The Program

With re•shape – A Wikimedia program to support knowledge equity, we aim to support communities marginalized by structural racism in creating visibility for marginalized knowledge and contributing to Free Knowledge and the Wikimedia projects.

At Wikimedia Deutschland, 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 Deutschland e.V. is implementing re·shape in collaboration with neue deutsche organisationen – das postmigrantische netzwerk e.V. (ndo). The ndo is a nationwide network of around 200 charities, organizations and projects. Its members are children and grandchildren of labor migrants and refugees, Sinti and Romani people, the people of the African diaspora, as well as Jewish, Muslim and other community actors who are looking to engage in dialogue. Some of them refer to themselves as People of Color (PoC) or Black, ‘hyphenated Germans’ or something else altogether. Their common ground: The ndo sees itself as a post-migrant countermovement against racism and in favor of 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 from communities experiencing racism that aim to create more space and improve visibility for marginalized knowledge are eligible for funding if they aim to publish their results under a free license. For taking part in re·shape it is essential that there is a community connection so that knowledge can be shared autonomously.

The format you use is up to you – examples include, but are not limited to, video formats such as explanatory videos or social media posts, audio recordings such as podcasts or interviews, and texts such as essays or blog posts. Other alternatives include creating open educational resources (OER) or conducting and documenting 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.

Consequently, 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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