Wikimedia Ghana User Group receives Knowledge Equity Fund Connected Grant

Wikimedia Ghana User Group has received a Knowledge Equity Fund Connected Grant from the Wikimedia Foundation. 

The Wikimedia Foundation established the $4.5 million Knowledge Equity Fund in 2020 to support external organisations (grantees) who work to eliminate racial and systemic barriers to accessing free knowledge.

In efforts to strengthen connections between the work of Knowledge Equity Fund grantees and Wikimedia projects, the fund introduced Connected Grants. Connected Grants support collaboration between a Wikimedia movement group and the grantee, helping bring their work onto Wikimedia projects.

The fund, which is a one-time grant-making initiative, is now in its final round, after three cycles of funding. 

Wikimedia Ghana User Group, a non-profit Wikimedia affiliate committed to advancing open knowledge, will support the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), one of the first groups to receive support from the Equity Fund and a final round grantee as well. MFWA is an independent, non-governmental organization that promotes the right to freedom of expression and access to information across all 16 West African countries.

MFWA’s mandate to break down barriers to knowledge aligns closely with the work of Wikimedia Ghana User Group (WMGH), which for more than a decade has promoted access to educational content in Ghana through Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.

These programs address major knowledge gaps in areas such as freedom of expression, human rights, and digital rights. Our goal is to make MFWA’s work more openly available to audiences in West Africa and beyond through Wikipedia and its sister wikis. This will be done by building capacity in open knowledge platforms, principles, and licensing, and by building stronger ties between MFWA and the wider West African Wikimedia community.