Grants:PEG/WM IT/Wikimedia Conference 2013

Funded

This submission to the Project and Event Grants Program was funded in the fiscal year 2012-13. This is a grant to an organization.

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Legal name of organization or individual requesting this grant

Wikimedia Italia

For organizations: Are you a for-profit entity? No.

For organizations: If non-profit (US) or equivalent (outside the US) status is available in your country, do you have or are you pursuing such status (please be specific). We have the status of "associazione di promozione sociale" (social advancement association). We are a registered charity in Italy.

For individual applicants: Please note that if your request is accepted you will be required to provide documentation verifying your full legal name and address.

Grant contact name

Frieda Brioschi

Grant contact username or email

fbrioschi@wikimedia.it

Grant contact title (position)

Chair

Project lead name

Giulia Sepe

Project lead username or email

giulia.sepe@wikimedia.it

Project lead title (position), if any

organizer

Full project name

Wikimedia Conference 2013

Amount requested in USD or local currency (USD will be assumed if no other currency is specified)

euro 131.394,20.

Amount approved

90000 Euro

Provisional target start date

18/04/2013

Provisional completion date

21/04/2013

Budget breakdown

Description	Amount (EUR)
Travel expenses: 25 scholarships	20.000,00
lodging expenses, scholarships, about 50 people 50 € each/night	10.000,00
Volunteer travel expenses: 10 italian volunteers, about 200 € each to travel to Milan	2.000,00
Volunteer's lodge: 10 volunteers, 4 nights: 50 € each/night	2.000,00
Stationery	600,00
Wikivoyage booklet	500,00
Facilitators, 2 facilitators and 1 visual documentation	10.000,00
Staff and project manager	13.000,00
Local transport expenses: carnet 10 travels 13,80 € each	3.450,00
Conference venue + catering : light lunch + coffee station	59.250,00
Wi-fi	8.494,20
Welcome event: 1 drink each and snacks	5.000,00
Party	12.100,00
Total expenses amount	146.394,20
WMIT contribution (direct financial contribution only + 4.000,00 € ext. indirect)	-15.000,00
Grant request	131.394,20

Notes

Project goal

Since the first edition in 2009 (and the previous Chapters Meeting in 2008), the Wikimedia Conference is one of the key meeting for the Wikimedia movement, and in particular for Chapters.

The goal is hereby to have a great conference and a unique opportunity to exchange knowledge and know-how between different organization. Moreover, it will be crucial to mingle with the members of the Board of Trustees and staff from the Wikimedia Foundation.

The core of the conference will be the meeting of delegates from chapters and prospective chapters, prospective thematic organization, and the Foundation, and will be held from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 April. The day before the conference, Thursday 18, will be committed to thematic meetings (potential topics are Wiki Loves Monuments, Wikipedia Education Program, etc.). On the same day there will also be a meeting of the Council of the Wikimedia Chapters Association.

In parallel, a two-day meeting of the Wikimedia Foundation's Board of Trustees will take place.

Up to 250 participants are expected, from 40 countries.

What will be accomplished if the project is successful?

The conference will be successful if the delegates won't notice (and complain about) the organization. That would mean that they would be minding just the topics to be discussed, and meetings and gatherings and dinners. Chapters crucially need occasions to share views, roadmaps and competences, as the Wikimedia movement is growing bigger and more complex every year. Big and more experienced chapters can lead the way and teach younger chapters how to cope with systematic issues. Welcoming new chapters and new chapter members will in the long run distribute the Wikimedia movement around the globe and help leverage wiki projects and open knowledge also in the Global South.
Besides the movement needs a moment, at least once a year, to think of itself and to let its inner part to be cofronted with each other.
The Wikimedia movement needs to grow both in autonomy and coordination: a growing organism of people caring for free knowledge and build network of openness. Thus, a successful Conference would help and smooth collaboration, communication and coordination between Chapters, Thematic organisations, User groups, Board and WMF staff.

Project scope and list of activities

The Wikimedia Conference is the premier conference for movement affiliates. In 2013, the Wikimedia Chapters Conference celebrates its 5th year, from the first Wikipedia Conference in 2009 (and previously, in 2008, the Chapters Meeting). The Conference program will include:

• Chapters Meeting
• Board of Trustees meeting
• workshops

Wikimedia Italia is already working on the conference's program and is organizing thematic meetings such as Wiki Love Monuments meeting, WEP meeting and WCA council. Funding for this project will pay the chapters conference.

• If this grant is funded, we'll be able to ensure all the activities listed above. Otherwise we'll have to cut on the following items, in order:
  • leisure;
  • scholarship;

Non-financial requirements

None.

(Location and dates have already been agreed with chapters and the WMF board.)

Fit to strategy

Being able to do what above will ensure:

• greater diversity in the participation to the meeting,
• helping professionalization of Chapters will ultimately help the Movement and the Foundation, providing reliable partners and organizers able to manage complex international events (see Narrowing focus)
• Italy is one of the main sources of donation income for WMF, holding an international meeting here with WMF support will build trust.
• leveraging volunteers, empowering events organization, building long-lasting know-how and capacity; Wikimedia Italia is evaluating the possibility to present a bid for Wikimania 2015

Organizational notes

• volunteers have not been recruited yet but we plan to find them based on the experience with Festival delle Libertà Digitali (Digital Freedom Festival) held in 2010 in Milan; also most of WMIT active members live in the Milan area.
• The venue offers the possibility to host some participant in the same place, also a catering will be served on operation in place, in order to minimize the hassle of transfers.

Other benefits

Media impact

• The conference will get some positive media attention in Italy, giving us the opportunity (for once) to focus more on people who make Wikimedia than the project themselves. Media often question the "anonymity" of Wikipedia editors especially when discussing about its accuracy and reliability , and this would be an occasion to speak up and help the public to understand what we do, how we do it and, more importantly, why we do it. We, as Wikimedia Italia, believe firmly in the importance of the Wikimedia Movement as a group of people who share common values and a driving force in freeing knowledge.

• In this perspective, the Italian Wikipedia strike in 2011 has been a major event for media and the public, yet the potential threats posed to Wikipedia by the law which caused the strike are still incumbent and we believe that organizing one of the most important events of the Wikimedia world in Italy will be a good signal to the Italian projects community and to the Italian lawmakers.

• It will be possible for WMIT to gain new active members involvement, as per the attractiveness of the international event, leading to a new growth of the Wikimedia movement in Italy.

• This event could improve the visibility and position of WMIT as an association in the Italian scene of open knowledge movements, and catalyze his useful and diverse network of contacts.

Professionalization

• WMIT has identified several opportunities to become more successful, effective and efficient as an organization, and in this way be able to better support and help carry out the Wikimedia mission in Italy.. Hosting an international event would reinforce WMIT staff and provide a useful and possible long-standing team building. WMIT, as other older chapters, is in the process of professionalization (as of January 2013 WMIT has 2 full-time employees and 2 contractor working of te and this project could boost and strenghten know how and experience of both volunteer and staff.

• This will be the first big international event organized by Wikimedia Italia. We believe that it is crucial to decentrate and build competences in every chapter and this would be ultimately add experience and diversity in the incoming Wikimedia Chapters Association.

• Conducting an international meeting in Milan, Italy, will also allow for informal wiki-meetups which will help draw bridges between the Italian editing community and the other languages' projects', whose experiences the international attendees share in.

Measures of success

A key aspect in evaluating the success of the conference will be the number of represented countries and, in our opinion more importantly, the number of new attendees and newly attending chapters (which receive a crash-course instigation and inspiration to further Wikimedia's mission throughout the year).

We will also survey the participants and we will share the results in a public report that we think will be helpful for any organization willing to host WMConf in the future.

Team members

Wikimedia Italia

• Frieda Brioschi, president
• Cristian Consonni, vicepresident
• Alessio Guidetti, treasurer
• Lorenzo Losa, secretary
• Andrea Zanni, projects director
• Federico Leva
• Roberto Corda
• ...

WMIT staff

• Giulia Sepe, project manager
• Francesca Lissoni, office manager
• Alessandro Polvani, junior fundraiser
• Emma Tracanella, project manager Wiki Loves Monuments

References

For grantees

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