Wikimania 2015 bids/Cape Town/Self Evaluation

Wikimania 2015 candidate cities:

Arusha | Bali | Cape Town | Dar es Salaam | Esino Lario | Mexico City | Monastir

Cape Town Wikimania 2015 logo

Our idea: Vision • Venue • Budget • Self Evaluation
Our city: Cape Town • Accommodation • Diversity
Your story: Join our team • Holiday options

The Cape Town Team conducted a SWOT analysis to identify internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats) seen as important to achieving our objectives. We strive to organise the best conference possible, so we are using our SWOT analysis to identify and mitigate the project risks (see below).

SWOT matrix

Internal

Strengths

• Wikimedia ZA has a wide volunteer base experienced with planning projects—check out our activities calendar
• Conference vision ('bridging divides') fits very well within the WMF strategy
• The conference venue is in Africa, supporting the outreach efforts of the WMF
• The conference will be held in the CTICC, a venue of international acclaim

Weaknesses

• Project team is spread out, both nationally (Cape Town vs Joburg) and internationally (Europe, US)
• Wikimedia ZA only has one full-time employee

External

Opportunities

• Cape Town is a well established and internationally sought-after conference venue and was awarded the world's best tourism destination in 2011 by TripAdvisor.
• Attendees will get value for their money. It's tourism "off season" in Cape Town, hence low rates for travel, accommodation, rentals, etc., keeping costs low.
• Cape Town is an extremely diverse city. It's difficult to imagine a city more tolerable regarding race, religion and sexual orientation. Cape Town is Africa's Gay Capital.
• South Africa has a laid back visa policy for international visitors
• Cape Town hosts an incredible number of hostels, B&Bs, and luxury hotels.
• Cape Town is an ideal holiday destination. Get a chance to absorb the 'power of the mountain'. Check out Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 30 years, and many other landmarks. Bring your kids and goggles along!

Threats

• Real and/or perceived security issues. Note that Cape Town city bowl is as safe as almost any large city in the United States or Europe, with very effective local government and policing.
• Cape Town winter has two modi: warm (25°C) with sunny skies, or windy and drizzling. We hope for the first, but we are planning activities that are not dependent on weather conditions.
• The Wikimedia community in Cape Town is relatively small in comparison to other Communities in other continents.
• Travel to South Africa will be expensive for most Wikimedians living in Oceania or North America. This is an unavoidable consequence of bringing Wikimania outside of Europe and North America. Costs will also be offset to some extent by the weaker Rand relative to the Euro or the US dollar, and the presence of an international hub airport (Johannesburg).

Risk mitigation

Risk	Possible negative results	Mitigation
Part 1: Internal
Spread-out organisational team (CPT, JNB, EU, US)	Less personal contact with team members or external parties. Lower participation grade of the project team. Bad organisation as result.	Organise an international team-up meeting. Organise access to professional collaboration tools (eg. Web-Ex). Discuss issue with WMF. Full focus of WM ZA on WM CPT
Low number of full time employees with WM SA	Lower participation grade of the project team. Bad organisation as result.	Discuss issue with WMF. Full focus of WM ZA on WM CPT
Low number of international African attendees	Despite having the conference in Africa, we might only attract a limited amount of attendees from other African countries. This should be avoided, as it would defeat the purpose of organising the event in Africa.	Clear communications with African colleagues. Organisation of the WikiIndaba conference
'African accounting'	All kinds of misuse of allocated funds	Establish clear administrative and budgetary guidelines. Employ external professional party for the accounting
Noncompliance with the basic requirements set out by the WM 2015 judging committee	Bid is not accepted	Clear communication with the WMF (Ellie Young). Proper management
Overshooting our budget	Problems 'securing' preliminary quotes (as happened in 2011 & '13) Unexpected costs Underestimage the importance and the work necessary to draft a good budget	Good collaboration with WMF Let multiple people work on the budget
Part 2: External
Bad perception regarding personal safety, as they heard stories about the safety in SA.	Low enthusiasm for conference bid Less people afraid or hesitant to come to CPT	Be open in the issue, and clearly explain the current situation. Get governmental support Include safety measures (e.g. private security company) in budget
Safety problems with conference attendees	Letting down conference attendees. Safety issues.	Provide clear document on do's and don't. Appoint a dedicated volunteer
Weather	Bad weather during our conference. Less people interested in attending the conference.	Be flexible in the activities. Provide activities for both weather situations
People wanting to travel SA after the conference are hesitant of bringing their children / partner to the conference	Less people interested in attending the conference.	Provide special activities for both groups (should be easy)
High travel costs for most attendees	Lower enthusiasm for conference bid. Less people interested in attending the conference.	Travel costs are more then just the air ticket, make a comparison in total cost with previous Wikimanias. Make attendees 'dream' of extending the conference with a real holiday Elaborate on the cheap ways of travel (eg. bus from Joburg)
Problems with wireless connections	High concentration of portable devices negatively impacts wireless connection speed (see Bid Requirements)	Provide special measures, eg. fixed internet booths Explore other possibilities, eg. 3G dongles Establish Wi-Fi policy