User:T Cells/1
Our programs, approaches, and strategies contributed to addressing the challenges we shared in our proposal to a very large extent. These challenges are "lack of capacity to contribute to Wikimedia projects", "lack of sustainable partnerships" and "low contents from Nigeria".
- Lack of capacity to contribute to Wikimedia projects
The lack of capacity to contribute to Wikimedia projects were addressed with WikiBoost and Train the Trainers project.
- WikiBoost
In addressing the challenges of lack of capacity to contribute to Wikimedia projects, we designed the WikiBoost as a strategy to help existing and new community members build capacity to contribute to Wikimedia projects. The program was divided into two phases: one for existing editors with insufficient knowledge and the other for brand-new editors.
The new editors were recruited using the "Recruit readers as writers" model, successfully piloted by the Yoruba Wikimedians User Group. Over 900 participants registered for the training sessions, where they were taught the basics of Wikipedia editing. The WikiBoost has helped build a community of knowledgeable and dedicated editors committed to providing accurate and reliable information on Wikipedia and its sister projects.
The program ran for three months, with different experienced editors facilitating each session. A substantial number of the facilitators were respected and experinced members of the WikiProject Nigeria who understand how the English Wikipedia Community works. At the end of each training, assignments were given to participants to help them practice and apply what they had been taught during the sessions.
Certificates were issued to participants who completed the sessions. Feedbacks were collected participants and many of the participants who completed the survey recommended that the program should be sustained. This program hold immense significant for our community and we hope to have another cohort of the WikiBoost in 2025.
- WikiBoost Training Sessions
| S/n | Agenda | Date | Time (WAT) | Facilitator | Video links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Navigation en wiki discussions (Wikipedia Policies, Talk pages, Friendly Space Policy and Guidelines Deep Dive) | 15th November, 2024 | 4:00 PM (WAT) | T Cells | |
| 2 | Understanding deletion processes and the WikiProject Nigeria | 22nd November, 2024 | 4:00 PM (WAT) | HandsomeBoy | Recording
Passcode: H^Q5YGBf |
| 3 | Commonly used editing tools and gaining user rights | 29th November, 2024 | 4:00 PM (WAT) | Ibjaja055/ Idoghor Melody | |
| 4 | Advanced Wikipedia Content Creation, Formatting, Information gathering. | 6th December, 2024 | 4:00 PM (WAT) | Reading Beans |
In addition to the WikiBoost described above, we also implemented the Train-the-trainers program. This program is summarily described below
- Train the trainers
The Train the Trainers (South-South edition) took place on October 24–25, 2024, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. This was the fourth implementation of the project in the country. A total of 23 participants from six states participated. There are 11 participants from Akwa Ibom, 5 from Rivers, 2 from Edo, and 1 each from Cross River and Delta were selected through an open call and gathered in Uyo for the training.
The sessions focused on building participants’ skills in Wikimedia projects, with an emphasis on Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikimedia Commons. The main objective was to empower participants to return to their communities and train others. The training was simplified yet comprehensive, covering key topics and practical skills. Participants also created their first articles to test their understanding.
Facilitation was provided by members of the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria, including Kayode Yusuf, Ayokanmi Oyeyemi, Ashioma Medi, and Adetola Aborisade, who brought valuable insights and expertise to enhance the learning experience.
The training covered critical topics such as writing quality articles to avoid deletion, maintaining neutrality, ensuring verifiability, and meeting notability standards. Participants also learned about essential tools like Global Metrics, X Tools, and the P&E Dashboard, which are vital for improving contributions and tracking their impact.
Over 60% of the participants were community leaders who are expected to train others in their respective regions. Feedback gathered after the program showed that participants found the training highly relevant to their personal and professional growth. The event successfully achieved its goals of capacity building and knowledge sharing, further strengthening the Wikimedia community in the South-South region.
- Lack of sustainable partnerships
We have built several partnerships in the past, but we were not able to sustain many of them because we did not have adequate resources to do so. As part of our strategy to grow and sustain our partnership, we contacted our past partners and have them partner with us on our numerous projects.
- Nigerian Tourisms Development Commission
The Wikimedia User Group Nigeria has a longstanding history of collaboration with the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC). In the past, our partnerships have collaborated on Wiki Loves Monuments, Wiki Loves Africa, Wiki Loves Earth, Wiki Indaba 2019 in Nigeria, and the inaugural WikiConference Nigeria in 2024.
After a brief hiatus in our partnership, we were able to reconnect with the NTDC in this year to organize the World Tourism Day 2025, celebrated on September 27, 2024, under the theme “Tourism and Peace.” Together, we organized a series of capacity-building sessions and edit-a-thons, encouraging contributions to Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and other Wikimedia projects.
More than 20 senior staff members from NTDC participated in training sessions. These sessions were facilitated by experienced Wikimedia User Group Nigeria members and covered:*Practical understanding of copyright laws and their application within Wikimedia projects.*image uploads and reusability within and beyond Wikimedia platforms.
A national article-writing contest was held from September 27 to October 11, 2024, which successfully engaged community members and newly trained editors. The contest resulted into the creation of over 300 Wikipedia articles across English, Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa language Wikipedias.
This collaboration renewed our connection with the NTDC and and we want to sustain the partnership with the organization. We are excited to renew our relationship with this organization in this round of grant.
- Ken Saro-Wiwa FoundationWhile we wanted to reconnect with our hold partners, we also wanted to build new partnership. We gain new partnership with the Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation. The Foundation was founded in 2009 with its mission to promote environmental sustainability by supporting a climate in which the management of natural resources, technological advancements, investment decisions and socio-economic development all work in harmony, fulfilling the needs and aspirations of the people of the Niger Delta and its environs.
On September 1, 2024, we organized a training session and edit-a-thon at the Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation. The edit-a-thon aimed to improve the quality of Wikipedia articles related to environmental issues. The project also sought to celebrate the life of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, an environmentalist who was executed by the Nigerian military government for his efforts to combat environmental damage in his community. More than 20 people participated in the training, and approximately 25 Wikipedia articles were improved by the participants.
Participants included staff members of the Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation, environmental and climate change advocates, as well as open knowledge enthusiasts. Our primary objectives were to inprove the quality of contents relating to enviroment, recruiting new editors for Wikimedia projects, and building partnerships with mission-aligned organizations. These objectives were achived and the contributions of the participants were tracked with the Wikimedia outreach dashboard.
- Lagos State Government
The Wikimedia User Group Nigeria partnered with the Lagos State Government to implement the Wiki Re-Imagine Lagos Project, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at digitally preserving the state's heritage sites, culture, festivals, and tourist attractions through Wikimedia projects and events. The project, designed as a six-month program, was launched with a webinar featuring notable speakers, including Toke Benson, Honourable Commissioner of the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture; Olusola Olaniyan, President of Wikimedia User Group Nigeria; Pelu Awofeso, an award-winning travel journalist; Okorie Uguru, Publisher of Africa Travel Herald and former PRO of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN); and Mevin Iteghete, an information technologist. The session drew over 100 participants, including journalists, photographers, and members of the Wikimedia movement.
The project was divided into three main phases. The first focused on engaging professional journalists and travel writers to create articles in mainstream newspapers, ensuring reliable sources for Wikipedia articles about Lagos heritage sites that lacked adequate documentation. Clear participation criteria were established for the article-writing contest, requiring participants to be affiliated with recognized media outlets such as newspapers, magazines, or established online publications. Over 50 Wikipedia articles were created on targeted heritage sites.
The second phase involved organizing photowalks where professional photographers visited heritage sites to capture high-quality images. These images were subsequently uploaded to Wikimedia Commons and integrated into Wikipedia articles, to enhance the visual documentation of Lagos' cultural landmarks.
The final phase focused on integrating the newly created content into a more accessible format. QR codes were generated for each heritage site, embedding links to the articles and related images. These QR codes were printed on plaques, which are set to be installed at the respective sites. The Lagos State Government engaged a consultant to handle the QR coding, printing, and installation process, ensuring that visitors to the sites could easily access the digitized information.
The Wiki Re-Imagine Lagos Project successfully met its objectives by preserving and promoting Lagos' cultural heritage through Wikimedia platforms. This partnership has further strengthened the relationship between the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria and the Lagos State Government, and paving the way for future collaboration.
- Wikimedia User Groups
It was a great award night where some wikimedians and non wikimedians where awarded and they displayed their great cultural attires.
We collaborated with existing and new user groups in Nigeria to organized the Wiki Loves Monuments, Wiki Loves Earth, Wiki Loves Folklore and Wiki Loves Africa. These User Groups include the Yoruba Wikimedians User Group, Hausa Wikimedians User Group, Igbo Wikimedians User Group, Tyap Wikimedians User Group. For example, a total of 2,209 images were uploaded to Wikimedia Commons during the Wiki Loves Monuments contest, with contributions from 187 uploaders. This high contributions positioned Nigeria as the top-performing country in Africa in terms of the number of images contributed and the fourth globally in the number of contributors. We ranked 10th globally for the total number of images uploaded. We leverage on our collective efforts to amplify our impact and strengthen our community engagement.
We also collaborated with existing User Groups to organize the first WikiConference Nigeria. The primary aim of the conference was to unite Wikimedia communities across Nigeria and define effective strategies for collaboration to advance the Wikimedia movement in the country. Additionally, the event focused on capacity building, knowledge sharing, networking, skill acquisition, and celebrating the collective knowledge that has been shared through Wikimedia projects over the years, as well as the contributors who have been instrumental to their success. Awards were presented to exceptional contributors to Wikimedia projects in Nigeria, as well as to at least one non-Wikimedia contributor.
Scholarships were awarded to 80 participants from 23 states across Nigeria. Initially, we planned to award scholarships to 70 participants, but this number was increased to 80. In total, 140 individuals, including partners, media representatives, and invited guests, participated in the conference. Of the 80 scholarships awarded, only 26 went to female participants.
- Low contents from Nigeria
The low contents from Nigeria is one of the challenges we aimed to address with this grant and this challenge was addressed using the follwoing strategies and approach.
- Campaigns
We organized several campaigns and collaborated with other established Wikimedia User Groups in Nigeria to jointly implement the Wiki Loves X projects. This collaborative approach led to a significant increase in community contributions across various campaigns and contests, including Wiki Loves Monuments, Wiki Loves Earth, Wiki Loves Africa, and Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos. We also organized several online and in-person edit-a-thons.
These initiatives not only boosted participation and contributions but also fostered unity and collaboration among Wikimedia User Groups in Nigeria. We leverage on our collective efforts to amplified our impact and strengthened community engagement. Detailed metrics can be found in the sections below.
- Staff support for micro-grants
This year, through our micro-grant programs, we funded numerous programs focused on content creation and generation. Our networks and fan clubs independently organized events and activities that contributed significantly to generating content across various Wikimedia projects, including Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata. More details about this can be found in our micro-grants annual report.
- GLAM Projects
In this fiscal year, we sustained our audiovisual recordings of oral history projects, and a total of 53 high-quality audiovisuals were created. This year, we visited Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, to document the rich culture of the various tribes in the state. These materials had been uploaded to Wikimedia Commons and donated to academic institutions including Adekunle Ajasin University. Some of them have also been used to illustrate relevant articles in various languages on Wikipedia.