Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Annual plan of Wikimedia Serbia (2022/2023)/Yearly Report (2023)
Report Status: Accepted
Due date: 2024-02-29T00:00:00Z
Funding program: Wikimedia Community Fund
Report type: Yearly Learning Report (for multi-year fund recipients) , reporting year: 2023
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General information[edit]
This form is for organizations, groups, or individuals receiving multi-year Wikimedia Community Funds to report on their yearly results.
- Name of Organization: Wikimedia Serbia (Викимедија Србије)
- Title of Proposal: Annual plan of Wikimedia Serbia (2022/2023)
Part 1 Understanding your work[edit]
1. Briefly describe how your proposed activities and strategies were implemented.
- In 2023, Wikimedia Serbia successfully implemented all three organization programs (Education Program, GLAM Program, and Diversity Program), as evidenced by the achieved targets. In addition to these, there has been a significant number of activities focused on engagement in the international movement.
Programs Activities
The Education Program has been strengthened with the addition of eight Wiki Ambassadors, significantly increasing volunteer capacity for collaboration with schools and faculties. The Edu Wiki Camp played a crucial role in this outcome, as most ambassadors participated in this event. The camp's programme was enriched, with interviews and team-building activities being particularly important. However, the organization of Accredited Seminars for teachers faced challenges due to a mass shooting incident (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgrade_school_shooting) that occurred for the first time in a Belgrade elementary school, resulting in school closures and subsequent communication difficulties. In addition to the mentioned activities, the Edu Program also involves advocacy for open education, as reflected in the 2023 publication "Handbook of Research on Implementing Inclusive Educational Models and Technologies for Equity and Diversity," featuring a paper titled "Promoting Equity in Access to Open Knowledge: An Example of the Wikipedia Educational Program." The GLAM Program received substantial support from the Ministry of Culture and Information, which is significant not only financially but also in terms of collaboration achievements. GLAM activities were promoted on a global scale, and global coordination for the 1Lib1Ref campaign was agreed upon. Moreover, the Serbian Wikipedia community took first place in this campaign. In addition to Wikipedians in residence, edit-a-thons and thematic weeks that integrated work on Wikidata, were organized. The Diversity Program was implemented for the first time in 2023, focusing on increasing diversity within the community, as well as on the knowledge gap on Wikimedia projects. It encompassed numerous individual volunteer projects, supported by WMRS, as well as focused actions, campaigns, and collaborations to create an inclusive community. Within these activities, events such as the annual Wikipedian conference (WikiLive), CEE Spring, WikiGap, Wiki Loves Pride, and Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos were organized, with the Serbian Wikipedia community taking the first place in the latter.
Metrics and targets
The overview of metrics indicates that the majority of targets have been achieved and exceeded, with very small deviations primarily related to the number of new editors. While addressing this challenge is necessary, it is encouraging to see that these deviations are significantly smaller compared to the year 2022. On the other hand, the organization has doubled the metrics related to content and file usage. We are particularly pleased with the increased file usage, as one of our focuses was to enhance the utilization of collected material and thereby enable greater visibility.
Involvement in Global Movement and Leadership
In 2023, WMRS placed a significant focus on the organization's involvement in the movement. Besides implementing joint projects with other affiliates, representatives of the organization had the opportunity to participate in the Educational Congress in Argentina and the GLAM Conference in Uruguay, where they presented the Edu and GLAM programs. The programs were also showcased at Wikimania and the CEE Meeting. WMRS actively participated in the work of the CEE Hub and, since September, has a representative on the hub's Steering Committee. The organization also became a member of Wikimedia Europe and joined the network of executive directors.
New Strategy and Strategic Plan of the organization
The new strategy and strategic plan were adopted in September and October, and the primary goals to be implemented in the next three years are: 1. Development of free knowledge with a focus on its quality; 2. Achieving a leadership role in the region in terms of initiating cross-regional cooperation among Wikimedia affiliates and achieving greater impact; 3. Achieving sustainable and long-term cooperation with partners outside the Wikimedia movement; 4. Increasing the inclusion and diversity of the community and content on Wikimedia projects; 5. Decentralization of activities and investment in sustainable projects and communities throughout Serbia.
The strategy and strategic plan are aligned with the strategic recommendations of the movement. The document will be presented as part of the planned report section.
2. Were there any strategies or approaches that you felt were effective in achieving your goals?
- Expanding project activities outside the Wikimedia context
While composing the annual plan, we realized that it is necessary to expand the perspectives and benefits that our partners and project participants can have within the framework of our cooperation. An example of this is the Edu Wiki camp, within which we improved the selection process and the camp program itself. Combining interviews and team-building activities to organize an Edu Wiki camp allows us to create a well-rounded and motivating event that matches the needs and interests of the participants, which can contribute to the successful outcome of the event and the long-term engagement of the participants. Interviews and team-building activities, which we introduced for the first time in 2023 as joint activities before the camp, proved to be very useful tools in the process of selection and motivation of event participants. The interviews allowed us to get to know the potential participants of the Edu Wiki camp better and prevent them from dropping out at the last minute. By asking appropriate questions, it is possible to assess the candidate's skills, experience, motivation and compatibility with the goals and atmosphere of the camp. In this way, we could identify potential leaders or people who have the ability to motivate and inspire other participants. Team building activities before the event, such as the team challenge, helped the participants to get to know each other better and develop mutual trust and cooperation. This is a key to creating a positive atmosphere and effective teamwork during the camp. Active participation in team-building activities increases the motivation of the participants because it engages them in an interactive and fun way. As a result of the camp, we got eight new Wiki ambassadors.
Better reach to target groups through thematic events and scientific papers
There are several activities that WMRS has implemented with the aim of a proactive strategic approach to target groups. Some of these are:
- WMRS participated in the National Seminar of the Mathematical Society of Serbia where the presentation How can Wikipedia be used in Mathematics and Informatics classes was held. Events like this gather potential partners and are important not only for presentation but also for networking for further cooperation.
- The book Handbook of Research on Implementing Inclusive Educational Models and Technologies for Equity and Diversity was published, which contains a paper entitled "Promoting Equity in Access to Open Knowledge: An Example of the Wikipedia Educational Program". WMRS has been publishing scientific papers for many years with the aim of promoting free knowledge, which has brought new collaborations and recommendations. All works are available at the link:
https://wikimedia.rs/programi/obrazovni-program/
- Volunteer Nikolina Šepić published a paper on the topic of Placing pedagogical content on the Internet free encyclopedia as a field of work for pedagogues.
- As part of the WikiCelebrate, the Wikimedia Foundation published a text on Meta about Sara Horvat, a Wikimedia Serbia volunteer, who primarily helps in the implementation of educational activities. This was also a motivation for other participants in the program who wanted to be more active and take initiative.
Networking and different types of collaboration for a better impact
WMRS has a developed base of partners with whom it actively cooperates. It is important to note that these collaborations were realized in a local and international context and that this allows the organization to expand its activities and increase the influence it has in the Movement. Cooperation is most often carried out within the programs (cooperation with schools, faculties, cultural institutions, and non-governmental organizations...), but equally important are those that provide support in the form of in-kind donations, media appearances and the use of common resources (volunteers, communication channels).
In 2023, Wikimedia Serbia participated in the International congress in La Plata, Argentina. This was the first time that we presented a professional training project for teachers on another continent and in the Spanish language, which was a big step in the context of promoting the project. At the conference itself, we had the opportunity to connect with participants engaged in the field of education from different parts of the world, but also to exchange ideas and discuss current topics. One of the key results of this event was an agreement to organize a joint event with Wikimedia Mexico. This new collaboration has opened up a space to expand our influence and contribute to educational activities together. Wikimedia Serbia had a representative at the international GLAM Wiki conference, which took place in Montevideo, Uruguay. The conference raised numerous important topics for the Movement and development of the Program globally. During the conference, the Wikipedian in residence project was presented and two workshops were held within the Let's Connect program.
Financial stability through additional sources of financing
Wikimedia Serbia strives for financial stability, so in addition to funding from the General Support Grants Fund, it also used grants for research projects. In 2023, a project was funded with the aim of researching the motivation of the community to edit and to find out the experiences of new Wikipedia editors. In addition to this grant, Wikimedia Serbia has financial support from the Ministry of Culture and Information. Wikimedia Serbia can also boast of a large amount of donations in products and services, which last year reached the level it had before the pandemic. The estimated value of these donations was 13,851.45 euros. In 2024, a more intensive application with project proposals is planned within the framework of various funds, as well as the collection of funds by the community (fundraising).
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?
- For the first time, WMRS received a grant for a research project dedicated to the motivation of editors and the experience of new editors and their integration into the Serbian Wikipedia community. In this way, insight is gained into what motivates editors to edit Wikipedia, but also whether there is something that prevents them from editing, and which can be addressed in the future. One of the goals is to offer specific recommendations on how the experience of new Wikipedia editors can be improved so that as many of them as possible continue to actively edit this project.
WMRS was also a part of the cooperation with Wikimedia Deutschland regarding the InnoLab project. InnoLab is a continuation of the UNLOCK project and it gathered several partners in 2023 - Wikimedia Argentina, user groups of Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. The partnership aimed to explore the Movement's needs for innovation and build the necessary prototypes. Given the diversity of partners involved, we believed that this would give a good picture of the current needs in the Movement. The project partners went through workshops and sessions that resulted in ideas for innovative projects, as well as a collab playbook created by the involved partners. However, after four years of fostering innovation within the Movement, WMDE has made the decision to discontinue the Innovation Engine program in 2024.
The project Wikidata on Serbian novels aimed to provide a better visual display of data from old Serbian novels through Wikidata and SPARQL. Since WMRS strives for greater usability of the collected material, this is a way to attract researchers, but also those who want to devote themselves to the analysis of these literary works. The material that was entered was used from the SrpELTeC collection, and the cooperation was realized with the Society for Language Resources and Technology Jerteh. The project was significantly promoted at events and conferences in Milan, Vienna and Belgrade.
4. Please describe how different communities participated and/or were informed about your work.
- WMRS is primarily focused on Serbian Wikipedia and Wikimedia community. This community is always informed about events and activities through the communication channels: website, mailing lists, social networks (Instagram, Facebook), Discord, Viber group. In addition to these, monthly newsletters, annual plans and reports, blog posts were shared with the community, and gatherings and events are used to promote current campaigns, edit-a-thons and events. Apart from participation, volunteers’ role can be: - planning, organizing, judging, logistics.
In addition to the core community, the focus is also on cooperation at the regional and international level:
- WMRS in cooperation with Wikimedia Mexico and the National Autonomous University of Mexico held an edit-a-thon on education. This edit-a-thon is important for the global connection in the Wikimedia movement, because it was initiated with the idea of bringing together two cultures in a field that connects us all.
- Joint campaigns and competitions were organized with the Wikimedia Community of Republika Srpska, such as 1Lib1Ref and CEE Spring. This cooperation has been going on for several years now and enables better results of activities.
- Participants from the region (Republika Srpska, North Macedonia) were part of the annual conference of Wikipedians where they exchanged knowledge about different project models. One of the results of this networking is the attendance of the Camp in North Macedonia by two participants from Serbia.
- WMRS also runs an international campaign on the occasion of International Roma Day, in which 8 language projects participated. Expansion and greater impact of the campaign is planned through cooperation with the CEE hub in 2024.
- In 2023, WMRS was the coordinator of the 1Lib1Ref campaign at the CEE level. In 2023, global coordination for 2024 was agreed upon.
- WMRS is also part of the Let’s Connect group, within which various Learning clinics are organized for the exchange of knowledge.
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.
- External volunteers’s projects in 2023: https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Википедија:Пројекти_Викимедије_Србије#2023
WMRS' Strategy 2024 - 2026: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t2Co-6NLQqtFMlRyK415zHcC83oLlUoJ/view?usp=sharing
WMRS' Strategic Plan 2024-2026 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t2Co-6NLQqtFMlRyK415zHcC83oLlUoJ/view?usp=sharing
WikiELTeC project: https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Википедија:Википројекат_WikiELTeC
Celebrating Sara Horvat: https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/06/28/celebrating-sara-horvat/
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 | Strongly agree |
| B. Create a more inclusive and connected culture in our community | Agree |
| C. Develop content about underrepresented topics/groups | Strongly agree |
| D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives | Strongly agree |
| E. Encourage the retention of editors | Agree |
| F. Encourage the retention of organizers | Agree |
| G. Increased participants' feelings of belonging and connection to the movement. | Strongly 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?
- In 2023, WMRS implemented Diversity Program, which was focused on creating an inclusive community by fostering favorable conditions for the involvement of underrepresented communities (such as members of the LGBTQIA+, persons with disabilities, or minorities) in Wikimedia projects. This was achieved through writing content about them and providing education on editing Wiki projects. Several actions were organized on this theme, including Wiki Loves Pride, WikiGap, the International edit-a-thon on World Roma Day, #WikiForHumanRights, International edit-a-thon on World Refugee Day, edit-a-thon on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and the #SheSaid on Serbian Wikiquote.
Decentralization of activities and a greater presence of community members from different parts of Serbia are crucial to us. Nine projects were supported with microgrants, and the majority of these projects were implemented outside of Belgrade. This support enables us to have a diverse community and a more comprehensive representation of content on Wiki projects. Volunteers cover various areas related to the locations where they conduct activities, such as monuments, notable people from specific regions, smaller places that would not otherwise be photographed, geographical features, etc. Microgrants serve as a means to motivate volunteers, achieve positive outcomes, and expand activities to other cities, as was the case with the Wiki Seniors project, which was implemented in Sombor in 2023.
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?
- Our goal was to learn the most efficient ways of using Wikimedia projects both in institutions and in the general public, with the aim of increasing awareness of free knowledge and the need for knowledge to be easily accessible to everyone. At the same time, we wanted to learn how to grow our community and create a sense of belonging for new members. We involved our partners who are key to the achievement of goals and greater impact. It is important to listen, work on building mutual benefits, and through the expansion of activities outside the context of Wikimedia. We have conducted a research project on the motivation of editors, which is ongoing, and one of the results will be recommendations on how to increase this motivation. For the self-sustainability, recognition and awards, prominent contributions, promotion of individual projects (at events, conferences), as well as including community in decision-making process (strategy development, micro-grants) are important. Metrics show that it’s still necessary to invest additional efforts in attracting new editors, but also that those who have been in the community for a long time show loyalty and great commitment. This was demonstrated by winning the first place in campaigns 1Lib1Ref and WPWP.
We wanted to gather learnings about underrepresented content and how to increase involvement of marginalized groups. The problem with this is that they are minority and not all members will be interested in editing Wikipedia.
9. Did anything unexpected or surprising happen when implementing your activities?
- In 2023, external factors influenced the implementation of the accredited seminar. For the first time, Serbia experienced a mass shooting in an elementary school, which shocked the nation and led to the disruption of schools for several months. This event made it impossible to organize accredited seminars for teachers, but the activities were realized at the end of the year when the situation calmed down.
During 2023, it was noticed that editors were less interested in joining the online edit-a-thons organized by Wikimedia Serbia. It is planned to address this problem in the future by organizing offline events that can increase the motivation of editors. One of the solutions can be for the editors to get involved in the very process of organizing the edit-a-thons by being consulted about what topics they want to write about during the event.
The emergence of ChatGPT has sparked conversations in the Movement and the local community. It needs to be included in the conversation about how technological advances will affect Wikimedia projects.
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?
- We will continue cooperation with partners and further networking and better goals. We will also use the cooperation with the CEE hub in order to jointly implement campaigns and involve more communities. We will use the research results (recommendations) to increase the motivation of new editors.
The emergence of AI tools like ChatGPT has sparked debates throughout the Movement, as well as in the local community. We don't want to ignore the existence of tools, but to see together with community members how tools can be useful. One of the ways is to analyze and compare content created by the tools and content created on Wikipedia. This is also the way to further engage students in developing critical thinking. We stand behind the fact that knowledge is created by people and that now, more than ever, the work of volunteers and the time they invest in Wikipedia, as well as other projects, should be highlighted.
Regarding the goals for the future, it has already been mentioned that WMRS has a new strategy and five primary goals. All these goals were created based on the evaluation of the implementation of the previous strategy, in which community members participated.
In addition, in 2024, we want to increase the financial stability of the organization and thus enable greater support for volunteers, as well as expand the scope of work. The plan is to do this through joint projects with partners (applying to various support programs), as well as through fundraising.
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)?
- People with no experience with Wikimedia are surprised that project are driven by volunteers. Within the grant certain monuments of culture and nature were were preserved through WMRS photo projects and afterwards destroyed due to the different factors. This is a very important aspect and great satisfaction for the volunteers, since their contribution left a mark forever. Through such activities, community members gain a sense of belonging. The fact that the work of volunteers is recognized on the global level is also very important. Thus, as part of the WikiCelebrate, the WMF published a page on Meta about Sara Horvat, WMRS’ volunteer who primarily helps in Edu Program. Also, Nikolina Šepić won first place in the campaigns 1Lib1Ref and WPWP.
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.
- Idea Napkins (InnoLab project) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Idea_Napkins_InnoLab.pdf
InnoLab Collab Playbook: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:InnoLab_Cultivating_Cross-Affiliate_Innovation_for_Wikimedia-2.pdf
The book Handbook of Research on Implementing Inclusive Educational Models and Technologies for Equity and Diversity was published: https://www.igi-global.com/book/handbook-research-implementing-inclusive-educational/322758, which contains a paper entitled "Promoting Equity in Access to Open Knowledge: An Example of the Wikipedia Educational Program": https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/promoting-equity-in-access-to-open-knowledge/325742
Placing pedagogical content on the Internet free encyclopedia as a field of work for pedagogues: http://147.91.75.9/manage/shares/Quality_of_education/Zbornik-radova-2023.pdf
Part 3: Metrics for Year 2[edit]
13a. Open and additional metrics data
| Open Metrics | Description | Target | Results | Comments | Methodology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File usage | Number of multimedia files used to illustrate Wikimedia projects. In addition to the collected (or released) multimedia files, the use is also significant because it shows their application and importance. | 4650 | 12947 | This is the number of multimedia files used to illustrate Wikimedia projects. In addition to the collected (or released) multimedia files, the use is also significant because it shows their application and importance. The organization has exceeded this metric three times. We are particularly pleased with the increased file usage, as one of our focuses was to enhance the utilization of collected material and thereby enable greater visibility. | GLAMrous 2 |
| 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 |
13b. Additional core metrics data.
| Core metrics | Description | Target | Results | Comments | Methodology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | The number of people attending events, participating in programs or activities, either in person or virtually. This definition does not include people who organize activities, social media followers, donors or others who do not participate directly. | 2570 | 2448 | Lists of people registered and attended events. | |
| Number of editors | New and existing editors on Wikimedia projects. | 1720 | 1383 | There are small deviations primarily related to the number of new editors. While addressing this challenge is necessary, it is encouraging to see that these deviations are significantly smaller compared to the year 2022. | Dashboard, project pages. |
| Number of organizers | People who are involved in organizing edit-a-thons, competitions, thematic weeks, meetings, conferences and social events in general. | 156 | 148 | Project plans and internal planning documents. |
| Wikimedia Project | Description | Target | Results | Comments | Methodology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | N/A | N/A | 15116 | Dashboard, projects pages, lists. | |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | 21292 | Dashboard, Commons categories and project pages. | |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | 3715 | Projects pages. | |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | 1000 | Project pages. | |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | 780 | Project pages. |
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.
- Note for metrics: Besides the added ones, we planned 30 content page on Wikibooks and achieved 51.
We didn't have any difficulties collecting metrics. For our Education Program, the Outreach Dashboard was used, while in other programs contributions were monitored individually (project pages, edit-a-thon event pages, thematic weeks, competitions...). Tools like GLAMorous were used and shown as very useful.
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.
- Dashboard links for Education Program:
https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Педагошки_факултет_у_Врању/Информационе_технологије_2023 https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Хемијски_факултет/Биотехнологије_у_животној_средини https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Економски_факултет/Пословне_информационе_технологије https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Економски_факултет/Електронско_пословање https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Географски_факултет/Наутички_туризам_2023 https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Филолошки_факултет_у_Београду/Информациона_писменост_2023 https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/ОШ_Вук_Караџић_Лебане/Разно https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/ОШ_Баваниште/Разно https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Филозофски_факултет_у_Београду/Пракса_2023_Википедија https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Филозофски_факултет_у_Београду/Пракса_2023_Википодаци https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/ОШ_Јован_Јовановић_Змај_Панчево/Уреди_Википедију https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/ОШ_Јован_Стерија_Поповић/Разно_2023 https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Рударско-геолошки_факултет/wikiELTeC_2023 https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Факултет_организационих_наука/Енглески_језик_2023 https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Девета_гимназија/Информатика_2023 https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Милица_Милошевић,_Јагњило/Разно https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Владислав_Петковић_Дис/Информатика https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Математички_факултет/Зететика_2023 https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Анализа_друштвених_мрежа_2023
Part 4: Organizational capacities & partnerships[edit]
17. Organizational Capacity
| A. Financial capacity and management | This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high |
| 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 is low, and we should prioritise developing it |
| 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 capacity has grown but it should be further developed |
| L. Staffing - hiring, monitoring, supporting in the areas needed for program implementation and sustainability | This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high |
| M. On-wiki technical skills | This capacity has grown but it should be further developed |
| N. Accessing and using data | This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high |
| O. Evaluating and learning from our work | This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high |
| P. Communicating and sharing what we learn with our peers and other stakeholders | This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high |
| 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.
- Formal training provided by a Wikimedia Movement organizing group (i.e., Affiliates, Grantees, Regional or Thematic Hub, etc.), Peer to peer learning with other community members in conferences/events, Peer to peer learning with other community members (but that is not continuous or structured)
17b. Which of the following factors hindered your ability to build capacities? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.
- Lack of staff time to participate in capacity building/training, 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?
- In the coming period, WMRS plans to work on financial stability and in 2024 will try to implement a crowd-sourcing campaign. Knowledge and skills in this field would be a significant support to the organization.
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) | Strongly 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 | Strongly agree |
19a. Which of the following factors most helped you to build partnerships? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.
- Partners proactive interest, Other
19b. Which of the following factors hindered your ability to build partnerships? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.
- Difficulties specific to our context that hindered partnerships
20. Please share your learning about strategies to build partnerships with other institutions and groups and any other learning about working with partners?
- During the process of developing a new strategy, the goal related to partnerships was reevaluated. Three aspects are the most important: sustainable and long-term cooperation, independence of partners, expansion of network of partners outside the movement. Partners’ motivation was bigger when they continue to work within the organization and initiate new ideas even after initial projects are finished. Independent teams play crucial part in terms of decentralization. This does not mean the absence of support, but the possibility that partners have greater motivation to implement their ideas. Due to the situation with cultural institutions in Serbia, the support of the Ministry of Culture is one of the crucial factors for establishing cooperation and establishing contact with institutions.
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?
- Wikimedia Serbia believes that one of the most important motivational factors for volunteers is the sense of belonging to a large and multicultural community, a community that cherishes diversity and encourages it. Belonging implies a common enthusiasm for free knowledge, the same vision that knowledge should be equally accessible to everyone, but also the joint struggle they lead to preserve the quality of content and protect cultural heritage from oblivion. This is a very important aspect of the motivation and retention of volunteers in the local community. One of the most common feedbacks we get for live events is the opportunity to meet and network with people who work online on Wikipedia every day. Then they additionally understand they are not alone and there are people with the same occupations, interests and hobbies who selflessly want to share knowledge. This is especially important due to emerging generative artificial intelligence tools.
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.
- As already mentioned, in 2023, WMRS focused significant capacities on regional and international cooperation, which led to greater attendance at events and better networking with members of the movement. Granted scholarships were very significant, which enabled the representatives to participate in events and thereby recognize the work of our organization. Such recognition increases the sense of belonging and the motivation to continue and expand the work.
24. How has your group/organization’s sense of personal investment in the Wikimedia or free knowledge movement changed over the fund period?
- Somewhat increased
25. If you would like to, please share why it has changed in this way.
- /
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.
- Feminist and LGBT+ Movement
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?
- Yes
27a. Please describe how you have already shared them. Would you like to do more sharing, and if so how?
- Diff blog posts
Presentations/workshops/panel discussions on events and conferences Learning Clinics Non-structured meetings and discussions Newsletters (GLAM, Edu, CEE Newsletter)
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?
- WMRS has invested some time in sharing successful stories and models of collaboration that can be applied in other communities that are not sufficiently developed. Over the years we have developed models that can be implemented with a small amount of financial resources and with in-kind donations, which is especially important for communities that still do not have affiliates. All this is shared in newsletters (GLAM, Edu newsletters on Wikimedia outreach and CEE Newsletter on Meta), through diff blog posts and at Wikimedia events and meetings (CEE Meeting, Wikimania, Wikimedia Summit). Skills and resources are shared within the mentorship program (our Education Program Manager is a part of it) and within the 1lib1ref campaign (our GLAM Program Manager is the coordinator in the CEE region).
Part 6: Financial reporting and compliance[edit]
30. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency.
- 136200
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.
- N/A
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.