Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Conference Fund/Turkic Wikimedia Conference 2023/Final Report

Conference Fund Final Report

Report Status: Under review

Due date: 22 December 2023

Funding program: Conference Fund

Report type: Final

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General information

Title of proposal: Turkic Wikimedia Conference 2023
Username of applicant: Mehman
Name of organization: N/A
Amount awarded: 69740
Amount spent: 69740 USD, 1968948 TRY

Part 1: Understanding your work

1. Did your event have any impact that you did not expect, positive or negative?

The Turkic Conference, which was not held after 2012 and was held in its previous form for the second time, positively impacted the community. Specifically:

1. We were able to involve the maximum number of communities and affiliations in the conference, some of which had not previously actively participated in the global movement (for example, the Karakalpak community) and had no contact with other communities in the region.

2. Communities and Affiliations were able to speak and share their experiences and skills with other communities, as well as make plans for the future.

3. Representatives will establish new contacts and cooperation, which in the future can significantly contribute to the development of communities in the region.

4. Community representatives gained new knowledge, both technical (about Wikidata, Wikisource, Open Refine, etc.) and bureaucratic (MCDC, Hubs, Global Council). In doing so, they were able to gain more information about the work of the Wikimedia Foundation, committees, and the entire Wikimedia Movement.

Historically, the Turkic-speaking communities have not been very active in the Wikimedia Movement. We think that through regular meetings and conferences (like this one), we can activate Turkic communities, which we will continue to help online and offline. And also, the new connections they made during this conference will help them develop a network of cooperation and mutual assistance in the future.

2. What do you think will be the long term impact of this conference?

We think there will be several important impacts of the conference here. Specifically:

1. Creation of a Turkic Hub - conference participants agreed on the importance of creating a Hub for Turkic Communities that will help and support the region's communities and languages. At the conference, there was a workshop on the Hub, where a roadmap for the Hub was created.

2. Increasing the technical capacity of communities - conference participants got acquainted with experience and learned new skills in the technical side of Wikimedia projects. This will help communities, especially small and underrepresented communities, increase technical knowledge and skills to improve Wikimedia projects. Participants will pass on the acquired knowledge to their friends in local communities.

3. Communities in the region will be more active - with acquired knowledge about the work of the Wikimedia Foundation and Movement, as well as about the process of the MCDC, Hubs, and the Global Council, the communities will be more active in this process and thereby contribute to the development of the Movement.

We also expect an increase in the capacity of local affiliations, as well as more requests for grants from Turkic communities, especially from the Central Asian region.

3. Would you say that your work improved participants’ ability to apply new skills and knowledge?

Yes

3a. If yes, please describe how and why you think this was successful. Please describe why you think this is the case.

First of all, we were able to revive the conference for the Turkic communities and received great interest from the communities that took part in the conference. The maximum number of communities and participants took part in it. It's especially important that new communities that were not previously active in this type of event also took part in it and were also able to involve underrepresented communities in our region at the conference.

The conference was attended by communities in the region that are not Turkic communities. This is a unique opportunity since the Turkic communities had the opportunity to get acquainted with the experience and skills of other linguistic communities, which provided them with seminars and lectures.

Ultimately, the communities gained significant knowledge about the movement and global events, which will help them get involved in the process. And the connections they made during the conference will help them develop their potential for collaboration.

4. Please use this space to upload media and other files that help tell your story and impact. You can also provide links to them.

Field to type in URLs.

1. Story of Turkic Wikimedia Conference: Turkic Wikimedians are Growing Their Magic Superpowers - https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/11/24/turkic-wikimedians-are-growing-their-magic-superpowers/

2. We are united for knowledge: Turkic Wikimedia Conference 2023 Istanbul - https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/11/03/we-are-united-for-knowledge-turkic-wikimedia-conference-2023-istanbul/

3. MCDC Workshop at Turkic Wikimedia Conference 2023 - https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/11/01/mcdc-workshop-at-turkic-wikimedia-conference-2023/

5. To what extent do you agree with the following statements regarding the work carried out with the support of this Fund? You can choose “not applicable” if your work does not relate to these goals.

Our efforts during the Fund period have helped to...
A. Bring in participants from underrepresented groups
B. Create a more inclusive and connected culture in our community	Strongly agree
C. Develop content about underrepresented topics/groups
D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives	Agree
E. Encourage the retention of editors	Agree
F. Encourage the retention of organizers	Strongly agree

6. Please share resources that would be useful to share with other Wikimedia organizations so that they can learn from, adapt or build upon your work. For instance, guides, training material, presentations, work processes, or any other material the team has created to document and transfer knowledge about your work and can be useful for others. Please share any specific resources that you are creating, adapting/contextualizing in ways that are unique to your context (i.e. training material).

Upload Documents and Files

Here is an additional field to type in URLs.

1. Turkic Wikimedia Conference branding materials - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Turkic_Wikimedia_Conference/Brand

2. Story about TWC branding process - https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/10/13/how-we-created-a-symbol-of-unity-and-diversity-meet-the-turkic-wikimedia-conference-brand/

7. Is there anything else you would like to share about how your efforts helped to bring in participants and/or build out content, particularly for underrepresented groups?

At the conference, we had two participants with disabilities, one of whom was weak-eyed and the other with limited mobility. At the planning stage, we pre-planned all the amenities at the conference venue and hotel. We also organized transfers from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the meeting location during the conference. By doing this, we provided them with the opportunity to participate in the conference without any problems and with complete convenience.

In addition to the above-mentioned, we identified a specific person from the organizing team who was always in contact with them and helped the participants during and after the conference.

Part 2: Your main learning

8. Were there any major challenges or things you found difficult that you would like to share? What would you do differently next time?

There were two areas where we had difficulties, but we solved them. Specifically:

1. Two weeks before the start of our conference, a conflict broke out in our neighboring region (the Middle East), which took on an interethnic character. This greatly impacted our conference as participants had different views on what was happening. We have resolved the situation as much as possible with our policies on behavior at the conference, as well as monitoring the situation during the conference. Also, for the safety of our conference participants, we decided to change the conference location to a safer space. Ultimately, our efforts paid off, and the conference was held in a safe and friendly environment.

2. Unfortunately, participants from Turkic communities still have problems with choosing topics, as well as with providing presentations and reports for the conference. This is because many do not have experience in presenting reports. In the future, we will proactively work with communities to develop their conference presentation skills.

9. Was there any non-financial support that the Wikimedia Foundation could have provided that would have better supported you in achieving your goals?

The greatest support from the Wikimedia Foundation was that it provided its staff with the opportunity to speak at our conference. Their participation was critical as they provided important educational knowledge for conference participants.

The Foundation also checked the background of the conference participants, which made sense on the path to a safe and inclusive space.

Thanks also to the Conference Grant Officer who provided documentation support and expertise for the conference's success.

10. What would you recommend on a local and/or regional level as the best next step to leverage your success and momentum?

At the next stage, in our opinion, it is worth actively working with the communities of the region to create a Turkic Hub, which will provide more opportunities for communities and affiliations, as well as individuals in the region.

Participants should be actively encouraged to bring the knowledge acquired at the conference to their communities. This will have a positive impact on communities becoming more active in the Wikimedia Movement, as well as in the movement's global initiatives.

11. Please add any 3 operational recommendations for future events organizers.

1. It is necessary to have alternative places for holding conferences. This will help organizers quickly and without unnecessary problems change the conference's location if unforeseen things occur.

2. Prepare better infrastructure in place.

3. Actively work with conference participants and encourage them to provide presentations and reports at the conference.

Part 3: Metrics

12. Open Metrics reporting

In your application, you defined some open metrics and targets (goals). You will see a table like the one below with your metric in the title and the target you set in your proposal automatically filled in.

Open Metrics Summary
Open Metrics	Description	Target	Results	Comments	Methodology
Number of Participants	We expect at least 60 members from different User Groups, communities and local people.	60	90	There was high interest in the conference, which resulted in the number of conference participants exceeding our expectations. The local community showed especially great interest in the conference.	Internal data (list of participants)
Number of Submissions	We expect approximately 25 submissions for the program from the community.	25	26	We received the expected results in submissions for the program.	https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Turkic_Wikimedia_Conference_2023
Feedback from participants	We expect at least 25 feedback from attendees, which will help us analyze our event while preparing a report	25	28	We received more feedback than expected because we asked participants to fill out a form at the conference's closing ceremony.	Google survey
Partner Involvement	We are expecting at least 5 representatives from the Wikimedia Turkey Partner Organization.	5	6	Representatives from educational and non-governmental institutions also made a presentation at the conference.	Internal data.
Education Institutions	We expect at least 2 representatives from the Wikimedia Turkey partner education institutions.	2	2	From Bilgi and Uskudar University	Internal data.

13. Were there any metrics in your proposal that you could not collect or that you had to change?

No

13a. If you have any difficulties collecting data to measure your results, please describe and add any recommendations on how to address them in the future. Also mention why you felt you had to change some metrics.

N/A

14. Here are the templates of registration and survey tools that the Wikimedia Foundation has developed so that you can use in your conference fund work.

1. Standard Registration Form, 2. Post-event participant survey

14a. Please share the result(s) with us, provide the link(s) or summarize the main result(s) and insight(s) from them.

See survey results here - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Turkic_Wikimedia_Conference_2023/Survey_results

14b. If you used other forms, please share them with us, as these forms might be useful for others to use.

Part 4: Financial reporting and compliance

15. & 16. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency.

1968948 TRY

17. Please state the total amount spent in USD.

69740 USD

18. Please report the funds received and spending in the currency of your fund.

Upload a financial report file.

Please provide a link to your financial reporting document.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19RA6t8giibf4KdcsShjVtKTK14aEvUf175ZU-qV6_e8/edit?usp=sharing

As required in the fund agreement, please report any deviations from your fund proposal here. Note that, among other things, any changes must be consistent with our WMF mission, must be for charitable purposes as defined in the grant agreement, and must otherwise comply with the grant agreement.

19. If you have not already done so in your budget report, please provide information on changes in the budget in relation to your original proposal.

N/A

20. Do you have any unspent funds from the Fund?

No

20a. Please list the amount and currency you did not use and explain why.

N/A

20b. What are you planning to do with the underspent funds?

N/A

20c. Please provide details of hope to spend these funds.

N/A

21. Are you in compliance with the terms outlined in the fund agreement?

Yes

22. Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement?

Yes

23. Are you in compliance with provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), and with relevant tax laws and regulations restricting the use of the Funds as outlined in the grant agreement? In summary, this is to confirm that the funds were used in alignment with the WMF mission and for charitable/nonprofit/educational purposes.

Yes

24. If you have additional recommendations or reflections that don’t fit into the above sections, please write them here.