Grants:Project/Ammarpad & DonCamillo/Outreach in Northern Nigeria

This project is funded by a Project Grant

statusselected

Project Grants

Outreach in Northern Nigeria

summaryThis projects aims at increasing awareness on Wikimedia projects in Hausa in Northern Nigeria.

targetHausa Wikipedia, Hausa Wiktionary (& future projects in Hausa)

type of grantoffline programs and events

amount5 000 USD

grantee• Ammarpad• DonCamillo

contact• DonCamillo

volunteer• Engr Muhammad Khamis

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created on09:17, 2 November 2017 (UTC)

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Project idea

What is the problem you're trying to solve?

What problem are you trying to solve by doing this project? This problem should be small enough that you expect it to be completely or mostly resolved by the end of this project. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.
As of now, there is little to no awareness regarding the possible uses of Wikimedia projects in order to increase access to knowledge in Hausa.

The Hausa Wikipedia is one of the smallest wikipedias in terms of number of articles per speakers (0.01 to 0.02 article per 1,000 speakers - for comparison, Swahili has 0,5 to 1 article per 1,000 speakers, Arabic 2 to 2,5 per 1,000 speakers, English 10 to 12 articles per 1,000 speakers). The project gets around 100,000 pageviews every month (compared to 1,3 M for Swahili, 170 M for Arabic, 7,800 M for English).

However, Hausa is spoken by more than 100 M people, in an area where access to internet has been increasing rapidly over the last 10 years. For probably half of these 100 M people, Hausa would be the most convenient language in order to get access to knowledge, as it is already the main "lingua franca" in Northern Nigeria and Southern Niger, and to a lesser extent, beyond (Northern Ghana/Benin/Togo, Southern Chad and Northern Cameroon).

What is your solution?

For the problem you identified in the previous section, briefly describe your how you would like to address this problem. We recognize that there are many ways to solve a problem. We’d like to understand why you chose this particular solution, and why you think it is worth pursuing. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.

Reachout to various stakeholders in the region; political, university/educational and media. Media will help in increasing awareness and universities/political class will help in supporting future programs in one way or the other.

Organize workshops in cities where Hausa is spoken for people interested in editing Wikimedia projects in Hausa. People will be directly exposed to Wikimedia projects practically to experience how they are, how to join and how to contribute. This will help in kindling their interest and pulling potential Wikimedians.

DonCamillo and Ammarpad have significant experience in editing Wikimedia projects in French and English (+ 20 k edits) as well as on Hausa Wikipedia.

Project goals

What are your goals for this project? Your goals should describe the top two or three benefits that will come out of your project. These should be benefits to the Wikimedia projects or Wikimedia communities. They should not be benefits to you individually. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.

Short-term goals

Increase the number of articles on Hausa Wikipedia, improve extant ones and raise awareness about it in Northern Nigeria.
Recruit new editors from Kano and Kaduna, the states with largest population of Hausa people and numerous academic institutions.

Long-term goals

Encourage Hausa speakers to edit Wikimedia projects
Increase awareness around Wikimedia projects in Northern Nigeria
Explore partnerships with academic institutions of Northern Nigeria to support edit-a-thons/training of staff and students on editing Wikimedia projects in Hausa.

Project impact

How will you know if you have met your goals?

For each of your goals, we’d like you to answer the following questions:

During your project, what will you do to achieve this goal? (These are your outputs.)
Once your project is over, how will it continue to positively impact the Wikimedia community or projects? (These are your outcomes.)

For each of your answers, think about how you will capture this information. Will you capture it with a survey? With a story? Will you measure it with a number? Remember, if you plan to measure a number, you will need to set a numeric target in your proposal (e.g. 45 people, 10 articles, 100 scanned documents). Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.

Organize workshops for Hausa-speaking Wikimedia editors in Kaduna & Kano (increase in contributions to Wikimedia projects in Hausa on the short and long term). Stories about new Wikimedia editors (how they came to hear about Wikimedia projects and to get involved in one of them) that can be used for further outreach. Data regarding edits, new articles and pageviews on Wikimedia projects.

Meet with various stakeholders to increase awareness around Wikimedia projects in Hausa. Partnerships with institutions (universities, media) regarding contribution to Wikimedia projects, release of content in Hausa that would be compatible with CC-BY-SA (but also data, media), etc.

Do you have any goals around participation or content?

Are any of your goals related to increasing participation within the Wikimedia movement, or increasing/improving the content on Wikimedia projects? If so, we ask that you look through these three metrics, and include any that are relevant to your project. Please set a numeric target against the metrics, if applicable. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.

For each workshop (in Kaduna & Kano), creation of 20 to 40 Wikimedia user accounts. Over a period of three months, generate 500 to 1 000 edits (and creation of 100 to 200 articles) on Wikimedia projects in Hausa.
Six months after the end of the second workshop, have at least 10% of workshop attendants still involved in the project on a monthly basis. By end of 2019, have the Hausa Wikipedia among the top 200 Wikipedia projects in terms of number of articles.
Engage in a long-term partnership with at least one institution in Kaduna and one in Kano. It could be Wikimedia clubs in the universities, training of teachers who are supposed to teach Hausa in secondary schools.

Project plan

Activities

Tell us how you'll carry out your project. What will you and other organizers spend your time doing? What will you have done at the end of your project? How will you follow-up with people that are involved with your project?

Workshops in Kaduna & Kano (basics on how to edit Wikimedia projects), if possible within Kaduna State University and Bayero University
Translation of help and support materials for new editors in Hausa
Meetings with various potential stakeholders in Kaduna & Kano (including: Kaduna State University, Bayero University, Commissioners for Education in both States)
Encourage participants to share their experience on our social media accounts after the project. Locally-based leader (Ammarpad) will offer them necessary support, through our Facebook page/group and other social media platforms as well as personal contact.

Budget

How you will use the funds you are requesting? List bullet points for each expense. (You can create a table later if needed.) Don’t forget to include a total amount, and update this amount in the Probox at the top of your page too!

Workshops in Kaduna & Kano (450 000 NGN/1 250 USD each, covering renting a room with internet access in a central location of Kaduna & Kano + food & drinks for 30 to 40 people), including outreach (90 000 NGN/250 USD for each workshop)
Translation of help & support materials for new editors in Hausa (145 000 NGN/400 USD - 75 % for the translator & 25 % for the proofreader)
Travels for one Nigerian experienced Wikimedia editor based in Katsina and Zaria (220 000 NGN/600 USD covering transportation, accommodation & cost of living for 3 days x 2), & one non-Nigerian experienced Wikimedia editor based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (1 500 USD for flight tickets from Addis-Ababa to Kaduna & Kano or Addis-Ababa to Abuja + Abuja to Kaduna & Kano; the editor will bear the expense regarding accommodation & cost of living in Nigeria)

Community engagement

Community input and participation helps make projects successful. How will you let others in your community know about your project? Why are you targeting a specific audience? How will you engage the community you’re aiming to serve during your project?

Surveys regarding edits/pageviews on Wikimedia projects before/after the program.
Creation of social media pages for Wikipedia in Hausa (already created on Twitter and Facebook); build a Facebook group on the basis of the existing page in order to get more engagement as well as support group on WhatsApp platform.
Updating of Help and Wikipedia namespace pages on Hausa Wikipedia, to assist casual visitor and engage them to explore more.

Get involved

Participants

Please use this section to tell us more about who is working on this project. For each member of the team, please describe any project-related skills, experience, or other background you have that might help contribute to making this idea a success.

Project leaders

Ammarpad: I am experienced Northern Nigerian Wikipedia editor. Member of Wikimedia Usergroup Nigeria, established editor on English Wikipedia and hundreds of edits on Hausa Wikipedia. I made over 29,000 contributions across all Wikimedia projects and I speak and write in Hausa and English. I am based in Katsina, in Northern Nigeria and familiar with both locations of the project, and institutions of partnership. I will lead the project with the help of DonCamillo who will connect us to the partner institutions in Kano and Kaduna, and will made myself available for any help wanted in either locations during the project and after the project ends. I will specifically offer trainings for any institutions either in Kaduna or Kano that are interested after the project ends. We will discuss and find the best way of going with it in each location, in our meeting with them.
DonCamillo : More than 20,000 edits on Wikimedia projects (mostly fr.wiki and ha.wiki), speaks French/English/basic Hausa, has worked previously with the Wikimedia Nigeria user group, has taken part in various Wikimedia-related workshops in France and Nigeria, previous work experience in Northern Nigeria (as a diplomat), currently based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. DonCamillo with his experience and acquaintance with the people he already worked with in Northern Nigeria will help to connect us with the institutions of interest, presently Kaduna State University, Bayero University in Kano and State governments. This will allow us to build a solid foundation with the top authorities of these institutions that will subsequently help in ensuring the long-term continuity of the project and follow up edit-a-thons/workshops that Ammar will do after this project ends in each location. I have also edited a significant part of Wikipedia in Hausa, including help/support pages, and can bring useful inputs during the first workshops.
Volunteer Ina son taimakawa wajen hlartar tarurruka da kuma sanar da Mutanen da Ba su sani Ba. Engr Muhammad Khamis (talk) 05:33, 24 June 2018 (UTC)

Community notification

Please paste links below to where relevant communities have been notified of your proposal, and to any other relevant community discussions. You are responsible for notifying relevant communities of your proposal, so that they can help you! Depending on your project, notification may be most appropriate on a Village Pump, talk page, mailing list, etc. Need notification tips?

See the talk page where links have been added to a Facebook post that received positive feedback and the Hausa Wikipedia "Village Pump".

Endorsements

Do you think this project should be selected for a Project Grant? Please add your name and rationale for endorsing this project below! (Other constructive feedback is welcome on the discussion page).

Support. There's very low overall awareness of Wikimedia projects in Nigeria. Even more so in Northern Nigeria. However Nigeria is among the top 10 countries by number of internet users as of 2017. According to the WMF Global Reach statistics, about 77% of the Nigerian population have never heard of Wikipedia. This project if funded will clearly pave the way in pulling potential contributors to building Hausa Wikipedia/Wiktionary and increasing awareness of Wikimedia projects in general. I believe DonCamillo has the needed experience with Wikimedia projects both on and off-site wiki and is capable of handling this project. And I am available to provide all the necessary support needed. Ammarpad (talk) 17:00, 11 December 2017 (UTC)
Support Nigerian languages Wikipedia needs urgent attention. Wikicology (talk) 05:52, 12 December 2017 (UTC)
Support Great project overall Exilexi (talk) 07:26, 12 December 2017 (UTC)
Support Mahveotm (talk) 06:56, 13 December 2017 (UTC)
Support Anthere (talk) 13:38, 13 December 2017 (UTC) Wikipedia awareness in Nigeria has greatly increased in the past couple of years (though still very limited) so the seeds for success are here. it is also a very large country (in surface, in population, in linguistic diversity) with lot's of opportunities, so likely to be a good opportunity to push a local language wikipedia and make a good example of the outcomes. I would suggest that DonCamillo (who I know and interact with) and Ammarpad (who I do not know yet) do not hesitate to use current active programs running in Nigeria to leverage their actions and lessen the effort to provide. Anthere (talk)
Support The goals may be too ambitious (e.g., 25% retention, top 200), but the cost is minimal and the effort is well placed. Even if the project fails completely (which I hope it won't), WMF would learn something about attracting Hausa editors. Advertising the events is an interesting problem; I would expect light attendance at early events, but I could also see filling an auditorium and taxing available network capacity. The budget only indicates 2 events ($2500 of the budget; current budget totals $5000 instead of $4900); I would ask for 2 more events (increasing budget by $2500 + possible travel and lodging). Lining up possible institutions beforehand would be beneficial; for example, there is a university at w:Kaduna. Glrx (talk) 22:15, 22 January 2018 (UTC)
- Hi, thanks for your comments and endorsement! Yes the large universities in Kaduna and Kano would be obvious targets for this project, and later Zaria, Sokoto (and hopefully Maiduguri if security allows it). More events would be great indeed but I think this would be for a follow-up project (hopefully this time without need for someone to travel from a foreign country) - also to address Anthere's comment, at this time there is very little interest for the Hausa Wikipedia locally, but the main goal is to create a small community of local Hausa-speaking editors who will have complete ownership of future initiatives. DonCamillo (talk) 05:58, 29 January 2018 (UTC)
  - I look at it from an experience / learning curve standpoint. It takes a lot of effort to do something the first time, and even then, some significant items may be missed. The second time is a little easier. I'd like WMF to get more advantage from what you will learn. Glrx (talk) 20:31, 29 January 2018 (UTC)
Support. I was a bit surprised to see that there are very few active editors (15 this month - January) in a population of 20 million that speak the language. It is worth investing these $ 5,000 to improve participation in this project. DARIO SEVERI (talk) 09:56, 5 February 2018 (UTC)
Support This project when it is carried out and worked will generate many fruits for hausa wikipedia. I was surprised to learn that just over 30% of the Nigerian population know the wiki, and the contributions of Natives in Hausa are practically null. Good luck @DonCamillo, your efforts they will be worth it. Sergio Junior Guitarist (talk) 20:30, 5 February 2018 (UTC)
I Take long time thinking of the way to improve Hausa Wikipedia thank you for your idea Engr Muhammad Khamis (talk) 15:54, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
Support Aside the numerous merits of this project, Wikimedia User Group Nigeria (WUGN) is delighted to collaborate with the organizer of this project to ensure the success of the project.Because, the project is coming at a time when we are planning to spread out the tentacle of our group across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

Geographically ,this project meant a lot to us because it will serve as a channel of launching Wikimedia Hub in the Northern part of Nigeria and Kano being the commercial nerve of Northern Nigeria, it is more than being strategic!!!

At the moment, we have launched Wikimedia Hub in Ibadan (South West) Abuja and Ilorin ( North Central). Kano is in the North West of Nigeria. Therefore, we will be so glad if this project is approved. Olaniyan Olushola (talk) 07:46, 27 February 2018 (UTC) President Wikimedia UG Nigeria.

Support but plan for 5% retention, build cultural partnerships for repeat events over time Slowking4 (talk) 00:43, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
Support This project is aimed at increasing Wikipedia awareness in Northern Nigeria and creating more articles in the Hausa language on Hausa Wikipedia/Wiktionary. It will definitely yield great results in the region. preciousayara (talk) 05:56, 20 March 2018 (UTC)