Not quite. The Wikimania Committee is more of a guiding mind than something that's good for practical hands-on advice like "how many widgets do I need". That's fine; that's not what the committee was formed for - think of it as the difference between the cabinet and the civil service. Andy's suggestion seems to be for something much less formal. If such a thing existed I'd be happy to participate and offer whatever whatever advice I could, whereas I have no interest in sitting on any committees these days because, frankly, I value my sanity! ;)
A starting point might be a list of people who have been involved in organising a Wikimania in some capacity with a blurb about their areas of interest/expertise. Harry Mitchell http://enwp.org/User:HJ +44 (0) 7507 536 971 Skype: harry_j_mitchell On Wed, Jul 13, 2016 at 10:16 AM, Edward Saperia <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> So in general there's not enough communication between Wikimania >> organizers for things like this. Why don't we organize some sort of Brain >> Trust with former organizers to give opinions and advice **in a timely >> manner** to whoever is the current organizing team? It can be a really easy >> setup (maybe nothing more than a small mailing list and/or skype chat) >> where the current team can ask "Hey, X: you dealt with this before. How did >> you do it?" >> > > This already exists: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_Committee > > On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 6:06 AM, Harry Mitchell <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> I don't agree with you completely, Mike (but you're probably used to >>> that by now! ;) ) - if you buy a generic conference package you get a >>> generic conference. What's the point of flying all the way to London, for >>> example, for a conference on an industrial estate in Hounslow? Sure, you >>> might be literally spitting distance from Heathrow and you're not short of >>> options for hotels, but it doesn't have that uniqueness that makes >>> Wikimania what it is. Likewise, the evening programme and all the ancillary >>> stuff is as much part of Wikimania as the talks; in fact I'd argue that the >>> social side is far more important and probably much more fertile ground for >>> ideas than the talks themselves. >>> >>> You *do* have a point, though, that we reinvent the wheel every year >>> with a new team. I can't remember specifics, but there were several times >>> in the buildup to 2014 that I thought "this can't be the first time a >>> Wikimania team has had to do this". Not everything will be the same, but we >>> should get better at sharing and learning from our experiences so that >>> future teams aren't left wondering "how did they do this in London or >>> Mexico or Esino?". >>> >>> Harry Mitchell >>> http://enwp.org/User:HJ >>> +44 (0) 7507 536 971 >>> Skype: harry_j_mitchell >>> >>> On Mon, Jul 11, 2016 at 7:06 PM, Michael Peel <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Hi all, >>>> >>>> I don't want to take away from the huge amount of work and movement >>>> contributions that were made by the Mexico, London, and other Wikimania >>>> teams, but: it's worth noting that we could organise a Wikimania with the >>>> same number of attendees for a lot less amount of volunteer time (and also >>>> money). >>>> >>>> ~1,000+ people conferences take place quite often each year, across >>>> many different academic, non-profic and commercial communities, and there >>>> are dedicated conference venues that will just sort out everything - the >>>> venue, the internet access, hotel options, the whole lot. They are often >>>> located near to international airports, or major cities, which are easy to >>>> get to from across the globe. If we wanted to, we could go as far as saying >>>> "we're meeting at this venue, delegate fees are X per day, here is the list >>>> of nearby hotels that you can stay at, it's up to you to sort out >>>> everything else yourself" - and that would lead to a very cheap Wikimania >>>> for the WMF and the local Wikimedia organisation. >>>> >>>> Rather than going for those options, we've preferred to keep things >>>> complicated - we chose not to use standard conference packages, instead >>>> picking specific locations and approaches for each Wikimania. We travel to >>>> out of the way locations. We bolt on different bespoke activities (such as >>>> evening events, and outreach activities) to those conferences that increase >>>> the complexity of the event. We ask volunteers to take on duties that we >>>> could ask attendees to take on instead (photographs/organising sessions, >>>> etc.). We vary the structure of each conference to include the preferences >>>> of each organising committee. We organise a scholarship process. >>>> >>>> If we're going to do a rational cost-benefit analysis of Wikimania, >>>> including all of the options about regularity, intentions, etc., then >>>> perhaps we should also consider the basics - what's the minimum amount >>>> that's needed to hold such an event, leaving aside the optional extras? >>>> What can we keep constant between each Wikimania: can we keep the program >>>> organisation, the approach to evening events, and the add-on events the >>>> same each year (saving volunteer and staff time)? Or perhaps we should >>>> acknowledge the extra work that goes into each bespoke Wikimania, and >>>> celebrate that? Or seek an intermediate solution - sort out the venue, >>>> program, etc., and leave hotel/food options up to attendees? Or perhaps >>>> each Wikimania should keep vying for the title of the best Wikimania ever? >>>> >>>> Thanks, >>>> Mike >>>> >>>> On 10 Jul 2016, at 23:42, Ivan Martínez <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>> It's a lot of work, last week before Wikimania Mexico the coordination >>>> team slept less than 4 hours each day. But for me being honest was not a >>>> shaming time, was great. And we can have people intended to keep Wikimania >>>> annual and run similar challenges. >>>> >>>> Harry, we had here 72 committed volunteers working without paid and we >>>> are not a major developed economy. >>>> >>>> Darius, I think that "motivations criris afterward" must also be >>>> considered in the planning and prior call for Wikimanía volunteers and can >>>> be avoided. In Mexico we always tell to people that we did not want them >>>> just for giving the best of themselves for three days around, but we wanted >>>> to keep them with Wikimedia mission. A month ago we broke a Guinness record >>>> and 60% of attendees were Wikimania volunteers. It is a matter of long >>>> preplanning, I think. >>>> >>>> 2016-07-10 15:03 GMT-05:00 Harry Mitchell <[email protected]>: >>>> >>>>> Yes, London was big, and the two Wikimaniae since have been on a >>>>> smaller scale, but I'm not sure a ~1,000-person conference is >>>>> significantly >>>>> less of a headache than a ~2,000-person conference, and actually I'd wager >>>>> that Esino was more logistically complicated due to the location - for >>>>> example having to arrange buses to Varenna and the airports (which were >>>>> around 50 miles away). Not that that should be taken as a criticism of the >>>>> Esino team - they did a fantastic job in a beautiful location and I'd love >>>>> to have another 'scenic Wikimania'. >>>>> >>>>> I'll let Ed tell you about what he did. I know I saw him spend a lot >>>>> of time dealing with the venue and the programme and discussing finance >>>>> and >>>>> logistics, but I'm sure there are lots of other things. Speaking for >>>>> myself: those volunteers in red shirts? That was my contribution. The >>>>> volunteers on the helpdesks, running sessions, meeting and greeting, >>>>> tweeting, photographing, doing odd jobs and generally making things run >>>>> smoothly ... I recruited most of them*, got to know them, trained them, >>>>> split them into teams, did a lot of the scheduling (easier said than done >>>>> - >>>>> lots of moving parts!). During the conference, they looked after the >>>>> attendees, and I looked after them. And I've never worked with such an >>>>> amazing group of people. It was a truly humbling experience, but it was a >>>>> lot of work. At one point I was receiving something like 200 emails a day >>>>> just relating to Wikimania and was having to set aside time at the start >>>>> and end of the day to answer the ones that didn't require an immediate >>>>> response. I also devised the scheme of reporting and emergency/contingency >>>>> planning for volunteers (thankfully this wasn't necessary, but the death >>>>> of >>>>> a Wikimedian at that year's Wikimedia Conference was painfully fresh in >>>>> our >>>>> memories), and spent a lot of time trying to drum up and channel interest >>>>> within the UK Wikimedian community. I'm sure there were other things, but >>>>> those roles alone took up a significant amount of time - certainly in >>>>> excess of 40 hours a week in the final few weeks before the conference. >>>>> >>>>> *(Not wishing to take credit from anyone else; I worked closely with >>>>> lots of other people on all these things, particularly Hera Hussain, and >>>>> Fabian Tompsett and Chris McKenna who were at the time employed by >>>>> Wikimedia UK.) >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Harry Mitchell >>>>> http://enwp.org/User:HJ >>>>> +44 (0) 7507 536 971 >>>>> Skype: harry_j_mitchell >>>>> >>>>> On Sun, Jul 10, 2016 at 7:40 PM, Lodewijk <[email protected] >>>>> > wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Thanks Harry, Ed, >>>>>> >>>>>> Of course London was a bit of an exceptionally big Wikimania - but >>>>>> did you evaluate your effort somewhere, and note what you spent your time >>>>>> on somewhere? Just to get an impression which components take most effort >>>>>> (as Dariusz suggested)? >>>>>> >>>>>> Best, >>>>>> Lodewijk >>>>>> >>>>>> 2016-07-10 20:25 GMT+02:00 Harry Mitchell <[email protected]>: >>>>>> >>>>>>> I agree with Ed here. Organising a conference of this size is a huge >>>>>>> undertaking to ask of volunteers. I wouldn't want to see Wikimania go >>>>>>> down >>>>>>> the road of being organised by a team of professional conference >>>>>>> organisers >>>>>>> because then it would lose the organic community feel that makes it so >>>>>>> special, but we shouldn't rule out stipends for the local team. >>>>>>> Otherwise >>>>>>> we end up with the slightly odd situation of the WMF or local chapter >>>>>>> bringing in paid staff to fill gaps left by volunteers but the >>>>>>> volunteers >>>>>>> still effectively working full-time unpaid. I had a much smaller role in >>>>>>> 2014 than Ed and others and was fortunate to be in a position to >>>>>>> dedicate a >>>>>>> lot of time to it; I certainly wouldn't be in a position now to devote >>>>>>> as >>>>>>> much time as I did for free and without wishing to speak for Ed, I >>>>>>> doubt he >>>>>>> would be either even if he was willing. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> If that's a problem in major developed economies, I'd imagine it >>>>>>> would be even more of a problem in places where people have less >>>>>>> disposable >>>>>>> income. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Harry Mitchell >>>>>>> http://enwp.org/User:HJ >>>>>>> +44 (0) 7507 536 971 >>>>>>> Skype: harry_j_mitchell >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Sun, Jul 10, 2016 at 4:22 PM, Edward Saperia <[email protected] >>>>>>> > wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Thanks for that comment, Dariusz; >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Wikimania London took over two years of preparation, and occupied >>>>>>>> me full time for six months in the run up to the event. It's a massive >>>>>>>> undertaking, and in retrospect it seems deeply unfair to expect >>>>>>>> volunteers >>>>>>>> to do this. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> There was a bidding process, so there was heavy pressure to >>>>>>>> minimise/understate the budget - which mostly comes at the cost of the >>>>>>>> volunteers. I think the community just has to be more realistic about >>>>>>>> what >>>>>>>> it costs to put on a 1000+ person event. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Were I to do it again I would absolutely include subsistence for >>>>>>>> the organising team in the budget. It needs professional commitment and >>>>>>>> professional skills, even with WMF staff support. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> I do think that the movement deserves an annual event, and >>>>>>>> particularly that the WMF should capitalise on it more from a comms >>>>>>>> perspective. Wiki*edia is a significant entity and we should be >>>>>>>> presenting >>>>>>>> ourselves as such. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> *Edward Saperia* >>>>>>>> Conference Director Wikimania London >>>>>>>> <http://www.wikimanialondon.org/> >>>>>>>> email <[email protected]> • facebook >>>>>>>> <http://www.facebook.com/edsaperia> • twitter >>>>>>>> <http://www.twitter.com/edsaperia> • 07796955572 >>>>>>>> 133-135 Bethnal Green Road, E2 7DG >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> In the same time, I've seen the following problems over the years, >>>>>>>>> not directly linked to the financial cost (which in the face of our >>>>>>>>> relative financial stability can be justified by the benefits, >>>>>>>>> depending on >>>>>>>>> how we define them): >>>>>>>>> - huge WMF staff involvement (most Wikimanias run smoothly also >>>>>>>>> thanks to countless hours put in by the staff), >>>>>>>>> - huge volunteer local organizers involvement (in fact, my >>>>>>>>> observation is that many chapters organizing WIkimanias suffer from a >>>>>>>>> motivation crisis afterward). >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> [...] >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> While we can get the money (at least for now), the human >>>>>>>>> involvement cost is something I would not dare to dismiss just by >>>>>>>>> emphasizing the benefits of Wikimania for the movement. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> [...] >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Instead of discussing whether we should have a Wikimania every >>>>>>>>> year or not, perhaps we should try to list and discuss the reasons >>>>>>>>> why it >>>>>>>>> is such a big strain? If it is clear that we can't afford it every >>>>>>>>> year >>>>>>>>> (because of the human cost, probably more importantly than the >>>>>>>>> finances), >>>>>>>>> the decision to break with the annual format will be a natural >>>>>>>>> consequence >>>>>>>>> of such an analysis. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> [...] >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Dariusz Jemielniak ("pundit", a current Trustee). >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>>>> Wikimania-l mailing list >>>>>>>> [email protected] >>>>>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>>> Wikimania-l mailing list >>>>>>> [email protected] >>>>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>> Wikimania-l mailing list >>>>>> [email protected] >>>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Wikimania-l mailing list >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> *Iván Martínez* >>>> >>>> *Presidente - Wikimedia México A.C.User:ProtoplasmaKid * >>>> >>>> // Mis comunicaciones respecto a Wikipedia/Wikimedia pueden tener una >>>> moratoria en su atención debido a que es un voluntariado. >>>> // Ayuda a proteger a Wikipedia, dona ahora: >>>> https://donate.wikimedia.org >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Wikimania-l mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Wikimania-l mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >>>> >>>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wikimania-l mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> "Imagina un mundo en donde cada persona del planeta pueda tener acceso >> libre a la suma total de todo el conocimiento humano. Eso es lo que estamos >> haciendo."—Jimmy Wales <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales>. >> >> Socio de Wikimedia México >> <https://mx.wikimedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A1gina_principal>. >> >> >> >> [image: Andrés C y C on about.me] >> >> Andrés Cruz y Corro >> about.me/andycyca >> <http://about.me/andycyca> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimania-l mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimania-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l > >
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