Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Wiki Loves Public Art & Cemeteries in Serbia 2024 (ID: 22765506)/Final Report
Report Status: Accepted
Due date: 30 January 2025
Funding program: Rapid Fund
Report type: Final
This is an automatically generated Meta-Wiki page. The page was copied from Fluxx, the web service of Wikimedia Foundation Funds 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]- Applicant username: MikyM
- Organization name: N/A
- Amount awarded: 3279.61
- Amount spent: 3279.4 USD, 3030
Part 1: Project and impact
[edit]1. Describe the implemented activities and results achieved. Additionally, share which approaches were most effective in supporting you to achieve the results. (required)
The project Wiki Loves Public Art & Cemeteries in Serbia was carried out in several phases, each contributing to the overall success of the initiative.
- Phase 1: Preparation and Concept Development:
The project started with the preparation and development of the overall concept. This phase included activities related to fundraising and securing a grant, both of which were critical to the project's foundation and continued growth. The team focused on planning the necessary resources and establishing a solid base for the project’s successful implementation. Through this phase, essential funding and support were secured to move the project forward.
- Phase 2: Building the Infrastructure:
Since this was the first time such a project was implemented in Serbia, it was necessary to build the entire infrastructure from nothing. This phase involved developing a bilingual (Serbian and English) platform, which included pages on Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and a dedicated website that became the main hub for managing the project. In addition to the technical development, work was done on the project’s visual identity, marketing, and promotion. Support teams were formed, and detailed guidelines for photo submissions were created, making it easier for participants to contribute.
- Phase 3: Photo Walks and Tours:
During this phase, photo walks and tours were organized in local areas to ensure quality photos were collected for the project. Participants had the opportunity to explore significant cultural and historical sites, as well as public art and cemetery monuments, and capture them through photography. The submitted photos were then carefully selected and categorized into two main categories: Best Photo of Public Art and Best Photo of Cemeteries. This phase was crucial for gathering content that would later be used in the editing process.
- Phase 4: Editing Marathon:
Alongside the photography, an edit-a-thon marathon was organized on Wikipedia. During this marathon, participants worked on writing new articles, upgrading existing ones, and using the collected photos to visuale Wikipedia, Wikivoyage and Wikidata content. The goal of this phase was to improve articles and items related to public art and cemetery in Serbia. Significant results were achieved: 59 new articles were written, 4 existing articles were expanded, and 338 photos were used in articles. Additionally, 114 items on Wikidata were updated and 4 Wikivoyage.
- Phase 5: Winners and Exhibition on the Website:
Through three rounds of judging, photos were arranged in the two categories, and winners were selected. The winning entries were showcased on the project’s website, which served as the main platform for displaying their work and promoting the project as a whole. This phase allowed the project’s results to be visually presented and made accessible to a wider audience. Also, a virtual exhibition was created as well as two video materials dedicated to the winning categories
- Phase 6: Reporting on Project Results:
Finally, activities were carried out to report on the project’s results. All goals and quantitative outcomes were achieved, including the number of participants, the number of photos submitted, the number of new and improved articles, and the number of updated items on Wikidata. This report was an important part of the project’s transparency and provided a comprehensive overview of all its phases and impacts.
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
Documentation of impact & Budget report
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
- all links are provided in the document mentioned above
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)
| A. Bring in participants from underrepresented groups | Strongly agree |
| B. Create a more inclusive and connected culture in our community | Strongly 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 |
| F. Other (optional) |
Part 2: Learning
[edit]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:
- What is the possibility and what is the impact of the application of new technological solutions such as a virtual exhibition?
- What is the interest of the participants in photographing smaller public attractions and localities such as cemeteries?
- What is the cooperation in informal communities in the wiki movement in Serbia?
- What is the impact of such photo projects on the content on Wiki projects
- The use of new technologies is limited and depends on the budget. More specific, additional funds and investments are needed for quality virtual exhibitions dedicated to new technologies. Also, the presence on the networks requires specially created material with the characteristics of the network on which it is placed. This also requires additional resources in terms of time, manpower and finances. However, the pilot project showed that the results are successful, but that there is pressure due to the aforementioned challenges in the form of investment of money and additional work.
- The achievement of all goals and the numbers show that the interest in this project was significant and greater than expected. Positive reactions show curiosity and readiness for future participation in the same and similar actions.
- Cooperation within Wiki communities in Serbia is very strong. We’ve had successful collaboration with projects like Wiki Loves Monuments, which has allowed for shared resources and mutual support. This partnership has been valuable in exchanging knowledge and experiences. We plan to continue working with Wiki Loves Monuments and other partners, as such collaborations are key to the success of Wiki initiatives. They help expand our reach, improve content quality, and foster growth within the Wiki movement in Serbia.
- In addition to serving as illustrations for existing content, the project had a significant impact on creating new content across Wiki projects. A key outcome was the initiation of writing new articles, particularly about important historical figures who had little or no information available online. Thanks to this project, we were able to develop interesting and valuable articles, such as those about the Catholic cemetery in Novi Sad or about Miloš Marić (the father-in-law of scientist Albert Einstein and the father of Mileva Marić, Einstein's wife). Other notable articles include those about Felix Parchetić, an Austro-Hungarian nobleman and great župan of Novi Sad, and Nikola Bešlić, a Serbian civil engineer, MP, and minister. In addition to these, several articles were written about public monuments, a topic that is poorly covered on Wikipedia. Examples of such articles include those about the Klupko monument and the Mangulica and Pulin monument. Without this project, it’s likely that these articles would never have been written, as the topics, despite their significance, have been largely neglected, with limited available information and many historical figures forgotten. By photographing their graves, we helped raise awareness of these individuals and their contributions, which in turn promoted further writing about them and their work. This demonstrates the positive and far-reaching impact of the project, not only in terms of enriching Wikipedia’s content with images but also by fostering the creation of new articles that fill gaps in the online historical record.
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)
While the project achieved impressive results, there were some unexpected challenges along the way. One of the biggest issues was timing. We hadn’t fully anticipated the impact of winter hours, which restricted access to certain locations, particularly cemeteries. Additionally, religious holidays presented challenges, requiring us to advise participants to be especially mindful of privacy and to respect the cultural significance of the sites they were photographing. We also realized that the timing of future projects might need to be reconsidered. The partial overlap with other Wiki initiatives, such as Wiki Loves Monuments, proved to be a bit challenging as it divided participant attention and resources. Adjusting the project schedule to avoid conflicts with these other events could lead to higher engagement and more focused efforts. On the positive side, we were pleasantly surprised by the level of interaction through the contact form on the website and email communication. It became clear that participants preferred direct communication via email over traditional methods like Wiki pages or talk pages. This insight suggests that future projects may benefit from offering more accessible and direct communication channels. Additionally, our Instagram campaign turned out to be a great success, generating a significant amount of engagement. This was a valuable takeaway, as it demonstrated the power of social media in reaching and involving a broader audience, particularly younger or more diverse groups. Overall, these experiences taught us the importance of flexibility in project planning, the need to carefully consider timing, and the value of adapting communication strategies to better align with participants’ preferences.
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)
The results of the project have been shared with the community through a series of reports published on Wikinews, Wikipedia, and the project website. These reports provided detailed insights into the project’s progress, achievements, and lessons learned. The links to these reports were distributed within the community to ensure visibility and accessibility. Additionally, this final report, which is publicly available, will serve as a comprehensive summary of the project’s outcomes, providing valuable insights to other community members. It will also help to ensure that the knowledge and best practices gained from the project are shared and can be used by others working on similar initiatives in the future.
Part 3: Metrics
[edit]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 | 70 | 75 | Commons Uploaders in cat |
| Number of editors | 20 | 10 | |
| Number of organizers | 7 | 10 |
| Wikimedia project | Target | Result - Number of created pages | Result - Number of improved pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 50 | 59 | 4 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 1500 | 2792 | 0 |
| Wikidata | 50 | 114 | 0 |
| Wiktionary | |||
| Wikisource | |||
| Wikimedia Incubator | |||
| Translatewiki | |||
| MediaWiki | |||
| Wikiquote | |||
| Wikivoyage | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of images used in the first two months | we will track the percentage of photo usage | 16 | *Total image usages - 421
| |
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
[edit]10. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency. (required)
3030
11. Please state the total amount spent in US dollars. (required)
3279.4
12. Report the funds spent in the currency of your fund. (required)
Provide the link to the financial report https://docs.google.com/document/d/18jcY-4EMy1uQisKkEjeRzDDzN5zlw_70f5tps6_bAVQ/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)
To thank the program officer and the entire WMF team who worked on the grant and supported the realization of this project
Review notes
[edit]Review notes from Program Officer:
N/A
Applicant's response to the review feedback.
N/A