Grants:Conference/UGBR/First Brazilian Conference on Wiki Scientific Dissemination

Visit our website: http://wikimedianobrasil.org
Visit our page on Commons: Commons:UG Wikimedia in Brazil

statusCanceled

Conference & Event Grant

UGBR/First Brazilian Conference on Wiki Scientific Dissemination

The First Brazilian Conference on Wiki Scientific Dissemination will serve as a premier venue for building and strengthening the community of Wikipedia editors in Brazil, especially to collaborate and reduce a perceived academic gap on Wikipedia in Portuguese. This unprecedented initiative intends to bring together Brazil's user-group members, Wikimedia contributors, higher-education students and professors, and international guests who have made a distinctive contribution to improving scientific literacy through Wikimedia projects for two days of sustained interaction and training. The User Group Wikimedia in Brazil has established a partnership with the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics (RIDC NeuroMat), at the University of São Paulo, which has agreed to host the First Brazilian Conference on Wiki Scientific Dissemination. Other institutions that are likely to get involved with the event are the Interdisciplinary Research Center of Cásper Líbero University and the Institute of Mathematics and Statistics at USP. The NGO ARede Educa, one of the largest organizations to promote studies on and renewed practices associated to education and technology in Brazil, will probably have both a volunteer and paid-coordinating role in the conference.

targetPortuguese Wikipedia

strategic priorityExpected results of the First Brazilian Conference on Wiki Scientific Dissemination are at least fourfold. But, as this section defines just one goal: Improving Quality (better quality and quantity of content on Wikimedia projects), as the Conference on Wiki Scientific Dissemination will be an opportunity for new and more experienced editors to discuss challenges and success cases of editing on topics pertaining to science on Wikipedia, especially hard science.

amount-localR$123,422.2 (USD 38,569.5)

amountplease add the amount you are requesting (USD)

typeUser group

nonprofitUser group

creator• Sturm

contact• celiofcfyahoo.com.br• User:Joalpe

organization• Wikimedia Community User Group Brasil

website• http://wikimedianobrasil.org/

Friendly space expectations

index

Goals and outcomes

Goals

Please list three to four priorities that the community has identified that they want to focus on at this conference. These should be specific and actionable.
Expected results of the First Brazilian Conference on Wiki Scientific Dissemination are at least threefold. Firstly, the Conference on Wiki Scientific Dissemination will be an opportunity for new and more experienced editors to discuss challenges and success cases of editing on topics pertaining to science on Wikipedia, especially hard science. To level this discussion up structured training sessions on editing science on Wikipedia are expected to be organized. Secondly, exchange and workshop sessions on editing science on Wikipedia will be set up. The intent is that experienced editors from Brazil and abroad will facilitate these sessions. Thirdly, an edit-a-thon on science will be organized during the event.

The First Brazilian Conference on Wiki Scientific Dissemination will be an occasion for increasing interaction in the Brazilian community and for having a direct impact and setting up continuing strategy to tackle scientific illiteracy in Brazil.

Therefore, the User Group Wikimedia in Brazil intends to host an international conference on scientific dissemination with Wikimedia projects for about 100 attendees in São Paulo, in 2017 second term.

• Schedule will include seminars, discussion and training sessions and an edit-a-thon.
• The likely location of the conference is the University of São Paulo.
• The University of São Paulo is ranked by US News and World Report as #1 in its list of Best Latin-American Universities in 2016.
• The Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics (RIDC NeuroMat), that is the specific institution at the University of São Paulo that has established a partnership with the User Group Wikimedia in Brazil, is a highly acknowledged scientific organization, working on theoretical neuroscience. This institution has offered to provide a venue for the conference, eventually with online streaming.
• The NGO ARede Educa has been a long-time partner of the User Group Wikimedia in Brazil, organizing our participation at the Brazilian edition of Campus Party and setting up a permanent op-ed section on its web portal for disseminating the use of Wikimedia projects in educational settings that the UG Wikimedia in Brazil feeds.
• Other potential partners include the Institute of Mathematics and Statistics at USP and the Interdisciplinary Research Center of Cásper Líbero University. It is possible that the Institute of Mathematics and Statistics could offer a small grant (R$ 4,000) after the event is confirmed, and if indeed awarded, could be used to increase the amount available to travel expenses and lodging of other Wikipedia editors, although not being indispensable for the organization and realization of the conference.
• The UG Wikimedia in Brazil has had continuing participation in disseminating science through Wikimedia projects. These activities have recently included the organization of a network of scientists and scholars in universities in Rio de Janeiro, an edit-a-thon at the University of São Paulo and involvement in activities in universities, that are listed on reports of activities. The UG is currently involved in a GLAM project to upload all photographical content of USP's Museum of Veterinary Anatomy to the Commons.
• International guests will be chosen among those who have had a distinctive role in scientific dissemination via Wikimedia projects and therefore might take part of working sessions to build conference outputs, such as videos and other materials. A prior questionnaire will be sent to these guests as early as possible, and answers will be used to inform the whole event beforehand.
• 10 members of the community who are not from the city of São Paulo will be selected to receive a scholarship to cover travel expenses (flight and lodging). The selection will be made by the UG Wikimedia in Brazil. History of contributions on Wikimedia projects, especially on topics pertaining to science editing, academic background and replies to a prior questionnaire of intentions and interests --similar to what is often used in this kind of conferences-- will be taken into consideration, among other elements, to award these scholarships. Of course, members of the community who do not live in the city of São Paulo and are able to come to the conference without the scholarship are welcome.

Context

It is helpful to get an understanding of why this event is important to your community, and what experiences you have had in the past. Please answer the applicable questions below.

1. What inspired your community to begin planning this event?

Science has become a major field of interest for Wikimedia projects and communities. As we know, Wikipedia remains a major go-to reference for the general and specialized public when it comes to science and health. Given this context, our user group has targeted the improving of scientific content available on Wikimedia projects in Portuguese, thus having been involved in what was called the Brazilian Year of Science. The conference we herein apply for is directly related to our activity of scientific dissemination through Wikimedia projects and is thought of as a space for reflection, outreach and scaling-up.

2. How does this event tie into other activities that your group has done?

This event is directly related to a number of previous scientific dissemination activities done by the UG BR, such as the edit-a-thon on brain science, in the context of the First Workshop of NeuroMat's Young Researchers, the series of interviews with inspiring individuals who are actively committed to the idea that “Wikipedia belongs in education, GLAMs regarding Mathematics and Anatomy veterinary, such as this one. We have also published original research regarding science dissemination and Wikipedia, such this and that. Two members of our user group are currently holding positions as Wikimedians-in-residence, working specifically to contribute to create a positive environment to disseminate science through Wikimedia projects at the University of São Paulo; they have been awarded grants from the São Paulo Research Foundation and the plan of their activities is described here. Our user group has also been involved with Medical Wikipedia, thus being directly involved in how scientific and health knowledge may be extremely relevant for people who rely on Wikimedia projects for this kind of knowledge. In 2016, our group has organized two edit-a-thons related directly to improving scientific content, as reported here, in the section on edit-a-thons. As the ongoing result of a partnership with a research institute at the University of São Paulo, our Wikimedians-in-residence have been involved in contributing around 1,000,000 bytes to Portuguese Wikipedia, as reported here; this activity has been a joint effort of professors, scientists, students and volunteers. More details on our activities are available at our annual reports of activities, available through our user group meta page, here.

3. If your community has hosted a similar conference in the past, what outcomes and benefits have you seen from past conferences?

DOES NOT APPLY

4. Please list the focus priorities identified in the report from the last conference organized by this community. What progress have you made in those areas?

DOES NOT APPLY

5. If your community has hosted a similar conference in the past, what key lessons were learned, and what would you like to improve on?

DOES NOT APPLY

Measures of success

Please provide a list of both quantitative and qualitative criteria that will be used to determine how successful the project is. You are welcome to modify, delete or add to the metrics listed below so they reflect the goals of your event.

• Total # of participants: 70-100
• # of female participants: 35-50
• % of participants who present at or moderate sessions: 10-15%
• % of respondents to the post-event survey and survey results: at least 50%
• # of new projects/partnerships initiated as a result of connections made, skills learned, or ideas shared at the conference (2 months, 6 months, and 1 year after the event): 8-15
• # of new tools or communication channels created to better coordinate work amongst participants and the greater community: 1-5 (a specific grant is expected to be requested for tools)

• We expect this conference will be an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with the Brazilian scientific community. For example, the UG Wikimedia in Brazil has established a partnership with NeuroMat, an important institute of brain theory at the University of São Paulo, and this partnership has attracted media attention to our activities. We expect to spark interest in at least 8 other scientific institutions or science museums, including the institutions we have mentioned above: the Interdisciplinary Research Center of Cásper Líbero University and the Institute of Mathematics and Statistics at USP.
• We expect to provide good training for Brazilian experienced and new users to be able to edit continuously on scientific topics, especially hard science. In order to understand sharply what needs to be done with respect to this goal, we will send a survey to potential participants before and after the event. Anonymized results will be shared, and this data might help other organizations willing to host a conference on wiki-science. In order to spark interest in scientific topics, we expect to organize an edit-a-thon, especially as a means of discussing challenges of editing on hard topics.

Plan

Venue and Logistics

Friendly space policy

• Please link to the friendly space policy that your community will be using for this event.
• Do you need or want guidance on how to implement a friendly space policy?

We do know the Grants:Friendly space expectations and we, as a group, intend to create our own "Friendly space policies". For now, we assume the WMF one Foundation:Code of conduct policy and the Wikimedia DC (link) are very inspiring and could be a reference for the Conference and for the future to come.

We are happy to receive guidance to implement a friendly space policy.

Event Program

Please give a brief outline of the conference schedule or program and any events or activities you are planning for participants. The timing, topics and format of each session should be finalized and published on Meta six weeks before the event.
This event will happen in two days. During this period, as mentioned above, we expect to have seminars, discussion and training sessions and an edit-a-thon.

Community Input

Grant reviewers will be interested to read how the planning discussion developed and who was engaged. Please link below to all of the places where discussion about this conference are happening, i.e. talk pages, Facebook groups, meetup pages, notes from meetings. The most central, up to date, and relevant page should be highlighted in BOLD letters.
Discussion on this conference has happened in a prior grant request, before the grant request system was changed. This discussion page was edited by community members, who provided pertaining points on this conference. Most community interaction has taken place on the user-group Slack page. Before the draft was submitted, a discussion on the Esplanada was open to gather comments and suggestions of the community, here.

We have had continuing interaction with WMF program officer Kacie Harold, especially in June 2016, when she provided relevant suggestions to our conference, including suggestions to move from a higher grant request to an amount that is very similar to what we are requesting this time.

As soon as we move forward with the grant application, we will of course communicate the community. We believe it makes little sense to spread to the general community information on an event that might not take place. We have discussed this strategy with WMF program officer.

Participation

It is crucial that most participants have a minimum level of Wikimedia experience so that they can engage actively in workshops and discussions. Please answer all applicable questions below.

1. Please describe the target audience for this conference or event.

Wikimedia contributors, higher-education students and professors, and international guests who have made a distinctive contribution to improving scientific literacy through Wikimedia projects for two days of sustained interaction and training. Because of the eventual coincidence of his presence in Brazil at the time of the conference, we hope to be able to have Michael Peel join in.

2. If you are requesting funds for travel scholarships, what criteria will be used to select scholarship recipients?

As mentioned above:

• International guests will be chosen among those who have had a distinctive role in scientific dissemination via Wikimedia projects and therefore might take part of working sessions to build conference outputs, such as videos and other materials. A prior questionnaire will be sent to these guests as early as possible, and answers will be used to inform the whole event beforehand.
• 10 members of the community who are not from the city of São Paulo will be selected to receive a scholarship to cover travel expenses (flight and lodging). The selection will be made by the UG Wikimedia in Brazil. History of contributions on Wikimedia projects, especially on topics pertaining to science editing, academic background and replies to a prior questionnaire of intentions and interests --similar to what is often used in this kind of conferences-- will be taken into consideration, among other elements, to award these scholarships. Of course, members of the community who do not live in the city of São Paulo and are able to come to the conference without the scholarship are welcome.

3. If your conference has an outreach component, how will you ensure engagement with these participants after the conference, and what impact do you see them having on the projects?

Just like described above, the Conference has 3 mains goals. But, we have also a fourthly strategicly goal that we expect to run in the next 6 monts after the conference: the development of specific outputs is expected to be started at the Conference on Wiki Scientific Dissemination: a tutorial movie on editing at the frontier of science (in Portuguese, with subtitles in English), a report movie on the event itself (in Portuguese, with subtitles in English), a Wikimedia Commons page to display freely event presentations and eventually other recordings, and a brochure on editing science on Wikipedia (in Portuguese and English), but this will be a target to a second approach of the results of this conference.

4. Are you thinking about inviting WMF staff to attend or participate in the event? If yes, please list individuals or teams who you may want to invite, or describe how you would like WMF staff to be involved in the event.

Jake Orlowitz is certainly one of the many good names inside the WMF, due to his relation to the The Wikipedia Library, a nonprofit project to give top Wikipedia editors access to reliable sources. Due to continuing interaction and strategic role in coordinating outreach activities in our continent, Vahid Masrour is certainly someone we would like to join our conference.

Follow-up

Please describe how you plan to follow up with event participants after the conference.
The follow-up of the Conference relates directly to answer to question 3, above, under the "Participation" section. It is worth emphasizing that, as we plan to associate this grant request, to a subsequent request to develop specific outputs, we hope to engage a much wider community in providing follow-ups to our activity. These specific outputs are listed above.

Resources and risks

Describe the resource potential for successfully executing this project and the key risks/threats.

Resources

• Founded in 2013, UG Wikimedia in Brazil has a trajectory of developing educational and scientific projects and has a sizable set of partner organizations. For more information, see the user group's presentation and the 2015 report and 2016 report.
• The Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics (RIDC NeuroMat, or simply NeuroMat) is a Brazilian research center established in 2013 at the University of São Paulo that is dedicated to integrating mathematical modeling and theoretical neuroscience. It is a major reference in the development of brain science.
• ARede Educa is a leading Brazilian NGO in Brazil that works on integrating education and technology. It has been a long-time partner of the UG Wikimedia Brazil, that has held a permanent op-ed section on wiki-education on the NGO web portal.

Organizing team

Team	User Names
Conference Grant	Sturm
Logistics	Joalpe
Conference Program	Sturm, Joalpe
Scholarships	Sturm and other members of the UGBR
Communications	Joalpe and other members of the UGBR
Volunteer Coordinators	Sturm
Other team members	UG Wikimedia in Brazil members

Risks

• Confirmation of the local organizing team
• Availability of relevant international guests
• Selection of most interesting national members
• Confirmation of the venue with streaming
• Mars Attack!

Budget

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

Event budget table

This following budget plan considers inputs from the WMF event coordination and Wikimedia community members. The conversion rate that was used was the rate of September,8, 2016 --when US$ 1 was equal to R$ 3.2. As of October 11, the US$ 1 was equal to R$ 3.2 still.

Item	Description	Unit cost (R$)	No. of units	Total cost (R$)	Total cost (US$)	Notes
Venue with streaming	Room for 100 pax	0,00	1	0,00	0,00	The venue will be provided at no charge by NeuroMat (estimated cost R$ 40,000). Streaming will depend on availability at the University of São Paulo.
Management	Coordinator of the event	16,000	1	16,000	4,900	Payment of a professional coordination for the event, for an expected interval of 6 months, including logistical duties before the conference, event preparation and follow-ups.
Promotion and advertisement	Promotional material	3,900		3,900	1,218.75	Marketing pieces, design, banners...
	Other prints	2,800		2,800	875	Badges, programs, certificates
	Gifts	19.20	100	1,920	600	Reusable bags, pens...
Reception	Simultaneous translation service	5,760	1	5,760	1,800
	Receptionist (per day)	500	2	2,000	625
Event report	Journalist	8,000	1	8,000	2,500	Daily covering of the event, brochure curation and writing
Invited people	International roundtrip itinerary	5,843.20	5	29,216	9,130
	Roundtrip itinerary – RJ	1,265	2	2,530	790.65	National travel are only estimates, since origins might change.
	Roundtrip itinerary – RS	1,311	2	2,622	819.4
	Roundtrip itinerary – MG	1,444	2	2,888	902.5
	Roundtrip itinerary – BA	1,458	2	2,916	911.25
	Accommodations	415	30	12,450	3,890.65	Shared hotel-room
	Ground transportation	1,000	2	2,000	625	Shuttle van between hotel and airport
Catering	Welcome coffee, coffee breaks, snacks	75	200	15,000	4,687.5
	Beverages	5.50	400	2,200	687.5
Total				112,202	35,063.2
Total (+ 10% taxes)				123,422.2	38,569.5

Total cost of event

As shown on table above, R$123,422.2 (USD 38,569.5)

Total amount requested from the Conference and Event Grants program

The total amount: R$123,422.2 (USD 38,569.5)

Additional sources of revenue that may fund part of this event, and amounts funded

NeuroMat: renting of venues for conference (estimated cost of R$ 40,000)

IME-USP: possible small grant (R$ 4,000), only available for request when event is confirmed

Please confirm that you are aware that changes to the approved budget beyond 10% in any category must be approved in advance.

OK.

Discussion

Endorsements

Do you think this project should be selected for a Conference Grant? Please add your name and rationale for endorsing this project in the list below. Other feedback, questions or concerns from community members are also highly valued, but please post them on the talk page of this proposal.

• I really believe that through this conference we will be able to meet and build new partners in Brazil. There is a strong interest in the academic and scientific community on this event. Vinicius Siqueira (talk) 22:43, 11 October 2016 (UTC)
• I am happy to see that request being proposed again with a reviewed budget and reducing it to almost 50% from the first one shows the interest on using the minimum necessary money from donation. Looking with care to the budget section, I believe the prices are reasonable and that have the potential of being an important event in Brazil. It is expected that it can serve as an invitation for universities to start using Wikipedia on classroom, but, with the media coverage we will have, any other kind of improvement in participation can be sought.—Teles «Talk to me ˱_{C L @ S}˲» 23:09, 12 October 2016 (UTC)
• I believe in the potencial of wiki difusion to take quality information to the public. Especially, an wiki difusion conferece at one of the most recognized universities of America would contribute to spread the movement. Mariliacarrera (talk) 20:37, 14 October 2016 (UTC)
• Wiki Ed's experience with the Year of Science in the United States and Canada leads us to believe that in-person outreach to scientific experts is most effective at bringing them into the Wikipedia fold. I'm excited to see the User Group Wikimedia in Brazil pushing a science initiative in their region as well, and I'm looking forward to seeing the outcomes from this conference. --LiAnna (Wiki Ed) (talk) 22:04, 17 October 2016 (UTC)
• Great idea. Would love to join if I am free. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 03:38, 18 October 2016 (UTC)
• I really think this project has the full potential of spreading scientific knowledge, especially among Brazilian users. In addition, it will show the academic world that a free encyclopedia is capable of attending high standards. Ericpsukys (talk) 15:42, 18 October 2016 (UTC)
• We know internet connection remains a challenge in Brazil, according to recent research findings (GGI.br 2015), but this does not override the challenge of improving educational uses of new technologies, especially in public institutions. Research evidences support the general policy of providing opportunities for teachers to be prepared and stimulate to use technologies in their classroom, to think about technology as an educational tool, to understand coding as strategy to improve knowledges in maths and other sciences. As the coordinator of a Brazilian network that focuses on building capacity for educational uses of technology, I strongly support this conference, that could become a major contribution for our challenge of bringing Wikimedia projects onto educational settings, and I know dozens of people in my network would be eagerly joining such an initiative. Aurea lopes (talk) 15:07, 19 October 2016 (UTC)
• Professors and researchers from Brazil are not familiar with Wikipedia. Most of them simply repeat the flawed argument that "Anyone can edit" and "I have no time for this work because scholars do not acknowledge its relevance." This event, at and with the support of the largest Brazilian university, may be a point of change in this situation and attract the scientific community to Wikipedia. Initiatives by the group that is proposing this activity are the best integration between University-Wikipedia on pt-wiki. (Professores e pesquisadores do Brasil desconhecem a Wikipédia. A maioria ainda repete os mantras "mas qualquer um pode editar" e "não tenho tempo disponível porque a academia não reconhece esse tipo de trabalho". O evento, na e com o apoio da maior universidade do Brasil, pode ser um ponto de inflexão nessa relação e atrair a comunidade científica brasileira para a Wikipédia. As iniciativas do grupo de proponentes representam a melhor integração Academia-Wikipédia já realizada na pt-wiki. (Sorry for portuguese. Thanks for translate.)) Ixocactus (talk) 19:37, 23 October 2016 (UTC)
• As with the previous grant request, this project can help reduce the academic gap in Wikimedia projects by promoting good practices on wiki scientific dissemination. As such, it is much needed by the Brazilian community, bringing closer together advanced scientific knowledge to the encyclopedia and its writers. I am endorsing this project in my personal account, but for transparency, I want to make it known that I work as a wikipedian-in-residence (User:Horadrim) at the RIDC NeuroMat, one of the partners of this request. Horadrim~usurped (talk) 13:52, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

We have withdrawn this grant proposal for the conference in order to wait for an opportune moment when the agendas and possibilities of funding are more favorable. Sturm (talk) 12:15, 1 December 2016 (UTC)