*Tl;dr: *Are you from Africa and looking for other opportunities to
contribute your knowledge and skills to Wikimedia or learn how to make
valuable contributions to Wikipedia? Join the Africa Growth Project Pilot
on WikiLearn to grasp the basics of contributing to Wikipedia and explore
the various contribution options within the movement! Applications are
accepted from August 4 - 16, 2023
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_RMweV7xPQmkuFgRc2bRq8Z1i35bC8wC6q6QMdMtIkdEl3Q/viewform>
.
Dear Wikimedians,
About a month ago, the Wikimedia Foundation announced the idea of an Africa
Growth Project and initiated a curriculum consultation
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Africa_Growth_Pilot/Live_Tutorials_on_Core_Policies>
which concluded on 21 July 2023. The pilot project, as highlighted in the
original email, seeks to enhance community efforts by creating a more
effective online learning experience to improve the retention of new
volunteers.
Why the Africa Growth Project?
Investing in community capacity has been emphasized in various discussions
within the Movement. These needs have been explicitly outlined in the
Movement Strategy and, more importantly, the recent request for help with
editor growth and retention from the communities in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Africa Growth Project is a pilot that aims to experiment with a course
to provide a strong foundation in Wikipedia policies and collaboration
norms, closely guided by our hypothesis of providing high-quality
structured training to new and existing Wikimedians covering the basics of
contribution to Wikimedia (including introducing the many ways to
contribute beyond article writing) can double the retention rates of active
editors in the region.
What can I expect?
The program will consist of a 4-week online learning experience in
September. It will prepare participants to understand the fundamentals of
contributing to Wikimedia and the range of contribution options available
within the movement. For the initial iteration of this project, the course
will only be offered in English. We intend to expand to other languages in
the future if the piloted approach proves successful.
Participants will leave the course with:
-
Basic familiarity with the Wikimedia landscape
-
Awareness of the many different contribution options available to
volunteers, over and beyond writing encyclopedia articles
-
The ability to write in an encyclopedic tone and grasp the concept of a
neutral point of view
-
Understanding of reliable sources, referencing them, and the concept of
"verifiability, not truth".
Who is eligible?
We invite all Africans, both experienced and new, who have an interest in
developing or refreshing a clear understanding of the basics of
contributing to Wikimedia and exploring the opportunities that exist for
them in the Wikimedia volunteer journey.
Only *150 slots are available*, selection will be based on the level of
interest shown in the response, and users with accounts that are 6 months
old or older will have an advantage.
Applications are open from 4 - 16 August 2023
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_RMweV7xPQmkuFgRc2bRq8Z1i35bC8wC6q6QMdMtIkdEl3Q/viewform>,
and you can apply by completing the attached form
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_RMweV7xPQmkuFgRc2bRq8Z1i35bC8wC6q6QMdMtIkdEl3Q/viewform>
before the deadline. If you wish to learn more, join us (in person or
online) at our session at Wikimania on August 17 at 2:20 UTC
<https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/2023:Program#Room_324_3>.
Alternatively, you can contact us through our meta page talk page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Africa_Growth_Pilot/Live_Tutorials_on_Core_Policies>
or reach me at fnartey(a)wikimedia.org.
Best,
--
Felix Nartey
Senior Program Officer, Campaigns
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>