Wikimedia CEE Meeting/Bidding process

Wikimedia CEE Meeting is an annual conference centered around the Wikimedia projects in countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The first CEE Meeting was held in 2012, and since then there were 11 in-person and 2 online CEE meetings organised.

This page outlines the bidding process and all relevant information for interested hosts. In the past, bidding process for determining the next host of the CEE Meeting were organised in 2017, for selecting the CEEM 2024 host and for selecting 2025 CEEM host.

Proposed timeline for the bidding process

40 days before the deadline for applications Launch the call	During the call Preparing the SelCom	31^st of July Submission deadline	40 days after the deadline Selection Committee discussion	During the planned CEE Meeting Publishing the decision about next host

Bidding process

Overview

Starting from 2023, the CEEM bidding process was reintroduced by the CEE Hub, following the good example and practice from 2017. CEE Hub is facilitating the process in terms of setting up the necessary Meta pages (as this one), promoting bidding process across CEE communities, and organising the work of the Selection Committee, a committee tasked with determining the next host based on multiple submitted proposals.

All affiliates interested in hosting the conference are encouraged to prepare and submit their proposals (bids) by 31^st of July of the year prior to the year of the conference they wish to organise e.g. by July 31^st, 2024 if you want to be the organiser of the CEEM 2025.

The bid preparation process involves responding to various inquiries concerning the event's organization. This includes outlining host's prior experience in event management, introducing the CEEM organizing team along with their respective roles, articulating the host's vision for the potential impact of the CEEM on the community, and providing details about the proposed event location, which encompasses both the conference venue and accommodation options for participants.

This page describes the bidding process and all relevant information for the interested hosts.

Selection Committee (SelCom)

Selection Committee (SelCom) is composed of five-six volunteers and it's established by the CEE Hub. Members in this committee should be previous organisers of the CEE Meetings, previous Wikimania organisers, and/or other community members from the region with a track record of organisning bigger events and conferences.

If you are interested in joining this committee, please reach out to the staff members of the CEE Hub following the hub's announcement regarding the call for Selection Committee members.

Confirmed members of the Selection Committee (SelCom) for the selection of 2025 CEEM host

Delphine Ménard (SelCom Chair)
Zana Strkovska (organiser of Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2022)
Mehman (WMGE) (organiser of Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2023)
Maciej Artur Nadzikiewicz (project leader for Wikimania 2024)
Greta Doçi (Board member of Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group)
Claudia Garad (Executive Director, Wikimedia Österreich)

Criteria

The following criteria were defined as the criteria to take into consideration during the Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2024 and 2025 evaluation process:

Safety of the location
Visa requirements
Ease of access
Experience of the organising team
Chance to grow (& community development)
Venue
Accommodation

These criteria will be applied in the future to choose the next hosts, but this is not an exhaustive list, and community insights allow it to be modified to suit changing conditions and requirements.

Bidding process for 2025 host

Received bids

Hosting of Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2025 in Thessaloniki, Greece by Wikimedia Community User Group Greece
Hosting of Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2025 in Tallinn, Estonia by Wikimedia Eesti (Wikimedia Estonia)

Decision: The 2025 CEE Meeting will take place in Thessaloniki and it will be organised by Wikimedia Community User Group Greece.

Rationale

Wikimedia Eesti and Wikimedia Community User Group Greece submitted well-thought through proposals for hosting the 2025 CEE Meeting. Information was missing from both bids, which the Selection Committee was able to address via online discussions with the two bidding teams. Both teams provided written answers to the committee’s questions, primarily about their staffing and volunteer engagement strategies and task distribution within the Core Organising Teams. The Selection Committee used a number of criteria (found on the working process explanation below) to assess bids, and the final decision was made based on the organising team's experience and vision. The Greek team demonstrated a clearer plan for volunteer engagement and, as a result, wants to use the conference as an opportunity to grow the active community in their region. Furthermore, one of the members of the Greek Core Organising Team is an active member of the CEE youth group, and this shows how the Greek team is thinking strategically about the involvement of students and their community expansion, not just through this event, but altogether. The Selection committee sees the organisation of the CEE meeting as a great opportunity to support those existing community development efforts.

Working process

The CEE Meeting Selection Committee, composed of 6 members, was established in August after the CEE Hub published an open call for people interested in participating in the selection committee. The Selection Committee was composed of Wikimedians with experience related to event organisation and team management. The CEE Hub regional coordinator facilitated the work of the CEE Meeting 2025 Selection Committee and had no vote in the final decision. The Selection Committee evaluated the two bids: for Thessaloniki (Greece) and Tallinn (Estonia) submitted on Meta-wiki before July 31st, 2024.

The working group met online with both bidding teams to ask clarification questions about their respective bid. Both groups were invited to provide additional information (mostly about volunteer recruitment strategies, staffing, and volunteer involvement). SelCom members reached their final decision via an online meeting, based on the bids and the presentations made by both teams.

We want to thank the Wikimedia Eesti and Wikimedia Community User Group Greece for their participation in this process. We understand how much time and effort it takes to prepare this kind of proposal, and it was important and helpful for us to have the information that allowed us to make this decision.

Submissions to organise the CEE meeting 2025

Timeline

-133 days to Deadline for your submission
Update

Submission deadline is 31 July 2024.

You can propose your application by following these steps:

Step 1: Insert your name as an applicant in the text entry box below.
Step 2: Click on the "Write your application here" button to create a form for your proposed application.
Step 3: Fill in the form and save the page.

Remark: Your application will be published on this page so that everyone can read all submitted bids.

Bid criteria

The bid should be supported by a recognised Wikimedia movement affiliate from the region of Central and Eastern Europe.
The proposed event location must be in the CEE region and have the support of the local affiliate (if not the same as in point 1).
If the bidder comes from a country with more than one recognised Wikimedia movement affiliates, the bidder should provide proof that other affiliate(s) is/are informed and aware of the bid and that there is no conflict of interest/antagonism regarding this specific bid.
Bidders must be in good standing with the Wikimedia Foundation and eligible to submit and receive a conference grant.
The proposal must provide information about the potential Organisation Committee, which will have to consist of at least five members, who will be active during the whole process of organising the conference.
The main conference should last three day—from Friday to Sunday—with the possibility of organising a pre-conference day (participants will have to arrive the day before the start of the main conference/pre-conference day and leave on the final day or the day after the conference ends).
The event should accommodate two participants per affiliate/community from the CEE region (approximately 36 organisations and 6 communities, plus other invited individuals and groups, such as the Wikimedia Foundation).
The venue and accommodation facilities should account for some additional attendees with independent funding.
The venue should be able to host three parallel conference tracks with appropriate audio/visual support as well as plenary events and breakout spaces. All rooms, including the accommodation facilities, should have strong and stable wifi connectivity (if this is not supported by the venue, additional costs for technological support must be taken into consideration).
All agreed in-kind donations should be presented in the bid and they should indicate the market value of such donations.

Tasks of the selected host

The host needs to be prepared to do the following tasks:

Set up the Organising Committee that can be composed of representatives of the local organiser (at least five people from the local affiliate/community), WMF representatives, CEE Hub members and previous organisers. This committee is responsible for consultations regarding smooth preparation of the grant proposal.
Prepare a grant proposal that contains a precise conference budget, and submit it to the Wikimedia Foundation (usually in early February).
Set up the Programme Committee that can be composed of representatives of the local organiser, WMF representatives, CEE Hub members and previous organisers. This Committee is responsible for organising the submission process and drafting the conference programme as well as communicating with communities in order to ease the process.
Create a submission template with support from the Programme Committee and launch a call for submissions. Additionally, it is strongly advised that the local team asks for help/support from the CEE Hub staff.
Organise the whole registration process by publishing guidelines on selecting delegates and recommendations during the selection process.
Organisers need to work together with the WMF to ensure safe environment for all conference participants; the host is responsible for the safety of conference participants.
Organise travel arrangements and provide information about travel/food and accommodation to each participant who will attend the conference on a scholarship or coordinate this task with the WMF's team if the foundation is taking over these tasks.
Book additional rooms in the hotel for self-funded delegates and individuals.
Prepare a detailed guide for participants and other pages containing relevant information about the conference.
Be prepared to cooperate with future CEEM organisers (especially with those that will be in charge of the next CEEM) and provide informational support for the next organizer to assure best practice and knowledge transfers between the hosts.

Important remark: Due to the planned changes in the implementation of the conference grants of the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF), the selected host (after the official decision of the SelCom is published) should contact responsible WMF staff members, as they will guide the hosts how to arrange accommodation, venue and travel tickets.

Submissions after 2025 - showing interest to organise CEEM 2026 and 2027

Please communicate with the CEE Hub staff members about this topic and the options you have if you think that organizing a future CEE meeting is a good idea but that your community isn't ready just yet.

Application preview

Please find application example preview. Read all comments as well

Application example

Logo of the CEE

Upload your images in the proposed article using the format as shown in this template

Application: Please provide the full title of the proposed application (name of the applicant, city, country).

Summary: Please explain why you want to organise this conference in your country, and what it will mean for the community.

Affiliate: Information about affiliate that is bidding. Update your existing Meta page with related information such as: team members, overview of current activities and projects, information about staff and/or community members.

More than one affiliate in the proposed country: In case that Wikimedia movement affiliate is in the country where several recognised affiliates coexist, a proof that other affiliate(s) have been informed and that there is no conflict (of interest) should be presented.

Proposed event venue: Please add at least preferable city in your country. You can propose the event venue for the conference, but due to the changes by the WMF, this should be coordinated with them as well later. Event venues can be conference halls, hotel conference rooms, cultural institutions, educational institutions, etc.

Proposed accommodation: Please add at least number of hotels/accommodations that can accomodate 150 people. If you want, you can mentioned some hotels/accommodations by name. Same as with the venue, due to the changes by the WMF, this should be coordinated with them as well later. Take into consideration that you will need both single and double rooms.

Proposed dates: Organiser should suggest dates for the conference. Given that Wikimania2024 will be organised in the CEE Region, our regional conference should be at least one-and-half month later than the Wikimania conference.

Expected total budget: Preferable, but not mandatory. You should have a rough estimate of the total budget, including all in-kind contributions from your organisation (affiliate) and/or other inputs. Submit Excel sheet with approximate calculation of the budget, which includes travel costs, venue, hotel accommodation, food, coordination costs (based on the information from CEEM 2023)

Description: Please describe your plan including the proposed duration, scale and any other relevant interesting information (such as social activities or innovations to the current event format). If you want, include multimedia, external links, or any other descriptions.

Logistics: It is necessary to provide logistical details about how you will organise your conference.

Organising team: It is important to select a primary contact person i.e. a team leader. Please provide a list of all proposed organising team members and assign a role to each of them (e.g. treasurer, venue coordinator).

Experience: Describe experience that the organising team members have in organising bigger events. Include information about their previous professional experience and how they will contribute to smooth working of the organising team.

Accessibility: Is the country visa-free accessible to a majority of the CEE countries? How well is the proposed venue and city connected with the international airports, and other transportation?

Budget: Optional. Submit a budget draft with separate budget lines for travel, accommodation, venue, and other expenses, including separate budget lines for in-kind donations/contributions that will reduce the total budget needed to be funded bythe WMF. (Check available information about budget planning for the CEEM 2023)