Wikimania 2016 bids/Esino Lario/Target

Wikimania Esino Lario has 3 main target groups involved in different ways and with different timing.

• The participants of the conference Wikimania Esino Lario (involved for the conference). The 3-5-1 days pre-conference, conference and postconference focused on wikimedians, and people active in ICT, online communities, communication, open licenses, OER Open Educational Resources, and culture. The conference is in English (since exchanges and discussions are at the centre of the event, it would not be efficient in this location to invest in interpreters and simultaneous translations). To involve the participants the program includes working sessions, special events, excursions, a program for children, and of course a collaborative space and a lot of informal meeting space.
  • Newbies. People who want to know something about a "topic", discover it or get introduced to it. These people can be new to Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, or they can know very well a specific Wikimedia project but do not necessarily other projects and initiatives (i.e. Wikidata, Wikisource, data available for research, WMF fundings, outreach projects related to GLAMs, education, medicine, the activities of chapters...). Formats such as "user digest" presentations, posters, the chapter village, and brochures are meant for them.
  • Advanced. People who want to move forward on a "topic": discuss it, challenge it, brainstorm about it, take a decision/position related to it, or learn how to develop the skills to do something more; they already know the background (or they can get an overview about it at Wikimania). Format such as "critical issues" presentations, discussions, meetups, the hackathon, and training are meant for them.
  • Journalists. Of course communication takes into consideration the needs of journalists (press information, press kit, reference contact, support in arranging interviews).
  • Cultural institutions. Wikimania can be a chance to invite cultural institutions and key stakeholders to discover the relevance of contributing to the Wikimedia projects and the use of open licenses. We have already booked Villa Monastero which is an extremely charming location for a gathering specifically designed for cultural institutions which could be organized during the preconferece.
  • Volunteers. Contributing to Wikimania is not only something we are grateful to volunteers for, but it should be a chance to enhance personal skills. We are browsing possibilities to link the event to existing volunteer programs (Italian and European, for volunteers <26 years old) and in the pre-conference we plan training for volunteers (i.e. how Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects work, video recording, how to facilitate a session, how to make interviews with participants and collect data about discussions). Please note that the program for children is specifically meant to allow volunteers to volunteer (i.e. people in Esino Lario and organizers); priority will be given to volunteers with children, but there are going to be some available places for participants with children.
  • Special guests and partners. We are involving guests and partners in the event (in the planning and for the sessions) and we are informing like-mind and relevant organizations about Wikimania. "Special guests" can contribute to the presentations and discussions and can bring specific skills to the event. Since they are not only involved in the presentations we are not calling them keynotes.
• The Esino Lario community (involved for the conference, and before and afte the conference). The conference deeply involves the Esino Lario community.
• People in Italy and Switzerland, with a specific focus on the Province of Lecco, Como, Varese and Sondrio, and the Canton of Ticino and Grisons in Switzerland (involved before and after the conference). Wikimania Esino Lario is a chance to trigger communication and participation among a larger audience. Beyond the participants at the conference we target a larger community with a specific focus on our territorial local area, the Italian language and three specific groups:
  • People working in associations and cultural institutions, and public administrations. During the planning phase we have already contacted and exchanged with many associations, cultural institutions, public institutions. We plan to reinforce in particular with communication (and fundraising) the current program of meetings, presentations and activities of Wikimedia Italia and Wikimedia CH.
  • Young people (reached through schools and universities). During this planning phase, we have already organized a training-game in Esino Lario primary school and we have set contacts with two high schools in Lecco. We plan to involve local schools (1 secondary school and 2 high schools) with presentations and training and to support with communication the program Wikimedia Italia has already with schools in Italy.
  • Female entrepreneurship and the Internet. We are planning to support a series of presentations and training for women in the Province of Lecco and Ticino in collaboration with a newly born association interested in developing and managing this program. The topic is the internet and female entrepreneurship; Wikipedia and open licenses are presented as a component of the Internet and to provide an understanding of online dynamics, but they are not the centre of the program because they do not appear in this phase as the best entrance point to enhance female online participation and use of the Internet and digital tools.