Wikimedia Georgia Strategic Plan/2024-2026/Goals

Bridging Gaps

Wikipedia, as a collaborative online encyclopedia, is continually evolving and growing. As Wikipedia grows, there are areas where gaps remain. These gaps exist both within Wikipedia content itself, and significant gaps also exist between different language versions of Wikipedia.

Addressing content gaps is crucial for promoting knowledge, reducing misinformation, and supporting communities. Wikimedia UG Georgia is working on bridging gaps within the content of the Georgian Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects and on developing the Georgian Wikipedia in relation to other language versions of Wikipedia. Also, one of the main areas of work of the affiliation is the development of Georgian content in other Wikimedia projects, such as Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, Wikisource, etc.

Closing the content gap in Wikimedia projects is a crucial and ongoing effort to ensure that knowledge is more inclusive and representative. To close the content gap, Wikimedia UG Georgia will take the following steps over the next three years:

Start identifying the specific content gaps on Wikimedia projects.
Encouraging a more diverse group of contributors by actively reaching out to underrepresented communities.
Organizing edit-a-thons, workshops, lectures, meetings, training, and article contests.
Launching specific projects or campaigns to address content gaps in a targeted manner.
Partnering with cultural and educational institutions, libraries, museums, and archives to access their resources and expertise.
Taking care of improving the quality of existing content in Wikimedia projects.
Holding media contests to improve the quality and develop media files about Georgia in Wikimedia projects.
Promote content creation and quality improvement efforts. Encourage contributors to add new content, improve existing articles, and ensure accuracy.

Wikimedia UG Georgia has been successfully working to close the gaps in content for several years. Over the years, the organization has been able to hold various programs, contests, and events to eliminate this problem. The organization will continue to work in this direction.

Community Development

Community development within the Georgian Wikimedia movement is crucial to the sustainability and growth of Wikimedia projects. The local Wikimedia community consists of volunteers and contributors from Georgia and abroad who work together to create, curate, and maintain free knowledge resources.

Wikimedia UG Georgia is committed to inclusivity, and community development efforts aim to bring in contributors from diverse backgrounds and languages, which aligns with the 2030 strategy. Inclusivity ensures a broader range of perspectives and knowledge.

Wikimedia UG Georgia's main goal for the next three years is to involve more new volunteer editors in Wikimedia projects, support existing volunteer communities, and develop a sustainable Wikimedia movement in Georgia. To achieve this, the affiliation will take the following steps:

Promote inclusivity and diversity within the community.
Develop comprehensive onboarding materials and training resources for newcomers.
Organize local meetings and events.
Organize training, workshops, and edit-a-thon.
Organize local and regional WikiCamps.
Development of a network of regional WikiClubs and support for existing ones.
Offer scholarships for volunteers and community members to participate in global and regional Wikimedia events (Wikimania, CEE Meeting, etc.)
Establish clear mechanisms for conflict resolution within the community to address disputes and maintain a positive, collaborative environment.
Ensure community members have a voice in governance structures and decision-making processes related to Wikimedia projects.

As an organization, we recognize that community development is an ongoing process that requires patience and dedication. Building a strong and vibrant Wikimedia community takes time and the involvement of passionate individuals committed to free knowledge.

Advocacy

Developing an effective advocacy strategy requires careful planning, research, and execution. In our case, this is an extremely important factor, where we will advocate at the legislative level for changing state policy and copyright laws.

Strategy is crucial for advocacy and decision-making on this. To do this, we will develop an advocacy strategy. It will serve as a roadmap or action plan that helps us achieve our desired objectives effectively and efficiently. To develop a well-structured advocacy strategy and advocacy work locally, we will take the following steps:

Defining Goal: We will clearly articulate our advocacy goal. This is a change in state policy regarding copyright, which should enable the development of free knowledge based on the provision of free information.
Conducting Research: Gather relevant information about the issue we advocate for. Understand the current situation, key stakeholders, existing policies, and any supporting data or evidence.
Understanding our audience: We will research our target audience's motivations, concerns, and attitudes toward our issue. This will help tailor our messaging and approach to resonate with them.
Choosing Advocacy Tactics: Select the tactics we'll use to convey our message and achieve our goal. These could include lobbying, grassroots organizing, social media campaigns, petitions, public speaking, workshops, or collaborations.
Creating an Action Plan: Outline specific steps and a timeline for each tactic we'll use.
Engage in Outreach: We will engage our target audiences through various channels. This could involve using social media, events, workshops, meetings, non-formal interactions, and networking.
Measuring and Evaluating: We will establish metrics to assess the impact of our advocacy efforts. Track the changes, both quantitative (policy changes, number of supporters) and qualitative (public perception shifts), and analyze the results.

While developing the strategy and implementing the advocacy work, Wikimedia UG Georgia will work closely with the Wikimedia Foundation's Global Advocacy team. Wikimedia UG Georgia will take into account the recommendations and experience of the Wikimedia Foundation. The organization will also actively collaborate on advocacy issues with Wikimedia Europe, of which Wikimedia UG Georgia is a founding member.

Based on the Strategy 2030 Recommendations, Wikimedia UG Georgia will prepare advocacy resources to share with the broader community for future use.

Partnership

Wikimedia UG Georgia collaborates with cultural institutions, museums, libraries, and other organizations to digitize and share their resources via Wikimedia projects. These partnerships help enrich the content available to the Wikimedia community and the public. Wikimedia UG Georgia works with educational institutions to promote the use of Wikimedia projects in education. This includes initiatives encouraging students and educators to contribute to Wikipedia as part of their coursework.

Wikimedia UG Georgia has been successfully cooperating for several years with state agencies, including the Administration of the President of Georgia, the Culture Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, and the Ministry of Sports and Culture of Georgia. This has enabled us so far to successfully implement programs and projects to develop Wikimedia projects and the local Wikimedia community in Georgia. Using the resources of our partners, we were able to carry out the initial planning and advocacy work for the Freedom of Panorama at the parliamentary level.

Our plan for the following years includes the development of a network of partners among government agencies. This will provide opportunities for new connections and relationships that can be beneficial in the long run. Also, we will develop and achieve sustainability in existing partnerships with existing partners.

Wikimedia UG Georgia also cooperates with non-governmental organizations (NGOs). These partnerships are aimed at supporting Wikimedia's mission in Georgia to provide free and open access to knowledge for people. WMGE has successfully partnered with dozens of different NGOs to develop Wikimedia projects locally and to support the local Wikimedia community. In the coming years, the goal of the organization is to expand the network of partners and achieve sustainable relationships with them for the development of Wikimedia projects and for their popularization locally.

Wikimedia UG Georgia continues to cooperate with Wikimedia organizations actively. Thus, Wikimedia UG Georgia in 2022, together with other European organizations of Wikimedia, became the founder of Wikimedia Europe. WMGE also cooperates with the CEE Hub and tries to contribute to developing the first Hub in the region. In the coming years, the main goal of Wikimedia UG Georgia is to develop relationships and make them sustainable with existing Wikimedia partners and establish new relationships with other Wikimedia regions and affiliates.

Organizational Development

The organizational development of Wikimedia UG Georgia is crucial for several reasons, as it directly impacts the effectiveness and sustainability of the affiliations efforts in promoting and supporting Wikimedia projects. This becomes more important because the affiliation prepares to become a Wikimedia chapter in 2024.

Organizational development ensures that Wikimedia UG Georgia can thrive and continue its mission over the long term. A well-structured and sustainable organization can better weather challenges and changes in leadership, funding, and external circumstances. Organizational development includes enhancing the skills and capabilities of the team and volunteers. This enables Wikimedia UG Georgia to serve its community better and contribute to Wikimedia projects effectively.

On the path of organizational development, Wikimedia UG Georgia will prepare the best staffing plan that will enable the organization to grow to meet the needs of the local Wikimedia Movement.

Wikimedia UG Georgia will continue to review and make necessary changes to this strategic plan, and all relevant organization plans for sustainability and adaptation.