The expectations on attendees of the conference - having never attended a WikiCon outside of New Zealand I was interested to learn what format the WikiCon would take and the expectations on attendees - particularly on affiliate leaders to contribute views. It was a lot more participatory than I expected and I felt it took me a while to come out of my shell and shyness to actively participate. I put some of this down to this being, combined with WOW2022, the first post-COVID lockdown in-person conference I had attended in 3 years. It took me time to get my conference mojo and confidence back again. I feel that I'm more prepared for any future conferences. I would make different choices on what sessions I attended next time. The clash of the Wikidata session and the second session on Determaning what ESEAP wants from a Hub was a difficult choice. I now feel I made the wrong choice to attend the Wikidata presentation - which is of high personal interest to me. I should have represented New Zealand at the ESEAP Hub conversation. If I am successful in seeking support to attend other Wikicons in the future I will be more careful about session selection.
The enthusiasm of participants - after a long, rainy winter and a busy year, I went into ESEAP 2022 tired. It was an absolute delight to meet with so many like minded and enthusasic people. In particular I was surprised at the enthusiasm that met my ideas at the Wikimania 2023 theme discussion. It gave me so much energy and delight and made me try to reflect back the positivity I'd received. It made me remember why I put time into the hard slog of organising rather than the fun of editing and reinvigorated and revitalised me. I can't thank ESEAP 2022 enough for the energy boost it gave me.
Diversity of different projects, including the different ways that each project uses the range of Wiki platforms to make their project successful. This gave me a broader understanding of how I can help and advise other New Zealand editors set up and achieve projects that they are interested in.
That user groups are relatively small but the impact they have in their area is big. This was reassuring to me as it gave me a benchmark for the Aotearoa New Zealand affiliate to measure itself. In comparison with other affiliates we're doing well. This is good news for a relatively junior affiliate of 3 years duration.
There are significant similarities with the challenges facing each affiliate including numbers of contributors, risk of organiser burn out, prioritising depth of editor and organiser base, recruitment and retention of newbies, and how to cite oral traditional knowledge. Hearing some of the strategies that other affiliates are using to tackle these challenges made me think about how some of these measures could be applied in the New Zealand environment.
There is significantly more support that is available from Wikimedia Foundation than I had anticipated - meeting the people behind the user names has been very impactful for me and has made me more comfortable with contacting the people I have met for information and support - not only with my personal editing but also to connect those needing advice with experienced people from around the ESEAP region.
Things the participant contributed or participated in the conference
Session D1 - Panel on Affiliate Leadership Development. I contributed a talk on the background of the development of the Aotearoa New Zealand affiliate and it's current state.
Session J2 - Discussion: Wikimania 2023. I participated in the group discussions to discuss on Wikimania theme and voted for the final theme of Diversity. Collaboration. Future.
Plans after the conference (from what was learned or contributed in the conference)
Talked with User:99of9 about updating mix'n'match sets. An editor group at my workplace has the intention of updating The Te Papa Agent ID number set with new entities added to that dataset since the original scrape happened in 2017. I'll be taking this idea back to my work (Te Papa) now I have a contact that can help.
Sharing with the User Group the Balinese Manuscripts Project - digitising, OCRing, transcribing Lontar on the Balinese Wikisource. Is there a project for us with any at-risk archives around New Zealand? This might be a bit early in the plan but if an editor is inspired and wishes to develop a project then this example might be useful.
Know my Name project by Wikimedia Australia may be a model to work with Pasifica Community to provide oral information on making and traditional knowledge. Intend to have follow up conversations with User:Kowhaiarewhana
Took inspiration from Wikimedia Indonesia and Wikimedia Korea about the usefulness of competitions and gift vouchers to encourage newbie participation. Taking that back to the Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand committee for discussion
