Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Wikimedia Conference 2015-2017: 3 Year Report

[Nicole Ebber]

Hi Pine,

Thank you reading the report and for the feedback/questions. Please
note that Cornelius and I will both be on vacation for the next 1,5
weeks, but we were planning to publish more thoughts around the new
concept for WMCON in April, before the conference, that will also
address some of your questions. Would you mind posting your questions
to the meta talk page of the report, so that they don't get buried in
this thread and we can come back to them upon return?

Thanks,
Nicole

On 24 March 2018 at 01:45, Pine W  wrote:
> Hello Cornelius, Nicole, and Daniela,
>
> Thank you for sharing these reflections.
>
> After reading this document, I have a few questions.
>
> 1. The document recommends that WMCON evolve into a conference that focuses
> on strategy and governance. My guess is that Wikimedia has tens of
> thousands of contributors who are not members of affiliates, and it seems
> to me that strategy and governance conference should include significant
> participation from online contributors who may or may not be associated
> with an affiliate. Would you agree with that, or do you envision WMCON
> becoming more narrowly focused specifically on offline strategy and
> governance such that representation from the broader online community is
> not necessary?
>
> 2. If WMF were to adopt your recommendations about narrowing the focus of
> the conference, then would it be reasonable to place WMCON immediately
> before Wikimania and/or the MediaWiki Developer Conference, in the same
> venue or a smaller venue in the same local area, for the purpose of
> reducing the combined costs of the conferences, total amount of time that
> people spend traveling, and the environmental impacts from travel?
>
> 3. I agree that there can be good value in regional and thematic
> conferences. I also get the impression that WMF is more willing to support
> regional and thematic events financially than they were in the past. Are
> there learning patterns, case studies, or other information from WMCON that
> you would especially recommend for study by organizers of regional and
> thematic conferences, organizers of Wikimania, and staff or committee
> members for the WMF Conference and Events Grants program
> ?
>
> 4. The report says, "We experienced that most of those who attend the
> Wikimedia Conference are highly interested in working together with people
> from other affiliates and engaging in international collaboration. However,
> international collaboration per se is rarely part of affiliates’ budgets,
> or is even cut from grant proposals." I wonder whether greater emphasis on
> fostering the development of more thematic organizations
> , and user
> groups  with
> thematic goals, would be helpful. Would you recommend that WMF and the
> Affiliations Committee consider what measures could be taken to foster the
> creation and development of thematic organizations and
> thematically-oriented user groups? Also, do you have any recommendations
> for the WMF grants staff and grants committees which you think could foster
> the development of international cooperation in ways that lead to specific,
> measurable, and timely benefits that provide good value for money?
>
> Thank you for your work on WMCON. I have read a number of WMCON reports
> from 2015 onward and I have consistently found them to be interesting and
> valuable.
>
> Pine
> ( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )
>
> On Wed, Mar 21, 2018 at 8:28 AM, Cornelius Kibelka <
> cornelius.kibe...@wikimedia.de> wrote:
>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> We are excited to share a report on our main learnings from the last three
>> years of organizing the Wikimedia Conference. From 2015 to 2017 we have
>> focused on improving the conference from year to year, each time learning
>> from the experiences and feedback from the preceding years.
>>
>> The report reflects on our learnings regarding logistics, program design,
>> and the general purpose of the conference. The conclusion of the report
>> leads to some central questions  that we together need to create clarity
>> around to make the most of the Wikimedia Conference in the future: Who is
>> the target audience of the Wikimedia Conference? How can we strengthen
>> capacity building within the Movement and build stronger links between all
>> Wikimedia events? How can the Wikimedia Conference continue to be a useful
>> space for conversations about the future direction of the Wikimedia
>> Movement?
>>
>> You can find the report here:
>>
>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Conference/
>> 2015%E2%80%932017_Report
>>
>>
>> Also, we have a layouted version as a pdf
>>
>> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Conference_2015_to_2017_Report.pdf
>>
>>
>> We look forward to seeing many of you at this year’s WMCON, where the

Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Wikimedia Conference 2015-2017: 3 Year Report

[Pine W]

Hello Cornelius, Nicole, and Daniela,

Thank you for sharing these reflections.

After reading this document, I have a few questions.

1. The document recommends that WMCON evolve into a conference that focuses
on strategy and governance. My guess is that Wikimedia has tens of
thousands of contributors who are not members of affiliates, and it seems
to me that strategy and governance conference should include significant
participation from online contributors who may or may not be associated
with an affiliate. Would you agree with that, or do you envision WMCON
becoming more narrowly focused specifically on offline strategy and
governance such that representation from the broader online community is
not necessary?

2. If WMF were to adopt your recommendations about narrowing the focus of
the conference, then would it be reasonable to place WMCON immediately
before Wikimania and/or the MediaWiki Developer Conference, in the same
venue or a smaller venue in the same local area, for the purpose of
reducing the combined costs of the conferences, total amount of time that
people spend traveling, and the environmental impacts from travel?

3. I agree that there can be good value in regional and thematic
conferences. I also get the impression that WMF is more willing to support
regional and thematic events financially than they were in the past. Are
there learning patterns, case studies, or other information from WMCON that
you would especially recommend for study by organizers of regional and
thematic conferences, organizers of Wikimania, and staff or committee
members for the WMF Conference and Events Grants program
?

4. The report says, "We experienced that most of those who attend the
Wikimedia Conference are highly interested in working together with people
from other affiliates and engaging in international collaboration. However,
international collaboration per se is rarely part of affiliates’ budgets,
or is even cut from grant proposals." I wonder whether greater emphasis on
fostering the development of more thematic organizations
, and user
groups  with
thematic goals, would be helpful. Would you recommend that WMF and the
Affiliations Committee consider what measures could be taken to foster the
creation and development of thematic organizations and
thematically-oriented user groups? Also, do you have any recommendations
for the WMF grants staff and grants committees which you think could foster
the development of international cooperation in ways that lead to specific,
measurable, and timely benefits that provide good value for money?

Thank you for your work on WMCON. I have read a number of WMCON reports
from 2015 onward and I have consistently found them to be interesting and
valuable.

Pine
( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )

On Wed, Mar 21, 2018 at 8:28 AM, Cornelius Kibelka <
cornelius.kibe...@wikimedia.de> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> We are excited to share a report on our main learnings from the last three
> years of organizing the Wikimedia Conference. From 2015 to 2017 we have
> focused on improving the conference from year to year, each time learning
> from the experiences and feedback from the preceding years.
>
> The report reflects on our learnings regarding logistics, program design,
> and the general purpose of the conference. The conclusion of the report
> leads to some central questions  that we together need to create clarity
> around to make the most of the Wikimedia Conference in the future: Who is
> the target audience of the Wikimedia Conference? How can we strengthen
> capacity building within the Movement and build stronger links between all
> Wikimedia events? How can the Wikimedia Conference continue to be a useful
> space for conversations about the future direction of the Wikimedia
> Movement?
>
> You can find the report here:
>
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Conference/
> 2015%E2%80%932017_Report
>
>
> Also, we have a layouted version as a pdf
>
> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Conference_2015_to_2017_Report.pdf
>
>
> We look forward to seeing many of you at this year’s WMCON, where the
> future concept and scope of the conference also will be part of the program.
>
> Warm regards,
>
> Cornelius, Nicole and Daniela
>
>
> --
> Cornelius Kibelka
> Program and Engagement Coordinator (PEC)
> for the Wikimedia Conference
>
> Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
> Tel. (030) 219 158 26-0
> http://wikimedia.de
>
> Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
> Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
> http://spenden.wikimedia.de/
>
> Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
> Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
> der Nummer 23855 B. 

[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Wikimedia Conference 2015-2017: 3 Year Report

[Cornelius Kibelka]

Dear all,

We are excited to share a report on our main learnings from the last three
years of organizing the Wikimedia Conference. From 2015 to 2017 we have
focused on improving the conference from year to year, each time learning
from the experiences and feedback from the preceding years.

The report reflects on our learnings regarding logistics, program design,
and the general purpose of the conference. The conclusion of the report
leads to some central questions  that we together need to create clarity
around to make the most of the Wikimedia Conference in the future: Who is
the target audience of the Wikimedia Conference? How can we strengthen
capacity building within the Movement and build stronger links between all
Wikimedia events? How can the Wikimedia Conference continue to be a useful
space for conversations about the future direction of the Wikimedia
Movement?

You can find the report here:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Conference/2015%E2%80%932017_Report


Also, we have a layouted version as a pdf

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Conference_2015_to_2017_Report.pdf


We look forward to seeing many of you at this year’s WMCON, where the
future concept and scope of the conference also will be part of the program.

Warm regards,

Cornelius, Nicole and Daniela


-- 
Cornelius Kibelka
Program and Engagement Coordinator (PEC)
for the Wikimedia Conference

Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Tel. (030) 219 158 26-0
http://wikimedia.de

Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen
Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
http://spenden.wikimedia.de/

Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207
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