Strategy/Wikimedia movement/2017/Sources/Wikimedia UG Nigeria Salon Strategy Meetings 2017

Wikimedia UG Nigeria Salon Strategy Meetings 2017

General Overview:

Discussions during the 2017 Wikimedia Movement Strategy meeting

Wikimedia UG Nigeria organized series of meetings in Lagos and FCT, Abuja where group of academics,expert, students, authors discussed various challenges that Wikimedia projects had faced in the last 15 years as well as challenges the projects would be facing in the next 15 years and how these challenges could be tacked.

The meetings were held at various location in Lagos and Abuja and were attended by 23 participants (excluding community members)

The names of attendees are listed below

Attendees:

Ms. Zoe Octavia Kpaka - Communication expert and a copy editor
Betty Abah - Journalist, author and a women and children's rights activist
Oladunwa Yinka Kende - Radio presenter
Temitope Ajibade -Curriculum expert
Precious Daniel - Teacher
Ifedolapo Ajamu
Oyimodu Aje
Chibuzor Okereke
Edeh Catherine
Ojo Oluseun
Philipa Madubuko
Eni Janeth Oluebube - French and German Language Coach
Joseph Osuigwe
Eneja Evelyn
Eneja Devine
Jonah Reuben Etubi
Tochi Precious Friday
Adanu Moses
Ogungbe Lanre
Nnedi Chimeze Sunday
Victoria Okosun
Akupve Chinonye
Prudence Uruakanwa - women right's activist

Community members

Olaniyan Olushola - President Wikimedia UG Nigeria
Ayokanmi Oyeyemi - Director of photography
Olufemi Adeniyi - Director of Logistics
Runcie Chidebe - Coordinator, Wikimedia Hub, Abuja
Blossom Ozurumba - Ideator, Wikipedia Igbo Women Edit-a-thon Project

Key Insights:

Can Wikipedia survive the next 15 years?

For Wikipedia to survive the next 15 years, there is need for us to learn from the last 15 years of its existence, identifying our lapses and take a proactive measure to addressing these lapses.
There may also be need for some policy change or adoption of policy based strategy such as a vandalism-control strategy that prevent unregistered users from creating new page.
In the last 15 years, a number of controversies have occurred. Wikipedia's open nature, in which anyone can edit most articles, has led to various concerns, such as the quality of writing, the amount of vandalism, and the accuracy of information on the project. Learning from these controversies may help our community to develop a strategy or policy-based strategy that would prevent a disastrous occurrence that undermine the credibility of Wikipedia as a pool of knowledge. For example, the lesson learned from the Seigenthaler biography incident which led to a policy-based strategy that prevent unregistered users from creating new page has help to minimize the amount of vandalism caused by unregistered users.
One of the participant argued that the Wikipedia interface is not user friendly that there is need for user-friendly interface that will be appealing to new users especially young people.
Wikimedia projects are scattered. Wikiversity, Wikivoyage, for example, are Wikimedia projects but a lot of people do not know that they actually exist, but if WMF could develop a sort of dashboard that would contain all Wikimedia projects, it would be easy for users to navigate these projects and choose a project where their contributions would be valued and net positive.
Video and audio are good way to teach, enlighten, and pass information and people tend to learn fast from what they watch than what they read. It is easy for a young person to narrate a movie he watched a years ago than to summarize what he read six months ago. Video tutorial is something we should look into.
Adjustment to some user access right may help to improving the accuracy of information on the project. It is suggested that Wikipedia user accounts should be more than 14 days and have made at least 100 edits before they are granted the autocomfirmed user right. This means that users in this category (brand new users) will not be able to create articles, move pages, edit semi-protected pages, and upload files or upload a new version of an existing file and their edits would not appear in mainspace until their accounts are verified (granted the autoconfirm right). Most of the vandalism we experienced on Wikipedia are caused by new users, and in most cases unintentional. Thus, this suggested measure would be a form of vandalism-control strategy
There is a great demand for creating awareness for Nigerian Language (Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo) Wikipedia and the idea of Fan club in academic institutions were applauded by all participants. Periodic training was suggested as a core tool in building a sustainable Nigeria language Wikipedia.
There is need to invest in fact-checking tool. How do we develop such tool? This may also help to prevent the use of fake news on Wikipedia article.
Wikipedia's accessibility is also very paramount. Some populations are unable to contribute to Wikipedia, partly because they have limited or no access to internet or they cannot afford the cost of internet and considering that we do not all live in suburbia with unlimited access to computers and broadband high speed communications, how does WMF plans to support these populations?

What content gaps will Wikimedia be able to fill in the next 15 years?

One of the participants argued that Wikipedia is becoming nothing more than a biographical directory. It is suggested that the editing community should focus more on increasing scientific knowledge and other areas of human knowledge.
Wikipedia has fewer and less extensive articles about women or topics important to women. It was suggested that the best ways to increasing articles about women or topics important to women is to recruit women editors. i.e foster energy and resources on projects that would led to increasing number of female contributors.
Wikipedia is not a joke and the public perception about the project is that it belongs in education. There are fewer and less extensive articles about primary school curriculum, training of primary school teachers on how to contribute to Wikipedia may help in filling this content gap.
Sustainable collaborate with academic institutions, museums and national libraries for accessibility and content presentation.