WikiAfrica/OpenAfrica15/CommunityBuildingExercise

On the 3rd Day of the #OpenAfrica15 workshop, there was a community building workshop. Here are the results of the process:

Exercise 1: Personal Reflection

1.What were your personal motivations for editing Wikipedia? What attracted you to contributing?

• thirst for expertise
• want to correct an obvious mistake
• intellectual arrogance
• attended a training
• power of contribution
• seeing your work on a public platform
• learning new things
• want to mentor others to share knowledge
• introduced by workshop = peer pressure
• improvement of content on person’s country
• to build on existing skills
• extending already sharing knowledge via teaching and journalism
• frustration of information silos
• share the ideals of the Wikipedia movement
• being published online
• overcome personal barriers
• discipline
• something fresh

2.What were the biggest barriers to you contributing?

• the device being used (mobile) does not work well on Wikipedia interface
• lack of knowledge and intimidation of Code
• random and intermittent electricity
• didn’t know anyone from Cameroon who edited
• didn’t know it was possible for someone in Africa to edit
• have job so have very little time
• internet access - expensive and unreliable
• time
• lack of knowledge of rules and systems
• threat of deletionist policy on english wikipedia
• no personal commitment
• valuable to self
• confidence to contribute
• rely on friends for technology to edit
• self-esteem
• perceived as an elitist or separate activity

3.What happened that helped you overcome the obstacles?

• demystified it
• welcome from the community
• time management - set personal goals (e.g. 1 article/ month; 1 training every 2 months)
• saving up for smart device / power pack
• uses 3-4 ISP providers
• self-challenge
• finding an easy way to contribute, i.e. upload media
• sense of obligation
• focus on getting tech
• commitment to community
• mentor
• logisitical support
• knowledge support
• personally motivated/determination (wanted to overcome the challenges)
• personal ideals

Exercise 2: Group Brainstorming

What are likely audiences that could become contributors

• Students - secondary and tertiary
• Academics - teachers, professors, lecturers
• Associations and groups around specific subjects
• Knowledge workers

1.What are likely to be the main motivations for those whom you are targeting to become Wikipedia contributors?

• Curiosity
• Sense of community
• Commitment to community
• Ownership of their story
• Personal discovery
• being part of a movement
• Embarrassment
• Show that they have a voice
• Empowerment
• Points
• Skills development
• Careers

2.What are likely to be the main barriers to participation for those potential contributors?

• Local languages
• Local language keyboards
• Connectivity
• Technology
• Lack of research skills
• Language skills
• Expectation of payment
• Do not understand the system
• Difficulty establishing notability
• navigating jargon / coding
• increasing motivation to overcome barriers
• time
• misunderstanding of what Wikipedia is
• financial imperative
• opaque community - access to local, and how international community operates

Exercise 3: Group Problem-Solving

1. Overcome the barriers

• suggestions to navigate tech and data options
• logistical partners (tech hubs, libraries, cultural centres)
• becomes part of the syllabus
• incorporated into organisational processes
• communications
• Wikipedia education
• tutorials/modules in local languages
• toolkits in local languages
• connect with local community on local language wikipedias
• local languages brochures
• Mentorships / mentor programme
• community presence
• collaboration with aligned open groups
• making apparent the additional skills transfer
• linking with subject partners

2. Motivate people to contribute

• Establishing a community
• Localising rewards and making them locally relevant
• Mentoring new users
• something to show for being involved / certificates, or similar
• feedback on successful contribution / social media recognition
• Creating belonging
• Human/ offline contact and connection
• Connection
• Case studies
• Making benefits obvious
• Tangible rewards in lives outside Wikipedia
• Involving local foundations