Grants:Conference/Hindi Wikimedians/Hindi Wikipedia Conference 2018/Report

Report accepted

This report for a Conference Grant approved in FY 2018-19 has been reviewed and accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:Conference/Hindi Wikimedians/Hindi Wikipedia Conference 2018.
You may still comment on this report on its discussion page, or visit the discussion page to read the discussion about this report.
You are welcome to Email conferencegrants at wikimedia dot org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.

Goals

Did you meet your goals?

Target outcome	Achieved outcome	Explanation
20 Participants	30 Participants	We received amazing response and we were able to accommodate more people. Accommodation facility (with all 3 meals) was given to all the participants
20 Scholarships	30 Scholarships	We managed to adjust additional 10 people within same budget
Participation from 1 country, 5 states and 10 cities	Participants came from 3 countries, 10+ states and 18+ cities	We got diverse participation from neighboring countries and major Indian states

Next steps

Please share a brief update about the status projects, important discussions and/or capacity building that took place at the event.

	Activities during the conference	2 months after the conference	6 months after the conference
Strategic Discussions: Were any significant issues your community discussed at the conference?	Policy level discussion started at the conference (About selecting admins, main page maintenance etc) Such discussions were moved to Village Pump for wider participation.
Capacity Development: Please list capacity building sessions or workshops.	Individuals were trained through one-on-one conversations. General capacity building session did not take place due to time constraint an	WhatsApp (follow-up) Calls and conference calls with members interested in hosting 2019 Hindi Wiki Conference.	Survey participants 6 months after event -- how many people have used the skills they learned? - Most of the participants used skills
Projects or Working Groups: What are the most important projects that were started or improved during the conference?	Teams were divided based on geographic regions and volunteers committed to organizing at-least one workshop on their own city		Provide an update on projects that were started, or changes that were made as a result of work done at the conference. - World Hindi Conference working group active and community is working with government officials to promote Hindi Wikipedia

Learning

Conferences and events do not always go according to plan. Sharing what you learned can help you and others plan similar projects in the future. Help the movement learn from your experience by answering the following questions:

What worked well at the event?

Diverse participation : 30 attendees came from 3 countries, 10 states and 20+ different cities.
Bridging Gendergap - 20% female participation
Almost all active Wikipedians and Administrators attended the conference
Many Wikipedians met for the first time and it helped to create WikiFamily bond
Video interviews + video feedback from attendees
Pre-Conference WhatsApp group helped participants to socialize even before the conference and to share updates

What did not work so well?

Program schedule was not followed strictly
Time management was not up to the mark - all sessions started 30 min late
Delhi-darshan did not take place due to delay in program
Few listed presentations did not take place (however many unplanned presentations took place)
On-stage management (screen/projector etc setup) took time

What would you do differently next time?

Program : Focus on designing strong program guide and keep it open for discussion on village pump for at-least 30 days
Agenda : Separate "Program Committee" to work on designing agenda/program and timetable for the conference
Stage Management : Dedicated team to keep track of time and manage stage (projector/mike etc)
Expectations : Set up expectations in advance and initiate discussions through Google hangout at-least week in advance
Scholarships : Along with calls - Send E-Mails, Talk page messages, WhatsApp messages (utilize all possible channels) to inform recipients
Travel : Partnership with travel agency for booking flight tickets
Accommodation

Make sure all participants get similar rooms (same category standard rooms) so there is no discrimination

Ask participants if they have any preference to share the room

Keep Veg/Non-veg food separately and ask hotel staff to mark Non-Veg items with dark colors to avoid confusion

Make sure you give all requirements to hotel manager in advance

Misc. (some tips for next conference organizers) :

Consider forex exchange rate fluctuation while writing the grant budget : When we applied for grant, Dollar to rupee conversion was 65 INR however at during the conference it came down to 62 INR and went up to 67. Also consider local taxes like GST.
Consider alternate communication channels like Telegram, Google groups etc.
Reach out to WMF Staff in advance : We had several calls with Kacie Harold and overall WMF staff was helpful, committee as well as staff explained the process. Feel free to ask questions instead of assuming things.
Insurance : If possible, try to get insurance for the conference. Volunteers handle things carefully but sometimes things break unintentionally and it is unfair to expect volunteers to pay for breakage/damage. Insurance can be used for minor/major issues (if any).

Financial documentation

This section describes the grant's use of funds

Please provide a detailed breakdown of project expenses according to the instructions here. See Budget Guidelines.

Event budget table

Number	Category	Item description	Number of units	Cost per unit	Total cost in INR	Total cost in USD (approximate)	Notes
1	Conference Hall	Conference hall for two days + celebration space 50 people capacity		1	24,255	385	Discounted rate in same hotel for 'three days' Another small conference room for 20 people complimentary.
2	Accommodation	Twin sharing rooms for three day.	7000/room x 10 rooms x 3 days	7000	02,03,868	3236	includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and free WiFi for all three days.
3	Travel	Travel scholarships	20	7000	01,35,954	2158	For top contributors and interested participants across India
4	Video Documentation	Short interview videos of experienced Wikipedians + short documentary of entire conference	2	10,000	19,404	308	Will be released on commons as well as on other social media platforms. These videos can beed in WMF as well other post-conference blogs.
4	Felicitation / Gifts	Memento for participants and active contributors recognising their contribution.	20	500	9,765	155	+Thanksgiving to Administrators on Hindi Wikipedia
5	Print Material	(Banners/I-Cards/Posters etc)		variable	2,961	47
8	Administrative costs	fiscal sponsor/partner	1	N/A	88200	1400	Accounting, reporting, documentation etc by fiscal sponsor
9	Misc	Miscellaneous Costs			9,765	155
		Total			494,109	7843

Summary of funding

Total project budget (from your approved grant submission):

INR 508,850/- (*As of 23rd Sept 2017, $1 = ~65 INR)

Total amount requested from WMF (from your approved grant submission):

INR 508,850/- (*As of 23rd Sept 2017, $1 = ~65 INR)

Total amount spent on this project (this total should be the total calculated from the table above):

INR 494,109

Total amount of WMF grant funds spent on this project:

INR 494,109

Are there additional sources of revenue that funded any part of this project? List them here.

None

Remaining funds

Are there any grant funds remaining?

Answer YES or NO.

NO.

Please list the total amount (specify currency) remaining here. (This is the amount you did not use, or the amount you still have after completing your grant.)

0

Anything else

Is there anything else you want to share about the conference or event?

Photos :

Participants were welcomed by following Indian traditions with garland
Indian tradition welcome at the conference
Hindi Wikipedia Administrator and organizer Ashish Bhatnagar welcoming new members
Pre-conference group pic of attendees
Hindi WikiWomen at the conference
Online session on 'Safety and emergency response' with WMF Safety Team Member Christel

Videos :

Video interview of Hindi Wikipedia Conference attendee
Video Interview of the participant
Nepal Participants sharing their thoughts about the conference

Survey Infographics :