Hey, what a coincidence. Minutes ago I posted a suggestion to chapters-l and copied it to the talk page of the "Future of the Wikimedia Conference" page. Glad the we bring the discussion to the next level now. Thanks, Asaf! :)
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Future_of_the_Wikimedia_Conference#Coming_up_with_a_location_first Cheers, Nicole On 30 August 2013 16:45, Asaf Bartov <abar...@wikimedia.org> wrote: > Hello All: > > Following our most recent, successful, community gathering in Hong Kong - A > BIG thank you, again, to everyone who made it such an event to remember - > we are looking ahead to the annual Wikimedia Conference (AKA Chapters' > Meeting.) > > As many of you know, we typically await the offer of a specific group to > host the event each year. While this process has more or less worked in > the past, we are increasingly aware that waiting until close to the > gathering to decide on the date and the location creates an unnecessary > inconvenience to those planning to attend and results in higher fees for > travel and lodging that could be avoided if we worked together to plan > further ahead. > > Wikimedia Deutschland had helpfully started a conversation about the future > of the Wikimedia Conference, on Meta[1], including the question of settling > the host group. Regrettably, there has been practically no engagement with > that page so far. (For my part, I have deliberately been waiting for a few > movement groups to speak first, as I wanted to avoid "priming" the > conversation with the (perceived) weight of WMF's voice.) > > It has occurred to us that two of the reasons that we are not able to plan > further ahead may be 1. the somewhat vague nature of the planning process > and 2. that groups who may want to host hesitate because of an uncertainty > regarding the costs involved in hosting such a large event. > > Therefore, we would like to provide some basic information about the > Wikimedia Conference and begin a community conversation regarding how me > might work together to set the date and location by, say, November of the > year preceding the event; thus giving those who want to attend plenty of > time to plan and saving the movement and each of the groups the higher cost > of last minute lodging arrangements and airline ticket purchases. > > Additionally, planning ahead will allow all of the chapters who wish to > send participants to contribute to the agenda for the gathering; thus > making sure that all of the issues that the participants would like to > discuss are addressed at this annual conference. > > *==First a bit about the purpose of the Wikimedia Conference==* > *An opportunity for Wikimedia movement organizations to meet face-to-face > and share ideas about projects and practices and to discuss any unresolved > issues that may have come up during the past year. > *A venue for one of the quarterly Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees > meetings and an opportunity for the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees > and Wikimedia movement organizations to meet and talk. > *A venue for the Funds Dissemination Committee to meet to assess the > funding proposals for Round 2 of the current year and provide > recommendations on those proposals to the WMF Board. > > We thought that beginning a discussion regarding "hosting requirements" > i.e. venue size, accessibility of lodging near the venue, handicapped > accessibility, ease of air and ground transit in and out of the venue > location, visa application process, Internet access, catering capabilities, > and chapter and volunteer support available to organize the conference and > to provide support during the conference itself, would be helpful. > > To help facilitate the discussion, we have provided some information > regarding past chapter meetings that may be useful for chapters considering > the possibility of hosting for 2014 and beyond. For those who have hosted > in the past, some of this will be repetitive (and you may have input to > add) for those who have not, please feel free to send along any questions > you may have that are not covered in the information provided > > *==Logistical Needs for the Annual Wikimedia Conference==* > *A meeting venue that can accommodate a group of 200 - 250 attendees > *Lodging either at the meeting venue or nearby to accommodate 200 - 250 > attendees > *Smaller meeting rooms at the venue to accommodate the Board Meeting and > the FDC deliberations (rooms to hold approximately 15 people). > *Reliable Internet access at both the venue and the lodging facilities. > *Adequate either staff or volunteer support to secure the facilities, > coordinate the conference and assist attendees in the visa application > process as needed > *Access to international travel ports no farther than an hour's ground > travel (train/bus/taxi/car) from the conference venue > *Adequate support facilities - restaurants, print/copy shops, medical > facilities, electronics stores no farther than 30 minutes ground travel > from the conference venue > > *==Financing a Wikimedia Conference==* > *Ideally, groups that send delegates to the Wikimedia Conference are > responsible for financially supporting those who attend - including all > lodging, travel and non-conference meals. In practice, that has never been > possible so far, and groups that do not have funding for attending (often > acquired by budgeting for it in a broader WMF grant) are supported by the > hosting group (again, possibly funded by a WMF grant to the hosts) > *The Wikimedia Foundation is responsible for financially supporting the > participation of Foundation staff, FDC Members and WMF Board Members - > including all lodging, travel and non-conference meals. > *To enable more chapters to offer their city/country as the hosting entity, > the Foundation has made the decision to financially support the hosting > expenses for the Wikimedia Conference itself; to include the cost of the > main conference venue and miscellaneous meeting rooms, the cost of internet > access at that venue, the cost of meals provided at the conference venue > during the conference for all participants and any group ground transit > needs related specifically to the meetings at the conference. Additional > reasonable/miscellaneous costs may also be covered per discussions between > the hosting groups and the Chief of Finance and Administration at the WMF > offices in San Francisco. > > We look forward to any and all input and suggestions as we work together to > refine the planning and execution of the annual Wikimedia Conference. > > Thank you, > Asaf > > [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Future_of_the_Wikimedia_Conference > -- > 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 > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> -- Nicole Ebber International Affairs Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Obentrautstr. 72 | 10963 Berlin Tel. +49 30 219158 26-0 http://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 27/681/51985. _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>