WikiConference India 2011/Logistics

Scholarships

Last date for applications for scholarships was 15 August 2011, the successful applicants will be chosen by the first half of September.

Anyone who really wants to attend the conference but cannot afford it monetary wise can apply. Your application will need to be very strong as there are few scholarships and many applicants. Do give information on what you have done on Wikimedia projects thus far/how you can help/how attending will benefit you or others. You don't need to be an experienced Wikipedia editor to apply (that is an added benefit), we encourage applications from newbies as well – their application should demonstrate their passion and enthusiasm and their reason for wanting to attend the event. Wikipedia is a Free and Open Knowledge base and people who support this in any way are encouraged to attend this conference.

The scholarship options are Full (Travel by 2 A/c or A/c Chair Car train to and fro Mumbai and stay in Mumbai on four persons sharing basis in a budget hotel)/Travel Only/Accommodation Only/Special Needs/50% or 75% for those who can bear part cost and need us to bear part of it.

Accommodations

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For persons under Scholarships

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Accommodation for persons coming under the Scholarships has been arranged at The at Sea Green Hotels and Chateau Windsor Hotel (Both 10-15 minutes walking distance from University of Mumbai's Fort Campus and 2 minutes apart from each other:

Sea Green/Sea Green South Hotel: Budget Hotel with air conditioned rooms, makes Sea Green South Hotel located at Marine Drive. Guests are treated to stunning views of Marine Drive overlooking the Arabian Sea while at the same time enjoy easy access to a selection of nearby restaurants, shops and tourist attractions.

Chateau Windsor Hotel: Chateau Windsor Hotel is a budget hotel located at Churchgate. The hotel is located in the city center and is walking distance from major Business, Entertainment and Shopping centers.

Suggestions for accomodation for people without Scholarships

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Attendees bearing their own cost and needing hotel rooms could look at the following options in budget to five star/alphabetical order (the Organising Committee does not endorse any of the following hotels nor will it mediate with them for bookings or in case of any issues, these are just suggestions that attendees may wish to consider and deal with on their own):

International Guest House - YWCA (Budget Option – located at Colaba, aprox. 5 minutes walking from the venue) (FAQ - You dont need to be young or female to stay here, anyone can)

Residency Hotel (Budget Option – located at D.N. Road, aprox. 10 minutes walking from the venue)

Astoria Hotel (3 Star – located at Churchgate, aprox. 10 minutes walking from the venue)

Hotel Apollo (3 Star – located at Colaba, aprox. 10 minutes walking from the venue)

Hotel Subba International (3 Star – located at Colaba, aprox. 10 minutes walking from the venue)

Ambassador Hotel (4 Star – located at Churchgate, aprox. 15 minutes walking from the venue)

Marine Plaza Hotel (4 Star – located at Marine Drive, aprox. 15 minutes walking from the venue)

Intercontinental Hotel (5 Star – located at Marine Drive, aprox. 20 minutes walking from the venue)

Oberoi Trident (5 Star – located at Colaba, aprox. 20 minutes walking from the venue)

Taj Mahal Palace and Tower (5 Star – located at Colaba, aprox. 10 minutes walking from the venue)

Travel and transportation

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Road

Mumbai is part of the Golden Quadrilateral and is also served by National Highway 3, National Highway 4 and National Highway 8 of India's National Highways system. The Mumbai-Pune Expressway was the first expressway built in India. State Transport buses connect various cities and towns in India to the Dadar Bus Terminus.

Rail

Mumbai is the headquarters of two of Indian Railways' zones: the Central Railway (CR) headquartered at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus), and the Western Railway (WR) headquartered at Churchgate. Long-distance trains terminate at Mumbai Central, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Bandra Terminus.

Air

The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (formerly Sahar International Airport) is the main aviation hub in the city and the busiest airport in India in terms of passenger traffic. The airport, with its five operating terminals, spreads over an operational area of 1,450 acres (5.9 km²), is India's and South Asia's largest and most important aviation hub, and handled more than 29.1 million passengers and 670,235 tonnes of cargo in 2010–2011. The airport consists of two main terminals: Terminal 1 (Santacruz) for domestic flights and Terminal 2 (Sahar) for international flights. The Juhu Aerodrome was India's first airport, and now hosts a flying club and a heliport.

Sea

Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) is located on the eastern waterfront of the city and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) is located upstream a little outside city limits. Both ports account for a major share of sea cargo movement in India. Cruise liners visiting Mumbai usually dock at Ballard Pier which is part of MbPT.

Special events

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Attendee Party

An attendee party has been planned as a social event for attendees to mingle on Friday evening. The venue is Panache Lounge [[1]]. Located on Gunbow Street off D. N. Road it is about 15 minutes walking distance from the conference venue. With a ground + mezzanine + a dance floor on the upper level. Lunch at the conference is also being provided by Panache Lounge.

City Tour

A city tour is being planned for attendees coming to Mumbai from various parts of the country. BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking) Open Top Buses will be hired for the purpose.

Heritage Walk

A heritage walk has been planned for early morning on the 20th of November 2011 (Sunday), prior to the days conference programs. The walk will take place in historic South Mumbai and will end at University of Mumbai's Fort Campus.

Communication and Documents

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Media and public relations

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For press enquires , contact press (at) wikimedia ( dot) in (note that this email is for the sole purpose of media inquiries and anything else received will be deleted straight off)

The metropolis is also the hub of many international media corporations, with many news channels and print publications having a major presence.

Being India's commercial capital, Mumbai hosts studios of several national and international television news channels such as STAR News, Bloomberg UTV, ET Now, IBN-7, Times Now and CNBC-TV18.

Mumbai is home to Asia's oldest newspaper, Bombay Samachar, which has been published in Gujarati since 1822. Popular English language newspapers published and sold in Mumbai include the Times of India (TOI), Mid-day, Hindustan Times, DNA, and Indian Express. Marathi dailies that enjoy maximum readership share in the city are Maharashtra Times, Navakaal, Lokmat, Loksatta, Saamana and Sakaal.

There are twelve radio stations in Mumbai, with nine broadcasting on the FM band, and three All India Radio stations broadcasting on the AM band.

Wikipedia and the India office have received a lot of attention from the print media in the recent past and we hope use present contacts as well as build fresh contacts with media houses in the city in the pre-event, event and post-event periods.