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Grants:Conference/WMTR/Wikidata Trainings For Turkic Wikimedians

< Grants:Conference
statusFunded
Training days for representatives of Turkic Wikimedia projects, to improve and enrich the skills of working in Wikimedia projects, primarily in Wikidata.
targetWikidata, Commons, Wikipedia
strategic priorityIncreasing Participation & Improving Quality
event datesOctober 21 – October 23, 2022
amount-local60,000.00 USD
amount60,000.00 USD
typeGroup
nonprofitYes
creator• Sakhalinio
contact• zaferbatik@gmail.com
organization• Dijital Bilgi Derneği (On behalf of Wikimedia Community User Group Turkey)
website• tr.wikimedia.org
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Event overview

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Purpose and vision

This is a conference and a series of trainings about Wikidata, Wikipedia and Wikipedia in Education, and also about Wikimedia Strategy which is organized by Wikimedians of Turkic Languages User Group in cooperation with Wikimedia UG Turkey, which acts as a fiscal sponsor of the event. The event will also be supported by Istanbul's Uskudar University, on the campus of which the event will be organized.

The purpose of this training-conference is to develop Wikimedia projects, and especially Wikidata and Wikipedia in Turkic languages and to improve the skills of representatives of Turkic Wikimedia projects. The Turkic Wikimedia community has great potential for the development of Wikimedia projects, but doesn't have the skills that would help them contribute to projects such as Wikidata, which is of great importance and potential for development.

Also, at the moment, the Wikimedia movement is at the stage of implementing the movement strategy and where there are discussions about a UCoC, Hubs, about a Global Council and a Movement Charter. It's important that the Turkic-speaking community be informed about this and actively participate in these discussions, but unfortunately, due to various barriers (language, technical or cultural), the community doesn't actively participate in it. Therefore, we decided to hold a special session dedicated to the movement strategy within the framework of this event. To do this, we will invite a representative of the MSG team to our events. We hope in this way to overcome the problems of the participation of the Turkic community in these discussions.

Wikimedia projects are very popular among the Turkic community. From Wikimedia projects, Wikipedia is the most active among the community, but unfortunately other projects, and especially Wikidata, are not active and are not strongly developed in Turkic languages. The reason for this is that the representatives/editors of the Turkic community don't have the skills and are not sufficiently informed to work in these projects.

To develop free knowledge and free data, we decided to hold this training-conference. Since Wikidata is strategic in nature for all Wikimedia projects in coordinating, disseminating and collecting information, it is important for us to help the Turkic community develop and acquire new Wikidata skills.

The conference will be attended by an invitation guests who are specialists in this field, that is, administrators and developers of Wikidata. Also invite other guests who have a great contribution to the development of free knowledge.

Our event will be held for three days, from where two days there will be a conference and trainings, and the last day will be edit-a-thon. For the conference we will accept proposals and submissions from everyone.

In the first two days there will be presentations, panel discussions, trainings that will be related with Wikidata, Wikimedia projects and movement strategy, throughout the event, the main theme will be the development of Wikidata and open knowledge resources. Also, an important part of the conference will be devoted to the development of Wikimedia projects in the Turkic languages and in our region (Turkey, the Caucasus, Central Asia). The last day will be provided to Wikidata and Wikipedia (in terms of integrated data from Wikidata) workshops and for edit-a-thon.

Our trainings will be designed for both beginners and advanced editors. Also, all participating editors and representatives will be encouraged to host small Wikidata and Wikipedia workshops in their home community.

Important details

Please add key information to the table below. The dates, location and number of participants can be estimates and do not need to be finalized at this time.

Proposed date(s) October 21 – October 23
Proposed location Üsküdar University, Istanbul, Turkey
Number of participants 60 expected, maximum 100
Event page Wikidata Trainings For Turkic Wikimedians 2022
Primary contact person Mehman Ibragimov, HakanIST, Zafer Batik

Background

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Community input

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Use the results from the community engagement survey to fill in the table below. Since you cannot cover all topics or meet all needs at one event, prioritisation is important. Please rank the priority of each topic, skill, project or problem as high, medium or low. Finally, please answer the questions below the table.

Description Priority
Strategic discussions:

What are the top issues affecting your community that need to be discussed in person?

Top issues affecting the community that need to be discussed in person are:
  1. Experience sharing for Turkic Language Wikipedias about Wikidata integration
  2. Introducing Wikidata
  3. Data donations, import processes, working with GLAM institutions.
 2nd
Capacity development:

Are there important skills that many people in your community need to learn?

Important skills that people need to learn are:
  1. Wikidata Basics
  2. Data Imports
  3. SPARQL
  4. Wikidata Infoboxes
  5. Installing Wikibase
 1st
Working groups:

Are there joint projects that need to be planned in person?

Some of the projects or activities that need to be, partially or fully, planned in person are:
  1. GLAM Projects,
  2. Edithathons,
  3. Training events
  4. WikiLove competitions,
 3rd
Community building:

Are there other in-person activities are important for community building?

Some of the participants noted the following:
  1. Social events
 4th

Survey analysis:

  1. How many people did you send the survey to? How many people responded to the survey?
    1. The survey has been sent via public Telegram group of Wikimedia Turkic Languages and Turkish Wikipedia. We’ve received 22 responses.
  2. Did you see consensus around shared goals that this community wants to focus on in the next 12 months? What were the top 2 goals?
    1. The two goals community has consesus on are: capacity building for Wikidata, particularly in introduction and partnerships for data donations.
  3. Based on survey responses, what are the most important things your community should do at the conference to achieve those goals?
    1. Having a different set of sessions and workshops to target participants of all levels of experience is essential. Also for finding common obstacles and brainstorming for solutions, round-table discussions are crucial. Small workshops for exchanging experiences within the same cultural context is also necessary.

Context

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It is helpful to get an understanding of why this event is important to your community, and what experiences you have had in the past. Please answer the applicable questions below.

1. What inspired your community to begin planning this event?
In August 2019, at Wikimania, a meeting of representatives of the Turkic community was held, where representatives from Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Russia (Tatarstan, Bashkortostan), and Kyrgyzstan met. During the meeting, we discussed the problems and achievements that the Turkic language community had in Wikimedia projects. During this discussion, all participants confirmed and told that they themselves and their communities don't have people who have sufficient skills to work in Wikidata freely. Some of the problems they listed are:
  1. they cannot integrate Wikipedia templates and infoboxes to Wikidata;
  2. cannot create items on Wikidata on their own;
  3. don't have sufficient skills on request to create properties in Wikidata and etc.
Based on this, we decided to hold a conference and trainings for the Turkic community. Place and date agreed on before and started work on preparing the event.
2. How does this event relate to other activities that your community is working on?
Turkic communities actively carry out various projects or participate in it and also actively test or apply new properties for their home projects. To achieve their goals and acquire new skills, Wikidata conferences and trainings will help them in their work.
3. Please list the priorities identified in the report from the last conference organized by this community. What progress have you made in those areas?
Due to the fact that our community was the first to hold such an event, unfortunately we don't have an answer to this question. But Wikimedia UG Turkey and Wikimedia Turkic UG actively conduct various contests and trainings on working in Wikimedia projects and especially on Wikipedia, and observing at these events we can say that the problems associated with the lack of skills in working on Wikidata are relevant and both trainers and participants in the events face more often with this problem.
4. If your community has hosted a similar conference in the past, what key lessons were learned, and what would you like to improve on?
Unfortunately, before our community never held such an event, this will be the first for us. We hope that without any difficulties, we will successfully conduct it.

Plan

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Venue and Logistics

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1. If the venue is more than 1 hour away from a major airport or transportation hub, how will participants travel to the event venue?
The campus of the University of Uskudar, where the event will be held, is located 50 km from the largest airport (Istanbul New Airport) of the city, from where you can get to the city center by bus, airport shuttle or taxi, and from the city center to the campus and hotel you can use the subway. The second largest international airport (Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport) of the city is located 31 km from the campus, from where you can reach the campus and hotel using a bus, subway, airport shuttle or taxi.
2. Is the event venue within walking distance from the hotel? If not, how will people travel between the two locations?
The university campus where the event will be held will be close to the hotel (approximate distance of 650 meters, 8 minutes walk), where the participants of the event will stop. Also the closest subway stop from campus is 600 meters away (Bağlarbaşı metro station), walking can be reached in 8 minutes.
3. Is the event venue and hotel accessible for people with physical disabilities?
The hotel (Mercure Istanbul Altunizade) and university campus are fully adapted for people with physical disabilities.
4. Do you anticipate any challenges with using the space for the event you are planning?
At this point and in the future, we assume we will not have any problems on this matter.

Friendly space policy

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Please link to the friendly space policy that your community will be using for this event.

We will use at our event WMF Friendly space policy, which meets our expectations. Please read it here.

Participation

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It is crucial that most participants have a minimum level of Wikimedia experience so that they can engage actively in workshops and discussions. Please answer all applicable questions below.

1. Please describe the target audience for this conference or event.
Representatives of the Turkic community, including editors of Wikimedia projects in Azerbaijani, Turkish, Tatar, Bashkir, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Uyghur, Uzbek language. Additionally representatives of regional communities, including from Georgia, Russia, Armenia, and Iran. The participants will be both advanced editors (target audience) and newcomers of Wikimedia projects.
2. If your conference has an outreach component, how will you ensure engagement with these participants after the conference, and what impact do you see them having on the projects?
The Turkic community will continue to work in this direction and after our event, we expect participants to conduct active trainings in their home communities. After the conference, we will be in touch with all participants via email, telegram, social networks.
3. Are you thinking about inviting WMF staff to attend or participate in the event? If yes, please list individuals or teams who you may want to invite, or describe how you would like WMF staff to be involved in the event.
We are going to invite Asaf Bartov as a specialist in Wikidata and in training. Besides him we are also going to invite other speakers from the US (Andrew Lih) and Estonia (Kaarel Vaidla) to participate in the conference.

Scholarships

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1. How many scholarships would you like to offer?
In total, we are going to provide 52 scholarships for:
  1. for representatives of the Turkic WikiCommunity (from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Moldova);
  2. for representatives of the regional WikiCommunity (from Georgia, Russia, Armenia and Iran);
  3. for key speakers and additionally invited guests (Admins of Wikidata).
2. What expenses will the scholarship cover?
Travelling, accommodation and stay expenses, food and drink during this conference. Scholarships can be full or partial.
3. How will scholarship recipients be selected?
The selection of fellows will be carried out in two ways, where:
  1. The first one is recipients who are active members of already established Wikimedia chapters or affiliations (UG). Representatives of the Board or the Executive Committee will be required to submit them to us and after discussions we will confirm them for participation.
  2. The second one is groups of active Wikipedians who are not members of any Wikimedia chapters of affiliations. They will be selected by reviewing their editing history, their contribution to the Wikimedia movement and projects and their submitted self-evaluation and Wikimedia experience.

Resources and risks

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Describe the resource potential for successfully executing this project and the key risks/threats.

Resources

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Organizing team
Team User Names
WMF Liaison Mehman Ibragimov, HakanIST, Zafer Batik
Logistics Uskudar University
Conference Program Mehman Ibragimov, HakanIST, Zafer Batik
Scholarships Mehman Ibragimov, Basak, Mardetanha, Zafer Batik
Communications Zafer Batik, Eldar Azimov, Jelican9
Volunteer Coordinators HakanIST
Other team members Maurice Flesier

Risks

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Examples of risks, along with how you would minimize or overcome them, are:

  • Risk exists in the financial aspect, since we have not previously engaged in such a large organizational process and there is a risk that we will not take into account all financial risks.
  • Over the past few years, Turkey has been experiencing economic problems due to the instability of the Turkish currency. There is a risk with a change in the exchange rate of the national currency, which can cause issues. We will be in active contact with the Wikimedia Foundation on this issue, as well as follow closely the financial situation in Turkey.
  • The risk exists in the gender balance, we cannot foresee the fact of who will apply for the scholarship. There is a risk that most applications come from males. Here it is necessary to take into account the cultural and traditional factor of the region. But we will actively encourage women to participate, we will also set a quota for this.
  • Due to the coronavirus pandemic, some issues may arise. For instance:
  1. Participants can get sick and not come to the event
  2. The host country can declare a lockdown

We will be closely monitoring the situation locally and globally and act accordingly. Please see RAT for this event.

Budget

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Please provide a detailed breakdown of project expenses according to the instructions here. See Budget Guidelines.

Event budget table

Travel

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Nr. Item description Unit Quantity Cost per unit Total cost USD Comments
1. Travel costs 18,050.00 18,050.00
1.1. International travel participant 37 300.00/500.00/600.00/1000.00 17,300.00 17,300.00 Flights from Europe costs (per person) 300 USD, from Central Asia 500 and 600 USD, from US 1000 USD.
1.2. Domestic travel participant 15 50.00 750.00 750.00 Participants from other cities of Turkey.

Accommodation

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Nr. Item description Unit Quantity Cost per double room Total cost USD Comments
2. Accommodation costs 23,480.00 23,480.00
2.1. Lodging night 60 170.00 10,200.00 10,200.00 15 Twin Rooms for 4 nights
2.2. Lodging (for team and key speakers) night 52 140.00 7,280.00 7,280.00 7 Single rooms for 7 nights
2.3. Catering participant 80 - 6,000.00 6,000.00 Lunch and dinner on the conference venue during 3 days, also city tour and Sunday evening dinner.

Staff

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Nr. Position Time in month (TRY) Total (TRY) Total (USD)
3. 78,000.00 6,000.00
3.1. Administrative officer 4 months - 30 hours per week 9,750.00 39,000.00 3,000.00
3.2. Communications officer 4 months - 30 hours per week 9,750.00 39,000.00 3,000.00

Other expenses

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Nr. Item description Unit Quantity Cost per unit Total cost USD Comments
4. Other expenses 12,470.00 12,470.00
4.1. Visa participant 4 Depends on country 200.00 200.00
4.2. Promo packet for participants participant 70 - 3,000.00 3,000.00 Hoodies (for organizers and volunteers), gifts (for all participants).
4.3. Working material participant - - 2,200.00 2,200.00 Name tags, roll up, posters, signs, markers, safety kits (face masks and etc.).
4.4. Technical support Service per day 3 350.00 1,050.00 1,050.00
4.5. Bank fees - - - 300.00 300.00
4.6. Travel Agency Service - - - 800.00 800.00
4.7. Translation service - - - 3,920.00 3,920.00 Live interpretation at the conference (English, Russian, Turkish)
4.8. Unforeseen expenses - - - 1,000.00 1,000.00
Total cost of event
60,000.00 USD
Total amount requested from the Conference and Event Grants program
60,000.00 USD
Additional sources of revenue that may fund part of this event, and amounts funded
Uskudar University will provide the venue (Campus) and the necessary equipment at no cost.
Please confirm that you are aware that changes to the approved budget beyond 10% in any category must be approved in advance.

Yes

Discussion

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Endorsements

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Do you think this project should be selected for a Conference Grant? Please add your name and rationale for endorsing this project in the list below. Other feedback, questions or concerns from community members are also highly valued, but please post them on the talk page of this proposal.

  •   Support first conference for Turkic wikimedians, I think this helps us to help wikidata and work together Mardetanha talk 22:31, 10 February 2020 (UTC)
  •   Support Tatar & other Turkic communities from Russia will be happy to join & benefit from this practical learning and networking opportunity.--Frhdkazan (talk) 08:06, 8 March 2020 (UTC)
  •   Support - - Kaiyr (talk) 09:05, 8 March 2020 (UTC)
  •   Support ZUFAr (talk) 12:43, 8 March 2020 (UTC)
  •   Support - Рөстәм Нурыев (talk) 23:01, 9 March 2020 (UTC)
  •   Support - З. ӘЙЛЕ (talk) 06:30, 10 March 2020 (UTC)
  •   Support Borovi4ok (talk) 03:29, 15 May 2020 (UTC)
  •   Support Wikidata is of great importance in development of great communities. Toghrul Rahimli (talk) 13:06, 16 June 2020 (UTC)
  •   Support Turkish Wikimedia User Group is enough experienced for this organisation. After 2.5 years block an international organisation can proof the seriousness of our community. Vincent Vega msg?
  •   Support It should be great idea to gather all the Wikipedians of the Turkic languages, especially on the important topic such as Wikidata. Kazakh Wikipedia definitely needs collaborative sessions with wiki fellows from other countries. We have a lot to learn regarding all the Wikimedia projects, not only Wikipedia (which is the main WM active project in Kazakh language so far). So Wikidata training would surely be a huge step forward in the idea of spreading the knowledge in Turkic communities. Batyrbek.kz
  •   Support This event can strengthen ties between Turkic wiki communities and inspire participants for future activities.Wertuose (talk) 20:01, 12 February 2022 (UTC)
  •   Support We had block in Turkey 2,5 years. This event is very important four local community engaged with other Turkic Language communities. Sakhalinio (talk) 16:45, 13 February 2022 (UTC)
  •   Support It is organized by experienced people who have done events in different fields for a long time. 𝗩𝗶𝗸𝗶𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿 ℣ 17:04, 13 February 2022 (UTC)
  •   Support I believe proposed event would be helpful to start dealing with those two points: First, Wikidata is still known very little in our communities. This event could be a good starting point to change this situation. Secondly, the participation to discussions about the movement strategy and its implementation has been very low from Turkic communities. Such event is a great opportunity to discuss implementation of the movement strategy.Basak (talk) 00:11, 14 February 2022 (UTC)
  •   Support I think it will have a good effect on all Turkic wiki communities. — eldarado ✉ 07:20, 22 February 2022 (UTC)
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