Grants talk:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Wiki Loves Monuments 2025 in Tunisia (ID: 22918591)

Regarding your rapid grant application

Dear @Houss 2020,

Thank you for applying for a rapid grant to hold activities related to the Wiki Loves Monuments campaign in Tunisia. Before reaching a final decision, we would like to ask you a couple of follow up questions:

• May you kindly share how this project is related to the Wikimedia Tunisia user group? Is this considered one of the user group’s main activities?
• May you share how you have decided on the choice of the locations for the photowalks (Tunis), perhaps referring to the existing content gaps on Wikimedia Commons that you hope to fill through the project activities, as well as their importance/significance?
• What are the list of monuments that you plan on covering through the project activities?
• Have you selected a jury for the competition?
• Have you considered partnerships that would reduce some components within your budget. For example, can you partner with an institution to support in-kind on the final exhibition for the Wiki Loves Monument photos? 1,000 USD for a final exhibition is very high.
• Overall, the requested budget is quite high for a photo competition, and we highly advise that you reduce it by 50%.
• Based on learnings from the previous project “Monuments Photowalk” in 2024, it appears that you engaged 5 editors and contributed about 577 photos online. How do you plan on achieving engagement of 50 participants in this edition, as well as 1,000 photo uploads? What will you do differently?

Thank you very much in advance for responding to the above comments and please share these by Sunday, June 1.

On behalf of the WMF Community Resources team, FElgueretly-WMF (talk) 10:08, 26 May 2025 (UTC)

Hello @FElgueretly-WMF

Thank you for your feedback and the follow-up questions regarding our rapid grant application for Wiki Loves Monuments in Tunisia. Our responses are provided below.

WLM and Wikimedia Tunisia

• Wiki Loves Monuments has always been organized by the Wikimedia Tunisia User Group. It is one of the group's main activities and is regularly discussed and planned in collaboration with its members. The project plays a significant role in engaging the community, especially photographers across Tunisia, many of whom are highly motivated and enthusiastic about its return. Through this contest, the user group contributes to documenting and promoting Tunisia’s cultural heritage on Wikimedia Commons, aligning with its broader mission of supporting free knowledge and local participation in global Wikimedia initiatives.

Choice of the locations

• The choice of organizing the photowalk in Médenine, specifically on the island of Djerba, was based on two main reasons. First, Djerba was recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which highlights its outstanding cultural and historical value. Second, a significant number of monuments in Djerba and the broader Médenine region were added to the official list of protected monuments in Tunisia during 2024 and 2025. This presents a valuable opportunity to document these sites and fill important content gaps on Wikimedia Commons. Many of these newly recognized monuments currently lack quality photographs on Commons, and our photowalk aims to address this by creating free and accessible visual content that supports cultural preservation and public awareness.

List of monuments

• As previously mentioned, our destination for this project will be the Governorate of Medenine, specifically focusing on the island of Djerba. During the photo walk activity, we plan to photograph and document a selection of important historical and cultural monuments. You can find below the link to the list of monuments that will be included in the photo walk:Link

Jury members

• The jury for the competition will be selected before the start of the competition, during the month of September.

Partnerships and budget

In response to your feedback, we have reviewed our budget thoroughly and implemented several key reductions while ensuring that the quality of the competition is not compromised.

We are pleased to confirm that our main partner for Wiki Loves Monuments 2025 will be the Club Photo of Tunis. Through this partnership, they will assist us in securing a low-cost or in-kind venue for both the project presentation and the final awards ceremony and exhibition. This significantly reduces our logistical costs.

Key Budget Adjustments

• Project Presentation: Reduced to 1,000 TND, with the venue provided by our partner, the Club Photo of Tunis.
• Photowalk Participation: Limited to 15 participants, reducing the budget by 500 TND.
• Competition Prizes: Reduced to a total of 3,000 TND.
• T-Shirts: Now limited to 15 units, to be distributed only to the organizing team and winners.
• Banner: The banner has been removed entirely, saving 500 TND.
• Photo Printing for Exhibition: Reduced to 10 printed photos, saving 400 TND.
• Awards Ceremony & Final Exhibition Costs: Reduced by 1,000 TND.

Total Budget Reduction

We have successfully reduced the overall budget by 4,300 TND. We believe this is the maximum reduction possible without affecting the integrity and quality of the competition.

We are confident that these adjustments will ensure a successful, impactful event that remains cost-effective and aligned with community goals.

Engagement of 50 participants

Based on our experience from the 2024 “Monuments Photowalk” project, we understand the challenges of driving high engagement and contributions. For the 2025 edition of Wiki Loves Monuments, we have set ambitious but realistic goals: engaging 50 participants and reaching at least 1,000 photo uploads.

Strategy for Increased Participation and Engagement

1. Leveraging Our Photography Community A large number of photographers in Tunisia have shown consistent interest in Wiki Loves Monuments over the years, especially members of the Club Photo of Tunisia, who are active and engaged. This partnership will be central to our outreach and recruitment strategy.
2. Proven Track Record of Participation Our historical data supports the feasibility of our goal:
   • In 2015, we had 39 participants.
   • In 2016, we had 59 participants.

These numbers demonstrate a solid baseline of interest that we can build on.

1. Expanded and Targeted Promotion
   • We will run an intensive social media campaign on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, which have proven effective in past years.
2. Better Onboarding and Follow-up During the competition, we will stay in regular contact with participants, providing support and reminders. This ongoing engagement will help reduce drop-off rates and encourage sustained contributions.

By combining stronger community partnerships, targeted outreach, and more structured participant support, we are confident we can reach our goals of 50 engaged participants and at least 1,000 photo uploads.

We hope these responses are helpful. Please let us know if you require any further information. حسام الدين بوبكري -Houssem Eddin Boubakri (talk) 10:44, 29 May 2025 (UTC)

Funding approved for 2,205 USD

Dear @Houss 2020,

Thank you very much for your thorough responses. After reviewing your responses, we are pleased to inform you that your application has been approved for 2,205 USD.

Kindly ensure that prizes for your competition do not exceed 500 USD overall to match what is typically awarded to winners as a part of this global campaign.

Thank you and on behalf of the WMF Community Resources team, FElgueretly-WMF (talk) 08:20, 5 June 2025 (UTC)

Thank you for the exciting news.We are delighted to hear that our application has been approved.We also appreciate you clarifying the typical prize limit for winners.We'll ensure that the total prize value for our competition does not exceed 500 USD to align with these guidelines.

We're looking forward to getting started.

Thanks again for your support. حسام الدين بوبكري -Houssem Eddin Boubakri (talk) 13:08, 5 June 2025 (UTC)