Grants:Conference/WCI/Wikimedia+Libraries Meetup 2022/Report
- Report accepted
- To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:Conference/WCI/Wikimedia+Libraries Meetup 2022.
- You may still comment on this report on its discussion page, or visit the discussion page to read the discussion about this report.
- You are welcome to Email conferencegrants at wikimedia dot org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.
Goals
[edit]Did you meet your goals?
| Target outcome | Achieved outcome | Explanation |
| Bring together approx. 100 Wikimedians who work in libraries or ally with libraries. | 78 Wikimedians came together in Maynooth, Ireland on July 23 and 24, 2022 | The original goal was for a maximum of 100 participants. We did reach 100 registrants at one point, but some cancelled, others missed connecting flights, a couple were ill with COVID, and there were numerous difficulties with visas. |
| Use scholarship funds to enable worldwide representation at the international convention. | Over 140 scholarship applications and
37 scholarships were awarded. |
37 full and partial scholarships were awarded to applicants from 19 different countries: (1) Brazil; (1) Canada; (1) Congo; (1) Germany; (2) Ghana; (1) Greece; (1) Israel; (1) Kenya; (2) Mexico; (1) Netherlands; (9) Nigeria; (1) South Africa; (2) Spain; (2) Sweden; (1) Thailand; (1) Uganda; (2) UK; (1) Ukraine; (4) USA |
| Bring different librarian networks together around Wikimedia topics. | Heavy involvement from members of the IFLA and AfLIA networks. | In the future we could target additional groups such as LD4P. |
| A program addressing:
- The gender gap - The Wikipedia pillars and guides, such as neutral point of view, etc. - Wikipedia and education - Includes training sessions - Using social media to promote librarian involvement with Wiki projects |
2 keynotes, 15 presentations, 12 workshops/training, 5 unconference meetups, 2 social events, 4 coffee breaks for networking | All participants could share their experieces in unconference moments or by submitting a presentation or panel session.
Programme Committee reviewed all the proposals and organized them by themes. |
Next steps
[edit]Please share a brief update about the status projects, important discussions and/or capacity building that took place at the event.
| Activities during the conference | 3 months after the conference | |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic Discussions: | Knowledge equity, 1Lib1Ref, education, linked open data / Wikidata, gender gap, neutral point of view | Reports and blog posts written after the convention. |
| Capacity Development: | Programme schedule | There were a handful of requests for a hybrid event, but we didn't have the time or volunteer power to do both (an in-person and online event). If the convention is hosted in the future, this should be revisited. In the convention post survey, which was administered three months after the convention, there was interest in learning more about Wikisource, Wikidata, and Wikibase. |
| Projects or Working Groups: | 1) Esther Bravo, librarian in Mexico, suggested creating a Librarian Manifesto before the convention. During the convention several breakout small group meetings convened to write and discuss the creation of a Manifesto.
2) 2023 Wikimedia+Libraries Convention conversations began. |
1)Documentation and future plans were posted after the convention. Esther Bravo plans on leading this effort.
2) Michael David Miller has put together a core planning committee and started conversations to plan a 2023 Convention. |
Learning
[edit]Conferences and events do not always go according to plan. Sharing what you learned can help you and others plan similar projects in the future. Help the movement learn from your experience by answering the following questions:
What worked well at the event?
- Establishing per diem amounts for meals and reimbursing the exact amount. Setting a limit for reimbursement of visa and travel insurance costs.
- Using a travel agent, in the host country, to book all airfare for scholarship recipients.
- Limiting the number of full scholarships to no more than four from any one country.
- Hosting the event at a university in the summer - which offered affordable single-occupancy dormitory rooms. Note: If we had booked earlier, everyone would have been able to have an individual bathroom, but because of the late date some people shared bathrooms - in the future ask who does not feel comfortable sharing a bathroom and make accommodations accordingly.
- Gender balance within librarianship leans heavily toward women, therefore, women comprised more than half of the attendees.
- Hosting the event in a library.
What did not work so well?
- Short timeline for preparation, planning, and securing visas.
- Irish visa requirements.
What would you do differently next time?
- Communicate closely with WMF if/when airfare costs for scholarship recipients increase because of visa delays.
- Have scholarship attendees request advanced approval if they need to go over the limits for reimbursement so that the planning committee can keep track of costs.
- Announce scholarship recipients at least four months in advance, because the visa process takes at least 6 weeks in Nigeria and some other countries.
- Be aware that if people are catching a connecting flight, they may need a visa for the country where they are connecting. There were issues with connecting flights in Europe from Africa.
- Decide if the conference should follow IFLA in time and location.
- Host the event in a location with less visa restrictions.
Financial documentation
[edit]This section describes the grant's use of funds
- Budget table
Please list all project expenses in a table here, with descriptions. Review the instructions here. These expenses should be listed in the same format as the budget table in your approved submission so that anyone reading this report may be able to easily compare budgeted vs. actual expenses.
| Total US Estimate granted (Euro conversion) | Total Euro spent | Unspent funds | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget 1: Core Organizing Committee (4) Travel and Accommodations | $4,534.00 (€4,626.30) | €3,423.98 | €1,202.32 |
| Budget 2: Full Scholarships/Grants and Partial Scholarships/Grants travel | $43,910.00 (€41,290.00) | €33,888.51 | €7,401.49 |
| Budget 3: Partial Scholarships/Grants accommodation | $3,300.00 (€3,210.00) | €2,073.00 | €1,137.00 |
| Budget 4: Meetup Days, July 23 and 24 | $18, 500.00 (€17,400.00) | €16,272.64 | €1,127.36 |
| Budget 5: Contingency | $7,000.00 (€6,545.00) | €2,660.19 | €3,884.81 |
| Total | $77,244.00 (€73,017.30) | €58,318.32 | €14,752.98 |
- Summary of funding
Total project budget (from your approved grant submission):
- $77,244.00 (€73,017.30)
Total amount requested from WMF (from your approved grant submission):
- $77,244.00 (€73,017.30)
Total amount spent on this project (this total should be the total calculated from the table above):
- €58,318.32
Total amount of WMF grant funds spent on this project:
- €58,318.32
Are there additional sources of revenue that funded any part of this project? List them here.
- N/A
- Remaining funds
Are there any grant funds remaining?
- Answer YES or NO.
- YES
Please list the total amount (specify currency) remaining here. (This is the amount you did not use, or the amount you still have after completing your grant.)
- €14,752.98
Anything else
[edit]A post survey was launched three months after the convention and available for one week. The survey was sent to all attendees of the Wikimedia+Libraries Convention 2022. 30 people filled out the survey and it will be shared with the team that is coordinating the next Wikimedia+Libraries Convention.
Highlights from the survey:
67% of respondents identified as women. All respondents said they left with new or different ideas about how to do Wikimedia work in the future. 90% of respondents said they would be interested in attending a Wikimedia+Libraries Convention in 2023. 100% of respondents said they would recommend attending a Wikimedia+Libraries Convention 2023 to others. All scholarship applicants said the application was easy to complete.