The Program

With re•shape – A Wikimedia Program to Promote Knowledge Equity, we aim to support individuals marginalized by structural racism in creating visibility for marginalized knowledge and contributing to Free Knowledge and Wikimedia projects.

At Wikimedia Germany, we believe that free access to knowledge contributes to an open-minded, informed, and just society – at least when the creation of and access to knowledge is equally possible for everyone. At the same time, we are aware that reality looks different. What gets included in knowledge repositories and official narratives is greatly determined by questions of power. Even in Free Knowledge, the stories and perspectives of people who experience racism are marginalized and thus barely visible.

Wikimedia Germany e.V. is implementing re·shape in collaboration with neue deutsche organisationen – the post-migrant network e.V. ndo is a nationwide network of nearly 200 associations, organizations, and projects. Its members are descendants of labor migrants and refugees, Sinti and Roma, Afro-diasporic people, Jewish, Muslim, and other dialogue-seeking activists. Some of them identify as People of Color (PoC) or Black people, as hyphenated Germans, or in other ways. Their commonality: ndo sees itself as a post-migrant movement against racism and for an inclusive Germany, advocating for more representation and visibility of marginalized groups at all levels of political and societal decision-making.

The program is aimed at individuals and communities in Germany affected by racism. Project teams can consist of up to three people and must be predominantly composed of BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), meaning individuals who are affected by racism. Larger groups may also apply, but only three people can directly participate in the program. Non-profit associations are also eligible, provided they are predominantly led by BIPoC. The minimum age for participation is 18 years.

Projects that aim to give more space and visibility to marginalized knowledge from communities experiencing racism are funded, provided that the project results are published under a Free License. This allows the knowledge to be utilized on Free Knowledge platforms like Wikipedia. It is essential that there is a community connection so that knowledge can be shared autonomously.

You can choose any format you prefer. For example, you can create video formats such as explanatory videos or social media posts, audio recordings like podcasts or interviews, and texts such as essays or blog posts. It is also possible to create open educational resources (OER) or conduct and document events (e.g., skill-sharing workshops, panel discussions, or storytelling cafes).

Your project can also be partially or entirely focused on Wikipedia. For example, you can participate in content discussions, provide or curate photos for article illustrations, or organize thematic edit-a-thons (collaborative writing workshops).

For direct article work in terms of creating and revising articles, special rules apply to those who wish to do so as part of a scholarship or their professional activity. If you are interested, we are happy to provide more information during the telephone application consultation or the online information session.

The Project Can:

• Be a new initiative,
• Be part of an existing project,
• rework and build on content from a completed project.

Thus, the project can:

• Completely fall within the funding period (November 2024 – June 2025),
• Or extend beyond this period (i.e., start earlier and/or end later).

With your application, you will submit a rough project outline that describes the project’s goal, timeline, and format. This outline serves as a guideline and provides insight into the project planning. At the end of the funding phase, you will write a brief final report and submit it along with your project results under a free license.

The support will be tailored to the needs of the recipients and includes the following elements:

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