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Strategy/Wikimedia movement/2017/Cycle 2/Reach

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Reaching new voices focuses on ensuring that the voices that normally aren’t part of our strategic discussions are present and properly represented in the process that will define the future of the Wikimedia movement over the next 15 years. Our goals:

  • Gather and synthesize relevant global and region specific trends that will impact the future of the Wikimedia movement over the next 15 years.
  • Understand and share the current awareness, perception and usage of Wikimedia (particularly Wikipedia) for potential and existing readers.
  • Learn from local experts and institutions in relevant fields and inviting them to collaborate on the future of Wikimedia.

To complete this work globally, we have two teams working on this project: Higher awareness regions (formerly track C) and lower awareness regions (formerly track D). We are also asking local groups to apply for stipends to host their own discussions with local experts and partners (current and potential).

  • "Higher awareness regions" are defined as areas where we believe Wikimedia is relatively more well-known, for example in North America, Western Europe, and individual countries where we believe awareness is relatively high like Japan.
  • "Lower awareness regions" are defined as areas where Wikipedia is not well-known. The recent New Readers phone survey results indicate limited recognition of Wikipedia and/or misunderstanding of its use among internet users. The level of Wikipedia awareness ranged between a low of 20% to a high of 51%, averaging around 25% overall. Recent research maps “lower awareness regions” across countries in Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America. The target countries for this research are India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Egypt, Mexico, and Brazil.

Activities

We have four main ways we are gathering insights from new voices:

  1. Personal interviews with over 200 experts, partners, and institutional leaders
  2. Community-led conversations with local experts, partners and institutional leaders
  3. Small group salons, events, and meetups
  4. Research
    1. Design research in Brazil and Indonesia (in progress)
    2. Design research in Mexico, Nigeria, India (completed in 2016)
    3. Brand awareness, attitudes, and usage research in higher-awareness markets (in progress)
    4. “Desk” research - third-party research on global trends, populations, and more (in progress)