Capacity Building for the African Wikimedia Technical Community
Funding Area: Capacity building / Construcción de capacidad
Problem Statement: The African Wikimedia Technical Community is a growing and vibrant community, but it faces a number of challenges in terms of capacity. These challenges include: Lack of technical skills among community members. Lack of resources to support technical training and development. Lack of opportunities for community members to contribute to the technical infrastructure of Wikimedia projects
Proposed Activities: The proposed project would address these challenges by providing capacity building opportunities for African Wikimedians. The project would focus on the following activities: Offering technical training workshops, Providing mentorship and support to community members who are interested in contributing to the technical infrastructure of Wikimedia projects and Developing resources and tools to help community members learn about and use Wikimedia's technical infrastructure
Openness: The proposed project would be open in the following ways: The training workshops and courses would be open to all members of the African Wikimedia Technical Community, regardless of their technical skills or experience. The mentorship and support would be available to all community members who are interested in contributing to the technical infrastructure of Wikimedia projects. The resources and tools that are developed would be made available to the entire Wikimedia community.
Challenges: The proposed project faces a number of challenges, including: The lack of consensus on how to strengthen community governance in the African Wikimedia Technical Community. The challenge of engaging all members of the community in the development of the charter, code of conduct, and diversity and inclusion plan. The challenge of implementing the charter, code of conduct, and diversity and inclusion plan.
Neglectedness: No, This technical community started off as a technical project in other to train software developers to build,improve and maintain technical projects within the wikimedia ecosytem, but we later realized it was not inclusive and diverse enough to for other technical contributors with other technical skills such as UI and UX designers, product and project management, localization contributors and Quality Assurance Engineers. So we decided to rebrand the whole project into an African Technical Community which can be inclusive in other to involve all of these technical contributors across Africa. Which we currently do have community members from both tech and non-tech backgrounds especially from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda. Which we look forward to expand our community other African countries if we are able to receive this funding. We are open for a call with the funding organization.
Success: The project would be considered a success if it achieves the following outcomes: Increases the technical skills of African Wikimedians. Provides opportunities for community members to contribute to the technical infrastructure of Wikimedia projects. Creates a more inclusive and welcoming environment for African Wikimedians who are interested in technical work.
Total Budget: USD 10,800
Budget File: pdf
Affiliations: African Wikimedia Technical Comunity & Open Foundation West Africa
LMIE Carveout: Yes, the project fits within the LMIE carveout. The project team is based in Ghana, which is a Low and Middle Income Economy (LMIE).
Team Skills: The project team has a range of skills and experience in the areas of technical training, mentorship, and project management. The team is also committed to working with the African Wikimedia Technical Community to create a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all members.
Submission Number: 87
Loading