Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2024/Bidding process

Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2024 will be the 13th annual meeting of the Wikimedians from Central and Eastern Europe. Next host will be Wikimedia Community User Group Turkey (WMTR).

Bidding process

Overview

The host of the CEE 2024 meeting was decided through a bidding process. Every affiliate interested in hosting the conference had to prepare and submit their bid by 31 August 2023. Preparation of the bid consisted of answering several questions related to the organisation of the event e.g. describing previous event organizing experience, introducing the CEEM organizing team, describing proposed event location (both the conference venue and accommodating for participants). There were two (2) bids for hosting the CEEM 2024.

This page presented the bidding process and all relevant information for the interested hosts. Although planned, the final decision about the CEEM 2024 host was not announced during the Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2023, but after the Selection Committee (SelCom) made a decision, which was at the end of October 2023.

Received bids

Hosting of Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2024 in Prizren, Kosovo by Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group
Hosting of Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey by Wikimedia Community User Group Turkey

Selection Committee (SelCom)

Selection Committee (SelCom) was announced during the Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2023, where two bidders held short presentations in front of the participants during the closing ceremony of the meeting.

Members of the Selection Committee (SelCom)

Delphine Ménard (SelCom Chair)
Zana Strkovska (organiser of Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2022)
Mikheil Chabukashvili (organiser of Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2023)
Maciej Artur Nadzikiewicz (project leader for Wikimania 2024)
Jan Groh (Wikimedia Czech Republic)
Nataliia Tymkiv (Wikimedia Ukraine)

Criteria

The following criteria were defined as the criteria to take into consideration during the Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2024 evaluation process:

Safety of the location
Visa requirements
Ease of access
Experience of the organising team
Venue
Accommodation

Decision

The Selection Committee reached their final decision during an online meeting, based on the completed applications for both proposed cities. It was decided that the 2024 CEE Meeting will take place in Istanbul and it will be organised by Wikimedia Community User Group Turkey (WMTR).

Submissions

Timeline

Submission deadline was 31 August 2023.

You can propose your application by following these steps:

Step 1: Insert your name as an applicant in the text entry box below.
Step 2: Click on the "Write your application here" button to create a form for your proposed application.
Step 3: Fill in the form and save the page.

Remark: Your application will be published on this page (similar as bids for the CEE Meeting 2017) so that everyone can read the application of the bidder.

Bid criteria

The bid should be supported by a recognised Wikimedia movement affiliate from the region of Central and Eastern Europe.
The proposed event location must be in the CEE region and have the support of the local affiliate (if not the same as in point 1).
If the bidder comes from a country with more than one recognised Wikimedia movement affiliates, the bidder should provide proof that other affiliate(s) is/are informed and aware of the bid and that there is no conflict of interest/antagonism regarding this specific bid.
The proposal must provide information about the potential Organisation Committee, which will have to consist of at least five members, who will be active during the whole process of organising the conference.
The main conference should last three day—from Friday to Sunday—with the possibility of organising a pre-conference day (participants will have to arrive the day before the start of the main conference/pre-conference day and leave on the final day or the day after the conference ends).
The event should accommodate two participants per affiliate/community from the CEE region (approximately 36 organisations and 6 communities, plus other invited individuals and groups, such as the Wikimedia Foundation).
The venue and accommodation facilities should account for some additional attendees with independent funding.
The venue should be able to host three parallel conference tracks with appropriate audio/visual support as well as plenary events and breakout spaces. All rooms, including the accommodation facilities, should have strong and stable wifi connectivity (if this is not supported by the venue, additional costs for technological support must be taken into consideration).
All agreed in-kind donations should be presented in the bid and they should indicate the market value of such donations.

Tasks of the selected host

The host needs to be prepared to do the following tasks in the year when the conference takes place:

Set up the Organising Committee that can be composed of representatives of the local organiser (at least five people from the local affiliate/community), WMF representatives, CEE Hub members and previous organisers. This committee is responsible for consultations regarding smooth preparation of the grant proposal.
Prepare a grant proposal in coordination with the Organising Committee, which contains a precise budget budget, and submit it to the Wikimedia Foundation.
Set up the Programme Committee that can be composed of representatives of the local organiser, WMF representatives, CEE Hub members and previous organisers. This Committee is responsible for organising the submission process and drafting the conference programme as well as communicating with communities in order to ease the process.
Create a submission template with support from the Programme Committee and launch a call for submissions. Additionally, it is strongly advised that the local team asks for help/support from the CEE Hub staff.
Organise the whole registration process by publishing guidelines on selecting delegates and recommendations during the selection process.
Organise travel arrangements and provide information about travel/food and accommodation to each participant who will attend the conference on a scholarship from the organiser.
Book additional rooms in the hotel for self-funded delegates and individuals.
Prepare a detailed guide for participants and other pages containing relevant information about the conference.

Application preview

Please find application example preview. Read all comments as well

Application example

Logo of the CEE

Upload your images in the proposed article using the format as shown in this template

Application: Please provide the full title of the proposed application (name of the applicant, city, country).

Summary: Please explain why you want to organise this conference in your country, and what it will mean for the community.

Affiliate: Information about affiliate that is bidding. Update your existing Meta page with related information such as: team members, overview of current activities and projects, information about staff and/or community members.

More than one affiliate in the proposed country: In case that Wikimedia movement affiliate is in the country where several recognised affiliates coexist, a proof that other affiliate(s) have been informed and that there is no conflict (of interest) should be presented.

Proposed event venue: Please add at least preferable city in your country. If you want you can start initial talk and agreement about the event venue for the conference. Event venues can be conference halls, hotel conference rooms, cultural institutions, educational institutions, etc.

Proposed accommodation: Please add at least number of hotels/accommodations that can accomodate 150 people. If you want, you can ask for offers from multiple accommodation providers, as this will enable you to gain a better understanding of the prices for the accommodation in preparation of your budget. Take into consideration that you will need both single and double rooms.

Proposed dates: Organiser should suggest dates for the conference. Given that Wikimania2024 will be organised in the CEE Region, our regional conference should be at least one-and-half month later than the Wikimania conference.

Expected total budget: Preferable, but not mandatory. You should have a rough estimate of the total budget, including all in-kind contributions from your organisation (affiliate) and/or other inputs. Submit Excel sheet with approximate calculation of the budget, which includes travel costs, venue, hotel accommodation, food, coordination costs (based on the information from CEEM 2023)

Description: Please describe your plan including the proposed duration, scale and any other relevant interesting information (such as social activities or innovations to the current event format). If you want, include multimedia, external links, or any other descriptions.

Logistics: It is necessary to provide logistical details about how you will organise your conference.

Organising team: It is important to select a primary contact person i.e. a team leader. Please provide a list of all proposed organising team members and assign a role to each of them (e.g. treasurer, venue coordinator).

Experience: Describe experience that the organising team members have in organising bigger events. Include information about their previous professional experience and how they will contribute to smooth working of the organising team.

Accessibility: Is the country visa-free accessible to a majority of the CEE countries? How well is the proposed venue and city connected with the international airports, and other transportation?

Budget: Optional. Submit a budget draft with separate budget lines for travel, accommodation, venue, and other expenses, including separate budget lines for in-kind donations/contributions that will reduce the total budget needed to be funded bythe WMF. (Check available information about budget planning for the CEEM 2023)