Grants:Project/Rapid/WikiForHumanRights 2022 in Northern Ghana/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/WikiForHumanRights 2022 in Northern Ghana.
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?

Yes! We added 40 new articles on Human Rights on the Dagbani Wikipedia and created awareness of this addition on social media targeting people in northern Ghana. The month-long edithathon saw participations from both existing and new editors while introducing them to the use of other projects such as Commons. It was a challenge starting articles which did not have english versions on Wikipedia as these topics required lots of research, I therefore focused on finding sources of credible information to participants. Overall, the project led to the creation of awareness on the Right to a Healthy Environment especially in the northern part of Ghana.

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	I organised an online workshop at the beginning on the writing contest to explain the rules. There was also an in-person workshop to train both new and existing editors on how to add articles to the Dagbani Wikipedia
20 Participants	12 participants	Other participants had applied later but all articles had already been completed by participants that applied earlier
10 new editors	8 new editors
30 articles created or improved	40 articles created or improved
30 photos used from WikiLovesEarth22	50 photos used from WikiLovesEarth22

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?

The timing of this project was great as there was already talks regarding the theme in Ghana which made it easier to access resources. Partnering with the Moore wikimedians worked perfectly as most of the images uploaded to the WikiLovesEarth competition closely matched the topics of the project. I did an overview presentation at the beginning of the edithathon for new editors, but I found it really took more one-on-one support for people to be able to make their first edits. I therefore organised an in-person event to guide new editors with the help of supporting and experienced team members. I was able to recruit new editors by creating awareness of the competition on social media pages. It was also fulfilling to discover that some participants also participated in the global competition.I also also encouraged participants to join our social media and community pages to ask questions and share their challenges.

What did not work so well?

Initially participants felt reluctant to add topics which did not have english Wikipedia versions from where they could easily translate from. Many of them were not experts on these topics which required more research. Thus a few of the topics I had added were not created properly. I spent too much time talking about the pillars of Wikipedia and details new editors do not need to understand to make simple edits.

What would you do differently next time?

Organizing a themed editathon was a great way to get new people engaged who are passionate about issues regarding Human Rights and Climate. What could have been done better is to organize a panel discussion on some topics before the beginning of the edithathon. Also, another idea I have on creating awareness is to organize an educational trip to a governmental or non-governmental body in relation to the theme. I will also like to create a mentor group from existing editors to directly support new editors.

Finances

Grant funds spent

Please describe how much grant money you spent for approved expenses, and tell us what you spent it on.

Workspace for in-person workshop = ¢700
Data Allowance for in-person workshop = ¢500
Meals for Participants = ¢1200
Covid-19 safety equipment = ¢300
Data allowance (contest participants) = ¢2000
Prizes = ¢1500
Pull up Banner and stickers = ¢1500
Tshirts = ¢525
Transfers and Reimbursement charges = ¢200
Transportation for purchase and mailing of souvenirs = ¢600

Total spent = 9,025 GHS

Remaining funds

Do you have any remaining grant funds?

There is no remaining grant funds

Anything else

Anything else you want to share about your project?

The timing of this project was great as there was already talks regarding the theme in Ghana which made it easier to access resources. I did an overview presentation at the beginning of the edithathon for new editors, but I found it really took more one-on-one support for people to be able to make their first edits. I therefore organised an in-person event to guide new editors with the help of supporting and experienced team members. I was able to recruit new editors by creating awareness of the competition on social media pages. It was also fulfilling to discover that some participants also participated in the global competition