Re: [Wikimania-l] Wikimania 2015 scholarships vision
On Mon, Jan 13, 2014 at 12:06 AM, Philippe Beaudette phili...@wikimedia.org
wrote:
On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 7:35 PM, Samuel Klein meta...@gmail.com wrote:
I too am concerned that the current scholarship process tends to polarize
the community, and too often simply rewards long-time community members, or
those who are connected to large movement entities, with free travel:
rather than increasing the diversity of new voices and faces at global
events.
Do we have any statistics to back up this claim?
I share a concern; it would be welcome to find it unwarranted.
The public statistics I know of are these reports:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania/Scholarships/2013
That level of detail does not address either of the two stated concerns:
that some recipients are not so active, and that there is limited rotation.
It would be welcome to see a count of the # of recipients who attended
Wikimania for the first time; the # who received a travel scholarship for
the first time; the # who were active contributors and to which {clusters
of} projects. I also find Nemo's version of transparency compelling: In
cases where scholarships are presented as an honor, the recipients are
named, which also seems in the wiki-spirit.
SJ
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Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team
In addition, there might be other better ways of handling issues for such applicants wanting to attend the Wikimania other than just sending a signed letter to be given to the embassy. Perhaps, the Wikimedia UK, sending specific details of those they've awarded scholarship to the originating country's embassy will give the embassy a fair idea of the one applying. Details like, passport details, itenary ticket, accommodation, length of stay, arrangements to bring the attendee back, track record of returnees of such conferences, and what the embassy should do to wikimedia uk if it happens the person doesn't back. And these details should be sent directly to the embassy. Informing the embassy beforehand is far professional looking and indicates seriousness on the part of the inviting organization, than emailing a letter for the applicant to hold in his hand and give to the embassy. I'm in Ghana, and I know how it is on the ground. I went through hell to get visa from south Africa embassy. The UK can be 5x worse. If the best the inviting organization can do is send a letter, then there's little the applicant here can do. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 9:32 AM, Nkansah Rexford nkansahrexf...@gmail.com wrote: Do the invitation letter really change a thing? I will be surprised to see a consular waive all those requirements because of a 1-paged white paper with black in on, signed by an organization called Wikimedia UK. For instance, in Ghana, consulate don't care who or what is inviting you, nor even take delight in reading the letter. If the requirements say get a certain amount and or fulfil certain requirements, please get that with you. Consular even reject visa from applicants invited by United Nations, so I'm still wondering how much impact a letter can do. Get your documents right. Its not easy, but it'll save you from disappointments. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 3:31 AM, Muhammad Yahia shipmas...@gmail.com wrote: If this is similar to US visa process, I would think an invitation from WM UK would be enough to waive those requirements, that of course has to be arranged with the British government. On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 5:13 PM, Ellie Young eyo...@wikimedia.org wrote: I have already brought this up with them and waiting to hear back (first response didn't sound like there was much we can do frankly...) My comment about the spring is that is when we will have a guide for our attendees who need visas. They said it would be ready in the next couple of months. We won't be notifying people about their scholarships until April. And while we are on this subject, I want to reiterate that we expect individuals to cover their own visa expenses as well as contacting the British Consulate on their own or through a visa service in their home country. The UK accepts applications for visas 90 days prior to the expected date of entering the UK (applying before doesn't do any good.) Ellie On Jan 12, 2014, at 3:42 PM, aude aude.w...@gmail.com wrote: On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 5:31 PM, Ellie Young eyo...@wikimedia.org wrote: I will be sure to take this up when we are putting together instructions this Spring. UK Immigation has agreed to put together a how to apply guide for our event. I will be sure this issue get put to them. I wouldn't wait until spring to bring this up with UK immigration. It's not too soon to start now. The process for folks in Iran can take quite a while (if similar to the process for Wikimania 2012 in the US) but I think can be successful. People in Iran will need to travel (at least once) to a UK consulate in Turkey or UAE to apply. http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/iran/applying/?langname=UK%20English Cheers, Katie Ellie WMF Conference Coordinator On Jan 12, 2014, at 2:08 PM, Muhammad Yahia shipmas...@gmail.com wrote: Hi all, I received this question about visas for Iranian citizens and am passing it along: As it stands now, UK visa requirements for Iranian citizens is to have a bank account with (on average) 1 USD or equivalent in the last six months, plus proof of ownership of a property in Iran, the documents have to be translated and notarized. Most of the volunteers interested in getting scholarship for WM or trying to arrange travel on their own are mostly young people who do not satisfy either conditions, is there something that the UK team can do about that? can they get confirmation that if they apply these requirements will be waived or something similar? Thanks! -- Best Regards, Muhammad Yahia ___ Wikimania-l mailing list Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l ___ Wikimania-l mailing list Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team
Most of the UK Embassies worldwide (including Ghana) outsource their visa application handling to VFS Global, so sending the documents directly to the Embassy won't work... Abbas. Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2014 10:52:06 +0200 From: nkansahrexf...@gmail.com To: wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team In addition, there might be other better ways of handling issues for such applicants wanting to attend the Wikimania other than just sending a signed letter to be given to the embassy. Perhaps, the Wikimedia UK, sending specific details of those they've awarded scholarship to the originating country's embassy will give the embassy a fair idea of the one applying. Details like, passport details, itenary ticket, accommodation, length of stay, arrangements to bring the attendee back, track record of returnees of such conferences, and what the embassy should do to wikimedia uk if it happens the person doesn't back. And these details should be sent directly to the embassy. Informing the embassy beforehand is far professional looking and indicates seriousness on the part of the inviting organization, than emailing a letter for the applicant to hold in his hand and give to the embassy. I'm in Ghana, and I know how it is on the ground. I went through hell to get visa from south Africa embassy. The UK can be 5x worse. If the best the inviting organization can do is send a letter, then there's little the applicant here can do. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 9:32 AM, Nkansah Rexford nkansahrexf...@gmail.com wrote: Do the invitation letter really change a thing? I will be surprised to see a consular waive all those requirements because of a 1-paged white paper with black in on, signed by an organization called Wikimedia UK. For instance, in Ghana, consulate don't care who or what is inviting you, nor even take delight in reading the letter. If the requirements say get a certain amount and or fulfil certain requirements, please get that with you. Consular even reject visa from applicants invited by United Nations, so I'm still wondering how much impact a letter can do. Get your documents right. Its not easy, but it'll save you from disappointments. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 3:31 AM, Muhammad Yahia shipmas...@gmail.com wrote: If this is similar to US visa process, I would think an invitation from WM UK would be enough to waive those requirements, that of course has to be arranged with the British government. On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 5:13 PM, Ellie Young eyo...@wikimedia.org wrote: I have already brought this up with them and waiting to hear back (first response didn't sound like there was much we can do frankly...) My comment about the spring is that is when we will have a guide for our attendees who need visas. They said it would be ready in the next couple of months. We won't be notifying people about their scholarships until April. And while we are on this subject, I want to reiterate that we expect individuals to cover their own visa expenses as well as contacting the British Consulate on their own or through a visa service in their home country. The UK accepts applications for visas 90 days prior to the expected date of entering the UK (applying before doesn't do any good.) Ellie On Jan 12, 2014, at 3:42 PM, aude aude.w...@gmail.com wrote: On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 5:31 PM, Ellie Young eyo...@wikimedia.org wrote: I will be sure to take this up when we are putting together instructions this Spring. UK Immigation has agreed to put together a how to apply guide for our event. I will be sure this issue get put to them. I wouldn't wait until spring to bring this up with UK immigration. It's not too soon to start now. The process for folks in Iran can take quite a while (if similar to the process for Wikimania 2012 in the US) but I think can be successful. People in Iran will need to travel (at least once) to a UK consulate in Turkey or UAE to apply. http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/iran/applying/?langname=UK%20English Cheers,Katie Ellie WMF Conference Coordinator On Jan 12, 2014, at 2:08 PM, Muhammad Yahia shipmas...@gmail.com wrote: Hi all, I received this question about visas for Iranian citizens and am passing it along: As it stands now, UK visa requirements for Iranian citizens is to have a bank account with (on average) 1 USD or equivalent in the last six months, plus proof of ownership of a property in Iran, the documents have to be translated and notarized. Most of the volunteers interested in getting scholarship for WM or trying to arrange travel on their own are mostly young people who do not satisfy either conditions, is there something that the UK team can do about that? can they get confirmation that if they apply these requirements
Re: [Wikimania-l] Poster to present Wikimedia activities/projects/chapters/affiliates/tools...
the booklet is a great format Ed: nice idea to use them broadly in London. it is also a very nice way to present transversally the program (maybe around themes or specific interests; i.e. research, GLAM, educational project, Africa, photography...). my impression is that maybe we can start working on a series of posters until March in collaboration with some groups who have already mailing lists and who might be interested in contributing in their areas (i.e. education, GLAM, research and chapters). we can see what comes out from now to March and - if we get results - the program committee might consider using the posters in an exhibition area (and eventually selecting them), enlarge the call, or use the content of the posters differently (i think the content relevant for a poster - i.e. description, credits, links and contacts - is also the content relevant for a booklet). Surely the objective is not to overcharge the Wikimania team with something else. the booklet are surely a great tool already envisioned. and the work of selecting, collecting, translating and editing content related to projects is useful in general and beyond formats. iolanda/iopensa Il giorno 10/gen/2014, alle ore 23:01, Edward Saperia e...@originalcontentlondon.com ha scritto: At Wikimania 2013 the Wikidata team produced these cute little A5 leaflets that were really useful - they had a brief overview of the project, and then a bunch of entrypoints and contact details. The best thing about them was that you could slip them in your pocket, so when you were next at a computer you'd remember you were interested and could find the relevant URL. This nicely also avoids the task of trying to fit the entire project onto one piece of paper; it's just an introduction and a physical reminder. As we all know, the real action happens online. I'm working on creating a template form that any project, big or small, can fill in, which the Wikimania team will then have designed up into booklets and print and present in the main foyer at Wikimania. I think this is a nice alternative to posters. I'm going to great lengths to make Wikimania 2014 a very laptop friendly event, and I think leaflets suit this experience better. You can see the design of the wikidata booklet, and sign up to be notified of when I've got the template ready to go, at https://wikimania2014.wikimedia.org/wiki/Booklets Ed Saperia Co-ordinator in Chief Wikimania London 2014 Creative Director Original Content London email • facebook • twitter • 07796955572 133-135 Bethnal Green Road, E2 7DG On 10 January 2014 20:11, wikimania-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org wrote: Send Wikimania-l mailing list submissions to wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to wikimania-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org You can reach the person managing the list at wikimania-l-ow...@lists.wikimedia.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than Re: Contents of Wikimania-l digest... Today's Topics: 1. Re: Poster to present Wikimedia activities/projects/chapters/affiliates/tools... (Federico Leva (Nemo)) 2. Re: Poster to present Wikimedia activities/projects/chapters/affiliates/tools... (Iolanda Pensa) 3. Re: Poster to present Wikimedia activities/projects/chapters/affiliates/tools... (Iolanda Pensa) -- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2014 20:42:30 +0100 From: Federico Leva (Nemo) nemow...@gmail.com To: Wikimania general list (open subscription) wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimania-l] Poster to present Wikimedia activities/projects/chapters/affiliates/tools... Message-ID: 52d04d26.2030...@gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Andrew Gray, 10/01/2014 20:05: There were a good number of posters in Gdansk, and I think it worked reasonably well - most were from research projects, IIRC, but I think there's certainly scope for something more movement-oriented as well. I liked that posters in Gdansk, that's why I added several pro items to https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania/Sessions#Posters . Especially if the conference is crowded, it's important that the author leaves some hints how to be found for clarifications and discussion, my notes still contain an unaddressed item which was – I think – a poster I couldn't find the author of. :) Nemo -- Message: 2 Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2014 20:45:17 +0100 From: Iolanda Pensa iola...@pensa.it To: Wikimania general list \(open subscription\) wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimania-l] Poster to
Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team
Well, don't be tricked! They have outsourced the COLLECTION of the visa from the public to vfs, but it is the embassy that ISSUES the visa. The vfs people, EVERYDAY, send in applications they've received to the embassy they work for. When the visa is processed and is ready, the vfs people will go and collect from the embassy, and the applicant will go and collect the issued visa from VFS, thinking the vfs people issued it. If the vfs people issue visa, then why don't the embassy close, after all someone is doing the job? I was at the embassy, about 3 times, and I saw vfs car, bring in the application. They've outsourced the collection, so that people don't overcrowd the embassy residence all the times. For Ghana, that's how it is. For other countries, I have no idea. Perhaps, the consular is resting, whiles vfs issues visa. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 11:08 AM, Abbas Mahmood abbas...@hotmail.com wrote: Most of the UK Embassies worldwide (including Ghana) outsource their visa application handling to VFS Global, so sending the documents directly to the Embassy won't work... Abbas. -- Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2014 10:52:06 +0200 From: nkansahrexf...@gmail.com To: wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team In addition, there might be other better ways of handling issues for such applicants wanting to attend the Wikimania other than just sending a signed letter to be given to the embassy. Perhaps, the Wikimedia UK, sending specific details of those they've awarded scholarship to the originating country's embassy will give the embassy a fair idea of the one applying. Details like, passport details, itenary ticket, accommodation, length of stay, arrangements to bring the attendee back, track record of returnees of such conferences, and what the embassy should do to wikimedia uk if it happens the person doesn't back. And these details should be sent directly to the embassy. Informing the embassy beforehand is far professional looking and indicates seriousness on the part of the inviting organization, than emailing a letter for the applicant to hold in his hand and give to the embassy. I'm in Ghana, and I know how it is on the ground. I went through hell to get visa from south Africa embassy. The UK can be 5x worse. If the best the inviting organization can do is send a letter, then there's little the applicant here can do. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 9:32 AM, Nkansah Rexford nkansahrexf...@gmail.com wrote: Do the invitation letter really change a thing? I will be surprised to see a consular waive all those requirements because of a 1-paged white paper with black in on, signed by an organization called Wikimedia UK. For instance, in Ghana, consulate don't care who or what is inviting you, nor even take delight in reading the letter. If the requirements say get a certain amount and or fulfil certain requirements, please get that with you. Consular even reject visa from applicants invited by United Nations, so I'm still wondering how much impact a letter can do. Get your documents right. Its not easy, but it'll save you from disappointments. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 3:31 AM, Muhammad Yahia shipmas...@gmail.com wrote: If this is similar to US visa process, I would think an invitation from WM UK would be enough to waive those requirements, that of course has to be arranged with the British government. On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 5:13 PM, Ellie Young eyo...@wikimedia.org wrote: I have already brought this up with them and waiting to hear back (first response didn't sound like there was much we can do frankly...) My comment about the spring is that is when we will have a guide for our attendees who need visas. They said it would be ready in the next couple of months. We won't be notifying people about their scholarships until April. And while we are on this subject, I want to reiterate that we expect individuals to cover their own visa expenses as well as contacting the British Consulate on their own or through a visa service in their home country. The UK accepts applications for visas 90 days prior to the expected date of entering the UK (applying before doesn't do any good.) Ellie On Jan 12, 2014, at 3:42 PM, aude aude.w...@gmail.com wrote: On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 5:31 PM, Ellie Young eyo...@wikimedia.org wrote: I will be sure to take this up when we are putting together instructions this Spring. UK Immigation has agreed to put together a how to apply guide for our event. I will be sure this issue get put to them. I wouldn't wait until spring to bring this up with UK immigration. It's not too soon to start now. The process for folks in Iran can take quite a while (if similar to the process for
Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team
Lemme add that, the documents won't be sent in during the application from the applicant. It should be in the hands of the consular, (or the one who will stamp the passport with the visa) BEFORE the applicant gets there. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 11:50 AM, Nkansah Rexford nkansahrexf...@gmail.com wrote: Well, don't be tricked! They have outsourced the COLLECTION of the visa from the public to vfs, but it is the embassy that ISSUES the visa. The vfs people, EVERYDAY, send in applications they've received to the embassy they work for. When the visa is processed and is ready, the vfs people will go and collect from the embassy, and the applicant will go and collect the issued visa from VFS, thinking the vfs people issued it. If the vfs people issue visa, then why don't the embassy close, after all someone is doing the job? I was at the embassy, about 3 times, and I saw vfs car, bring in the application. They've outsourced the collection, so that people don't overcrowd the embassy residence all the times. For Ghana, that's how it is. For other countries, I have no idea. Perhaps, the consular is resting, whiles vfs issues visa. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 11:08 AM, Abbas Mahmood abbas...@hotmail.com wrote: Most of the UK Embassies worldwide (including Ghana) outsource their visa application handling to VFS Global, so sending the documents directly to the Embassy won't work... Abbas. -- Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2014 10:52:06 +0200 From: nkansahrexf...@gmail.com To: wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team In addition, there might be other better ways of handling issues for such applicants wanting to attend the Wikimania other than just sending a signed letter to be given to the embassy. Perhaps, the Wikimedia UK, sending specific details of those they've awarded scholarship to the originating country's embassy will give the embassy a fair idea of the one applying. Details like, passport details, itenary ticket, accommodation, length of stay, arrangements to bring the attendee back, track record of returnees of such conferences, and what the embassy should do to wikimedia uk if it happens the person doesn't back. And these details should be sent directly to the embassy. Informing the embassy beforehand is far professional looking and indicates seriousness on the part of the inviting organization, than emailing a letter for the applicant to hold in his hand and give to the embassy. I'm in Ghana, and I know how it is on the ground. I went through hell to get visa from south Africa embassy. The UK can be 5x worse. If the best the inviting organization can do is send a letter, then there's little the applicant here can do. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 9:32 AM, Nkansah Rexford nkansahrexf...@gmail.com wrote: Do the invitation letter really change a thing? I will be surprised to see a consular waive all those requirements because of a 1-paged white paper with black in on, signed by an organization called Wikimedia UK. For instance, in Ghana, consulate don't care who or what is inviting you, nor even take delight in reading the letter. If the requirements say get a certain amount and or fulfil certain requirements, please get that with you. Consular even reject visa from applicants invited by United Nations, so I'm still wondering how much impact a letter can do. Get your documents right. Its not easy, but it'll save you from disappointments. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 3:31 AM, Muhammad Yahia shipmas...@gmail.com wrote: If this is similar to US visa process, I would think an invitation from WM UK would be enough to waive those requirements, that of course has to be arranged with the British government. On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 5:13 PM, Ellie Young eyo...@wikimedia.orgwrote: I have already brought this up with them and waiting to hear back (first response didn't sound like there was much we can do frankly...) My comment about the spring is that is when we will have a guide for our attendees who need visas. They said it would be ready in the next couple of months. We won't be notifying people about their scholarships until April. And while we are on this subject, I want to reiterate that we expect individuals to cover their own visa expenses as well as contacting the British Consulate on their own or through a visa service in their home country. The UK accepts applications for visas 90 days prior to the expected date of entering the UK (applying before doesn't do any good.) Ellie On Jan 12, 2014, at 3:42 PM, aude aude.w...@gmail.com wrote: On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 5:31 PM, Ellie Young eyo...@wikimedia.org wrote: I will be sure to take this up
Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team
My dear Rexford, Please read my email again. I clearly used the word _application_. I am very well aware of who processes and issues the visa. My point was that you can not simply bend protocol and forward your application documents directly to the embassy when there is a structure in place to do just that. Abbas. Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2014 11:50:41 +0200 From: nkansahrexf...@gmail.com To: wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team Well, don't be tricked! They have outsourced the COLLECTION of the visa from the public to vfs, but it is the embassy that ISSUES the visa. The vfs people, EVERYDAY, send in applications they've received to the embassy they work for. When the visa is processed and is ready, the vfs people will go and collect from the embassy, and the applicant will go and collect the issued visa from VFS, thinking the vfs people issued it. If the vfs people issue visa, then why don't the embassy close, after all someone is doing the job? I was at the embassy, about 3 times, and I saw vfs car, bring in the application. They've outsourced the collection, so that people don't overcrowd the embassy residence all the times. For Ghana, that's how it is. For other countries, I have no idea. Perhaps, the consular is resting, whiles vfs issues visa. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 11:08 AM, Abbas Mahmood abbas...@hotmail.com wrote: Most of the UK Embassies worldwide (including Ghana) outsource their visa application handling to VFS Global, so sending the documents directly to the Embassy won't work... Abbas. Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2014 10:52:06 +0200 From: nkansahrexf...@gmail.com To: wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team In addition, there might be other better ways of handling issues for such applicants wanting to attend the Wikimania other than just sending a signed letter to be given to the embassy. Perhaps, the Wikimedia UK, sending specific details of those they've awarded scholarship to the originating country's embassy will give the embassy a fair idea of the one applying. Details like, passport details, itenary ticket, accommodation, length of stay, arrangements to bring the attendee back, track record of returnees of such conferences, and what the embassy should do to wikimedia uk if it happens the person doesn't back. And these details should be sent directly to the embassy. Informing the embassy beforehand is far professional looking and indicates seriousness on the part of the inviting organization, than emailing a letter for the applicant to hold in his hand and give to the embassy. I'm in Ghana, and I know how it is on the ground. I went through hell to get visa from south Africa embassy. The UK can be 5x worse. If the best the inviting organization can do is send a letter, then there's little the applicant here can do. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 9:32 AM, Nkansah Rexford nkansahrexf...@gmail.com wrote: Do the invitation letter really change a thing? I will be surprised to see a consular waive all those requirements because of a 1-paged white paper with black in on, signed by an organization called Wikimedia UK. For instance, in Ghana, consulate don't care who or what is inviting you, nor even take delight in reading the letter. If the requirements say get a certain amount and or fulfil certain requirements, please get that with you. Consular even reject visa from applicants invited by United Nations, so I'm still wondering how much impact a letter can do. Get your documents right. Its not easy, but it'll save you from disappointments. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 3:31 AM, Muhammad Yahia shipmas...@gmail.com wrote: If this is similar to US visa process, I would think an invitation from WM UK would be enough to waive those requirements, that of course has to be arranged with the British government. On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 5:13 PM, Ellie Young eyo...@wikimedia.org wrote: I have already brought this up with them and waiting to hear back (first response didn't sound like there was much we can do frankly...) My comment about the spring is that is when we will have a guide for our attendees who need visas. They said it would be ready in the next couple of months. We won't be notifying people about their scholarships until April. And while we are on this subject, I want to reiterate that we expect individuals to cover their own visa expenses as well as contacting the British Consulate on their own or through a visa service in their home country. The UK accepts applications for visas 90 days prior to the expected date of entering the UK (applying before doesn't do any good.) Ellie On Jan 12, 2014, at 3:42 PM, aude aude.w...@gmail.com wrote: On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at
Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team
My dear Abbas, My last email isn't referring to the _usual_ application. I'm saying those documents should be there in front of the consular _before_ the applicant is there with his/her _usual_ application. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 11:55 AM, Abbas Mahmood abbas...@hotmail.com wrote: My dear Rexford, Please read my email again. I clearly used the word _application_. I am very well aware of who processes and issues the visa. My point was that you can not simply bend protocol and forward your application documents directly to the embassy when there is a structure in place to do just that. Abbas. -- Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2014 11:50:41 +0200 From: nkansahrexf...@gmail.com To: wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team Well, don't be tricked! They have outsourced the COLLECTION of the visa from the public to vfs, but it is the embassy that ISSUES the visa. The vfs people, EVERYDAY, send in applications they've received to the embassy they work for. When the visa is processed and is ready, the vfs people will go and collect from the embassy, and the applicant will go and collect the issued visa from VFS, thinking the vfs people issued it. If the vfs people issue visa, then why don't the embassy close, after all someone is doing the job? I was at the embassy, about 3 times, and I saw vfs car, bring in the application. They've outsourced the collection, so that people don't overcrowd the embassy residence all the times. For Ghana, that's how it is. For other countries, I have no idea. Perhaps, the consular is resting, whiles vfs issues visa. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 11:08 AM, Abbas Mahmood abbas...@hotmail.com wrote: Most of the UK Embassies worldwide (including Ghana) outsource their visa application handling to VFS Global, so sending the documents directly to the Embassy won't work... Abbas. -- Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2014 10:52:06 +0200 From: nkansahrexf...@gmail.com To: wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team In addition, there might be other better ways of handling issues for such applicants wanting to attend the Wikimania other than just sending a signed letter to be given to the embassy. Perhaps, the Wikimedia UK, sending specific details of those they've awarded scholarship to the originating country's embassy will give the embassy a fair idea of the one applying. Details like, passport details, itenary ticket, accommodation, length of stay, arrangements to bring the attendee back, track record of returnees of such conferences, and what the embassy should do to wikimedia uk if it happens the person doesn't back. And these details should be sent directly to the embassy. Informing the embassy beforehand is far professional looking and indicates seriousness on the part of the inviting organization, than emailing a letter for the applicant to hold in his hand and give to the embassy. I'm in Ghana, and I know how it is on the ground. I went through hell to get visa from south Africa embassy. The UK can be 5x worse. If the best the inviting organization can do is send a letter, then there's little the applicant here can do. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 9:32 AM, Nkansah Rexford nkansahrexf...@gmail.com wrote: Do the invitation letter really change a thing? I will be surprised to see a consular waive all those requirements because of a 1-paged white paper with black in on, signed by an organization called Wikimedia UK. For instance, in Ghana, consulate don't care who or what is inviting you, nor even take delight in reading the letter. If the requirements say get a certain amount and or fulfil certain requirements, please get that with you. Consular even reject visa from applicants invited by United Nations, so I'm still wondering how much impact a letter can do. Get your documents right. Its not easy, but it'll save you from disappointments. Rexford | Africa Center | wikiafrica.net | sent from Tab On Jan 13, 2014 3:31 AM, Muhammad Yahia shipmas...@gmail.com wrote: If this is similar to US visa process, I would think an invitation from WM UK would be enough to waive those requirements, that of course has to be arranged with the British government. On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 5:13 PM, Ellie Young eyo...@wikimedia.org wrote: I have already brought this up with them and waiting to hear back (first response didn't sound like there was much we can do frankly...) My comment about the spring is that is when we will have a guide for our attendees who need visas. They said it would be ready in the next couple of months. We won't be notifying people about their scholarships until April. And while we are on this
Re: [Wikimania-l] Wikimania 2015 scholarships vision
On Mon, Jan 13, 2014 at 11:02 AM, Nathan nawr...@gmail.com wrote: As is evident in the selection criteria the scholarship committee puts forth, contributions on our wiki projects is the key component to receiving a scholarship. The scores are so close, it is really difficult (impossible?) to receive a scholarship from WMF without having contributions on wiki. The committee also tries to look at someone's contributions in relation to his/her local-wiki context. One specific example of this is a former scholar from the Kyrgyz Wikipedia. On first glance, it looked like her aggregate edit count was low, but on further digging the committee realized she had only been editing for a year, and was already a top 5 contributor on that wiki! Just so I understand, are you saying that scholarship applicants are rated based on a score, and that this score is primarily derived from edit count? Applications are scored on different dimensions (see selection criteria), and these scores are weighted. One score has to do explicitly participation in WIkimedia projects, and this carries the biggest weight. Edit count is a factor taken into consideration with participation. -- *Jessie WildGrantmaking Learning Evaluation * *Wikimedia Foundation* Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! Donate to Wikimedia https://donate.wikimedia.org/ ___ Wikimania-l mailing list Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team
Hi Muhammad, I was just looking on the UK Border Agency website and could not see any mention of 10,000 USD requirements or property ownership. Do you have any further info? (I appreciate that it will still be difficult for Iranians to get a visa even if that isn't the case...) On 12 Jan 2014 22:08, Muhammad Yahia shipmas...@gmail.com wrote: Hi all, I received this question about visas for Iranian citizens and am passing it along: As it stands now, UK visa requirements for Iranian citizens is to have a bank account with (on average) 1 USD or equivalent in the last six months, plus proof of ownership of a property in Iran, the documents have to be translated and notarized. Most of the volunteers interested in getting scholarship for WM or trying to arrange travel on their own are mostly young people who do not satisfy either conditions, is there something that the UK team can do about that? can they get confirmation that if they apply these requirements will be waived or something similar? Thanks! -- Best Regards, Muhammad Yahia ___ Wikimania-l mailing list Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l ___ Wikimania-l mailing list Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
Re: [Wikimania-l] Question for the WM 2014 London team
Hey Chris,
That was the information relayed to me, I will ask the person who asked the
question for the source. It maybe be at the UAE/Turkey embassy website.
On Monday, January 13, 2014, Chris Keating wrote:
Hi Muhammad,
I was just looking on the UK Border Agency website and could not see any
mention of 10,000 USD requirements or property ownership. Do you have any
further info?
(I appreciate that it will still be difficult for Iranians to get a visa
even if that isn't the case...)
On 12 Jan 2014 22:08, Muhammad Yahia
shipmas...@gmail.comjavascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'shipmas...@gmail.com');
wrote:
Hi all,
I received this question about visas for Iranian citizens and am passing
it along:
As it stands now, UK visa requirements for Iranian citizens is to have a
bank account with (on average) 1 USD or equivalent in the last six
months, plus proof of ownership of a property in Iran, the documents have
to be translated and notarized.
Most of the volunteers interested in getting scholarship for WM or trying
to arrange travel on their own are mostly young people who do not satisfy
either conditions, is there something that the UK team can do about that?
can they get confirmation that if they apply these requirements will be
waived or something similar?
Thanks!
--
Best Regards,
Muhammad Yahia
___
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'Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org');
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
--
Best Regards,
Muhammad Yahia
___
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Re: [Wikimania-l] Wikimania 2015 scholarships vision
On Mon, Jan 13, 2014 at 11:14 AM, Jessie Wild jw...@wikimedia.org wrote: On Mon, Jan 13, 2014 at 11:02 AM, Nathan nawr...@gmail.com wrote: As is evident in the selection criteria the scholarship committee puts forth, contributions on our wiki projects is the key component to receiving a scholarship. The scores are so close, it is really difficult (impossible?) to receive a scholarship from WMF without having contributions on wiki. The committee also tries to look at someone's contributions in relation to his/her local-wiki context. One specific example of this is a former scholar from the Kyrgyz Wikipedia. On first glance, it looked like her aggregate edit count was low, but on further digging the committee realized she had only been editing for a year, and was already a top 5 contributor on that wiki! Just so I understand, are you saying that scholarship applicants are rated based on a score, and that this score is primarily derived from edit count? Applications are scored on different dimensions (see selection criteria), and these scores are weighted. One score has to do explicitly participation in WIkimedia projects, and this carries the biggest weight. Edit count is a factor taken into consideration with participation. ...except the geographic quotas (I believe we had those in 2012, at least?) combined with paucity of candidates did result in some scholars who were not active editors (i.e. edited less than 5 times a month). Of the 7 scholarships accepted by people from sub-Saharan Africa in 2012, only 3 went to active editors. Asaf -- Asaf Bartov Wikimedia Foundation http://www.wikimediafoundation.org Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! https://donate.wikimedia.org ___ Wikimania-l mailing list Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
