Hausa Wikimedians User Group/Movement Strategy 2030 Draft Implementation Plan

Introduction

Strategic planning is a process of determining an organisation's vision, mission and long term goals and making decisions on allocating resources to pursue this strategy and map out objective ways to achieving those goals. Strategic planning is also defined as a deliberate and systematic process of evaluating an organization's current state by assessing its internal and external factors, and developing a clear roadmap to achieve its goals and objectives. It involves introspective questioning, such as:

What are we doing, and should we continue or change our ways?
How do social, environmental, technological and political factors impact our organisational operations?
Are we ready to adapt to these changes?

Why do we need strategic planning

To understand our organisational current status and what the organisation desire to become in the future
To establish and map out clear direction to achieve our organisational goals and objectives
To identify and leverage on the organisational strengths, while addressing its weaknesses for success
To develop an effective strategies and implement them in order to achieve organizational our goals and objectives
To capitalize on the available environmental resources and opportunities and mitigate threats

Strategic planning is an ongoing practice, thorough self-examination that ensures organisation is well-positioned to succeed in a changing environment. As Wikimedia movement looks to the future to achieve greatness by bringing its structural and cultural changes to address challenges and new opportunities. Movement Strategy is being implemented with goals set for 2030, the goal that 'Wikimedia will become the essential infrastructure of the ecosystem of free knowledge, and anyone who shares our vision will be able to join us.' Hausa Wikimedians User Group (HaWUG), a recognized affiliate in the movement, is working on that strategic plan aligned to implementing the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations, with a special focus on cluster C, 'Invest in Skills and Leadership Development.' The plan centers on HaWUG's mission to support Hausa language Wikimedia projects, exploring challenges, needs, and priorities of volunteer contributors with the aim of enhancing leadership and skills development. The project delves into matching peers, facilitating teaching, and recognizing volunteer contributions to enhance our User Group's overall development. The project has brought our User Group's stakeholders together in formulating the necessary steps and tactics to understand and identify the barriers hindering effective leadership and skills development within our organization by conducting research and collecting data on volunteer needs and priorities, peer learning, etc., and mapping out plans to address those challenges, as well as setting the pace and direction for the User Group.

Main recommendations

Growing Community Capacity Focusing on capacity-building initiatives, ensuring that volunteers and contributors have access to learning resources, and are empowered to participate effectively.
Enhancing Leadership and Skills Development The primary goal is to empower volunteers by enhancing their leadership skills and technical capabilities. This involves providing access to training and development opportunities that can help contributors grow within the Wikimedia community.
Fostering Inclusivity and Diversity By promoting content creation in the Hausa language, the group addresses a gap in underrepresented knowledge, contributing to the movement’s diversity goals.
Improving Collective Collaboration The strategy also emphasizes the importance of building collaborations with stakeholders and institutions (GLAMs, educational institutions) to increase the visibility and reach of the Hausa language.

Group's overview

The Hausa Wikimedians User Group (HaWUG) is a Wikimedia Community Usergroup, incorporated in Nigeria as Hausa Wikimedia Foundation (HWF) (CAC/IT/192786), is a non-profit educational organization founded in 2019 and formally recognized by the Wikimedia Affiliation Committee in the same year. Its sole aim is to promote Wikimedia projects, with a special focus on Hausa language editions and topics related to Hausa people, culture, society, history, and beyond. The User Group will also help, encourage, and educate Hausa-speaking users and communities about the importance of open source, knowledge sharing, and other educational initiatives through training and events organized by the group. Membership is open to interested individuals with shared interests. The decision-making body of the organization is the Board of Trustees.

Hausa Wikimedians User Group aims to ensure long-term sustainability, making it possible for us to continue providing valuable knowledge in the Hausa language, while also contributing to the overarching goal of ensuring Wikimedia become the ecosystem of free knowledge where knowledge is accessible to all. Our group's strategic planning demonstrates a deliberate effort to be both locally relevant and globally connected, in line with the Wikimedia movement’s mission to ensure knowledge equity.

Vision

Promote access to — and drive people to writing, curation and development of — Wikimedia educational contents and dissemination of free knowledge, with special focus on the Hausa Language editions; engage and equip volunteers with necessary skills and resources to develop the contents under a free license and also share the contents freely.

Mission

To empower Hausa language speakers to access and contribute to knowledge globally, fostering a community of passionate individuals who promote Hausa language, culture, and education, while supporting the global Wikimedia mission.

Objectives

To promote editing of Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects both in Hausa and other languages.
To Build a network of skilled volunteers and partners
To Develope and implement effective content creation and dissemination strategies
Provide training and resources for community members
Promote community engagement and participation
Organize in-person events for local community Wikipedians/Wikimedians by providing them with resources needed to enhance both their skills and ability for the development of the Wikimedia projects.

Values

Knowledge Equity: We strive in bridging the knowledge gap and promoting accessibility to free knowledge for the Hausa-speaking communities.
Diversity: We embrace diversity by striving to promoting equal opportunities for people participation from all backgrounds in Wikimedia projects.
Quality: We are committed to providing and preserving high-quality content with a thorough in-depth research and accuracy in our contributions to Wikimedia projects.
Collaboration: "If you want to go faster, go alone. If you want to go farther, go together." An African proverb, that narrates the importance of collective effort and strength in achieving more lasting impact. We prioritize community engagement, outreach, and support, recognizing the importance of a strong community of passionate and resilient people in achieving our goals.
Openness: We adhere to the principles of openness, transparency, and ensuring that knowledge is freely available and accessible to all. Resilience: We strive for long-term sustainability, adapting to challenges and opportunities, and ensuring continued growth and impact of our community.

Activities

At Hausa Wikimedians User Group, we hold and support the following areas of activities:

Meetings, our user group is holding and organising meet-ups in order to exchange ideas for development and growth and to find ways to support our members to continue editing Wikimedia projects in areas where they would need help.
Edit-a-thons, we hold editing sessions to help new and existing Wikipedians learn editing techniques, to create, translate and improve the content in all Wikimedia projects or work on and develop a certain topic which will in return promote the project.
Editing contests, the group is organizing editing contests to encourage existing regular editors to keep editing Wikimedia projects and also encourage non-members/users to join.
Photographic Contest and trips the group is also organising trips and contests to encourage users to upload and document files to commons which will be used in all Wikimedia projects.
Content writing and translations training

Who we serve

A culture of volunteerism requires dedicative and collective efforts of passionate individuals. We equip individuals with factual knowledge, providing the insights, best practices, resources and connections they needed to maximize their impact on communities.

We at Hausa Wikimedians User Group, we are committed to supporting and empowering the Hausa-speaking users and communities to access and contribute to knowledge globally.

Our main audience

Hausa language speakers, we serve people who speak Hausa as their first or second language (L1/L2) by making sure they have access to knowledge, information, and educational resources in their own language.
Language enthusiasts, we look and work for Hausa language, culture, and history enthusiasts. As we are all about advancing knowledge and learning, we aid and abet free learning spaces for all.
Wikimedia contributors: If you're already contributing to Wikimedia projects or want to start, we are here to support you! We want to grow the Hausa-language content on Wikimedia platforms.

Other audience

Educators and students: Teachers, lecturers, and students - We make sure people and students of learning get access to free knowledge in their native language.
Community leaders and organizations: We support education, cultural preservation, and community development. We help Leaders and stakeholders who are working with Hausa-speaking communities.
Language learners: We also promote Hausa language learning to people who speak Hausa as a second language or want to advance their language skills by providing learning resources and cultural immersion available and accessible.
Researchers, Academics and the Global Wikimedia community: As we are part of the Wikimedia movement with diverse communities. We collaborate with Wikimedia contributors, volunteers, and staff to provide and help in the dissemination of free knowledge worldwide.

Organisational structure

The staff are the backbone of the organization, they are the people that spearhead the running of the organisation and make sure every aspect of our work is delivered accordingly, it also helps in the division of tasks and allocating responsibilities. This chart below shows how the responsibilities are shared and who is for what and who's in charge in rendering a particular function. This helps everyone in the organisation to work together conveniently and seamlessly.

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Board of Trustees (BoT): The Board of Trustees role is to guide and oversees the governance of the organisation by ensuring effective governance, policy making, risk management, and compliance. They are the team responsible for appointing and supervising the Executive Director, oversee financial planning, budgeting, and reporting, ensuring transparency and accountability

The President: The main function of the president is to serve as the chief oversight of the organization in all its internal and affairs. Thereby providing strategic leadership and sets overall goals and objectives for the success of the organisation's vision. He ensures the organisation maintains alignment with Wikimedia Foundation's mission and values. He also represent the organisation externally, building partnerships and collaborations and work hand in hand with the Executive Director.
Executive Director: The executive director reports to the Board of Directors and plan for recommendations to the President, he maintain and oversees daily operations and management of the organisation as well as supervises staff and volunteers. He works with the financial team and manages budgets and resources. Ensures effective communication and collaboration among teams.

Secretary: The secretary reports to the Executive Director and President by handling all administrative tasks, such as scheduling and correspondences, he maintains accurate records, documents, and databases are up to date and coordinates meetings, events, and travel arrangements. He provides support for the President and Executive Director when needed and wnsures compliance with organizational policies and procedures by the staffing team

Project Coordinator: The project coordinator reports to the executive director and secretary amd manages specific projects and initiatives from conception to completion. He coordinates with volunteers, partners, and stakeholders and develops project plans, timelines, and budgets, ensures project deliverables and quality standards and communicates project progress and outcomes to stakeholders

Outreach Coordinator: The outreach coordinator reports to the president and secretary and works closely with the project coordinator. He develops and implements outreach strategies to engage communities, builds partnerships with external organizations and institutions and coordinates events, workshops, and training sessions. He also promotes the organization's mission and activities and identifies opportunities for collaboration and growth

Financial accountant: The financial reports to the Executive Director and secretary and manages finances, budgets, and financial reporting by processing expenses, donations, and grants. He ensures financial compliance and transparency by providings financial guidance and support to staff and volunteers and assisting with budgeting and financial planning

Lead Communications: The lead communication reports to the president and secretary, he handles internal and external communications, oversee and manages for the contents of the organisation's websites, social media platforms, messaging channels, and email. He supports public relations, marketing, and outreach efforts. He also manages documentation and develops communication materials, such as newsletters and reports and ensures consistent branding and messaging across platforms

Lead Technical: The Lead Technical is responsible for providing technical guidance and support for the organisation's platforms and management. He oversee the technical aspects of the platforms, ensuring smooth operation and maintenance. He also develop and implement tools to enhance service delivery and management for our programs. He assist with solving technical issues, training, and capacity building and liaise with other technical teams to ensure alignment and leverage global resources and exploring new technologies and innovations to enhance Hausa Wikimedians activities.

Growth and Development

The staffing structure has been designed to meet the growing needs of the organization as it expands its reach. The team has been actively involved in improving the group’s operational capacity and strategy, particularly on areas such as: 1. Community Engagement: Organizing physical and virtual events to foster collaboration within the Hausa-speaking community and beyond. 2. Project Management: Ensuring timely delivery of projects, including expanding Hausa Wikimedia content, facilitating edit-a-thons, and other community initiatives. 3. Administrative Functions: Handling logistical aspects such as fund management, events planning, and legal documentation.

Situation analysis

The Hausa Wikimedians User Group has been faced with multifaceted challenges, such as gaps in leadership, technical and organizational skills, which previously had limited the group’s ability to engage effectively. However, the current staffing structure has been pivotal in addressing those issues. By bringing on skilled personnel, the organization is better equipped now to plan and execute projects effectively, fostering greater participation and collaboration among our community members. The recruitment of full-time secretarial staffs demonstrates the group’s commitment to creating a sustainable and well-organized working place that supports the Wikimedia mission. With a clear focus on capacity-building, transparent operations, and effective communication, the Hausa Wikimedians User Group is well-positioned to achieve its long-term goals of expanding access to free knowledge in the Hausa language and beyond.

Six year strategy plan

In the next 6-years 2024 - 2030, we will be following these strategy plans to achieving our goals and objectives:

Year 1 (2024-2025)

Establish a clear organisation's mission and vision statements based on the Wikimedia's 2030 recommendations.
Increase the community engagements by 30% through the regular meetups, social media campaigns, and outreach programs.
Create new local articles on Hausa Wikimedia projects, focusing on under represented topics.
Establish new partnerships with potential local organizations to promote Hausa-language content creation and collaboration.

Year 2 (2025-2026)

Increase community engagement by 30% through outreaches, trainings, and capacity-building programs.
Establish partnerships with local institutions to enhance content and expertise.
Expand training and capacity-building programs to areas of needs and include webinars, and mentorship.

Year 3 (2026-2027)

Increase community engagement by 50% through targeted outreaches, community events, and social media campaigns.
Create and improve new Hausa-language articles on Wikimedia projects, focusing on important topics and gaps not covered.
Establish a sustainable community hubs for meetups, trainings, and collaboration.
Develop a comprehensive training program, including online resources and certification.

Year 4 (2027-2028)

Increase community engagement by 50% through strategic partnerships and community-driven projects.
Start new and improved existing Hausa language contents on Wikimedia, emphasizing collaboration and quality.
Foster strategic partnerships with local organizations, GLAM institutions, and media outlets.
Expand community-driven projects, including photo contests, writing challenges, and community events.

Year 5 (2028-2029)

Increase community engagement by 60% through community-led initiatives, social media campaigns, and recognition programs.
Create and improve new Hausa-language content on Wikimedia projects, focusing on diversity.
Establish Hausa Wikimedians User Group as a leading regional free knowledge champion.
Develop a smart community-led governance model, ensuring there is inclusivity in decision-making and representation.

Year 6 (2029-2030)

Increase community engagement by 70% through sustained outreach programs, community events, and strategic partnerships.
Create and improve Hausa language contents on Wikimedia projects, emphasizing on under represented topics for impact.
Achieve financial sustainability through diversified funding sources and partnerships.
Explore new revenue streams, partnerships, and initiatives to ensure long-term growth.