Wikimedia CEE Hub/Microgrants/Applications 2025/MG-15

statusfunded

Photographing streets and museum exhibits in Astana and Petropavl for Wikimedia Commons

The goal of this documentation effort is to capture and freely share high-quality images of key cultural heritage sites — including museums, bridges, streets, old buildings, architectural monuments in the public domain, local people, everyday life scenes, and other historical or cultural landmarks — by uploading them to Wikimedia Commons under a free license.

targetCommons, Wikipedia, WikiVoyage

proposed start date20 June

proposed end date27 June

budget (EUR)650 EUR

grant typegroup of individuals

applicant• Muzaffar Turgunov

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Basic information

You are applying as

Group of individuals

Your name(s)/Organisation name

Muzaffar Turgunov, Diyorbek Turgunov, Maxmud Abduvaliyev

Your username(s)

Muzaffar Turgunov, Diyorbek 6504, Mahmud Abduvaliyev

What is your role in the movement?

Editor

If you are a part of a WM community, please state its name here

Kazakh Wikipedia

Have you applied for any Wikimedia Foundation grant or any other grant before?

Yes

Name of your proposed microgrant project

Photographing streets and museum exhibits in Astana and Petropavl for Wikimedia Commons

Proposed start date of the project

20 June 2025

Proposed end date of the project

27 June 2025

In which CEE country/ies will the project activities be implemented?

Astana and Petropavl. Kazakhstan

Project information

What is the main goal of your project?

The main goal of our project is to document the cultural and architectural heritage of Astana and Petropavl by capturing original, high-quality photographs of streets, public buildings, monuments, and museum exhibits, and uploading them to Wikimedia Commons under a free license. These freely licensed media files will be used to illustrate and enrich articles across Wikimedia projects, especially in Kazakh, Russian, and English Wikipedias. Our team, consisting of three active Wikimedians from Central Asia, plans to visit at least two cities (Astana and Petropavl), photograph notable streetscapes, architectural objects, and at least three major museums. We aim to upload 200 well-described and categorized images. This initiative will not only raise awareness of local cultural institutions and public spaces but also inspire other Wikimedians in Central Asia to document and share their regional heritage.
Through this project, we hope to: Improve the visual representation of Kazakhstan’s cities on Wikimedia Commons and Wikipedia. Provide useful materials for Wikidata and Wikivoyage. Encourage cultural documentation and volunteer engagement across the CEE region.

Describe which activities you plan to implement

We are planning a five-day documentation trip to Astana and Petropavl (Astana has at least 16 museums, and Petropavl has 9). During this trip, our team will focus on significant cultural sites — including at least six museums — as well as many notable streets and monuments in each city. We will specifically document exhibits and locations related to the Kazakh Khanate, ancient Kazakhstan, and the Soviet era, where freedom of panorama does not restrict image publication.
Each team member will have a specific role:
- taking high-quality photographs of exhibits and city views,
- collecting basic metadata (titles, dates, object descriptions),
- managing uploads and logistics.
Before the trips, we will prepare our equipment (camera, batteries, storage) and contact the museums to confirm photography permissions. We will organize travel and accommodation and plan the most efficient route to cover key sites.
During the visit, we will capture a wide range of visuals:
- museum artifacts, interiors, and exhibition halls,
- city streets, public spaces, and architectural highlights.
We aim to upload at least 400 freely licensed media files and improve 20–30 Wikimedia pages. This activity will help increase the visibility of Kazakhstan’s cultural heritage and encourage similar contributions from the Central Asian Wikimedia community.

Describe your team

Muzaffar Turgunov – lead photographer, uploader, and Wikimedia Commons contributor
Diyorbek 6504 – photographer and metadata manager
Mahmud Abduvaliyev – coordinator, article improver, and uploader

For which Wikimedia projects is the project relevant? For which communities is the project relevant? What is your target group?

We plan to visit the museums listed in Astana 2GIS link and Petropavl 2GIS link over a 7-day round trip. This project will cover cultural heritage in both Kazakhstan’s modern, rapidly developing capital, Astana, and the historical and ethnographic richness of the northern city of Petropavl.
Wikipedia (especially Kazakh, Russian) – The images will be used to improve existing articles about museums, streets, monuments, and architecture in Astana and Petropavl.
The main cultural heritage sites we aim to document include museums, bridges, streets, old buildings or architectural landmarks no longer under copyright, people, scenes of local life, and any other historical or cultural monuments that come to our attention. Our sole purpose is to document and highlight each piece of cultural heritage.

Do you have any metrics for the proposed grant proposal? If yes, please fill in the number of participants, editors, organisers and content contributions (Wikipedia articles, Wikimedia Commons images, Wikidata items, etc.)

I have been an active contributor to Wikimedia projects. I have made over 7,000 edits on the Uzbek Wikipedia, more than 5,000 edits on the Kazakh Wikipedia, over 2,000 contributions to Wikidata, and uploaded more than 300 media files to Wikimedia Commons. My teammates are also active contributors to Wikimedia projects and regularly use and edit Wikipedia.
I have previously contributed to Wikimedia Commons by photographing libraries in Shymkent city, capturing books containing traditional folk tales, as well as rivers and mosques. So far, none of these uploads have been deleted, which demonstrates the relevance and compliance of my contributions with Wikimedia Commons guidelines.

Financial information

What is the amount that you are requesting for this grant proposal?

650 EUR

Please provide the budget of your grant proposal

Expense type	Expense details	Number of Units	Unit Price	Expense Total
Transport	For 3 people, a 5-day trip including travel between Astana and Petropavl as well as activities within the cities.	1	€190	€190
Accommodation	Accommodation for 3 people for 5 days in Astana and Petropavl.	1	€160	€160
Food and refreshments	Lunch and dinner, tea, coffee, and other food.	1	€130	€130
Museum entrance fees	At least 7 museums in Astana and 4 museums in Petropavl.	1	€50	€50
Photography equipment	Renting at least 2 cameras for 5 days.	1	€70	€70
Contingency / Miscellaneous	For any emergencies.	1	€50	€50
TOTAL				650.00

Other

Any additional comments or remarks about your project

I joined Wikipedia for the first time 4 years ago and have been an active contributor on the Kazakh Wikipedia throughout these years. Recently, I received the rollback permission level. I have now shifted my focus to Wikimedia Commons, where I continue to contribute actively. I have taken photos on various topics in Shymkent city. Next, I plan to expand my work by documenting other regions of Kazakhstan.
During the Wiki Spring Marathon, I translated articles about historical sites and nature reserves from other countries. I also carefully edited articles related to museums in Kenya.
Thank you for considering my application. I hope to earn your trust and support.