Grants:Project/Rapid/Ptinphusmia/The WikiVibrance/Report

Report accepted

This report for a Rapid Grant approved in FY 2020-21 has been reviewed and accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:Project/Rapid/Ptinphusmia/The WikiVibrance.
You may still comment on this report on its discussion page, or visit the discussion page to read the discussion about this report.
You are welcome to Email rapidgrants at wikimedia dot org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.

Goals

Did you meet your goals? Are you happy with how the project went?

Notwithstanding the encountered challenges, we were able to improve articles related to the event theme, and celebrate young Wikimedians advancing open knowledge in a unique way. We had 63 Wikimedians (from Wikimedia communities in Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Europe) register on the Google form, 47 on the project landing page and 65 on the outreach dashboard. We had an opening/launch session with thirty six (36) Wikimedians from diverse wikimedia communities in Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania, India, Europe, Morocco and the Caribbean in attendance. The launch event featured a panel discussion where young experienced Wikimedians were brought in to share their experiences on what their roles are as young people in the movement and how it can contribute to growth in the movement among others. There was also a closing session where twenty two (22) Wikimedians were in attendance to listen to the Wikimedian of the year 2020, outcomes of the project, and next steps. We translated and improved 15 articles on Dagbani Wikipedia, 3 articles on Rwanda Wikipedia, 1 article on Catalan Wikipedia, 7 articles on English Wikipedia and 1 commons upload. Young people were particularly happy about the platform it created to recognize and engage them on such an important celebration.

Outcome

Please report on your original project targets. Please be sure to review and provide metrics required for Rapid Grants.

Target outcome	Achieved outcome	Explanation
2 events	2 events	We had opening/launch and closing sessions on 12th and 13th August, 2021 respectively which can be verified on the gallery section of the Action completed page here
30 Participants	65 Participants	We had 65 Participants registered on the dashboard here but not everyone edited because of other events running concurrently such as wikimania, China-Nigeria Edit-a-thon, and WPWP 2021
30 improved or created Articles	26 improved or created Articles	We translated and improved 15 articles on Dagbani Wikipedia, 3 articles on Rwanda Wikipedia, 1 article on Catalan Wikipedia, 7 articles on English Wikipedia and 1 commons upload.

Learning

Projects do not always go according to plan. Sharing what you learned can help you and others plan similar projects in the future. Help the movement learn from your experience by answering the following questions:

What worked well?

One of the exciting features of this project was the articles spotlight on social media specifically Facebook and Twitter, where we showcased Participants' first Wikipedia article and the motivation behind the creation of the article. It was a journey down memory lane that sparked a lot of positive feelings and energy from the participants. We took time earlier on before event onset to collate, compile and design posts for each user's submitted first article link and the accompanying motivation behind it. It was something the young Wikimedians loved and participated in.

The panel discussion featured in the launch session was an incredible move that produced an insight into the journey and experiences of some young Wikimedians navigating the movement from inception to date. Beyond this, the sessions initiated a platform for networking among young Wikimedians from different communities, bringing them together all in one place to meet and learn from each other. The recorded sessions can be found on the gallery section of the action completed page here

Securing communication and partnership within our community was also instrumental in providing the zoom room access for the sessions, diverse panelists and event experience sharing during Wikimania 2021 in the session "Revisiting the AfroCrowd Juneteenth wiki civil rights conference of 2020" found here

What did not work so well?

Active participation from participants was limited due to other events running concurrently such as wikimania 2021, China-Nigeria Edit-a-thon, and WPWP Campaign 2021. Although there were registration from about 65 editors, only a few ended up contributing to the event theme. In addition, their attention was more on participating in wikimania conference 2021. This was a situation we couldn't escape given the global recognized date for celebrating International Youth Day (IYD) annually.

We couldn't provide for translations in the both sessions considering that it was a global event that had in attendance people who speak other languages than English.

What would you do differently next time?

We are going to consider a longer project timeline that will accommodate each community's differences and schedules and allow a more convenient time for participation. We will also love to make provisions for translators to ensure people can attend and listen in their preferred languages. We will also employ local organizing in communities with coordination at the global level.