Grants:Programs/Hub Fund/The CEE Hub - Year 3

statusFunded

Wikimedia Hub Fund

The CEE Hub - Year 3

idG-HF-2410-17374

start date2025-01-012025-01-01T00:00:00Z

end date2025-12-312025-12-31T00:00:00Z

budget (local currency)218203.86 EUR

budget (USD)237882.91 USD

amount-recommended237882.91

amount-recommended-local218203.86 EUR

fiscalyear2023-24

roundRound 1

organization (if applicable)Wikimedia CEE Hub

contact(s)BKlen-CEEhub

Review Final Report

This is an automatically generated Meta-Wiki page. The page was copied from Fluxx, the web service of Wikimedia Foundation Funds where the user has submitted their application. Please do not make any changes to this page because all changes will be removed after the next update. Use the discussion page for your feedback. The page was created by CR-FluxxBot.

Applicant information

Organization or group name. (required)

Wikimedia CEE Hub

Provide your main Wikimedia Username. (required)

BKlen-CEEhub

Have you contacted the Wikimedia Foundation Hub team before applying? (required)

Yes

Is your group legally registered in your country? (required)

No

Do you have a fiscal sponsor?

N/A

Fiscal organization name.

Stowarzyszenie Wikimedia Polska

Main proposal

1. State the title of your proposal. This will also be a title for the Meta-Wiki page. (required)

The CEE Hub - Year 3

2. Proposed start date. (required)

2025-01-01

3. Proposed end date. (required)

2025-12-31

4. Where will this proposal be implemented? Provide the region or country names and any other information that is useful for understanding your proposal. (required)

Our project will be implemented in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as CEE Hub is a regional Hub. This means that the vast majority of our efforts and activities are focused on the CEE region (covering WM communities from Malta, Poland, Czechia to WM communities in Azerbaijan, Turkey and Cyprus, to mention just a few). For more information about communities we work with, please read this. However, we will also continue to collaborate with other initiatives and organizations that work outside of the CEE e.g. Wikimedia Europe, initiative around North American Hub, African hubs (in making), Wikimedia Sweden, ESEAP hub etc., and with the WMF because this is essential for the transfer of best practices in the movement and for accomplishing better results in the CEE region. It is also important to mention that we have a special relationship with Central Asian communities because they are the CEE neighbours which need support too. These communities participated in the CEE meeting the last three years and several young Central Asian Wikimedians (e.g. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan) also joined our CEE Youth Group. Although we cannot focus on them (as they are outside of our region and we are a regional hub), we want to include them in activities they can benefit from (also Microgrants from autumn 2024).

5. Does your group have a theory of change for your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (optional)

Yes

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WbWBiFRa3iTSvUv8kV60YNJCMI9tokhHqM0SyeemylY/edit?tab=t.0

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Krkuh1b9FdjWCX3u74aeJLLIdZPZVTfY-l_e8LTUy_Y/edit?gid=0#gid=0

6. Why do you believe your group is best positioned to drive this hub initiative? (required)

This is our fourth, CEE hub related, grant application (counting also the initial research grant before the establishment of the CEE Hub) and we are the only organised hub in Central and Eastern Europe. We consult and offer support to more than 35 CEE communities and we have a wide regional support of Wikimedians.

CEE hub's Year 3 proposed annual plan was endorsed by more than 25 CEE communities and individuals: [1]

7. Do you have a strategic plan that can help us understand your proposal? If your proposal relates to piloting a hub, share your piloting plan. If your proposal relates to research, share your research plan. (required)

No

8. Describe the specific activities that will be carried out during this project. If your proposal is related to piloting a hub, describe the services you plan to offer and include how you are drawing on community consultation and needs assessments to define your activities. (required)

The project will be carried out according to the following plan, divided into work packages described below. To understand outputs and impact better, please read this document too.

Compared to the year 2 of the CEE hub project implementation we plan to introduce some changes related to the activities that we have already been implementing:

• More focus on learning about and using of external funds;
• Offering more structured support for the local organisers of the CEEM who are in charge of organising the CEE meeting;
• Coordination of regular meetings and cooperation with other Wikimedia hubs;
• More focus on reaching out to community members who did not get a chance to be involved before and who do not know what CEE hub is (via Village pumps);
• Changes related to Microgrants: higher max amounts (up to 700 EUR) and extending this support to the neighbouring Central Asian communities too;
• Evaluation of the pilot community building process that was introduced during the year 2 of the CEE hub project and which was focused on three CEE communities: we will analyse and evaluate the process and outputs that were achieved.

Apart from this, we plan to introduce two new packages: Development of intra-regional educational cooperation and CEE Hub incubator programme (for more information read the explanation below). 

1. Administrative support of the CEE communities and individuals: the CEE Hub is here to support communities and individuals in order to decrease their administrative burden. We will continue providing support in these areas:

The CEE Hub is here to support communities and enable their program related development. We will continue providing support in these areas:

a. Enabling and supporting participation of smaller communities in regional/global projects by informing them, helping them to organise and offering step by step guidance through the process. Based on the outcomes of the survey and communication with communities, we will decide which two contests/projects will be at focus during the Y3.  Our support for smaller communities is still needed as they lack both skills and resources to launch and manage contests/projects (especially for the first time) on their own. In addition to this, we will continue our support for the CEE Spring Campaign which, although it is widely spread and loved in the CEE, needs both a reevaluation and a systematic introduction of innovations, for which we will have preparatory meetings at the beginning of November 2024. This early planning of activities and improvements will enable us to inform local coordinators about changes and offer them support when needed. 

b. Leading the remodeling of the CEEM related processes while continuing supporting the local organisers of the annual CEE Meeting (CEEM). The CEE Hub representatives facilitated the CEEM bidding process for the past two years and they were also part of the CEEM program committee to ensure a smooth running of the process and to provide support to the local organisers. We have realised that relying on the local organisers for complex operations and situations doesn't always work and centralising key features of the meeting in the CEE Hub would ensure a certain quality level (especially related to overseeing the scholarships/delegates selection process, implementing innovation into program structure and making sure that appropriate venue is chosen).

During Y3, we would like to make an evaluation of the CEEM program planning and if there is a consensus about possible improvements and changes - we would facilitate the implementation of these innovations during 2025 and 2026.

We plan to prepare a conference checklist to enable local organisers easier navigation of all what has to be checked and prepared before the conference. Also, one CEE hub representative will be tasked with on site visit in the months preceding the conference to additionally support local organisers. 

Also, together with local organisers we will review and discuss the model for choosing delegates, ensuring that processes for the selection of delegates are fair and transparent.

During Year 3 we also plan on supporting and guiding the host of 2025 CEEM  in preparation of the conference grant application (including budget).

c. One important part of programmatic support during Year 3 will be mapping and facilitation of the adoption of technical tools/innovations and features (volunteer tools and those developed by WMF). CEE Hub will continue its work on adjusting the catalogue which was part of the Year 2 CEE Hub project. Based on the results of the survey done in August 2023, during the Y3 we plan to focus on:

1. Updating CEE communication channels as well as enabling easy access to information: we are managing CEE social networks, we are coordinating and curating publication of the CEE Newsletter and hub staff is organising monthly open office hours. We are also curating CEE mailing lists. During this year we plan to restructure open office hours and make them (more) focused on relevant/ongoing events and issues.
2. We are organising CEE Catch up sessions in cooperation with the WMF staff; 4 sessions per year will be organised. Decisions about the topics will be made based on suggestions and demand from the CEE communities/individuals and depending on the current global developments that need to be shared with the CEE communities. The goal of these sessions is knowledge sharing and enabling the information flow between wider global initiatives and interested people in the CEE communities. During this year we plan to restructure the format of the meeting; we will publish in advance what exactly will be covered, giving people a chance to interact with us and ask questions/demand changes before the session. In this way, we will enable communities to have more influence in co-creating CEE Catch up sessions. 
3. Enabling continuous capacity development of volunteers, affiliates and communities by preparing training materials, organising learning sessions and, when needed, writing guidelines. During this year the focus will be on creating learning materials that cover 2-3 topics. We plan to cover some of these topics:

General onboarding and useful information about the Wikimedia global context. This information is useful and needed for new affiliate staff and volunteers.

Board Members onboarding. Some of the topics that would be covered are: the conflict of interest, volunteer management, employee management.

Information for new affiliate communication staff - global and regional context

Information for new affiliate education staff - global and regional context

Information for new GLAM employees - global and regional context

Information for new Communication employees - global and regional context   

d. CEE Hub staff will receive training on the topic of UCoC and CEE Hub will be able to support other CEE communities in establishing additional (custom made and context based) processes for their communities that build on the UCoC.

e. Cooperation with other hubs in order to enable relevant information exchange with the CEE region but also to support others who are part of the Movement and who want to learn from our work and our results/mistakes. This also includes conducting regular meetings and helping build a peer-to-peer network of hubs that is effective in keeping each other accountable and improving each other’s work by creating a safe space where people working on hub projects can exchange ideas, challenges and quandaries.

4. Continuation of defining the CEE Hub governance model and organisation format. We are aiming to formalise the governance model further by investigating the possibility of introducing a membership system for the CEE Hub. This will be the main focus of Year 3 and would also provide the benefit of adding some structure to the CEE region and who is a member of it. 

5. Supporting further development of the CEE Youth group: during 2023 the CEE Hub initiated the creation of the CEE Youth group. The group currently consists of more than 40 CEE youth members who are mostly younger than 26 and who plan to work together, support each other, and learn from each other. Although the initial plan was to guide and steer the group, that proved to be beyond our capabilities and capacity as we work with limited resources.

What we managed to accomplish during the past year and a half is to establish regular meetings of the group, engage few group members to write youth related grant applications with us, encourage the group to organise game nights and support the group members when presenting their work during international events (CEE meeting in Tbilisi in 2023, CEE meeting in Istanbul in 2024, Wikimania 2024 in Katowice). We offered 2 knowledge-exchange study visits (attending youth camp in Armenia or a youth-senior cooperation event in Czechia) to the group members but this opportunity was not taken up by anyone.

The CEE hub would like to continue supporting the group and the main goals of the group would be: supporting members in their outreach and recruitment of new young Wikimedians in their local contexts, enabling networking and knowledge sharing between youth in the region (and the world) and being a platform that enables our CEE youth to be heard and take part in conversations.

For the following years we are proposing these activities of the group:

a. CEE hub supporting the organisation of the Youth conference that is planned to take place in Czechia in spring 2025: CEE hub will be involved in program creation, selection of scholarship recipients and support during the event in Prague  (this activity depends on the approval of the conference grant proposal which WMCZ submitted to the WMF’s conference grants)

b. Organising bi-monthly meetings (preparing the agenda and supporting the meeting)

c. Preparing, in collaboration with the group, the internal CEE youth governance model

d. In collaboration with the group members, mapping of all CEE youth related activities in the CEE region

e. Supporting the youth group section that wants to focus on social media: preparing a social channels strategy

6. Continuation of the CEE Hub Microgrants (MG) programme: Based on our experience gained during the implementation of the Micro Grants program during 2024 we would like to continue with this way of supporting the CEE communities and neighbouring communities. Suggested new maximum amounts for MG would be 700 EUR. The budget for Microgrants would be 12000 per year. This activity will continue being implemented in close cooperation with the WMF and CEE WM Affiliates funded by the WMF to avoid double financing and to make sure globally banned people do not receive funds.  CEE Hub Incubator programme (if approved as a work package, see number 9) will be a way to progress microgrants when they are successful and when initiatives initiated by microgrants become more mature.

7. Evaluation of the community building process: This working package is focused on the evaluation of the methods and outcomes of the capacity and community building efforts that were implemented during 2024. We focused on the capacity building of three communities and based on the outcomes, recommendations for the CEE hubs further support of smaller communities will be created. 

8. Development of intra-regional educational cooperation: In this year we want to focus on better understanding the efforts and activities that the CEE communities are implementing  in the field of education. We want to discover areas of common interest and overlapping work. Also, we want to encourage the CEE communities to share their experiences and knowledge and to work, when that makes sense, on joint (intra regional) projects. 

a. Setting up CEE Hub Education working group;

b. Developing and implementing the survey to better understand current situation in the region; analysing the results;

c. Collaboration with the education UG / WikiEd;

d. Defining core topics and tasks of this working group.

9. CEE Hub incubator programme: This work package is to be used for opportunities that we have not foreseen, like possible research needs, bigger inter-regional cooperation projects and further development of successful micro grant projects. 

10. Project management: Transferring project activities into Asana (PM tool). Monitoring if all planned project activities are developing according to the initial plan. Organising regular staff coordination meetings (on weekly basis) and bi-weekly coordination meetings with the CEE Hub SC members and members of the wider CEE Hub group. Coordination of execution (logistics and financial management) with the fiscal sponsor. Making sure that budget is spent according to the plan and managing budget reallocation (if needed). Having monthly coordination meetings with the WMF staff. Organising two in person/hybrid SC meetings per year. Writing a final project report. 

9. Did you involve communities during the drafting of this proposal? Share which specific communities you involved, the process you used to involve them, and how they will participate in this proposal. (required)

The CEE Hub is here to support affiliates, communities and individuals who work on Wikimedia projects in the region. For an overview of affiliates and communities please check this meta page. We are communicating on a regular basis with the majority from this list.

During the first two years of the project we established regular communication with chapters, user groups, communities and individuals and we intend to continue putting efforts into establishing relations based on mutual trust. With this trust we can offer and provide services and support to those in the CEE region who need it. We established several communication channels, and we will continue using those:

• one on one communication with communities via emails, 
• organising mostly online meetings (sometimes in person), 
• Facebook (CEE group), 
• Telegram groups (CEE group, CEE Hub group, CEEM group, CEE Spring group and CEE Youth group), and
• providing information useful for the CEE region via the CEE Newsletter.

The CEE Hub cannot implement its activities without cooperation with CEE affiliates/communities, but it is the CEE affiliates and communities that benefit from cooperation with the hub as they are the ones that get support. The CEE Hub cannot exist without support and collaboration with the CEE communities thus its existence is based on the ability to establish and maintain highly productive relations and cooperation in the region. The CEE Hub is in regular communication with more than 30 affiliates and communities that work in the CEE region and we are able to support those communities that are willing and have the capacity to accept assistance and help. 

After we wrote the first draft of this grant proposal, during the CEE meeting which took place in Istanbul in September 2024 we organised a workshop about ‘CEE Hub Year 3 Plan’ ([2]) with a goal to additionally explain planned activities and to collect valuable comments and ideas about the support that is expected and needed from the CEE Hub. Apart from this, CEE hub staff and steering committee members used the CEE meeting for informal conversations with Wikimedians from the region and to gather their opinions and feedback. After the CEEM, we edited our Y3 plan based on the received feedback and we shared it via meta ([3]), via our regional mailing list and in Telegram regional group, asking everyone from the region for additional input. We also presented our annual working  plan during Open office hour that took place in October 2024 (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_CEE_Hub/Office_hours).

As already mentioned, our Y3 plan was endorsed by more than 25 CEE communities and individuals, please check the endorsements list: [4]

We try to involve everyone who is interested in the process to join us in preparing our annual and grant because the implementation of all our activities is happening in close collaboration with the CEE communities, therefore it does not make sense to propose activities which are not supported and requested by Wikimedians from the Central and Eastern Europe.

Please note that due to the war in Ukraine and WMF sanctions on Russia, Russian communities and affiliates (with exception of minority groups based in Russia) hub's activities in relation to the Russian community are restricted to learning and communication related support. Due to previously mentioned restrictions we are not able to provide the same level of support other communities receive. This also applies to Azerbaijan and Belarus.

10. Are you in communication with other initiatives or groups that either support similar communities or offer similar services to the ones in your proposal? Provide information about any initiatives, affiliates, and/or hubs that have the potential to duplicate or overlap with your proposal. (required)

(As mentioned before) The CEE Hub exists because of the CEE region and it is here to support affiliates, communities and individuals who work on Wikimedia projects in the region. For an overview of affiliates and communities please check this meta page. The CEE Hub is in regular communication (online and offline) with more than 30 affiliates and communities that work in the CEE region and we are able to support those communities that are willing and have the capacity to accept assistance and help. 

One of the goals of our Year 2 CEE hub project plan was to also establish direct contact with other Wikimedia hubs and emerging hubs, especially regional ones, from the whole world. During Wikimania that took place in Katowice in August 2024, the CEE Hub organised the first informal meeting with other hubs (North American hub, ESEAP Hub, East African hub, West African hub, WISCOM, Latin American hub), as well as one session during Wikimania during which we discussed the current state of affairs with other initiatives. After Wikimania, the CEE hub commenced organizing regular monthly meetings with other hubs. The goal of these meetings is to keep each other informed about the activities, initiatives and struggles each hub is having, enabling support and space for focused discussions and to hold each other accountable.

11. Who is your primary audience(s)? List the communities, affiliates, and groups. (required)

Our primary audiences are CEE communities, affiliates and individuals who want to work together, learn from each other and support one another. For an overview of affiliates and communities please check this meta page.

12. If your proposal relates to piloting a hub, share the governance structure you plan to establish. If this governance structure is not yet in place, share how you are making decisions in the interim. (optional)

N/A 

You can read about our internal governance here: [5]

13. Describe your team. (required)

The project is implemented by CEE Hub staff and CEE Hub SC members in cooperation with the fiscal sponsor WM Poland.

Fiscal sponsor: the role of the fiscal sponsor is to provide legal and logistical support, as well as to take responsibility for the CEE Hub’s accounting. All contracts are signed by the fiscal sponsor. The fiscal sponsor purchases tickets and buys services/goods as instructed by and in close cooperation with the CEE Hub Project Manager.

CEE Hub Staff is responsible for the implementation and monitoring of all activities, communication with the WMF, communication and organising meetings with CEE communities, close monitoring of the budget, reporting to the WMF and documentation of work processes.

• Barbara Klen, Regional CEE Hub Coordinator (salaried)
• Toni Ristovski, Program officer (salaried)
• 3rd staff member, Communication and Community outreach officer (salaried, to be recruited)

• CEE Hub’s SC: monitoring the work of the CEE Hub staff and steering the overall direction of development of the CEE Hub (volunteers)

The current Steering Committee (volunteers) was presented at the Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Steering Committee currently consists of the following ten members:

1. Ivana Mađarević (Serbia)

Thematic areas: Programmatic, Microgrants and Project incubator

2. Kiril Simeonovski (North Macedonia)

Thematic areas: Events, Governance and Microgrants

3. Başak Tosun (Türkiye)

Thematic areas: Eastern Europe, Turkic Languages and Education

4. Klára Joklová (Czech Republic)

Wikimedia Europe and ED Group liaison (as long as the CEE Hub Coordinator is not part of the ED Group) and CEE Youth Grou

5. Philip Kopetzky (Austria)

governance and international relations

6. Toni Sant (Malta)

Thematic areas: Education and Community capacity buildin

7. Wojciech Pędzich (Poland)

Thematic areas: Social network management and Communication

8. Anna Prodromou (Cyprus)

Thematic areas: Communication and Programmatic

9. Natalia Ćwik (Poland)

Thematic areas: Fiscal sponsorship and Evaluation

10. Strainu (Romania)

• Thematic areas: MediaWiki Tools, Community capacity building and Grants

To support  the Steering Committee and staff the CEE Hub has three advisors (volunteers):

• Delphine Ménard
• Natalia Szafran-Kozakowska
• Michał Buczyński

The advisors do not take part in voting. They can be part of all working groups, they advise and recommend solutions to Hub related issues/topics. They take part in regular biweekly meetings.

More information about this topic, usernames and former SC members please go to: [6]

14. Upload a timeline of activities or provide a link to it. Timeline (operational calendar) is for your programs and activities. (required)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a0QdzUFM6_mfQ-FL_wZ6L5bGQVb33L9W/edit?gid=1925302405#gid=1925302405

15. How do you intend to keep communities updated on the progress and outcomes of the project? Share your communication plans. (required)

• Bi-weekly meetings of the CEE Hub Group (Steering Committee + participants from CEE communities who are interested in the project progress, these meetings are open for anyone who is interested).
• Informing communities via the CEE Hub Meta page, Telegram group, mailing lists and social media about the start of new project.
• Regular updates about activities and via social media (CEE Facebook), via our Meta page (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_CEE_Hub/News), mailing lists and via the CEE Newsletter.
• Organising 1:1 meetings with communities to both inform and engage them in the project implementation and to learn more about their activities, issues and needs. 
• Organising regular monthly open office hours (this practice was established during the first year of CEE Hub project implementation), [7]
• At Wikimania 2025 we will both present our work and gather input, with special focus on other hubs that will be present  (if our budget allows us to attend the conference).
• During the CEEM 2024 which will take place in fall 2025, we will  further discuss progress, year 4 plan and future steps with representatives of the CEE communities.
• We are exploring possibilities for creating of a joint CEE calendar. Depending on the outcome, if this calendar is established, we will be posting our activities in the joint CEE Calendar. 

Our plan for Y3 is to hire a new full time staff member for communication and community outreach. This person will be the main driving force behind the CEE hub’s communication processes. Until the new person is hired, communication activities will be coordinated by Barbara Klen, Regional CEE Hub Project Coordinator, with the support of Toni Ristovski (CEE Hub Program Officer). Also, CEE Hub SC members will actively take part in this process.

16. If your activities include community discussions, what is your plan for ensuring that the conversations are productive, inclusive, and safe? Provide a link to a Friendly Space Policy or UCoC that will be implemented to support these discussions. (optional)

The Wikimedia Foundation’s friendly space policy will be applied.

The WMF’s Universal Code of Conduct will be applied.

17. Are there any other details you would like to share? Consider providing rationale, research or community discussion outputs, and any other similar information that will give more context on your proposed project. You can also upload any additional documents in the section below. (optional)

Not at this point.

Metrics

18. Share quantitative and/or qualitative metrics that you plan to measure in order to showcase the impact of your activities. (required)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a0QdzUFM6_mfQ-FL_wZ6L5bGQVb33L9W/edit?gid=1925302405#gid=1925302405

Budget

19. Your local currency. (required)

EUR

20. What is the requested amount in your local currency? (required)

218203.86 EUR

Requested amount in USD

237882.91 USD

21. Does this proposal include compensation for staff or contractors? (required)

Yes

21.1. How many paid staff members and contractors do you plan to cover through the Hub Fund? (required)

Include the number of staff and contractors during the proposal period as well as their work status (full-time/part-time, indefinite/fixed). If you have short-term contractors or staff, please include them separately and mention their terms (period of work).

3 full time staff members.

Currently, the two staff members have fixed contracts.

22. Provide an overview of your overall budget categories in your local currency. (required)

Budget category	Amount in local currency
Staff and contractor costs	3224000 EUR
Operational costs	4791000 EUR
Programmatic costs	12766320 EUR

23. Upload your detailed budget or provide a link to it. (required)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s7YMUwtwTVyVEHDDKsMdbkTAdtjJdaNd-KQYzhdgqjg/edit?gid=0#gid=0

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We/I have read and agree:

Yes

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