Grants:TPS/Wikitanvir/WikiConference India 2011/Report
 | This Wikimedia Participation Support report has been accepted by the Wikimedia Participation Support Committee.To see the original request, please visit Grants:TPS/Wikitanvir/WikiConference India 2011. |
- Event name
- WikiConference India 2011
- Description of your participation
I failed to join the conference as I didn't have the visa.
- What lessons were learned that could help others in similar events?
We have learned how to deal with a country where electronic transfer of money is not so easy. Like in Bangladesh, government does not allow PayPal (not at all) and international credit card is also very rare here (maybe they allow it to very few, not sure), so buying tickets or getting registered online is a problem here. Since it's not online, it needs more time than usual to get things done from here. It also needs additional help from organizers. We had to receive money through Western Union which works with several banks here and a easy way to get the money. But Fridays and Saturdays are weekend here, and Saturdays and Sundays are weekend in the grant making countries. So because of various time-zone and rules, even if you send the grant amount in Thursday with 5-minutes-transfer assurance, that could take more than 72 hours to get the money from here (as it happened to us). So, I think when submitting/receiving the grant amount you should consider all those things.
I failed to get the visa in first chance. I could apply second time, but I had no time. I think visa problem is maybe a common problem for many of us. So people should make request for grant at least 1 month before the event and the PGC should process the request soon, because if they delay, the whole process will be delayed, and ultimately both will suffer.
- What impact did your participation have on the Wikimedia Mission goals of Increased Reach, Increased Quality, Increased Credibility, Increased and Diversified Participation?
Nothing, as I did not participate.
- Detail of expenditures
1. Visa and others: 1,700 BDT 2. Flight cancellation charges: 4,889 BDT ----------------------------------------------- Total expenditure: 7,429 BDT
Had to cancel the flight as we booked ticket for both of us (me and Nasir) at the same time, and in the day before departure my visa application was refused unexpectedly. Airfare was 32,129 BDT and later I received the refund of 27,240 BDT. Mail sent to participation
wikimedia.org with details by Nasir Khan as he received the amount for both of us (he was also an attendee).
- Amount underspent/left-over (please specify currency)
Received amount: 56,952 BDT Total expenditure: -7,429 BDT ----------------------------------- Amount underspend: 49,523 BDT
- See also