Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Alliances Fund/Wiki for change and inclusion in Nigeria

statusFunded
Wiki for change and inclusion in Nigeria
The objective of the project is simply to connect queers in Nigeria to Wikipedia thereby bridging the content gap about LGBTQ content on the Wikimedia projects and creating a community of Nigeria LGBTQ+ Wikimedia editors, and content creators. And to further change the narratives of the survey done here (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications/Research/Diversity,_equity,_and_inclusion_research/Nigeria_-_2022/en) in respect to LGBTQ+
start date2023-07-01T00:00:00Z2023-06-01
end date2024-04-30T00:00:00Z2024-03-31
budget (local currency)24738240 USD
budget (USD)53644 USD
amount recommended (USD)25000
grant typeMission-aligned organization
organization typeNon profit organisation
funding regionSSA
decision fiscal year2022-23
funding program roundRound 2
applicant(s)• shelia_lucifer
organization (if applicable)• Bisi Alimi Foundation
Final Learning Report

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Applicant information

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A. Organization type

Mission-aligned organization

B. Organization name

Bisi Alimi Foundation

E. Do you have an account on a Wikimedia project?

Yes

E1. Please provide the main Wikimedia Username (required) and Usernames of people related to this proposal.

shelia_lucifer

G. Have you received grants from the Wikimedia Foundation before?

Did not apply previously

H. Have you received grants from any non-wiki organization before?

Yes
H1. Which organization(s) did you receive grants from?
Role Uk; £30,000

GiveOut; $5,000 Gilead science; $25,000 Fujitsu; £6,000 Oak Foundation

H2. Please state the size of these grants from the following options.
Between 5,000-50,000 USD
H3. What type of organization (s) did you receive grants from?
International NGO
H4. What percentage of your program budget do other funders contribute to?
Between 30 and 75%

1. Do you have a fiscal sponsor?

No

1a. Fiscal organization name.

N/A

2. Are you legally registered?

Yes

3. What type of organization are you?

Non profit organisation

4. What is your organization or group's mission and how does it align with the Wikimedia movement?

Advancing social acceptance of LGBT people in Nigeria by cultivating change in hearts and minds through research, training and engagement.

Wikimedia Foundation holds values of openness, open knowledge, access to digital information, and representation of underrepresented groups, including sexual and gender-diverse groups. As stated above, the mission of BAF aligns with WFM's vision of advancing knowledge, social acceptance and capacity building through education, training and human development.

5. If you would like, please share any websites or social media accounts that your group or organization has. (optional)

Twitter: @tbafoundation

Instagram: bisialimifoundation Facebook: Bisi Alimi Foundation LinkedIn: Bisi Alimi Foundation Website: www.bisialimifoundation.org

Grant proposal

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6. Please state the title of your proposal.

Wiki for change and inclusion in Nigeria

9. Where will this proposal be implemented?

Nigeria

10. Indicate if it is a local, international, or regional proposal and if it involves several countries?

Local

10a. If you have answered international, please write the country names and any other information that is useful for understanding your proposal.

10b. Are there any specific sub-regions or areas where your proposal will be implemented?

We believe in getting the best out of this program; we have to meet the people we want to train in their locality or region. The LGBTQ community is already a marginalized group in Nigeria. Within these communities, there are underrepresented and vulnerable groups; most lack the logistics and empowerment to attend a training like this even if they are passionate about the course; hence, the need to go to them.

There are no specific region where this program will be implemented; instead, we will implement the program in several cities across Nigeria, in all the six geo-political regions of the country, in collaboration with other grassroots organisations. The social and wealth gap in Nigeria differs from region to region; it is imperative all regions in the country are reached; spreading the program across regions gives opportunities to persons outside of the major cities to share their creative and diverse ideas, thus, aligning to the wealth of knowledge this program is aimed for.

11. What is the challenge or problem you are addressing and why is this important?

The major challenge is the non-existent of adequate and updated quantity and quality of Wikipedia articles about the Nigeria LGBTQ+ community and the absence of queer persons in contributing to Wikipedia and its sisters Project.


Since the signing of the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) bill into law by President Goodluck Jonathan, this has caused widespread physical and online attacks, resulting in panic, anxiety and fear. This has also caused a gap in information relating to LGBTQ content online or in print media, with information about LGBTQ+ content on the internet poorly written or curated in a way that speaks of homosexuality as a western import, thus spreading misinformation and stoking fear and homophobia in mainstream popular culture.


Wikipedia being the largest and most popular source of information on the Internet covering six major languages in Nigeria, with millions of articles viewed by millions of visitors every month. Of all these figures, there are less than 100 articles about Nigeria LGBTQ+ topics due to the non-interest of Nigerians in contributing, thereby creating a huge knowledge and information gap whether for personal digest or research purposes.


Millions of queers in Nigeria don't know how to contribute to Wikimedia and are waiting for the opportunity to bridge the knowledge gap and identify with open knowledge access.


The proposed project simply seeks to increase available content about LGBTQ+ Nigeria on the Wikimedia platform to enhance knowledge and accessibility, don’t the spread of misinformation and myths around being LGBTQ+, and furthermore, increase the visibility of LGBTQ content online.

12. What is the main objective of your proposal? Please state why you think partnering with Wikimedia Movement helps to achieve this objective?

The objective of the project is simply to connect queers in Nigeria to Wikipedia thereby bridging the content gap about LGBTQ content on the Wikimedia projects and creating a community of Nigeria LGBTQ+ Wikimedia editors, and content creators. And to further change the narratives of the survey done here (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications/Research/Diversity,_equity,_and_inclusion_research/Nigeria_-_2022/en) in respect to LGBTQ+

13. Describe your main strategies to achieve this objective?

This project aims to train, recruit and create a community of Wiki queer editors in Nigeria in an advanced, rigorous session that seeks to develop the skills of these participants and build their passion in contributing to the Wikimedia projects. Over the past few years, we have engaged young LGBTQ+ Nigerians across several cities training and increasing their skills on contributing to WIkipedia and Wikidata in partnership with Wiki for Human Rights Nigeria led by some Nigerian wikimedians but this has been limited as we are only able to focus on few states in the south of Nigeria and the training were not thorough as its mostly a day training.


We will employ the service of a Wikimedia in Residence who will serve as the Wikimedia expert and lead facilitator in this program and develop a curriculum to be used. The program is designed to first engage and train 60 passionate and enthusiastic queer persons represented from all the 6 geographical zones of Nigeria with 10 from each zone who will undergone our 3-days in-person training on Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikimdia commons and leading/organzing community.


After visiting each zone for the in-person training, participants will be mentored virtually and supported for two months, and they will be assigned several tasks over the course of these two months. These tasks are aimed at motivating the trained-particpants in a carefully monitored manner to curate, edit or develop new/existing content on wiki sites. We aim to get at least 2 new content from each participant for the duration of the two months. An assessment will be conducted on all participants to assess the qualitative/quantitative outputs and carry surveys and interviews to determine the six official fellows (one from each zone) we we will retain and provide support to carry out meetups and trainings in their locality in collaboration with allied NGOs in their region. These fellows would be retained for a period of six months as our ambassadors for each zone where they will be saddled with the responsibility of organising meetups in their states that will attract atleast 10 participants each as this will be monitored and evulauted by the orgainsation monitoring team. This is aimed at having a ripple effect measurable impact, where participants trained by our fellows will also contribute to the wiki project.


During the month of pride, International Transgeder day of Visibility and other notable events in the LGBTQ, we will conduct different meetups, programs, contests and campaigns for contributors around Nigeria to participate, and share their success stories in the wiki movement.

14. Are you running any in-person events or activities?

Yes

15. Please state if your proposal aims to work to bridge any of the identified content knowledge gaps?

Content Gender gap, Age (regency) , Geography, Socioeconomic Status, Sexual Orientation, Cultural background, ethnicity, religion, racial, Language

16. Please state if your proposal includes any of these areas or thematic focus.

Education, Advocacy, Human Rights, Public Policy, Diversity

17. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select all categories that apply.

Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Geographic , Ethnic/racial/religious or cultural background, Socioeconomic status, Linguistic / Language, Digital Access

18. Please tell us more about your target participants.

Our target participants will involve young queer persons, living in Nigeria. Before we go to each zone for training, a call for applications will be shared across our social media. Our team will then vet the lists for security reasons, after which we will reach out to selected participants and share the training venue.

The project aims to create at least a community in each zones visited and build their data collection and editing capacities to become active and diligent editors on the Wikimedia projects. Through the Wikimedian in Residence, a curriculum will be designed to be used for all the trainings and mentoring phase. Ultimately, the project aims to empower these minority queer groups in Nigeria. After each training, we will have a two-month mentoring phase where we will mentor and supervise them thereafter; we can then select fellows. The fellow program aims to create some sense of responsibility for the editors so they can also recreate training in their states for better sustainability and ripple effects. The project will work closely with the Wikimedia LGBTQ+ Usergroup

19. Do you have plans to work with other Wikimedia communities, groups or affiliates in your country, or in other countries, to implement this proposal?

Yes

19a. If yes, please tell us about these connections online and offline and how you have let Wikimedia communities know about this proposal.

We will be working with the Wikimedia LGBT+ Usergroup; we've reached out to the leadership as they will be providing support and advisories in the areas of virtual training, mentoring, expert advice, and other areas we would be happy to explore from the user group.

We will also work with Wiki for Human Rights Nigeria group, and we've also been in touch with them as they will support us in terms of sourcing for the WiR and other Nigeria-related Wikimedia help that we may need.

The primary objective of this project is to train and upskill participants in familiarising and using Wikimedia tools to access data for information and curate content using Wikimedia tools; thus, a team of Wikimedia experts will be actively involved in this project, offering training, technical assistance and monitoring for the project.

19b. If no, please tell us the reasons why it has not been possible to make these connections.

N/A

20. Will you be working with other external non-Wikimedian partners to implement this proposal?

Yes

20a. If yes, please describe these partnerships.

We understand that there’s just so much distance we can cover if we walk alone on this journey, but if we walk with others, we will cover a large distance with wilder reach.

We will work with other non-profit Nigeria LGBTQ+ organisations through partnerships/collaborations to facilitate and mobilise this program as the LGBTQ community is diverse. The affiliated organisations will help with volunteers and grassroots penetration. We will also engage with underrepresented groups within the LGBTQ community: to engage and train marginalised queer persons with special needs, the intersex community, the transgender community and other sexually vulnerable groups within the LGBTQ movement.

Some organisations we will be engaging with for this project would include;

Women’s Health and Equal Rights Initiative (WHER) WHER Initiative is a Nigerian feminist organisation that brings together sexual and gender diverse women from all over the country to collectively take action to advance and promote their rights and wellbeing. Their programs provide psychosocial support, economic empowerment and leadership development and focus outwards to build alliances with the women’s movement and other civil society sectors. WHER is actively engaged with advocacy to advance human rights for LGBTQ people in Nigeria, as a partner in the Solidarity Alliance for Human Rights, and on the African continent.

Creme de la creme House of Fame Foundation is an organisation that provides services to transgender community and other sexual/gender diverse groups. They provide education, vocational training, sexual and reproductive services and safe houses to homeless displaced LGBTQ persons.

Intersex Nigeria is an organisation that focuses on body autonomy for intersex diverse people in Nigeria and youth empowerment and development.

Dynamic Initiative for Healthcare and Human Rights (DIHHR) is a trans/intersex focus organisation that provide services and programs aimed at inclusive policies for trans/intersex persons, and also engaging in capacity building and training that seeks to accelerate trans/intersex visibility.

African Network for Adolescent and Youth Development (ANAYD) programs and services focus on providing representation and service delivery to young persons in their diversities. Their target population are PLWHIV, drug users, sex workers, sexual and gender-diverse underrepresented groups.

Center for Health Education and Vulnerable Support (CHEVs) is a youth-led organization dedicated to the advancement of the rights and welfare of communities of young LGBTQ+ persons and Sex workers through advocacy directed towards effecting social change and inclusion in societies across West Africa.

Africa Focus For Youth Development (AFFYD) is a non-governmental organization that seeks to improve the lives and well-being of young people, women, and children, regardless of their race, gender, ethnicity, religion, challenges/special needs, or nationality. AFFYD provides social support packages, capacity buildings, and skills acquisition/vocational training to build/improve the quality of lives of young people, women, and children.

20a. If yes, indicate sharing of resources from these partners (in kind support, grants, donations, payments).

In organizing an in-person LGBTQ event, security is of utmost importance; hence, the need to engage with local organizations in sharing ideas and resources to carry out a project with a grassroots target audience so it is a safe space for all. This project aims to reach the underrepresented in their catchment area; thus, the safety of staff, volunteers, and participants are very important. We will be sharing resources with other non-Wikimedia partners in areas of grant to cover mobilization and logistical costs

In the past, we have worked with other organizations to use their facilities and space to organize this program; we intend to continue this practice if the desirable (a safe, secure venue) is unavailable. We use other NGO spaces to host this training because it acts as a safe space for participants of the training to be their authentic selves, and we believe for us to achieve the most out of this process, a safe, secure and conducive training environment is of utmost importance

21. Please tell us how your organization is structured.

The Bisi Alimi Foundation organisational structure is divided into two sectors. We have the governance and the team.

The Governance structure controls the activities of the foundation regarding standards, board support and management recruitments.

The board comprises of Chair Secretary Financial Secretary Four ordinary members.

The Team consists of Executive Director Project Officer Finance Office PA to the Executive Director Administrative Officer

The staff that will be involved in the delivery of this project will be:

Bisi Alimi- Executive Director and also the project manager.

Nell Thompson- Program officer- will directly lead the project and liaise with the Wikimedian in Residence.

22. Do you have the team that is needed to implement this proposal?

The staff who will be assisting in the implementation of this project as follows:

Bisi Alimi - Executive Director: will be responsible for overseeing the general implementation of the project.

Nell Thompson - Program manager: will be responsible for the implementation of the project activities, coordinating with participants, and with the trainers for this project. The coordinator will also be responsible for collecting the necessary information for monitoring and evaluation.

Administrative and Financial Officer: The Administrative and Finance Officer will be responsible for ensuring necessary administration, documentation and financial aspects of the project are maintained on an ongoing basis and prepare regular financial reports.

Wikimedian in Residence: Will be in charge of the Wikimedia technical know-how of the program. We will advertise this role online for suitable applicants.

Ayokanmi Oyeyemi: Project advisor.

Wikimedia LGBT+ Usergroup: Virtual training supports, social visibility and providing expert advice.

23. Please state if your organization or group has a Strategic Plan that can help us further understand your proposal. You can also upload it here.  

Yes

Learning, Sharing, and Evaluation

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24. What do you hope to learn from this proposal?

Through this project, we intend to learn the most effective approaches to engaging queers in Nigeria, contributing to LGBTQ+ Nigeria topics on the Wikimedia projects, and connecting Wiki communities and allied organisations in such a way that it becomes sustainable by continuous support from ally Wikimedia communities and Nigerian queer contributors.

Whilst we are confident that our plans, collaborative and participatory approaches to engage queer contributors, allied organizations and building a community of Wiki LGBTQ+ in Nigeria key will deliver this project, we also remain cognizant of the limits of our knowledge. We intend to use the experience of organizing similar Wikipedia trainings in the past with Wiki For Human Rights Nigeria which has trained over 30 queer persons and created up to 50 Wikipedia articles as a guide and springboard. We also aim to further these results through a feedback mechanism of hearing from all participants so we can learn from the overall projects and advice from ally WIkimedia affilates.

Core Metrics

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25. Enter a description of the metric and a number in the target field. If the metric does not apply to you, enter N/A for not applicable.

Core Metrics Summary
Core metrics Description Target
Number of participants Through this project, we hope to train 10 Nigerian queer persons in the 2 different geographical zone in Nigeria, which will sum up to 20. However, we hope to retain 2 participant as a fellow from each region, summing up to 4 fellows across the 2 regions.

These fellows will be mentored for a month, supported and equipped with the necessary tools and skills to conduct further training in their localities with a minimum of 10 participants in attendance for their own planned-trainings, this will be monitored and evaluated by both BAF personnel and the Wikimedian in residence. With an average of 10 persons being trained per region by each fellow, this equates to 20 rippled trained persons across the two regions.

We will also have virtual training for at least 50 persons during notable LGBTQ+ dates linked to the month of pride. In total, we are looking at training at least 40 in-person participants and 60 virtual participants.

100
Number of editors This project is expected to train not editors but curators and content developers who are queers and turn them into becoming editors on the Wikimedia projects.

We can estimate at least 20 editors will emerge.

Additionally, we will have returning editors from previous Wikipedia outreaches with Wiki for Human Rights Nigeria. New editors: 30 Returning editors: 20

50
Number of organizers Beginning with a paid WiR role to deliver main training in all 2 geographical zones of Nigeria. A project manager from BAF and one main organizer for each state that we visit (2). Also, 4 fellows will be inducted, which will also organize their communities and plan edit a thon and meetups in their respective states.

Wiki for Human Rights representatives.

12
Number of new content contributions per Wikimedia project
Wikimedia Project Description Target
Wikipedia We will encourage all trained editors to create at least one new Wikipedia article as part of the project (1x40 = 40).

Additionally, we will encourage and guide the participants on how to edit and improve other Wikipedia pages (20).

Also during the month of pride; we will launch a contest open to all Nigerian editors which is expected to curate at least 50 articles.

110
Wikidata We will also ensure participants create Wikidata items(75). From the month of pride contest (75) 150
Wikimedia Commons A lot of existing Nigeria LGBTQ+ biography topics on Wikipedia do not have images, and we understand the challenges with copyright. By partnering with ally LGBTQ+organisation, we will ensure the upload of at least 100 images 100
N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A

25a. If for some reason your proposal will not measure these core metrics please provide an explanation. (optional)

N/A

26. What other information will you be collecting to learn about the impact of your work? (optional)

We are looking at collecting measurable impact assessment information, such as pre-assessment surveys, post-training surveys, and interviews with all participants of the training and participants from training our retained fellows will conduct in their localities.

These impact assessment surveys will be essential in understanding the journey of our fellows and trainees in understanding the skill set of our trainees and fellows; it will aid us in assessing what impact our work is doing in upskilling these participants and also will inform our decision subsequently for future training and engagements with both trainees and sister organizations.

27. What tools would you use to measure each metric selected?

As with our previous partnered Wikipedia outreach, we will measure our metrics using the outreach dashboards and hashtag tool. Additionally, we will also provide surveys and seek appropriate guidance where necessary

28. How do you hope to share these results so that others can learn from them?

Create a video of our experience, Make a short presentation of the experience, Share results on social media, Share results with our communities, Share it on Meta-Wiki

Financial Proposal

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29. What is the amount you are requesting from WMF? Please provide this amount in your local currency.

24738240 USD

30. What is this amount in US Currency (to the best of your knowledge)?

53644 USD

31. & 32. Please provide a budget for the amount of funding requested.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-GA_4fqmlxap8ZiBFBnoY85k1ZljMNDI/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=102342149188913408245&rtpof=true&sd=true

33. What do you do to make sure there is a good management of funds?

The organization has a management system and financial policies and procedures to ensure effective stewardship of funds. Budget expenditures are reviewed by the program team and a finance officer that will manage project-related cash flows. Expenditures are authorized by the executive director to provide oversight with monthly budget tracking.

34. How will you contribute towards creating a supportive environment for participants using the UCOC and Friendly Space Policy?

We will abide by Wikimedia’s Friendly Space Policy and the UCOC in any activities of the project and ensure the proper safety of all the participants involved, including staff and experts. We will ensure will highlight guiding ground rules and inclusive respectful policies and regulations as relates to UCOC and Friendly Space Policy. The program manager will be the point of contact with the understanding of how the policy works and will be on standby to handle any situations that may arise. Defaulters will be dismissed from the program, and appropriate measures will be taken to provide support for anyone that feels unsafe or violated.

35. Please use this optional space to upload any documents that you feel are important for further understanding your proposal.

Other public document(s):

Final message

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By submitting your proposal/funding request you agree that you are in agreement with the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and the Universal Code of Conduct.

36. We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.

Yes

Feedback

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