Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/ Wikimedia Rwanda General Support fund 2023-2024/Final Report

This form is for organizations, groups, or individuals receiving Wikimedia Community Funds or Wikimedia Alliances Funds to report on their final results.

• Name of Organization: Wikimedia Community User Group Rwanda
• Title of Proposal: Wikimedia Rwanda General Support fund 2023-2024
• Amount awarded: 37220 USD, 30927834 RWF
• Amount spent: 34097822 RWF

1. Briefly describe how your proposed activities and strategies were implemented.

This year's vision was focused on capacity building for the existing volunteers and systematic volunteer recruitment approaches such as gradual semester- cohorts. With this approach, we hoped to improve the quality of existing content with a major emphasis on Kinyarwanda usage on the Wikimedia projects.

Strategy One: Organizational Development We piloted a program to train new volunteers in essential skills to promote an open knowledge ecosystem under the newbie program

• Provide existing volunteers with advanced training on best practices for contributing to the open-source knowledge environment.
• Conduct capacity-building workshops for our core team members. We identified organisational capacity gaps, including governance, mentorship, fund management, fundraising, and community organisation. We are investing in programs to address these gaps, benefiting both core team members and active community members interested in taking on leadership roles. This approach aligns with the Movement Strategy's emphasis on skills and leadership development.

Strategy Two: Improving Content Quality We focused on enhancing the quality of content contributed to Wikipedia. While over 500 articles were created in Kinyarwanda during the 2023-24 period, many of these articles still need improvement. Our approach includes ongoing edits to improve existing content, particularly stubs, and organizing various edit-a-thons in person. Additionally, we will hold writing and photographic contests to encourage active contributions and recruit new volunteers, thus addressing content gaps. Strategy 3: Through Reading Wikipedia in the classroom project, we initiated 2 WikiClubs in the East Province of Rwanda.

2. Were there any strategies or approaches that you felt were effective in achieving your goals?

Strategy One: Organizational Development We piloted a program to train new volunteers in essential skills to promote an open knowledge ecosystem under the newbie program

• Provide existing volunteers with advanced training on best practices for contributing to the open-source knowledge environment.
• Conduct capacity-building workshops for our core team members. We identified organisational capacity gaps, including governance, mentorship, fund management, fundraising, and community organisation. We are investing in programs to address these gaps, benefiting both core team members and active community members interested in taking on leadership roles. This approach aligns with the Movement Strategy's emphasis on skills and leadership development.

Strategy Two: Improving Content Quality We focused on enhancing the quality of content contributed to Wikipedia. While over 500 articles were created in Kinyarwanda during the 2023-24 period, many of these articles still need improvement. Our approach includes ongoing edits to improve existing content, particularly stubs, and organizing various edit-a-thons in person. Additionally, we will hold writing and photographic contests to encourage active contributions and recruit new volunteers, thus addressing content gaps. Strategy 3: Through Reading Wikipedia in the classroom project, we initiated 2 WikiClubs in the East Province of Rwanda.

3. Would you say that your project had any innovations? Are there things that you did very differently than you have seen them done by others?

yes, The establishment of Wikiclubs and leadership development that allowed community members to play a role in project planning and implementation

4. Please describe how different communities participated and/or were informed about your work.

Different communities in Rwanda participated in and were informed about Wikimedia Rwanda's activities through a range of targeted approaches:

• Local Workshops and Training Programs: We conducted workshops and training sessions in Rwanda. These sessions were held to local needs and included practical training on contributing to Wikimedia projects, with a focus on enhancing Kinyarwanda content. Participants ranged from new volunteers to experienced contributors and outside higher institutions of learning

• Community-Based Events: We organized edit-a-thons, these events provided hands-on opportunities for participants to learn, edit, and contribute to Wikimedia projects in person. They also served as platforms for networking and sharing best practices.

• Contests and Competitions: To engage different community groups, we held writing and photographic contests. These contests were promoted through social media, encouraging wide participation and helping to address specific content gaps.

• Wiki Clubs:

 -We established high school wiki clubs that played a crucial role in spreading awareness and fostering engagement. These clubs organized local activities, including the Wikivibrance challenge to keep members actively involved and motivated.

-Social Media and Online Campaigns:
  Information about Wikimedia Rwanda’s activities was shared through social media platforms and local online forums. Regular updates calls for participation, and event announcements helped to reach a broader audience and keep communities informed.

By leveraging these diverse methods, we effectively informed and engaged various communities across Rwanda, enhancing their participation in Wikimedia Rwanda's initiatives.

5. Documentation of your impact. Please use the two spaces below to share files and links that help tell your story and impact. This can be documentation that shows your results through testimonies, videos, sound files, images (photos and infographics, etc.) social media posts, dashboards, etc.

• Upload Documents and Files

• Here is an additional field to type in URLs.

Interview on Voice of Africa : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eksZROXHPUg

Youtube channel : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCmnH2qTLoo X handle: https://x.com/wikimediaRwanda Dif blog: https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/12/08/mcdc-conversation-wikimedia-ug-rwanda/

6. To what extent do you agree with the following statements regarding the work carried out with the support of this Fund? You can choose “not applicable” if your work does not relate to these goals.

7. Is there anything else you would like to share about how your efforts helped to bring in participants and/or build out content, particularly for underrepresented groups?

The initiative to create Wiki Clubs in rural secondary schools has been instrumental not only in attracting participants from marginalized communities but also adding value to local knowledge. Hence, we are starting these clubs among the farthest reaches where students and some communities have no access to digital resources or global platforms like Wikimedia.

In these schools, young people who come from rural areas and are underprivileged are given the power to be creators of information. We realized that through this the youth can claim their own culture, language, and context and thus diversity is integral in terms of Wikimedia’s available content.

Gender parity has been one of the main issues addressed with our club initiative To achieve this objective, we have done targeted outreach and developed specific activities aimed at increasing female membership, This involves working with them through Wiki Clubs which help in creating a learning platform where digital literacy is cultivated as well as encouraging unheard voices participate.

8. In your application, you outlined your learning priorities. What did you learn about these areas during this period?

These were the learning priorities for the year 2023-2024,

Community members will transform from consumers of knowledge to contributors to Wikimedia. outcome: New/existing editors have the skills necessary to continue contributing to Wikimedia projects. learned lessons: There is still limited skills and understanding of the Wikimedia ecosystem have been a challenge.

9. Did anything unexpected or surprising happen when implementing your activities?

none

10. How do you hope to use this learning? For instance, do you have any new priorities, ideas for activities, or goals for the future?

n

11. If you were sitting with a friend to tell them one thing about your work during this fund, what would it be (think of inspiring or fascinating moments, tough challenges, interesting anecdotes, or anything that feels important to you)?

This year's implementation was a very inspiring journey which provided us with a chance to learn and unlearn.

12. Please share resources that would be useful to share with other Wikimedia organizations so that they can learn from, adapt or build upon your work. For instance, guides, training material, presentations, work processes, or any other material the team has created to document and transfer knowledge about your work and can be useful for others. Please share any specific resources that you are creating, adapting/contextualizing in ways that are unique to your context (i.e. training material).

• Upload Documents and Files

• Here is an additional field to type in URLs.

Newbie program; https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=2UGZ0dSo6b-H7t1n&v=sCmnH2qTLoo

13a. Open and additional metrics data

13b. Additional core metrics data.

14. Were there any metrics in your proposal that you could not collect or that you had to change?

No

15. If you have any difficulties collecting data to measure your results, please describe and add any recommendations on how to address them in the future.

N/A

16. Use this space to link or upload any additional documents that would be useful to understand your data collection (e.g., dashboards, surveys you have carried out, communications material, training material, etc).

• Upload Documents and Files

• Here is an additional field to type in URLs.

https://diff.wikimedia.org/2024/07/18/from-knowledge-consumers-to-creators-rwandan-students-join-global-wikimedia-movement-through-wiki-clubs/

17. Organizational Capacity

17a. Which of the following factors most helped you to build capacities? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.

Formal training provided from outside the Wikimedia Movement, Peer to peer learning with other community members in community/ies of practice* (structured and continuous learning and sharing spaces), Using capacity building/training resources online from sources WITHIN the Wikimedia Movement

17b. Which of the following factors hindered your ability to build capacities? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.

Lack of awareness of capacity building needs, Lack of knowledge of available capacity building opportunities, Lack of staff time to participate in capacity building/training, Lack of financial resources

18. Is there anything else you would like to share about how your organizational capacity has grown, and areas where you require support?

Partnerships and WikiTrainings have significantly strengthened Wikimedia Rwanda’s capacity, expanding our network and resources. Collaborations with institutions like Gishari, Rwanda Heritage Academy, Love in Arts, and Never Again Rwanda have enabled us to develop Wiki Clubs in upcountry schools and enhance knowledge access in underprivileged areas.

These WikiTrainings have improved digital skills, involvement in Wikimedia projects, and community engagement. However, sustained funding is needed for advanced training, internet access in remote areas, and establishing long-term partnerships to ensure sustainable knowledge-sharing impacts across Rwanda.

19. Partnerships over the funding period.

19a. Which of the following factors most helped you to build partnerships? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.

Volunteers from our communities, Partners proactive interest

19b. Which of the following factors hindered your ability to build partnerships? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.

Lack of staff capacity to respond to partners interested in working with us, Limited funding period, Lack of knowledge or capacities to reach out to strategic partners

20. Please share your learning about strategies to build partnerships with other institutions and groups and any other learning about working with partners?

Mutual Goals: We aimed to understand what the other partner wants to achieve and if there is going to be a benefit for both. For instance, while collaborating with schools by addressing their concerns on the promotion of the use of information technology and/or the use of open content in education.

Effective Communication and Relationship Building: Transparent Communication: Appropriate and sufficient communication with prospective partners enabled parties to avoid misunderstandings and outline the way forward. Providing updates and holding discussions regularly ensures that all members are up to date and can rectify any arising issues.

Building Personal Relationships: Primarily, partnerships were built and maintained on a personal level

21. What would it mean for your organization to feel a sense of belonging to the Wikimedia or free knowledge movement?

For us, feeling a sense of belonging to the Wikimedia or free knowledge movement means actively participating as both direct and indirect contributors to the creation, dissemination, and promotion of free knowledge. It also involves working collaboratively with established communities to advance these shared goals.

22. How has your (for individual grantees) or your group/organization’s (for organizational grantees) sense of belonging to the Wikimedia or free knowledge movement changed over the fund period?

Increased significantly

23. If you would like to, please share why it has changed in this way.

N/A

24. How has your group/organization’s sense of personal investment in the Wikimedia or free knowledge movement changed over the fund period?

Somewhat increased

25. If you would like to, please share why it has changed in this way.

N/A

26. Are there other movements besides the Wikimedia or free knowledge movement that play a central role in your motivation to contribute to Wikimedia projects? (for example, Black Lives Matter, Feminist movement, Climate Justice, or other activism spaces) If so, please describe it below.

.Feminist movement .Climate Justice

We are interested in better supporting peer learning and collaboration in the movement.

27. Have you shared these results with Wikimedia affiliates or community members?

Partially

27a. Please describe how you have already shared them. Would you like to do more sharing, and if so how?

28. How often do you currently share what you have learned with other Wikimedia Foundation grantees, and learn from them?

We do this rarely (less than twice a year)

29. How does your organization currently share mutual learning with other grantees?

N/A

30. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency.

34097822

31. Local currency type

RWF

32. Please report the funds received and spending in the currency of your fund.

• Upload Documents, Templates, and Files.

• Report funds received and spent, if template not used.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oqDAJyodWAPI4N-dcLmoN2KLyzrgbXRh0hMVg5I0i-A/edit?gid=0#gid=0

33. If you have not already done so in your budget report, please provide information on changes in the budget in relation to your original proposal.

N/A

34. Do you have any unspent funds from the Fund?

34a. Please list the amount and currency you did not use and explain why.

N/A

34b. What are you planning to do with the underspent funds?

N/A

34c. Please provide details of hope to spend these funds.

N/A

35. Are you in compliance with the terms outlined in the fund agreement?

As required in the fund agreement, please report any deviations from your fund proposal here. Note that, among other things, any changes must be consistent with our WMF mission, must be for charitable purposes as defined in the grant agreement, and must otherwise comply with the grant agreement.

36. Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement?

Yes

37. Are you in compliance with provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), and with relevant tax laws and regulations restricting the use of the Funds as outlined in the grant agreement? In summary, this is to confirm that the funds were used in alignment with the WMF mission and for charitable/nonprofit/educational purposes.

Yes

38. If you have additional recommendations or reflections that don’t fit into the above sections, please write them here.