Wikimania Committee/Minutes/2021-11-25

Wikimania 2022 Working Session 3

Session overview

Discussion of community engagement for Wikimania 2022 and a high-level timeline.

Attendance

Butch Bustria, Deror Avi, Eric Luth, Florence Devouard, Gnangarra, Iolanda Pensa, Lodewijk, Susanna Mkrtchyan

Staff: Elfego, Joël, Lisa, Mehrdad

Summary

Community engagement

• Wrap up of Wikimania 2021 should be communicated by a COT member, and will include the evaluation results and uploaded videos, including the Wikimania song. We will use this communication to build momentum and signal forthcoming communication for Wikimania 2022. Aiming for December 1/2
• Wikimania 2022 model and call to action for volunteers, to be communicated by a Steering Committee member, aiming for the week of December 6. This way we can hear what community members think about the model - virtual main with variable options for community-led, independently-organized, Foundation-supported in-person gatherings, depending on local contexts and energy – and start to gauge interest levels. We can start general and from January onwards, work with volunteers to assess who is interested in doing what
• The overall aim is to open up for comments and discussions, and flag interested people to start thinking about Wikimania 2022
• There will be two main categories of volunteers: (1) those who are interested in running local events for Wikimania (national, regional, trans-regional, ...), which will come later, and (2) those who want to be part of the global Core Organizing Team, and will have to start making some key decision for Wikimania 2022 in the new year
• The main areas of volunteer support identified include: (1) scholarships, (2) programming, (3) social events, (4) communication, (5) technical skills / tools skills, and (6) event support (e.g. moderation, T&S, ...)
• Starting the process early is important for team building, for dedicated capacity development for the COT, and for preventing as much as possible, last minute scrambles. At the same time, keeping volunteers motivated going throughout the year will need dedicated focus and attention
• Wikimania is a real opportunity for people to grow in the movement, to get noticed by others, and to develop skills in everything from event management to communication
• We will start a Frequently Asked Questions document early, on-wiki, and let it grow and expand
• There will be informational conversations (offie hours) for interested volunteers to connect with COT and SC members and learn what opportunities are available
• Additionally, we would LOVE to hear from people other things they would like to see at Wikimania
• The selection of the 2022 COT is a good place to start building momentum and enthusiasm. For the main global COT, there will be interviews to look at the candidates in terms of representation, skills, etc.
• There will be something for anyone interested to contribute

High-level timeline

From previous discussion: We will organize a primarily virtual Wikimania with decentralized in-person components depending on global circumstances. For that, the organizers will provide flexible, timely resources so that communities can independently organize local meetups based on their possibilities, energy, and appetite, ranging from national watch parties to trans-regional meet-ups.

While the Wikimania 2022 organizing team will decide the specifics of the event – will it be 3 days or 5? 8 hour days or 12 hours? - we are considering some general dates:

• Aug. 5-7 is a Jewish fast
• No major Chinese or Muslim events
• Aug 15 is a Catholic holiday observed in some countries
• Later in August / early September coincides with return to school and academia in many parts of the world
• Possible dates: August 10-14, 2022 or August 17-21, 2022

What's next?

• Wrap up communication for Wikimania 2021: the week of November 29 – the informative evaluation report, link to videos, of course the Wikimania song, and much more
• Communication to kick off Wikimania 2022: the week of December 6 – sharing the model selected for Wikimania 2022 and putting out a call to action for interested volunteers
• Announcements to be shared on social media, email lists, and elsewhere - asking (1) people's thoughts on the model; (2) event platforms and submission platforms that need to be decided by the 2022 Core Organizing Team, and (3) interest in various levels of volunteering