Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Wiki Loves Monuments 2024 in Serbia (ID: 22762673)/Final Report

Wiki Loves Monuments 2024 in Serbia

Rapid Fund Final Report

Report Status: Accepted

Due date: 31 December 2024

Funding program: Rapid Fund

Report type: Final

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General information

Applicant username: Nter25
Organization name: N/A
Amount awarded: 3000
Amount spent: 3000 USD, 2878

Part 1: Project and impact

1. Describe the implemented activities and results achieved. Additionally, share which approaches were most effective in supporting you to achieve the results. (required)

After extensive work on the grant, we updated the list of monuments and created pages, categories and templates on both Wikipedia and Commons. We contacted the media to spread the word about the project and started a campaign on Instagram. Edit-a-thon was organized and photo tours were held throughout Serbia. We noticed that we lack equipment (camera and laptop) that would help us in the realization of the project and better results. We continuously provided technical support, followed the upload of photos and carried out categorization. At the same time, we reported on the results and future steps, as well as invited participants to participate. We used a localized jury tool to improve the working atmosphere. The tool has been translated into Serbian. After a month of receiving photos, a pre-jury selection was made. A three-member jury was provided to review and evaluate more than 1,000 photographs. After that, the 20 best photos were selected and the community was notified of the selection. Prizes were awarded and the 10 best photos were nominated for the international round of the project. After these activities, the report continued.

In terms of results, this year we broke as many as three personal records in the seven-year history of the project in Serbia. We set a new record in the number of photos received (4,035, the previous one was 3,756 in 2012), a record in quality photos (over 40+ in the first 20 days of the competition), a record in site visits (during October over 1,800,000 hits and more than 60.000 visits)

2. Documentation of your impact. Please use space below to share links that help tell your story, impact, and evaluation. (required)

Share links to:

Project page on Meta-Wiki or any other Wikimedia project
Dashboards and tools that you used to track contributions
Some photos or videos from your event. Remember to share access.

You can also share links to:

Important social media posts
Surveys and their results
Infographics and sound files
Examples of content edited on Wikimedia projects

Additionally, share the materials and resources that you used in the implementation of your project. (required)

For example:

Training materials and guides
Presentations and slides
Work processes and plans
Any other materials your team has created or adapted and can be shared with others

3. To what extent do you agree with the following statements regarding the work carried out with this Rapid Fund? You can choose “not applicable” if your work does not relate to these goals. Required. Select one option per question. (required)

Our efforts during the Fund period have helped to...
A. Bring in participants from underrepresented groups	Not applicable
B. Create a more inclusive and connected culture in our community	Not applicable
C. Develop content about underrepresented topics/groups	Strongly agree
D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives	Strongly agree
E. Encourage the retention of editors	Strongly agree
F. Encourage the retention of organizers	Strongly agree
G. Increased participants' feelings of belonging and connection to the movement	Agree
F. Other (optional)

Part 2: Learning

4. In your application, you outlined some learning questions. What did you learn from these learning questions when you implemented your project? How do you hope to use this learnings in the future? You can recall these learning questions below. (required)

You can recall these learning questions below:

Can the continuity of the project be maintained in spite of all the challenges, both financial and volunteer?
Globally, the statistics about WLM in Serbia show that the project has a growing tendency with improvements in all fields, both in statistics and in the quality of photographs. The question is, can we sustain it?
How does the use of new technologies and social networks affect the project?
What is the interest of the community for future participation?

This year we faced the biggest challenges so far because we were left without half of the planned funds and in a short period of time we had to adapt the entire project and idea to the new situation. This caused mixed feelings among the organizers and was very stressful. In terms of results, this was the year with the most photos received. This tells us that the project is gaining support and that there is continuity in the growth and popularity of the project.
It was challenging to achieve last year's record-breaking and superb results. Hit by financial challenges and brought to a fait accompli, we were faced with making tough decisions. Putting the project first, we managed to achieve the best results in the seven-year history of the WLM project in Serbia. A record 4,035 photos were submitted this year. Also, our website had a record visit with 1,844,697 hits and more than 60.000 visits. By using Instagram, we managed to increase the visibility of the project on social networks and attract a large number of new participants. In just twenty days after the project, more than 40 photos were rated as high quality on the commons and received appropriate tags. It is also the best result so far, in WLM Serbia history.
The website showed that it attracted a large number of visitors, which corresponds to the thesis that its existence is necessary and useful. Also, from personal funds, we financed an Instagram campaign with a small amount, which brought us a lot of views and attracted new users. During the days of the campaign, the number of visits to the site and the number of new participants and photos grew simultaneously. This shows that the influence of social networks is positive and that it is necessary to invest in the promotion of the project on new networks.
Community interest is generally good as unstable finances and moving dates have caused stressful moments. Also, more time (than usual) was spent on bureaucratic and preparatory activities. The community's position is that we need to focus on the development of the project and that uncertainty with Rapid grants and timelines burdens the project.

5. Did anything unexpected or surprising happen when implementing your activities? This can include both positive and negative situations. What did you learn from those experiences? (required)

We haven't changed some items in the budget since 2012, and inflation and price increases from then until 2024 were very high. We tried to achieve top results this year with the same budget, however, our budget was reduced by almost half, without any negotiations and with the explanation that there are many applications and that we need to support new people as well. We agree that new people should be supported, but we stand behind the fact that successful projects should also be supported, and WLM in Serbia is very successful. Also, due to the internal calendar for the distribution of funds, we had to move the project by a month which affected many ways. The project was regularly held in September when the weather conditions are most favorable, and this year we had to hold it in October. Very good marketing and quality content on our website attracted many visits. A record and incredible number was recorded: the visit. There were more than the usual number of email inquiries. This contributed to a record number of incoming and high-quality photos. Trial and short-term advertising on Instagram also gave good results and showed that the possibility of investing in the development of the project on new technologies and social networks should be investigated and continued.

6. What is your plan to share your project learnings and results with other community members? If you have already done it, describe how. (required)

Writing reports on the project page, website, Wikipedia and Meta.

Part 3: Metrics

7. Wikimedia Metrics results. (required)

In your application, you set some Wikimedia targets in numbers (Wikimedia metrics). In this section, you will describe the achieved results and provide links to the tools used.

	Target	Results	Comments and tools used
Number of participants	100	88	https://wikiloves.toolforge.org/monuments
Number of editors	20	20	https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0:%D0%A3%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%92%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%B8_%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD_%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8_%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8_%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B5_2024.
Number of organizers	5	10

Wikimedia project	Target	Result - Number of created pages	Result - Number of improved pages
Wikipedia	30	13	8
Wikimedia Commons	2000	4035	0
Wikidata	50	177	0
Wiktionary
Wikisource
Wikimedia Incubator
Translatewiki
MediaWiki
Wikiquote
Wikivoyage
Wikibooks
Wikiversity
Wikinews	10	10	0
Wikispecies
Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia

8. Other Metrics results.

In your proposal, you could also set Other Metrics targets. Please describe the achieved results and provide links to the tools used if you set Other Metrics in your application.

Other Metrics name	Metrics Description	Target	Result	Tools and comments
Number of participants	* Number of participants in photo competition: 50 Number of participants in edit-a-thon: 20	70	97	88 from photo-contest 9 from edit-a-thon source: https://wikiloves.toolforge.org/monuments
Number of used photos	* Percentage of uploaded photos	10	15	618 Total image usages (15%), 466 Distinct images used (11,5%) on 19 projects Source: https://glamtools.toolforge.org/glamorous.php
Number of exhibitions	N/A	2	1	1 digital exhibition https://wlm.rs/izlozba.html Also, physical exhibitions were canceled due to budget cuts. An online exhibition/presentation of pictures was held instead of physical exhibitions .
% of images used in the first two months	* Percentage of uploaded photos	15	15	https://glamtools.toolforge.org/glamorous.php
Number of photo tours	* Number of photo tours	4	4

9. Did you have any difficulties collecting data to measure your results? (required)

No

9.1. Please state what difficulties you had. How do you hope to overcome these challenges in the future? Do you have any recommendations for the Foundation to support you in addressing these challenges? (required)

Part 4: Financial reporting

10. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency. (required)

2878

11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)

3000

12. Report the funds spent in the currency of your fund. (required)

Provide the link to the financial report https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bxFXPzoZg6G_JRDJGPP9-ivqrJe5p_PboJOwOxvDlCc/edit?usp=sharing

12.2. If you have not already done so in your financial spending report, please provide information on changes in the budget in relation to your original proposal. (optional)

13. Do you have any unspent funds from the Fund?

No

13.1. Please list the amount and currency you did not use and explain why.

N/A

13.2. What are you planning to do with the underspent funds?

N/A

13.3. Please provide details of hope to spend these funds.

N/A

14.1. Are you in compliance with the terms outlined in the fund agreement?

Yes

14.2. Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement?

Yes

14.3. 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

15. If you have additional recommendations or reflections that don’t fit into the above sections, please write them here. (optional)

Review notes

Review notes from Program Officer:

N/A

Applicant's response to the review feedback.

N/A