achieved for each cohort:
| No | Activity | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Two TV Interviews | No |
| 2. | Double WMZA Social media following | Yes |
| 3. | 4 Radio Interviews | yes |
| 4. | 4 Print Media articles | Yes |
First Internship Cohort: Outcomes
[edit]WMZA gear started with their internship programme, in April 2022, we had our first internship cohort intake on 11 April 2022, this intake was for 6 months. We went through a vigorous recruitment selection. We were joined with 2 excited female interns who resides in Johannesburg. The internship programme, is managed by Bobbyshabangu, Mchuchushupai and NobantuModise. The interns were trained on different platforms, which we use as a chapter and Wikipedians to make work effective, they were further trained on open source as well as what is Wikipedia and what we do. Every week they were given various task to complete, in regards to the communication department. The first cohort of interns were able to execute a lot of the goals which were set up by the Chapter. They worked various and assisted on projects and events, such as Edit-a-thons, writing competitions, Wikimania, WikiIndaba. The first internship cohort worked well, with a little bit of minor issues here there, which is expected as this was our first time WMZA running such a programme. The first internship programme ended 11 October 2022, we are currently on the second cohort. To read on our interns experience HERE
| No | Activity | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Two TV Interviews | Pending |
| 2. | Double WMZA Social media following | Pending |
| 3. | 4 Radio Interviews | Pending |
| 4. | 4 Print Media articles | Pending |
Budget Breakdown
[edit]| Description | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2 X Laptops | R15,000 | The Laptops will be property of the Chapter and interns are expected to return them back after end of internship to be given to next cohort. |
| 6 months stipend for 2 interns | R90 000 | Interns will each get a stipend of R 7500 monthly for a period of 6 months. |
| 2X Wifi Routers | R 1 200 | Each intern will be given a WiFi Router which they are expected to return back to the chapter upon finishing their internship. |
| 6 months internet connection for 2 interns | R6000 | Each intern will be given a monthly data to enable them to connect online. |
| Totals | R112,200 |
References
[edit]- ↑ https://youth.dgmt.co.za/
- ↑ https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/young-south-africans-spend-almost-r1-300-per-month-looking-for-work-survey-bb675efd-7d7e-4c90-99ff-209ec93a11d2#:~:text=AfricaWestern%20Cape-,Young%20South%20Africans%20spend%20almost%20R1,month%20looking%20for%20work%20%E2%80%93%20survey&text=Young%20South%20Africans%20spend%20an,a%20survey%20by%20Open%20Dialogue.