Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Conference Fund/WikiConference India 2025

statusUnder review

Conference and Event Fund

WikiConference India 2025

proposed start date2024-11-01T00:00:00Z

proposed end date2025-10-31T00:00:00Z

budget (local currency)17295345.68 INR

amount requested (USD)206166.95 USD

amount recommended (local)17295345.68 INR

decision fiscal year2024-25

applicant• Nivas (CIS-A2K)

organization (if applicable)• The Centre for Internet and Society

Friendly Space Policy

Universal Code of Conduct

Application Privacy Statement

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Applicant details

A. Are you applying as a(n)

Nonprofit organization with Wikimedia mission

B. Full name of organization presenting the proposal.

The Centre for Internet and Society

F. Do you have an account on a Wikimedia project?

Yes

F1. Please provide your main Wikimedia Username.

Nivas (CIS-A2K)

F2. Please provide the Usernames of people related to this proposal.

Pavan (CIS-A2K) Nitesh (CIS-A2K) Nivas (CIS-A2K)

G. Are you legally registered?

Yes

If you are applying as an individual or your group is not a legally registered nonprofit in your country, we require that you have a fiscal sponsor.

I. Fiscal organization name.

N/A

Objectives and Strategy

1. Please state the title of your proposal.

WikiConference India 2025

2.1. When will the event begin? Please enter the event start date.

2025-09-11

2.2. When is the last day of your event?

2025-09-14

3.1. When will you begin preparing for your event?

2024-11-01T00:00:00Z

3.2. When will you expect to complete your last event payment?

2025-10-31T00:00:00Z

4. In which country will the conference take place?

India

4.1. In which city will the conference take place?

Bangalore (Tentative)

5. Is it a remote or in-person event?

In-person event

5.1. What will be the total number of participants at the event? (including scholarship recipients + organizing team + other guests + self funded guests) (required)

210

6. Please indicate whether your work will be focused on one country (local), more than one or several countries in your region (regional) or has a cross-regional (global) scope.

Regional

6.1. If you have answered regional, please write the country names and any other information that is useful for understanding your proposal.

India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

7. If you would like, please share any websites or social media accounts that your group or organization has.

8. Do you work with any thematic or regional platforms such as WISCom, CEE, Iberocoop, etc.

Yes

8.1. Please describe what platforms and your work with them.

South Asia Open Community Call - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/South_Asia_Open_Community_Call

9. Please describe the target participants for this event.

1. The target audience we are thinking of as now could be primarily divided into three broad categories -- participants from the Wikimedia movement, participants from other stakeholder groups aligned with the mission of Wikimedia, and participants who do not fit in the first two groups but are interested to participate in the conference. Though they would attempt to accommodate the participation of the third group as well, the conference program and the budgetary expenses would primarily focus on the participation of the first two groups.
2. The first group—participants from the Wikimedia movement—include, but are not limited to, Wikimedians and staffers of WMF + affiliates/partners. The second group—participants from other stakeholder groups aligned with the mission of Wikimedia—include but are not limited to, people from open-source communities such as Creative Commons, Mozilla, internet-based organisations companies such as Google, Quora, and cultural and educational organisations such as GLAMs and NGOs working on access to education. The Program Committee will strongly consider designing a program that would blend these two groups well for the sustainable growth of the movement in India. All these groups would largely have people from India, connected or have/had closely worked with Indian Wikimedia communities, or in the larger settings of open access, access to knowledge, or the internet.
3. We would lean heavily on technical contributors, technical groups, and folks who work on the Product and Technology side of the contributor spectrum.
4. Additionally, we have also highlighted some of the challenges from our experience which we will overcome are

• Bringing in new editors
• Building safe and stable partnerships
• Participate in governance and global conversations
• Build bridges between other knowledge movements at India level
• Bridge the gender gap
• Develop synergies with ongoing initiatives such as AI for Bharat and other gen AI projects
• Providing recognition and validation for the ongoing efforts both at the level of the community and the individual

10. Please provide the link to the event's page if you already have one.

TBD

The following questions (11-14) will refer to the Community Engagement Survey which is required in order to submit a proposal. Here is the survey form that you can copy and use (if the link does not work): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ieEI8EFf2vxjD9wN_h8-srYeRCp4fhSp7_1_wiR2jh8/edit. This survey is required to access a Conference grant.

11. How many people did you send the community engagement survey to?

200

11.1. When did you conduct the survey, and for how long?

We opened the survey on 2 August and shared it with community members to fill it and the form was open for more than 20 days.

12. How many people responded to the survey?

59

13. What are the main objectives of the event?

The broad objectives of WikiConference India 2025 are to foster collaboration among Wikimedia users, projects, communities, affiliates, and stakeholders in the region. The WCI 2025 will be a learning conference. For context, WCI 2023 was a community outreach conference. Where the community members met and discussed their projects and found common aims and objectives. WCI 2025 will be primarily designed around the requirements of the community members and communities. These requirements will be assessed and gained from the pre-conference survey, the open calls that we will continue to organise, and other community events.

The 'Design' process members will then start to think about how the program will be designed (parallel tracks, learning sessions, hands-on activities, master class, and stuff). The emphasis will be on finding community members to deliver these learning sessions, only where necessary we will request staff members to participate and co-lead the sessions.

14. Based on survey responses, what are the most important things your community should do at the conference to achieve these objectives?

A total of 59 community members participated in the survey: 46 males, 11 females, and two from the LGBTTQQIAAP+ community. Due to overlapping commitments like TTT 2024 and Wikimania, fewer responses were received, but over 45% of open community calls had high attendance, leading to positive feedback on WCI 2025. All respondents answered the quantitative questions, with most expressing interest in attending WCI 2025. Of 59 respondents from 25 South Asian Wikimedia communities, 59% attended WCI 2023, and 37 out of 43 strongly recommended WCI 2025. Key benefits from WCI 2023 included increased activity, collaboration, content creation, and leadership development. Expectations for WCI 2025 focus on networking, skill-building, and addressing community issues. Priorities include on-wiki technical skills, project management, gender diversity, and sustainability initiatives. In the next 12 months, the community should focus on technology adoption, WMF funding, community growth, and outreach

15. Please state if your proposal aims to work to bridge any of the identified CONTENT knowledge gaps (Knowledge Inequity)? Select up to THREE that most apply to your work.

Geography, Language, Cultural background, ethnicity, religion, racial

15.1. In a few sentences, explain how your work is specifically addressing this content gap (or Knowledge inequity) to ensure a greater representation of knowledge. (optional recommended).

1. Our proposal focuses on bridging key knowledge gaps by improving participation from more diverse Wikimedia communities, especially underrepresented languages and providing them with an opportunity to enhance learning and networking. WikiConference India 2025 (WCI 2025) will foster cross-community collaboration, allowing volunteers from diverse linguistic and geographical backgrounds to share experiences and challenges. This will lead to the enhancement of content quality and quantity across various language Wikimedia projects, addressing both linguistic and geographical knowledge gaps.
2. Additionally, WCI 2025 will provide opportunities for volunteers to discuss and find ways to fix gaps in important topics. By engaging with the wider open knowledge community, participants will open up new resources and build collaborative projects, helping to address critical topic gaps and improve systemic content development.

16. Please state if your proposal includes any of these areas or THEMATIC focus. Select up to THREE that most apply to your work and explain the rationale for identifying these themes.

Advocacy, Culture, heritage or GLAM , Open Technology

17. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities?

Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Geographic , Ethnic/racial/religious or cultural background, Disabilities, Linguistic / Language, Socioeconomic status, Age, Digital Access

18. Do you intend to invite or engage with non-Wikimedian individuals or organizations? If so – can you explain your intention for this outreach?

Yes, we intend to invite or engage linguistics, Individuals, academicians, mission align open knowledge organizations, technology, open source movements such as Creative Commons, Mozilla, internet-based organizations companies such as Google, Quora, and cultural and educational organizations such as GLAMs and NGOs working on access to education. This will enable the community to grow and understand various initiatives happening in the open knowledge space

19. What will you do to make sure participants continue to engage in your activities after the event?

1. We will leverage the platforms and connections created since WCI 2023, Telegram groups + mailing lists, and monthly calls to create & share our outreach and intention to bring mission-aligned organisations and non-wikimedians to the fore. In the recent past, we have engaged with leaders from various corporations, NGOs, academics etc & we will continue to bring in newer and fresher perspectives.
2. The best way to ensure that people transition to action from intention is to transfer some initiatives and make them responsible for that. South Asia Community Call, WCI Steering Committee, Learning and Evaluation process are great ways to ensure that we find smooth and effective transitions. The follow up plan should be supported both with financial resources and intellectual mentoring, where ideas should be recognised and incubated. Collaborations to scale certain initiatives should be supported. New partnerships should be proposed and followed up.

20. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select a maximum of THREE options that most apply.

Increase the Sustainability of Our Movement, Provide for Safety and Inclusion, Ensure Equity in Decision-making

Logistical Aspects

21. Do you have any proposed venue for the event?

1. The conference will be held in Bangalore, India, and discussions about the venue are ongoing. We are aiming for a location with good transportation and domestic/international connectivity options. For arrivals, we will be hiring a cab/bus service depending on the need to shuttle between the hotel and the airport or transportation hubs such as the bus and railway station. If any participant doesn’t arrive within a certain period, they can opt for private cabs which are available 24/7 in the city to reach the hotel. A similar practice would be followed during the day of departures as well. This will help to move people in batches, reducing the logistical efforts and the costs incurred on airport transfers.
2. We would like to have the venue and the accommodation in the same place, as we learned from the previous conference. This would boost participant convenience during the conference days.

22. Is the event venue and hotel accessible for people with physical disabilities?

Yes

23. How many scholarships would you like to offer?

Full Scholarships: 134

• India: 110
• Other South Asia Countries:

-- Sri Lanka: 8 -- Bangladesh: 8 -- Nepal: 8 International Scholarships (for Indian Wikimedians): 5 Partial scholarships: 15 Number of organizers: 15 Number of speakers/trainers: 16

24. What expenses will the scholarship cover?

The scholarship will cover visa expenses (for other South Asian attendees), travel, accommodation, food, and other expenses incurred during travel in attending the conference.

25. How will scholarship recipients be selected?

Currently, we do not have specific criteria for selecting scholarship recipients, but we plan to involve experienced Wikimedians or volunteers who are familiar with these processes. A dedicated committee will be formed to manage the scholarship selection, including at least one facilitator to oversee the entire process and a team of reviewers to evaluate the applications. As the program develops, we may prioritize certain communities or participants to ensure a diverse and inclusive selection.

26. In which ways can Wikimedia Foundation staff support your event onsite?

We welcome the involvement of Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) staff in various capacities to support the conference. Specifically, WMF staff members from India or South Asia can assist with pre-conference preparations, leveraging their regional knowledge and expertise to ensure the event's success. We would appreciate their support in areas such as outreach and communication, leading specific sessions on topics relevant to our community, and providing guidance on legal or safety matters. Their participation would greatly enhance the effectiveness and impact of the event.

26.2. Do you intend to invite any WMF staff members to your event? (please note that all WMF staff travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the foundation). Please indicate what is the limit number of WMF staff members you would like to welcome at your event.

We would like to invite WMF staffers residing in India/South Asia to participate in the conference. Many of the staff members in India have been supporting the movement in various capacities and have a lot of experience/expertise which would be useful for the movement. Teams (apart from the above-mentioned)

• 2 members from Community Resources: To support communities with funding opportunities, and other resources necessary for the growth of the communities.
• 1-2 Thematic Experts: GLAM, Education, Gender, etc: To support volunteer communities with various thematic activities, and programs and help in understanding the key objectives, processes, focus area, approaches, etc. of the focus area.
• 1 member from Legal - To introduce various initiatives set forward by the foundations for the communities and support them with any other legal aspects they may encounter in their volunteer journey.
• 2-3 members from Product/Technology (expertise on mobile platforms, tools.wmflabs.org, community wishlist) - To support communities with various technical initiatives/tools/platforms built by community/foundation and hold conversations around Product and Technology plan, priorities of Indic communities, Wishlist for our projects and communities.
• 1 Trust and safety team members: To design a workflow and guidelines to support volunteers before and during the conference.
• 1 Research team members - To help participants to understand the focus of the research team, share their insights from previous research works, and help communities advance the understanding of projects through their findings.
• 2-3 members from Movement Communications and Communications: Communication is the key of any event, and just like last time, we need good support, such as design, documentation, and promotions, from the team before, during, and after the conference.
• 2 Board Members and 2 members from the Senior Leadership: To interact with attendees and discuss about governance, movement charter, future of affiliates gathering, and also talk about leadership, and direction of Wikimedia Foundation.

27. Please outline the roles and responsibilities of the organizing team for the conference.

Structure of COT will be primarily volunteer-driven. The volunteers who have shown interest upon our request will form the COT. Most of the CIS and WMF staff members will form a support team that will help COT in whatever capacity that is required

Core Organising Team

• Pavan (CIS-A2K)
• Nitesh (CIS-A2K)
• Nivas (CIS-A2K)

Wikimedia Foundation Liaison

• Nitesh (CIS-A2K)

Logistics

• TBD

Conference Program

• TBD

Scholarships

• TBD

Communications

• TBD

WMF Advisors

• Praveen Das
• Rachit Sharma
• Satdeep Gill

28. Do you have plans to co-organize the event with other Wikimedia communities, groups or affiliates?

Yes

28.1. If yes, can you please explain how you are going to co-organize the event and what responsibilities each partner will have.

- We will also collaborate with a group of Wikimedians who are interested in organising the upcoming edition of WikiConference India.

• Depending on the program, we are planning to engage with other movements aligned organisations such as FOSS United, Mozilla.

29. What kind of risks do you anticipate and how would you mitigate these?

1. Foreign National Participation Restrictions:

• Risk: Government restrictions may prevent foreign nationals, including scholarship recipients and WMF staff, from participating.
• Mitigation: Compile and submit participant details early to relevant government ministries to secure necessary permissions.

2. Organising Team Dropouts or Delays:

• Risk: Last-minute dropouts or delays could burden remaining organizers, leading to burnout.
• Mitigation: Clarify time commitments upfront, maintain a robust team structure, and outsource tedious tasks to reduce volunteer load.

3. Program not welcoming to newcomers:

• Risk: The program may not be inclusive enough for newcomers or external stakeholders.
• Mitigation: Include members from external stakeholder groups in planning and ensure 30% of sessions are newcomer-friendly.

4. Lack of Pre-Conference Engagement:

• Risk: Insufficient pre-conference engagement could waste time during the event.
• Mitigation: Finalize participants early and engage them through messaging groups, discussions, and pre-conference campaigns.

5. Inadequate Documentation:

• Risk: Poor documentation could affect the long-term impact of the conference.
• Mitigation: Hire professional facilitators, use volunteers for recording and transcribing sessions, and collect materials ahead of time.

6. Diversity & Inclusion Challenges:

• Risk: Lack of applications from underrepresented groups may undermine diversity goals.
• Mitigation: Proactively reach out to underrepresented groups and ensure wide communication of conference updates.

7. Community Disconnection:

• Risk: The community might feel disconnected from the organizing process, leading to skepticism.
• Mitigation: Establish the organizing structure quickly and provide regular updates to the community to keep them informed and engaged.

30. Friendly space policy - Please add the link to the friendly space policy that your community will be using for this event.

We would like to adopt the Wikimedia Foundation’s Universal Code of Conduct (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Universal_Code_of_Conduct) for the conference proceedings and the larger project activities.

Learning, Sharing, and Evaluation

31. What do you hope to learn from your work organising this conference?

- To learn about the importance and relevance of convenings like WCI as a tool that aims to bring our community together and continue the learnings, connect, celebrate our achievements and plan for the future.

• To gather feedback from the audience on how WCI and similar platforms provide Indic communities with a platform to discuss challenges, opportunities, needs, and other aspects that will help them arrive at a strategic plan.
• To discuss the larger Wikimedia movement strategy and engage with related conversations and learn from the community on how we can, as a group, support the same.
• To understand the specific needs including technical, resource, and capacity-building needs of Wikimedians, User groups and communities contributing to Indic and other relevant multilingual projects.
• To understand the importance and relevance of our external partners within the movement and how they can help bolster our community activities with partnership and collaboration.

32. Main open metrics

Main Open Metrics Data

Main Open Metrics	Description	Target
Importance and Relevance of WCI and other Community Convenings	To conduct a post event survey that enables us to assess the learnings and understand the importance and relevance of WCI, based on the same plan for the future of the conference.	150
How WCI helps in supporting the creation of a larger Indic movement strategic pathway	WCI programs will aim to bring about a community specific strategic priorities that will be supported by the wider movement, this metric will help us understand if we achieved what we set out to and help us support the community better.	150
Engagement on the Movement Strategy from the Indic Communities	WCI aims to also discuss and further the engagement/understanding of the Movement Strategy within the Indic communities. This metric will help us understand if we were able to achieve the same and provide pathways of further engagement	150
Mapping the Needs of the Indic Community	During the event, we will foster comprehensive discussions among content contributors, technical contributors, and community leaders from across the region. These discussions will focus on identifying the technical, resource, and capacity-building needs of Wikimedians, user groups, and communities working on Indic and other multilingual projects. The aim is to understand gaps between available resources and community needs, enabling a more collaborative and supportive environment for content development.	150
Enabling Partnership and Collaborations, beyond Wikimedians	Many of our community members regularly engage external partners and shared value organizations on various topics. Through the discussions at WCI we will aim to delve deeper into some of the partnership priorities of our communities, learn from different experiences and improve the understanding of the best approaches to bring in partners to the movement. This would be a post conference survey question.	150

Financial Proposal

33. What is the amount you are requesting from Wikimedia Foundation? Please provide this amount in your local currency.

17295345.68

34. Select your local currency.

INR

Requested amount in USD

206166.95 USD

35. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it.

36. Do you expect to receive funding for this conference from other organizations to support your work?

No

36.1. If yes, what kind of resources are you expecting to get?

We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.

Yes

Please use this optional space to upload any documents that you feel are important for further understanding your proposal.

Other public document(s):

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• Stating why the proposal is important for the communities involved and why they think the strategies chosen will achieve the results that are expected.
• Highlighting any aspects they think are particularly well developed: for instance, the strategies and activities proposed, the levels of community engagement, outreach to underrepresented groups, addressing knowledge gaps, partnerships, the overall budget and learning and evaluation section of the proposal, etc.
• Highlighting if the proposal focuses on any interesting research, learning or innovation, etc. Also if it builds on learning from past proposals developed by the individual or organization, or other Wikimedia communities.
• Analyzing if the proposal is going to contribute in any way to important developments around specific Wikimedia projects or Movement Strategy.
• Analysing if the proposal is coherent in terms of the objectives, strategies, budget, and expected results (metrics).

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