Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/2022-2024 GLAM Macedonia's Three-year General Support Grant /Final Report
Report Status: Accepted
Due date: 2023-01-31T00:00:00Z
Funding program: Wikimedia Community Fund
Report type: Final
This is an automatically generated Meta-Wiki page. The page was copied from Fluxx, the grantmaking web service of Wikimedia Foundation where the user has submitted their midpoint report. Please do not make any changes to this page because all changes will be removed after the next update. Use the discussion page for your feedback. The page was created by CR-FluxxBot.
General information[edit]
This form is for organizations, groups, or individuals receiving Wikimedia Community Funds or Wikimedia Alliances Funds to report on their final results. See the midpoint report if you want to review the midpoint results.
- Name of Organization: GLAM Makedonija Skopje
- Title of Proposal: 2022-2024 GLAM Macedonia's Three-year General Support Grant
- Amount awarded: 26121.38 USD, 23104 EUR
- Amount spent: 23104 EUR
Part 1 Understanding your work[edit]
1. Briefly describe how your proposed activities and strategies were implemented.
- The first half of 2022 was marked by the first post-Covid face-to-face or in-live activities. As it was expected, the volunteers were pleased to edit, contribute and improve Wikipedia content together, during Wiki Club meetings, edit-a-thons or the Wiki Camp held in Mavrovo. By providing the participants with materials, supplied by the institutions that we have memorandum for collaboration with, increased the productivity and effectivity of the process. Moreover, in-person help and support by the experienced editors proved to be more helpful and gave the expected results. Additionally. since no regulations and restrictions were imposed by the Government related to Covid-19, the Conferences for teachers turned out to be more attractive this year, in comparison to the previous ones, where significant increase of participants (teachers) took part in. Overall, almost all activities exceeded the expectations in terms of results and content creation.
The second half of 2022 was marked with our engagement in the organizing Wikimedia CEE Meeting in Ohrid. However, the volunteers and our employee worked in order to finish programs activities, as we planned them in our annual plan. Everything was completed successfully till the end of the year.
2. Were there any strategies or approaches that you felt were effective in achieving your goals?
- Two aspects can be selected for the purposes of answering this item. The first one is the strategy or the approach towards the students. Active involvement of the students in the activities, that is, active involvement in the process of creation and improvement of the articles, along with upgrading their knowledge of mastering Wikipedia and Commons tools and usage, motivated them for further contribution and deeper understanding Wikipedia. The use of Wikipedia and Commons in their educational projects increased and the spread of the idea of free knowledge creation and distribution spread among the peers. As a consequence to that, new interested volunteers appeared and got involved in GLAM Macedonia's activities (through Wiki Camp and Wiki Clubs).
The second aspect covers the teachers' involvement in the activities and their active involvement in the movement. As planned, the teachers were to be involved through several important activities, namely the Conferences and the Wiki Clubs with the Wiki Camp. The conferences held in several different schools in various different places in Macedonia covered significantly larger number of teachers that were taught and trained on how to use and implement Wikipedia in the education process. The advantages of using Wikipedia and its related projects was highly accepted by the teachers and therefore, we marked involvement of teachers, new and old members, in other activities as well. The teachers voluntarily took part in some of the edit-a-thons and editing challenges that were organized or supported by GLAM Macedonia.
3. Would you say that your project had any innovations? Are there things that you did very differently than you have seen them done by others?
- Yes, the innovation we saw this year is related to our GLAM program. Namely, the volunteers and coordinators involved in the GLAM program showed great creativity when deciding what kind of events and activities to include in the "Flora and Fauna" project. Starting in 2020 with the onset of the pandemic, GLAM activities were thematic: WiRs worked on topics related to flora and fauna. Even the Wiki Camp in 2022 was thematic: Flora and fauna. As a result, over 1000 articles related to: wasps, butterflies, ants, amphibians, reptiles, mushrooms, plants and other types of flora and fauna found in Macedonia, were created.
4. Please describe how different communities participated and/or were informed about your work.
- We have informed other communities about our work through regular posts on Facebook, on our websites, as well as through lectures at international in-person events. We were part of 4 international conferences and meetings: Wiki Live in Belgrade, Wikimania that was online, the meeting of European GLAM coordinators in Prague, and finally, the conference that we organized, WMCEEM 2022 in Ohrid. On the other hand, we took part in several international events and edit-a-thons organized by other communities.
5. Documentation of your impact. Please use the two spaces below to share files and links that help tell your story and impact. This can be documentation that shows your results through testimonies, videos, sound files, images (photos and infographics, etc.) social media posts, dashboards, etc.
- Upload Documents and Files
- Here is an additional field to type in URLs.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/International_Roma_Day_Edit-a-thon_2022/Participants https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WikiLive_2022_-_117.jpg - our participants at WikiLive in Belgrade https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/International_Refugee_Day_Edit-a-thon_2022/Participants https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM_Macedonia_User_Group/Reports/2022-08#Wikimania_2022 https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_EuroPride_2022/Participants https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM_Macedonia_User_Group/Reports/2022-09#2022_European_GLAMwiki_Coordinators_meeting_in_Prague
6. To what extent do you agree with the following statements regarding the work carried out with the support of this Fund? You can choose “not applicable” if your work does not relate to these goals.
| A. Bring in participants from underrepresented groups | Agree |
| B. Create a more inclusive and connected culture in our community | Agree |
| C. Develop content about underrepresented topics/groups | |
| D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives | Agree |
| E. Encourage the retention of editors | |
| F. Encourage the retention of organizers | Agree |
| G. Increased participants' feelings of belonging and connection to the movement. | Agree |
7. Is there anything else you would like to share about how your efforts helped to bring in participants and/or build out content, particularly for underrepresented groups?
- N/A
Part 2: Your main learning[edit]
8. In your application, you outlined your learning priorities. What did you learn about these areas during this period?
- We have learned a lot, of course, although the main things related to organizing events have already been perfected. However, by organizing each of these events, novelties appear that we learn, and on which we base our further activity. The main news this year was about organizing an international conference, which is a great success and pride for us.
9. Did anything unexpected or surprising happen when implementing your activities?
- Generally, we were pleasantly surprised with the number of volunteers/ participants in the programmes, especially students. In almost every activity organized by GLAM Macedonia, the number of participants was higher than initially expected. Consequently, the results of the programmes were higher as well, especially content creation and content improvement. Additionally, we were positively surprised with the interests of the teachers to take part in the training/ conferences for teachers. Twice more than expected was the number of teachers at the conferences, especially the last one (expected up to 20, came more than 40 teachers).
10. How do you hope to use this learning? For instance, do you have any new priorities, ideas for activities, or goals for the future?
- Looking back at the past year and the completed projects, we are even more motivated to continue engage students and volunteers in free knowledge movement, particularly content creation, content improvement and in-live activities (Wiki Camps and Wiki Clubs) which proved to be very useful for the participants for fast and efficient activism and best way of collaboration. The feedback we receive from the volunteers teaches us that the opportunities for collaboration and mutual help in content creation/ improvement we offer are even greater motivation for the participants to give more to the movement itself.
11. If you were sitting with a friend to tell them one thing about your work during this fund, what would it be (think of inspiring or fascinating moments, tough challenges, interesting anecdotes, or anything that feels important to you)?
- During the Wiki Camp, it was a fascinating moment for us that the participants were sad when it was time to go home. Everyone wanted to stay another day plus, because they liked the activities during Wiki Camp a lot.
12. Please share resources that would be useful to share with other Wikimedia organizations so that they can learn from, adapt or build upon your work. For instance, guides, training material, presentations, work processes, or any other material the team has created to document and transfer knowledge about your work and can be useful for others. Please share any specific resources that you are creating, adapting/contextualizing in ways that are unique to your context (i.e. training material).
- Upload Documents and Files
- Here is an additional field to type in URLs.
https://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/prilozi/kolibri/uchenici-od-cela-makedonija-se-obuchuvaa-za-ureduvanje-statii-na-vikipedija-na-makedonski-jazik/ In novamakedonija.com.mk
Part 3: Metrics[edit]
13a. Open and additional metrics data
| Open Metrics | Description | Target | Results | Comments | Methodology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Counting, we use dashboard page for counting activities of Wiki Club's members and Wiki Senior editors. |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Additional Metrics | Description | Target | Results | Comments | Methodology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of editors that continue to participate/retained after activities | 120 | 120 | N/A | Counting | |
| Number of organizers that continue to participate/retained after activities | 30 | 54 | N/A | Counting | |
| Number of strategic partnerships that contribute to longer term growth, diversity and sustainability | The number of involved institutions or organizations we work with in all our programs: | 45 | 35 | The number of involved institutions or organizations we work with in all our programs, including schools and GLAM institutions | Counting |
| Feedback from participants on effective strategies for attracting and retaining contributors | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Diversity of participants brought in by grantees | N/A | 20 | 20 | We have Serbians, Turks and Aromanians as members. | Counting |
| Number of people reached through social media publications | N/A | 25 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Number of activities developed | The number of events in all our programs: | 45 | 35 | The number of events in all our programs | Counting |
| Number of volunteer hours | N/A | 15000 | 18000 | This number could be more or less correct, as volunteer hours are difficult to figure out. | If at least 25 persons are active 2 hours daily |
13b. Additional core metrics data.
| Core metrics | Description | Target | Results | Comments | Methodology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | The number of participants who attend events, programs and activities online or in person, in GLAM, Education and Community all together, including new participants and returning participants: | 590 | 510 | Counting | |
| Number of editors | The number of new registered participants in GLAM, Education and Community programs, all together: | 150 | 55 | Counting | |
| Number of organizers | Organizers and other outreach liaisons for GLAM, Education and Community programs, all together: | 30 | 54 | Counting |
| Wikimedia Project | Description | Target | Results | Comments | Methodology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | Number of content pages improved or created: | 4100 | 6860 | Wikipedia | Counting, we use dashboard page for counting activities of Wiki Club's members and Wiki Senior editors. |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
14. Were there any metrics in your proposal that you could not collect or that you had to change?
- No
15. If you have any difficulties collecting data to measure your results, please describe and add any recommendations on how to address them in the future.
- N/A
16. Use this space to link or upload any additional documents that would be useful to understand your data collection (e.g., dashboards, surveys you have carried out, communications material, training material, etc).
- Upload Documents and Files
- Here is an additional field to type in URLs.
https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/GLAM_Macedonia/Wiki_Senior_2022/
Part 4: Organizational capacities & partnerships[edit]
17. Organizational Capacity
| A. Financial capacity and management | This capacity has grown but it should be further developed |
| B. Conflict management or transformation | This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high |
| C. Leadership (i.e growing in potential leaders, leadership that fit organizational needs and values) | This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high |
| D. Partnership building | This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high |
| E. Strategic planning | This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high |
| F. Program design, implementation, and management | This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high |
| G. Scoping and testing new approaches, innovation | This capacity has grown but it should be further developed |
| H. Recruiting new contributors (volunteer) | This capacity has grown but it should be further developed |
| I. Support and growth path for different types of contributors (volunteers) | This capacity has grown but it should be further developed |
| J. Governance | This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high |
| K. Communications, marketing, and social media | This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high |
| L. Staffing - hiring, monitoring, supporting in the areas needed for program implementation and sustainability | This capacity has grown but it should be further developed |
| M. On-wiki technical skills | This capacity has grown but it should be further developed |
| N. Accessing and using data | This capacity has grown but it should be further developed |
| O. Evaluating and learning from our work | This capacity has grown but it should be further developed |
| P. Communicating and sharing what we learn with our peers and other stakeholders | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
17a. Which of the following factors most helped you to build capacities? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.
- Peer to peer learning with other community members in conferences/events, Formal training provided by a Wikimedia Movement organizing group (i.e., Affiliates, Grantees, Regional or Thematic Hub, etc.)
17b. Which of the following factors hindered your ability to build capacities? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.
- Lack of volunteer time to participate in capacity building/training, Lack of financial resources
18. Is there anything else you would like to share about how your organizational capacity has grown, and areas where you require support?
- Our organizational capacity has grown, especially after we hired people for tasks that volunteers are tired to do by themselves all the time. It is crucial not to burn out the volunteers, as they are the main pillars of the organization. Volunteers began to be much more creative in coming up with new projects, as well as in devising interesting ways to implement the projects.
19. Partnerships over the funding period.
| A. We built strategic partnerships with other institutions or groups that will help us grow in the medium term (3 year time frame) | Agree |
| B. The partnerships we built with other institutions or groups helped to bring in more contributors from underrepresented groups | Agree |
| C. The partnerships we built with other institutions or groups helped to build out more content on underrepresented topics/groups | Agree |
19a. Which of the following factors most helped you to build partnerships? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.
- Staff hired through the fund, Volunteers from our communities, Partners proactive interest
19b. Which of the following factors hindered your ability to build partnerships? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.
- Local policies or other legal factors, Limited funding period
20. Please share your learning about strategies to build partnerships with other institutions and groups and any other learning about working with partners?
- Every time there has to be something the partners would like to accomplish. Some institutions need fresh projects to join in, so our projects are bringing us together. Some of them want to promote their work, and Wikipedia or our joint events and activities are the right place for them. For example, the Association of rare diseases in North Macedonia found Wikipedia right place to publish facts and information about the rare diseases. Wiki Club Ohrid works with this Association five years in a row. We still have a good collaboration and communication with the partners we started to work together 5 or 6 years ago.
Part 5: Sense of belonging and collaboration[edit]
21. What would it mean for your organization to feel a sense of belonging to the Wikimedia or free knowledge movement?
- It means actively involved in all programs of the Movement. It means our organization gives the best to share, promote and improve the Movement goals by successful implementation of projects, local and among affiliations, giving and sharing ideas with all affiliations and groups involved in the Movement and promoting the volunteerism on a local and international level. It means being equal partners with all affiliations and groups, no matter the size, language or ethno-cultural background.
22. How has your (for individual grantees) or your group/organization’s (for organizational grantees) sense of belonging to the Wikimedia or free knowledge movement changed over the fund period?
- Increased significantly
23. If you would like to, please share why it has changed in this way.
- Since CEE Meeting in Ohrid and executing, at the same time, the annual program, the Organization's members strongly believe, or their opinion is, that GLAM Macedonia gives a lot to of efforts and does as much as it can to improve, share and promote the goals and mission of the Movement. The organization, especially since the huge success in content creation and content improvement strongly believes that it belongs to the Movement and despite the small size of the country it is equal partner to all affiliations and organizations that are under the Foundation programs.
24. How has your group/organization’s sense of personal investment in the Wikimedia or free knowledge movement changed over the fund period?
- Increased significantly
25. If you would like to, please share why it has changed in this way.
- Looking back at the feedback we receive constantly by the active participants, they do feel that they have invested something in the movement itself. When an activity is done, or a programme completed, the participants strongly believe that they did something concrete to improve the community's mission, actively participated in the enrichment and improvement of the Macedonian language articles and content and put their efforts in expending, as much as they can, the scope of work of the organization by proposing ideas or improving the existing ones.
26. Are there other movements besides the Wikimedia or free knowledge movement that play a central role in your motivation to contribute to Wikimedia projects? (for example, Black Lives Matter, Feminist movement, Climate Justice, or other activism spaces) If so, please describe it below.
- Besides the Wikimedia Movement and the free knowledge movement, the Organization is motivated to work on decreasing the gender gap on and off Wikimedia projects, promote volunteerism and involve the young students/ population into extra-curricular activities for the benefits of the wider population.
Supporting Peer Learning and Collaboration[edit]
We are interested in better supporting peer learning and collaboration in the movement.
27. Have you shared these results with Wikimedia affiliates or community members?
- Partially
27a. Please describe how you have already shared them. Would you like to do more sharing, and if so how?
- Regarding sharing results, we mostly use mailing lists and social media channels, along with having presentation and lightening talks on in-person at international meetings. Mailing list made of our wider membership is used on regular basis for informing on the programmes' results and the future tasks. In a similar way, we use the mails and mailing lists for contacting other organizations where we share the results and learning experience. Another good options, also fast and comfortable to use, are the Telegram channels and FB pages. We use them on regular basis for informing the other organizations, our wider membership and the general Macedonian public on the successes and successfully completed projects.
28. How often do you currently share what you have learned with other Wikimedia Foundation grantees, and learn from them?
- We do this regularly (at least once a month)
29. How does your organization currently share mutual learning with other grantees?
- One good occasion for sharing ideas and learning goals is the meeting in-person. For instance, we used CEE Meeting in Ohrid to share our learning experience, the goals we achieved and how we managed to involve new participants and implement the programme. We received similar response by other organizations and we enriched the list of ideas and protentional new programmes.
Another good channels for communication and sharing ideas are the various online and mailing groups, for instance Telegram or mailing lists, which are fast and available means of communication and mutual collaboration.
Part 6: Financial reporting and compliance[edit]
30. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency.
- 23104
31. Local currency type
- EUR
32. Please report the funds received and spending in the currency of your fund.
- Upload Documents, Templates, and Files.
- Report funds received and spent, if template not used.
33. If you have not already done so in your budget report, please provide information on changes in the budget in relation to your original proposal.
- No changes have been done to the budget.
34. Do you have any unspent funds from the Fund?
34a. Please list the amount and currency you did not use and explain why.
- N/A
34b. What are you planning to do with the underspent funds?
- N/A
34c. Please provide details of hope to spend these funds.
- N/A
35. Are you in compliance with the terms outlined in the fund agreement?
As required in the fund agreement, please report any deviations from your fund proposal here. Note that, among other things, any changes must be consistent with our WMF mission, must be for charitable purposes as defined in the grant agreement, and must otherwise comply with the grant agreement.
36. Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement?
- Yes
37. Are you in compliance with provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), and with relevant tax laws and regulations restricting the use of the Funds as outlined in the grant agreement? In summary, this is to confirm that the funds were used in alignment with the WMF mission and for charitable/nonprofit/educational purposes.
- Yes
38. If you have additional recommendations or reflections that don’t fit into the above sections, please write them here.
- We don't have any additional reflections.