WM ZA/Annual Report 2023-24

This report covers Wikimedia South Africa's activities for the financial year 2023-24 using funding from the 2023-24 annual grant provided by the Wikimedia Foundation. This covers the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024.

Chapter governance

Wikimedia South Africa elected a new board for the the year up to November 2023 in 1 October 2022 and elected a new board for the year up to 26 October 2024 on 18 November 2023.

Annual General Meeting

see also: Wikimedia ZA AGM 2023

Chapter strategic retreat

see also: Wikimedia ZA Retreat 2023

WMZA Administrator

WMZA volunteers: Bobbyshabangu & Discott

Wikimedia South Africa has had a full time employee since March 2020 who performs all administrative and clerical duties in the Chapter as well as assistant volunteers on their project in logistical aspects of the projects Some of the changes and impact brought about bringing the administrator in the chapter has been to coordinate and manage activities including organising meetings, conferences, and other gatherings and taking minutes, Coordinating travel and accommodation, assist in planning and organising events, maintain chapter records, databases, and filing systems, assist with overseeing interns and doing other ad-hoc duties in the chapter.

Some of the project she helped managed include

Bobby Shabangu and Douglas Scott manages the administrator by way of having checking in meetings every Friday. Administrator's Work Plan can be viewed HERE.

Wikimedia ZA Internship Programme

see also:Wikimedia South Africa/Internship Programme

WMZA volunteers: Bobbyshabangu

Over the years we have noticed huge number of young graduate who find it difficult to enter the labour market due to lack of work experience. We've also notice that most of them use Wikipedia but are not aware that they can contribute to the site. In this regard, the chapter initiated a Communications internship programme with the aim:

1. to provide an opportunity for young South African graduates from previously disadvantaged communities to gain experience in the labor market and give them a leg up to get employment opportunities while
2. to introduce them to Wikimedia and activate them to contributors.
3. to increase the visibility of the chapter in the media.

What the programme achieved thus far

• Thus far we've had four interns participate in the programme.
• two interns went on to get permanent employment, because of the experience gained from our programme
• one remains an active Wikipedian.

Afrikaans intern

WMZA volunteers: Oesjaar

Afrikaans Academy partnership

WMZA volunteers: Oesjaar

The agreement between Wikimedia ZA and the SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (SAAWK) is to perform the following tasks:

1. Supporting the different South African language versions of Wikipedia.
2. Strengthening the local community of Wiki volunteers by engaging in community building activities.
3. Increasing public awareness of Wikipedia and its sister Wikis.
4. Improving and expanding the content on the Wikis.
5. Encouraging the growth of the local volunteer Wiki community.
6. Promoting the free knowledge movement broadly.
7. Assisting the growth of the free knowledge movement in the African region where possible.

To achieve these goals Wikimedia South Africa will receive a part time administrative assistant from the (SAAWK) working 8 number of hours a week to do the following:

• Provide administrative assistance to WMZA.
• Assist with the organization and implementation of Wikimedia South Africa events.
• Assist with Afrikaans language related tasks such as translations, communication, community and Wiki support.

The Results of this partnership:

For the 2023-2024 year the following was achieved as a result of the partnership with (SAAWK):

• Extra value was realized for the Afrikaans Wikipedia as the partnership created credibility amongst the Afrikaans community.
• It also brought the Afrikaans Community closer to the 860 members of SAAWK which all are doctors or professors.
• The SAAWK also includes Wikipedia news in their monthly newsletter.
• The single biggest project completed successfully was the Campaigners for the Afrikaans Wikipedia.

Following a marketing campaign the following organizations signed the Campaigners certificate:

1. Afrikaanse Taalraad
2. Die Taalkommissie
3. Pretoria FM
4. FEDSAS
5. Afrikaans.com
6. Naledi
7. NALN
8. Protea Boekhuis
9. Voortrekkermonument
10. Die Erfenisstigting
11. FAK
12. Genootskap vir die Handhawing van Afrikaans
13. Nuuseum

• During 2024 a workshop was organized by the SAAWK to welcome the campaigners onboard. Wikipedia News is sent monthly to the campaigners by the SAAWK.
• In terms of social media, they have created a Facebook group and page for the Afrikaans Wikipedia as well as pages on Instagram and Tik Tok which they maintain.
• The SAAWK has also opened their doors to the Afrikaans interns to allow them to gain experience in a working environment.
• The SAAWK has assisted in organizing the two workshops in Namibia in 2023/2024.
• The assist with the weekly talks on Radio Overberg, Overvaal Stereo and Die Waarheidsradio by preparing the questions for the announcers.

The Afrikaans Wikipedia got a lot more that they were hoping for working with the SAAWK

Mid term activity report

This mid-term report covers the period from July to December 2023. Wikimeida South Africa divides its activities into two activity types: outreach and community support.

Outreach

Outreach activities are those that support and enhance the growth and awareness of Wikipedia and the free knowledge movement in Southern Africa.

Schools Afrikaans writing Competition

WMZA volunteers: Oesjaar

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SWIP Wiki training

WMZA volunteers: Bobbyshabangu & Discott

see also: SADiLaR workshops 2023

In February 2023 WMZA was approached by SADiLaR with an exciting progect proposition. They suggested that we run a series of workshops with South African language translators, academics, and enthuasts in all of South Africa's Universities covering as many of South Africa's offical languages as possible. WMZA has a strong commitment to growing Wikipedia in South African languages. This presented its self as an excellent opportunity to do so at a time when most South African language Wikipedias are experiencing very slow growth.

Later on the South African Language Board also joined this project and it was renamed SADiLaR WIkipedia Pan-South Africa Language Board or SWIP.

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<seminar in December - add link>

We Are Women - Mamafubedu

WMZA volunteers: Bobbyshabangu & MollelwaFahaSaBasotho

see also: We Are Women - Mamafubedu

The We Are Women edit-a-thon was a writing and translating workshop held on 11-12 August 2023 at Rhino Heritage Park in partnership between Wikimedia ZA and Elandskop Outdoor Museum, Mamafubedu (previously known as Petrus Steyn). The aim of the event was to improve Wikipedia article about notable Sotho women, Sotho content and SeSotho language.

Picture of event dashboard showing the metrix outcomes for the event

Eswatini Wikipedia and Translation Project

WMZA volunteers: Bobbyshabangu

see also: Wiki Loves SiSwati

This was a partnership between Librarians working from the University of Eswatini and Wikimedia ZA to increase entries in SiSwati Wikipedia as well as to activate new users who speak SiSwati and raise awareness about the dearth of the language online.

The project ran over a period of 5 weeks where in 3 days was dedicated to training the participants and the rest of the days allowed the participants to write articles. The top 3 participants who contributed the most were awarded with a computer, a tablet and a data bundles as prices.

WISCom Retreat

WISCom Retreat, Johannesburg.

WMZA volunteers: Bobbyshabangu

See also: WISCom Retreat

Wikimedia ZA assisted in the organisation and hosting of WikiIndaba Steering Committee ( WISCom) Retreat in Johannesburg, most notably in organising the logistics of the event and handling the dissemination of funds for the purpose of hosting the conference.

Note: Not funded through the annual grant, funded through another special grant from the WMF.

WikiIndaba 2023

Group photograph of at WikiIndaba 2023.

WMZA volunteers: Bobbyshabangu

Project partner: Wikimedia User Group Morocco

see also: WikiIndaba conference 2023

Wikimedia ZA assisted in the organisation and hosting of WikiIndaba 2022 in Rwanda, most notably in handling the dissemination of funds for the purpose of hosting the conference.

Note: Not funded through the annual grant, funded through another special grant from the WMF.

Community

Community support refer to chapter activities that support and strengthen the local Wiki editing volunteer community.

Meetups

Wikimedia Meet-up in Randburg, Joburg

• South Africa meetup 33 - 28 October 2023
• South Africa meetup 32 - 30 September 2023
• South Africa meetup 31 - 26 August 2023
• South Africa meetup 30 - 29 July 2023
• South Africa meetup 29 - 24 June 2023
• South Africa meetup 28 - 27 May 2023
• South Africa meetup 27 - 29 April 2023
• South Africa meetup 26 - 25 March 2023
• South Africa meetup 25 - 25 February 2023

Johannesburg Meet-up

Offline Wikipedia Hackerthon

WMZA Volunteer Michaelgraaf

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_South_Africa/Offline_Access_%26_Hackathon_2023/4#2023_Activities

End of year report

This section details actives done by Wikimedia South Africa for the six month period starting 1 January 2024 until 30 June 2024.

Wikipedia 23rd Birthday

WMZA volunteer leads: Bobbyshabangu, Discott, IngridThomson

Celebrating the 23rd birthday of Wikipedia was of great significance for Wikimedia ZA, as it not only marked over two decades of fostering free knowledge but also highlighted the vital role our organization plays in the global Wikimedia movement and brought together our community members to reflect on our achievements, acknowledge the contributions of our dedicated volunteers, and reinforce our commitment to promoting access to information and education. It also served as a reminder of our ongoing efforts to support and grow the South African Wikimedia community, ensuring that our diverse voices and stories are represented on a global platform. :Read indepth about event on Wikipedia's birthday

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Community Outreach

Community outreach activities have played a crucial role for Wikimedia ZA by helping us expand our reach, engage new contributors, and strengthen our local Wikimedia community. Our partners have been pivotal in these efforts, providing matching funding, resources such as space and internet access, and, most importantly, connecting us with audiences eager to learn and contribute.

Below outlines a list of outreach activities for Wikimedia ZA in the previous financial year:

The Afrikaans outreach

WMZA volunteers: Oesjaar

User Oesjaar has played a pivotal role in advancing the Afrikaans languages in South Africa. Through the support from the Chapter, he was able to increase the number of Afrikaans articles by way of running schools writing competition and doing edit workshops.

SWIP workshops

The SADiLaR-Wikipedia-PanSALB (SWiP) project represents a joint effort involving the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR), Wikipedia, and the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB). Its aim is to unite language communities, including university language departments and other linguistic organizations, in the promotion and celebration of South African languages. Additionally, the initiative seeks to inspire active engagement from these communities in enriching the content of Wikipedia with contributions from diverse linguistic perspectives

SWiP Workshops Completed:

1. Walter Sisulu University SWiP Workshop
2. University of Mpumalanga SWiP Workshop
3. Cape Peninsula University of Technology SWiP Workshop
4. University of Zululand SWiP Workshop
5. Unversity of Venda SWiP Workshop
6. Vaal University of Technology SWiP Workshop
7. Tshwane University of Technology SWiP Workshop
8. University of South Africa SWiP Workshop
9. Central University of Technology SWiP Workshop
10. Sol Plaatjie University SWiP Workshop

Vaal University of Technology

University of Pretoria

The success of the completed workshops have culminated in and extension to the project and the isolation of a second phase of workshops throughout the country in the new financial year. Additionally the Collaboration between the organizations is evidenced by the initiation of a SWiP Writing Project post Phase 1 completion.

Statistics

Picture of event dashboard showing the metrix outcomes for the event

Kiwix rollout: National Youth Development Agency

WMZA Volunteer Michaelgraaf

Wiki Loves South African Libraries/1Lib1Ref

WMZA volunteers: IngridThomson

Wiki Loves South African Libraries aimed at bridging the gap that exists about Libraries on Wikipedia with a focus on South African Libraries. The campaign was intended to bring together libraries, librarians, library students creating visibility for libraries and their services, allowing South African libraries to tell their stories, and that of their communities through Wikipedia and its various sister projects. There is inadequate content about the various types of Libraries in South Africa on Wikipedia and the existing list of Libraries in South Africa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_libraries_in_South_Africa does not reflect all the public, academic, national, private, research libraries in South Africa. Very few South African libraries have articles on Wikipedia or are mentioned in articles about their towns or villages. The campaign ran from South African Library Week 2024 (18 - 24 March 2024) until South African Librarians' Day 2024 (10 July 2024). The #1lib1ref campaign was incorporated into the Wiki Loves South African Libraries campaign.

There was limited uptake as seen in the dashboard, but there was support from the National Library of South Africa and the Library and Information Association of South Africa. https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/WikimediaZA/Wiki_Loves_South_African_Libraries_(Officially_from_March_2024)

see also:[[1]]|Wiki Loves South African Libraries

Offline resources & Hackerthon

WMZA community member Michael Graaf presenting on Kiwix at the Global Encryption Day in the Bright Student Learning Centre, Bellville, Cape Town.

WMZA volunteers: Michaelgraaf

See also: Offline Access & Hackathon 2023-24

The Offline Wikimedia access project seeks to provide reliable offline web content relevant to the open knowledge movement as a substitute for internet access. Not all places have easy and/or free access to the internet, this project seeks to overcome this limitation by providing offline Wikipedia access using Kiwix. Wikimedia ZA has over the years undertaken or supported various Kiwix projects, and continues to do so, in conjunction with the global user group Wikimedians For Offline Wikis. This involves continues advocacy and partnership development to role out offline Wikipedia access, for example in community Wifi networks. A notable event during the 2023/24 period was a presentation delivered to school children during on Global Encryption Day in Cape Town in addition to a hackerthon table at WikiIndaba 2023.

Community

Botswana leadership

WMZA volunteers: Bobbyshabangu

Wikimedia South Africa was engaged by the Usergroup - Botswana to attend and contribute to a usergroup retreat around leadership and administration. Chapter President Bobby Shabangu could not attend in person but did so via online means. His Presentation was well received and provided insights into challenges experienced within the chapter and methodology used to move the Chapter forward.

These types of workshops retreats served the community well.

Meetups

WMZA volunteers: IngridThomson, Bobbyshabangu

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  Wikimedia Cape Town Meetup 38
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  Wikimedia South Africa Cape Town Meetup 37
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  Wikimedia South Africa Cape Town Meetup 36
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  Wikimedia Johannesburg Meetup 05

Cape Town:

• South Africa meetup 38 - 27 July 2024
• South Africa meetup 37 - 29 June 2024
• South Africa meetup 36 - 25 May 2024
• South Africa meetup 35 - 27 April 2024
• South Africa meetup 34 - 27 January 2024

Johannesburg:

• Johannesburg meetup 27 July 2024
• Johannesburg meetup 29 June 2024 - Postponed
• Johannesburg meetup 25 May 2024

Retreat

WMZA Volunteers Bobbyshabangu, michaelgraaf, Discott, IngridThomson, dagelf, lefcentreright

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  Retreat Strategy Session
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  Retreat - Unpacking Strengths
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  Retreat - Discussions
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  Retreat - Working Together

At the end of the 2023 Year, the Wikimedia South Africa Chapter hosted a retreat to isolate the new strategy for the chapter for the 2024-2026 period. This involved casting the chapters eyes to the future to imagine what the board envisioned the chapter to be in the future. This allowed the board to see the end they would like to achieve, in addition to this the board took the time to look internally and conduct an analysis of the chapters strengths and weaknesses. All of this combined informed the creation of the Chapters Theory of Change. Once created this allowed the Chapter to formulate the Strategy for next period 2024-2026

AGM

The Chapters Annual General Meeting was hosted in person at the Catalyst Hotel in Sandton on the 18th November 2023. The meeting also allowed for online participation for chapter members who could not participate in person.

The main objectives of the general meeting is to review the achievements for the previous year as well as to agree on and plan for the new year.

The chapter was joined by some staff from the Wikimedia Foundation.

Link to the AGM minutes and recording can be located [Here]

WikiIndaba 2024

WMZA Volunteers Bobbyshabangu, discott, IngridThomson, Herschal Jackson (WMZA)

The WikiIndaba conference is not funded thought the annual grant but instead receives funding from the Conferences committee of the WMF.

Financial report

End of year

For the fully financial year period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. Budget # refers to the budget line item number as reflected in the budget.

Budget #	Item	Budget (Rand)	Spent (Rand)	Unspent (Overspend)
1	Support African languages	210,320.00	362,238.00	(151,918.29)
2	Community diversity	30,000.00	12,146.00	17,854.00
3	Wiki Content Creation & Tech Development	108,500.00	15,000.00	93,500.00
4	Wiki Loves (Science, Plants, Africa)	56,000.00	11,000.00	45,000.00
5	Community building & health	99,300.00	20,412.47	78,887.53
6	WMF support & engagement	78,240.00	0	78,240.00
7	Wikimedia scholarships	164,000.00	177,998.80	(13,997.80)
8	Regional community development	27,000.00	10,568.92	16,432.08
9	Staff	774,000.00	561,172.00	212,828.05
10	Communications	20,000.00	25,423.00	5,423.00
	Total (South African Rand)	2,017,860.00	1,607,637.76	410,223.24
	Total (US $)*	$109,666.30	$87,371.56	$22,294.74

* US$ value based on ZAR/US$ exchange rate of R18.4 for US$1 on the 16 March 2023.