Wikimedians of Turkic Languages User Group/Meetings/2022/November

Protocol of the regular meeting of Wikimedians of Turkic Languages User Group for November 12, 2022.

Time

Remote.
November 12, 2022.
16:00 UTC, 19:00 TRT, 20:00 AZT.

Attendees

Agenda

Wikidata ISTCON22 – post-conference notes
Wikidata ISTCON22 report
Transformation of the WikidataCon into an annual conference for the Turkic community
Where to arrange the next conference?
Work on the creation of the Turkic Hub
Wait for the organizer's survey to fill out
Updates from local communities
Wikimania 2024

Notes from meeting

This kind of international Wikimedia conference/training for the Turkic-speaking community was held for the first time, and it was the first international conference organized by the Turkic UG and WMTR in Turkey. In general, the conference was successful, and all participants were satisfied with the results. The conference organizers already have an experience that they will use for more successful events. The participants of the conference were once again reminded that the post-event survey will be closed on Sunday, November 13, and asked everyone to fill it out.
The final report, along with the conference financial report, will be published by the end of December 2022. From the beginning of January, everyone will be able to familiarize themselves with the report prepared by the organizing committee of the conference in Istanbul.
The community was enthusiastic about the changes in the format of the conference and supported the transformation of the conference into an annual Turkic conference. The conference will become a sustainable platform for the gathering, discussion, and development of the Turkic-speaking community. This will help in the exchange of experience as well as for the development of the Wikimedia movement among the Turkic-speaking communities. It was also confirmed that the conference should be held in different Turkic countries, which will serve the development of local communities, and more people will be able to gain experience in holding international events among the Turkic community. But it was also noted that local requirements and infrastructure in these countries should meet the requirements for holding such a conference.
It was confirmed that in order to accept and create a name for the conference of the Turkic community, an extensive survey among the community should be conducted. Give time for the community to create and propose a name for the conference, and then give time for the community to vote on the names. A special page will be created on the Meta-Wiki for this, where everyone can submit their idea for a name, the deadline for this will be December 15, 2022. From December 15 to December 31, all the name ideas for the conference will be voted on, and the conference name will be decided with a majority vote.
On the question of where the next conference for the Turkic community should take place, three countries were announced: these are Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. At the moment, Turkey looks the most realistic, where there is all the infrastructure and all the necessary elements for a successful conference. Azerbaijan also has the potential and necessary infrastructure to host a conference, but due to the country's internal regulations, the Wikimedia Azerbaijani UG cannot receive funding from outside the country. This complicates the holding of the conference in Azerbaijan. But we hope that our Azerbaijani colleagues will be able to resolve the problematic issue with officials inside the country. As for Kazakhstan, unfortunately, there is no infrastructure in the community and the country for the successful holding of the conference. However, Turkic UG gives both Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan until the end of December a chance to request a conference, if problematic issues are resolved before that time. If both countries fail to resolve problematic issues, then the conference in 2023 will be held in Turkey.
The community was enthusiastic about the idea of creating a Turkic Hub and supported the idea of starting work on the Hub. The organizing team will soon meet with all the Turkic communities and interview them on all issues in order to prepare a successful strategic plan for the creation of the Hub.
It was decided to fill out an application for a grant to celebrate and organize a multi-month edit-a-thon in honor of the creation of the Republic of Turkey. Thematic contests will be organized, and the winners will be awarded various prizes. The contests will be held in all Turkic editions of Wikipedia.
The participants of the meeting were told that Turkey had submitted a candidacy to host Wikimania 2024 in Istanbul. Detailed information can be found here.