Grants:Simple/Applications/Wikimedia Community User Group Georgia/2020

Application or grant stage: grant in progress

Applicant or grantee: Wikimedia UG Georgia

Amount requested: US$28,958.00

Amount granted: US$24,000.00

Funding period: 1 January 2020 - 31 December 2020

Midpoint report due: 15 July 2020

Final report due: 30 January 2021

Background

Annual Plan

• Annual Plan for 2020 – this is the annual plan of the Wikimedia UG Georgia, which was developed on the basis of the organization’s strategic plan for 2020.

Budget Plan

• Budget Plan of Wikimedia UG Georgia for 2020
• link to pdf version of application budget for archival purposes
• Final budget approved (pdf version)

Staffing Plan

• No staffing; only volunteers.

Strategic plan

You can check out our annual strategic plan for 2020 — 2020 Strategic Plan.

Introduction

Wikimedia Community User Group Georgia is a user group of the Wikimedia Foundation, an U.S.-based non-profit organization that operates and manages the Wikimedia projects. Wikimedia Community User Group Georgia (Georgian: ვიკიმედიის მომხმარებელთა საქართველოს ჯგუფი) created in 2015 by active members of Wikimedia contributors living in Georgia, who are interested in organizing and participating in outreach activities on a national level. It aims to promote and participate in the projects offered by the Wikimedia Foundation and to organize the Georgian community. One of its core missions is to aid and encourage people to collect, develop and disseminate knowledge and other educational, cultural and historic content in the public domain or other licenses that allows everyone to freely use the knowledge, and to distribute and modify said content for free. Since August 13, 2019, Wikimedia Community User Group Georgia is an officially registered Non-Entrepreneurial (Non-Commercial) Legal Entity in Georgia.

The mission of Wikimedia Community User Group Georgia is to aid and encourage Georgians to collect, develop and disseminate knowledge and other educational, cultural and historic content in the public domain or other licenses that allows everyone to freely use the knowledge, and to distribute and modify said content for free. Also, promotion of Knowledge (initiation and stimulation of public interest in Knowledge and in means of creation, development and spreading of Knowledge and access to it), promote access to knowledge and education for all citizens, regardless of their social or other status, to organize such access, assist in the preparation of laws and other normative acts that promote knowledge creation, accumulation, development and dissemination. Our mission and goals are consistent with our organization’s Bylaws.

This Strategic Plan defines the programs of Wikimedia UG Georgia divided into five main goals: 1) Content Gap, 2) Increasing Participation, 3) Community Support, Development & Promoting Wikimedia, 4) Collaborate with GLAM, Universities, Educational Institutions and other Wikimedia and Non-Wikimedia organizations. All of these programs are designed to develop Wikimedia projects in Georgian and other Wikimedia languages.

Programs

Content Gap

One of the main goals of Wikimedia UG Georgia is to increase the content of Wikimedia projects (the most important Wikipedia) in Georgian language. To achieve this goal, Wikimedia UG Georgia will hold various competitions (Article Contests, Photography Contests, Wikimarathon, Wikicamp) on the Georgian Wikipedia. Contests are both international and local. In 2019, Wikimedia UG Georgia held 5 such contests. In addition to existing projects, Wikimedia UG Georgia will carry out new projects.

This programme is focused on bringing new content into Wikimedia projects. Various online contests and field expeditions are designed for reaching this goal. While there are long-lasting projects like WLM and WLE photo contests.

Article Contests

The open competition proved to be one of the best ways to lessen content gaps that are identified, bring new content on specific topic and new editors into Wikiprojects. They also attract those users who are not interested in pressing Edit button until getting the motivation and appeal to write on the topic they care or know about.

We hold contests on topics such as physics, chemistry, biology, etc. which are not finalized or do not exist at all on Georgian Wikipedia. This is a unique chance to increase Wikipedia content on difficult topics, as well as attract more volunteers to Wikimedia projects by providing them with opportunities.

In 2020 we will continue organising article writing contests. We have already agreed to hold contests on the topic of gender, culture, art, music, and other long-lasting contests.

Photography Contests

We plan to bring again one photo contests, Wiki Loves Monuments 2020 in Georgia, that we organised in previous years. Each year natural and cultural heritage sites under state protection get more and more images to illustrate articles but there are still significant gaps, such as entire districts without a single photo.

Wiki Loves Monuments photo contest is an important part of our activities, as we run it since 2016 and get significant results in terms of number of photos and participants and outreach (significant attention from partners and general public).

Wikidata For Georgia

Our news for this year is that, with the help of professionals from the Wikimedia Foundation and from Wikidata, we want to teach new skills in working out in Wikidata for the Georgian WikiCommunity, for this we are going to arrange training in work out in Wikidata for enthusiasts of the Georgian WikiCommunity. Trainings will be conducted by invitations guests from Wikimedia Foundation and Administrators of Wikidata.

Program Objectives:

• to improve Wikipedia's coverage of topics that were prioritized by the community.
• to increase the quality and quantity of photographic content about protected nature sites, cultural heritage sites.
• to ensure photo contest content is used to illustrate Wikimedia projects through organising an on-wiki collaboration.
• Organizing and participating in the International projects.
• Increasing the skills of editors of Wikimedia projects in Georgian language.

Program Metrics:

• Number of contest: 6
• Total participants: 90
• Number of newly registered users: 30
• New articles: 500
• Articles improved: 100

Timeline:

• February 8 – March 8: Women from Georgia article contest
• 1 July – 31 August: Wikipedia Science Month article contest
• September 1 – 30: Wiki Loves Monuments 2020 in Georgia photo contest
• October 1 – 31: Wiki Loves Caucasus article contest
• November 1 – 30: Wikipedia Asian Month article contest

Increasing Participation

One of the main goals of Wikimedia UG Georgia is to increase the volunteers of Wikimedia project editors. The increase of the number of participants in Wikimedia projects, primarily in the Georgian language, is strategic for us, since the growth of the Wikimedia content and the quality of the content created depend on the number of participants.

We seek to different groups and individuals, including under-represented in our community by supporting and organising trainings aimed at increasing participation in the Wikimedia movement. We are working with our community to find opportunities to increase participation and improve the climate for newbies in Wikimedia projects. This is done through outreach activities, partnerships with particular outreach institutions, on-wiki initiatives (such as Wikimarathons and Article contests). These activities have parallel aims of improving content and attracting more participation from the target groups.

To attract new volunteers and participants in the Wikimedia project in Georgia, we will carry out the following projects:

1. We will conduct active trainings and workshops in educational institutions and for interested parties.
2. We will conduct thematic competitions and wikimarathons.
3. We will organize local and regional WikiCamps.

Wikimarathon

In honor of the 102nd anniversary of the Georgian Democratic Republic, from May 1 to May 31, 2020, Wikimedia UG Georgia will organize a marathon in Georgian Wikipedia, the purpose of which will be to increase the content and quality of articles on Georgian Wikipedia.

Wikicamps

Our experience of past projects tells us that one of the best ways to attract participants to Wikimedia project is to conduct WikiCamps. In March, 2019 we held the first such WikiCamp and its result prompted us to conduct such a WikiCamp for both participants from Georgia and abroad, mainly for participants in projects from our region (Caucasus). The experience of our colleagues from Wikimedia Armenia and from other chapters of Wikimedia confirms this. The main goal of the camp, to attract more people to work in Wikimedia projects, which will contribute to the development of Wikimedia projects.

In 2020, Wikimedia UG Georgia will hold three WikiCamps, two of which will be local and the third regional. specifically:

1. The first camp will be held in February 2020 for young people. During WikiCamp young people to acquire skills in Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects. Young people will study the wiki-technology and then under the supervision of experienced WikiMedians will independently create and translate articles in Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects. Both beginners and people who have minimal knowledge of working in Wikimedia projects will participate in the camp.
2. The second WikiCamp will be regional, where representatives of the Wikimedia movement from Georgia, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey will take part, it will be held in the month of August 2020. WikiCamp are educational camps, the main goal of which is the education of participants through Wikipedia, Wiktionary, and other Wikimedia projects. During Wikicamps participants contribute and enrich one or more of Wikimedia projects with the help of more experienced Wikimedians. WikiCampers improve their editing, writing, speaking, translation, communication, cultural and computer skills. WikiCamp will also help bring together Wikimedia movement representatives of the region.

Program Objectives:

• to engage more students by organising trainings & Camp.
• education of people from region (Caucasus) through Wikipedia, Wiktionary, and other Wikimedia projects.
• increase the content of Wikimedia projects in Georgian language through online Wikimarathons.

Program Metrics:

• Number of Camps: 2
• Total participants of Camp: 90
• Number of newly registered users: 45
• New articles: 100

Timeline:

• May 1 – May 31: Wikimarathon
• March: WikiCamp in Bakuriani
• August: Regional WikiCamp in Tbilisi

Community Support, Development & Promoting Wikimedia

In 2020, Wikimedia UG Georgia will establish a framework for the creation of regional and local groups of Wikimedia UG Georgia, called "WikiClubs", across the country. The UG will enable those groups to carry out their own projects by providing logistical, material and financial support. This goal also encompasses support to individual contributors and volunteers in Georgia.

The UG will publish a formal framework including policies and guidelines for the creation of regional and local groups of Wikimedia UG Georgia. These groups will be formed around a city, or a geographical or cultural region, but can also be formed around a specific thematic to create a thematic group inside Georgia as part of Wikimedia UG Georgia.

It should be noted that activists and Members of the Wikimedia UG Georgia have been creating such small local groups in their cities since 2016 to support Wikimedia projects in the Georgian language, but unfortunately there are no logistic and material resources for the development of these WikiClubs. We, through our program, will facilitate their support and the creation of new WikiClubs.

One of our main goals is organizational development. At the moment, our organization is a User Group and our goal is to become an official Wikimedia chapter, which will also promote Wikimedia projects in Georgia as a user group. To achieve this, we will use different paths.

Community Events

Organizing face-to-face meet-ups is important for both UG-GE members and the whole WikiCommunity in Georgia. They allow to enhance online cooperation, boost useful networking connections among volunteers, and facilitate knowledge sharing in the format of presentations, discussions, and personal meetings. Bringing volunteers together is especially crucial for community development in Georgia because of the geographical vastness of our country. Organizing conferences and other events in regions also helps boost and increase local communities.

The Georgian WikiConference and the Annual General Meeting are two main annual community events. The first such meeting was held in December 2018, and the second will be held in December 2019. Besides this, Wikimedia UG Georgia will hold annual General Meetings with the participation of all members of our organization to address important issues of our organization.

Scholarships

Providing scholarships for international events is an important part of community and organizational development and the promotion of knowledge sharing. Attending conferences and other events provides members of the local community with an opportunity to build and strengthen connections, gain new knowledge, and share it through their reports, notes, articles, photos, and social media posts. Since it is difficult for economic reasons for most Georgian citizens to afford expensive international travel, UG-GE scholarships are especially important to the community.

We want to provide for the first time three scholarships (one for a member of the UG and two for representatives of the Georgian WikiCommunity) for Wikimania 2020, as well as scholarships for representatives of the UG to different international and regional Wikimedia meetings.

WikiClubs

One of the most important aspects of our activity is the development of regional WikiClubs throughout Georgia. At the first stage, we want to organize a regional WikiClub for representatives of ethnic minorities in Georgia for their integration into the Wikimedia movement.

This project will contribute to the development of the Wikimedia movement among the Georgian peoples, as well as to popularize Wikimedia projects, as well as increase the number of volunteers in Wikimedia projects.

At the first stage of WikiClub development, we will support them with technical equipment and training of WikiClub volunteers.

Program Objectives:

• to increase the community participation and skill level
• to empower users with the techniques and skills that needed for Wikimedia projects
• to popularize Wikimedia projects and increase the number of volunteers in Wikimedia projects.

Program Metrics:

• Number of Community Events: 4-5
• Number of WikiClubs: 1
• Total participants of WikiClubs: 45
• Number of trainings: 10
• Number of newly registered users: 30
• New articles: 90

Timeline:

• August: Wikimania 2020
• All the year round: Community Events
• All the year round: Trainings for Volunteers

Grant Metrics Reporting

Metrics, targets and results: grants metrics worksheet here.

Midpoint report

This is a brief report on the grantee's progress during the midpoint reporting period: 1 January - 30 June 2020.

Program story

Please link to one program story that showcases your organization's achievements during the reporting period.

Program story

Progress

Please add text or a link to a page with details on your program progress. This should including reporting against each of the SMART objectives form your proposal.

Content Gap

Article Contests

Winner of the contest "Women in Wikipedia"

• From February 8 to March 8, we held a contest entitled "Women in Wikipedia". The aim of the contest is to increase the number of articles about women in Georgian Wikipedia, as well as the total number of articles. Achieving and maintaining gender balance is a priority of the Wikimedia UG Georgia. The contest was held simultaneously in Georgian and English Wikipedia. In total, 501 new articles on Georgian Wikipedia and 6 new articles on English Wikipedia were created during the contest by 18 users.
• From June 1 to June 30, we held the contest "Nobel Prize in Wikipedia" and aim of the contest is to create articles on the Georgian Wikipedia about the Nobel Prize and Nobel Laureates, to improve the existing articles and to increase the total number of articles (content). 110 new articles were created during the contest in Georgian Wikipedia and 103 articles were improved.

2019 contestants award

Last year we held three contests for which we didn't receive rapid grants, since we received sAPG. Therefore, we decided to finance these contests from our annual budget. We, as a responsible UG, cannot refuse our obligations.

• July 1 to August 31, 2019, Wikimedia UG Georgia held Wikipedia editing contest – "National Cultural Monuments of Georgia". The competition was held both in the Georgian Wikipedia and in other sections of Wikipedia (in other languages). During a contest, contestants had to create articles on their language wikipedia and add them (link to articles) to a special page. The winners was named by the jury. During the contest, a total of 1437 articles were created, in total 33 participants participated in the contest, from different language sections of Wikipedia. In May, prizes were awarded to all winners.

• Wiki Loves Caucasus 2019 is the first regional competition, which is organized by Caucasian Wikimedians. The main goal of the competition is to create as many articles about the Caucasus in the languages of the Caucasus as possible. The language sections of Wikipedia in the languages of the Caucasus will be participating in the competition, during which new articles about the countries of the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia) will be created. Each participating country should create thematic articles about other participating countries. Other countries and relevant Wikipedia's, that don't represent this region, can participate in the competition. Contest was take place from October 7 to November 7. In total, 46 editors in 15 languages took part in the contest, who in general created or supplemented 1,269 articles. In June, prizes were awarded to all winners.

Increasing Participation

Wikimarathon

With the onset of the pandemic (Covid-19), activity on Georgian Wikipedia slowed down, and Wikimedia UG Georgia had to get used to new realities.

In May, we planned a marathon in honor of the Georgian Democratic Republic, but with new circumstances, we decided to change this and held a marathon with a different theme.

From May 1 to May 31, Wikimedia UG Georgia held a marathon “Stay at home with Wikipedia” in Georgian Wikipedia. The aim of the marathon is to create the necessary thematic articles (history, geography, politics) in Georgian Wikipedia and to improve the existing articles, as well as to refine them and increase the total number of articles (content). The marathon also contained a social message - to stay home safe during a pandemic, so we were able to cover several issues in one competition. During the marathon in Georgian Wikipedia 229 new articles were created and 24 articles were improved by 17 users.

WikiCamps

• Under this program, we had important projects, such as a local and regional WikiCamp, but since this is an offline event, we canceled them because of the pandemic (Covid-19) and the current situation.

Community Support, Development & Promoting Wikimedia

Community Events

• On January 19, 2020, Wikimedia UG Georgia organized the "19th Birthday of Wikipedia" in the campus of Tbilisi State University. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness about Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects in Georgia, as well as to share news with Wikipedia editors. During the event, they also talked about the problems and current developments in the Georgian Wikipedia.

During the event, Mehman Ibragimov, Chairman of Wikimedia UG Georgia, spoke about the future plans of WM Georgia and the Wikimedia Foundation, Georgian Wikipedia and related issues. Members of the Board of Trustees of WM Georgia, Jaba Labadze, Mikheil Chabukashvili and Giorgi Melashvili also spoke about the problems in the Georgian Wikipedia and ways to solve it.

At the end of the event, a traditional Wikipedia cake was cut and the participants were given symbolic souvenirs (branded notebooks, pens and calendars). We also took a general picture.

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Board meeting in May

• The Board of the Wikimedia UG Georgia actively holds meetings both within the Board and with the public. Until the end of June, more than 6 meetings were held, and most of them, due to the pandemic (Covid-19), were held online.

Outreach

We added a outreach program after we had an additional amount, after canceling offline events. With the help of outreach programs, we want to popularize Wikimedia projects in Georgia and involve as many people as possible in projects for the development of the Georgian-language segment of Wikimedia projects.

This program is divided into two segments, in the first segment we will cooperate with online and television media (including the National Broadcaster of Georgia), where we will publish interviews and various materials to popularize our projects and WM projects.

In the second segment, we will use social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), where we will promote our publications using paid advertisements, and we will also promote pages of Wikimedia projects (Georgian).

• We signed a contract with one of the most popular online media in Georgia (www.on.ge). In July, materials about Wikimedia UG Georgia and its programs have already begun to be published.

• An active campaign was launched to advertise Wikimedia projects and programs, contests and projects of Wikimedia UG Georgia on social networks. In a few months, the number of interactions and letters to our group doubled.

WikiClubs

At the moment, we have created and support two Wikiclubs in two regions of Georgia (Surami WikiClub and Marneuli WikiClub). One of these clubs was created in a region where the ethnic minority of Georgia lives compactly and this club also plays an important role in the integration of the population.

• Technical assistance (computers) was provided to all two clubs and additional assistance will be provided in the coming months.

• From January to the end of February, 3 offline meetings (trainings) were held for each club. Representatives of Georgia Wikimedia made presentations for club members.

• Since the beginning of March, due to the pandemic (Covid-19), all meetings have been and are being held online, using the Wikimedia Meet platform. Over 4 months in both club, over 30 online trainings and meetings were held. Participants created over 100 articles and over 50 articles significantly improved.

• We provide participants with additional opportunities for participation and facilitate their problems, for example by paying their Internet costs.

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Spending

Please report your organization's total spending during the reporting period, or link to a financial document showing your total spending.

5,426.00 USD, detailed expenses here

Final report

Program story

• First sAPG for Georgian UG

Learning story

• Learning story for Final report from Georgia

Programs Impact

Content Gap

Article Contests

As one of the priority and important directions for Wikimedia UG Georgia, Content Gap took a special place and attention this year in the UG programs. Development of Wikimedia projects and increasing content in projects is the priority work of Wikimedia UG Georgia. We mainly focused on increasing content in those areas where there were few feature articles or they were not finalized. We focused on increasing articles about women, with that we wanted to reduce the gap in the imbalance between articles, we also tried to increase articles about scientists, artists, about world cuisines, about regional topics, etc.

Results of the competition about cinematography

In total, after the implementation of this program, over 2 500 articles were created in the Georgian and other Wikipedia's. Over 300 articles have been improved. Dozens of participants took part in the competition.

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• From February 8 to March 8, we held a contest entitled "Women in Wikipedia". The aim of the contest is to increase the number of articles about women in Georgian Wikipedia, as well as the total number of articles. Achieving and maintaining gender balance is a priority of the Wikimedia UG Georgia. The contest was held simultaneously in Georgian and English Wikipedia. In total, 501 new articles on Georgian Wikipedia and 6 new articles on English Wikipedia were created during the contest by 18 users.

• From June 1 to June 30, we held the contest "Nobel Prize in Wikipedia" and aim of the contest is to create articles on the Georgian Wikipedia about the Nobel Prize and Nobel Laureates, to improve the existing articles and to increase the total number of articles (content). 110 new articles were created during the contest in Georgian Wikipedia and 103 articles were improved.

• From July 15 to August 15, we held a competition to improve articles about countries and capitals, which was aimed at improving the quality of articles in the Georgian Wikipedia on geographic topics. During the competition 171 articles were improved and 18 participants took part in it.

• From 1 to 30 September, a new contest was held on topic of world cuisine. It was a joint contest between Wikimedia UG Georgia and the Georgian Gastronomy Association, which helped evaluate the articles and also awarded the special prize for the best article of the contest. During the competition, 12 participants created 383 new articles.

• From 1 to 31 October, the second edition of the international contest "Wiki Loves Caucasus" took place. Wiki Loves Caucasus is the regional contest organized by Caucasian Wikimedians. The main goal of the competition is to create as many articles about the Caucasus in the languages of the Caucasus as possible. The contest will consist of two levels: 1) National level - the language sections of Wikipedia in the languages of the Caucasus will hold their own local contest, where they will write articles about the Caucasus, except for themselves; 2) International level - everyone can write about the Caucasus in any language and in Wikipedias. The winners will receive valuable prizes both nationally and internationally. Financial resource (except for the languages of the North Caucasus) will be provided by Wikimedia UG Georgia.

New logo of WLC

In total, more than 1 500 articles were created during the contest, more than 50 participants took part in it.

By language:

1. Georgian Wikipedia: 400 new articles
2. Russian Wikipedia: 368 new articles
3. Turkish Wikipedia: 325 new articles
4. Azerbaijani Wikipedia: 294 new articles
5. Uzbek Wikipedia: 146 new articles
6. Ukrainian Wikipedia: 74 new articles
7. Bashkir Wikipedia: 38 new articles
8. Urdu Wikipedia: 11 new articles
9. Spanish Wikipedia: 47 new articles
10. Basque Wikipedia: 29 new articles
11. Avar Wikipedia: 15 new articles
12. Lezgi Wikipedia: 52 new articles
13. Chechen Wikipedia: 107 new articles
14. Ossetian Wikipedia: 69 new articles

• From 1 to 30 November, the annual competition "Wikipedia Asian Month" was held. Georgian Wikipedia with the help of Wikimedia UG Georgia has participated in it 5 times in a row. During the contest, more than 500 new articles about Asia were created, which became one of the best indicators among the participating Wikipedia. 11 contestants took part in the competition.

• The last competition of the year was the contest on "Cinematography". From December 1 to December 31, 424 new articles were created during the contest. 15 contestants took part in the contest, from where 7 participants were new and took part in our contests for the first time.

Photography Contests

This year we planned to enrich Commons and Wikipedia's with new photos of the national and historical heritage of Georgia. Each year natural and cultural heritage sites under state protection get more and more images to illustrate articles but there are still significant gaps, such as entire districts without a single photo.

During the contest, in September, only 346 new photos were uploaded, by 34 participants, from where 20 participants were registered after the start of the contest. We were satisfied with the number of contestants, but unfortunately we couldn't achieve the goal in terms of uploading photos, which became a historical minimum during the time of Georgia's participation in this competition. The reason for this could possibly be the fact that there were restrictions on movement in Georgia throughout the year due to the pandemic.

After these indicators we decided to suspend the participation of Georgia in this competition for a while.

Increasing Participation

Wikimarathon

With the onset of the pandemic (Covid-19), activity on Georgian Wikipedia slowed down, and Wikimedia UG Georgia had to get used to new realities.

In May, we planned a marathon in honor of the Georgian Democratic Republic, but with new circumstances, we decided to change this and held a marathon with a different theme.

From May 1 to May 31, Wikimedia UG Georgia held a marathon “Stay at home with Wikipedia” in Georgian Wikipedia. The aim of the marathon is to create the necessary thematic articles (history, geography, politics) in Georgian Wikipedia and to improve the existing articles, as well as to refine them and increase the total number of articles (content). The marathon also contained a social message - to stay home safe during a pandemic, so we were able to cover several issues in one competition. During the marathon in Georgian Wikipedia 229 new articles were created and 24 articles were improved by 17 users.

WikiCamps

• Under this program, we had important projects, such as a local and regional WikiCamp, but since this is an offline event, we canceled them because of the pandemic (Covid-19) and the current situation.

Community Support, Development & Promoting Wikimedia

In the world and in Georgia, the current situation associated with the Covid-19 pandemic has introduced some correctives to our plans, specifically:

1. We canceled offline events for the whole year. 2. International travel and also Wikimania 2020 have been canceled.

Community Events

On January 19, 2020, Wikimedia UG Georgia organized the "19th Birthday of Wikipedia" in the campus of Tbilisi State University. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness about Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects in Georgia, as well as to share news with Wikipedia editors. During the event, they also talked about the problems and current developments in the Georgian Wikipedia.

During the event, Mehman Ibragimov, Chairman of Wikimedia UG Georgia, spoke about the future plans of WM Georgia and the Wikimedia Foundation, Georgian Wikipedia and related issues. Members of the Board of Trustees of WM Georgia, Jaba Labadze, Mikheil Chabukashvili and Giorgi Melashvili also spoke about the problems in the Georgian Wikipedia and ways to solve it.

At the end of the event, a traditional Wikipedia cake was cut and the participants were given symbolic souvenirs (branded notebooks, pens and calendars). We also took a general picture.

This was the only offline event of the year with the participation of a large number of Wikimedia movement participants in Georgia. After that we canceled all offline activities that continued online.

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Georgian WikiConference

Georgian WikiConference 2020 was held on December 26, 2020, from 18:00 to 21:00. A total of 17 people attended the conference.

The first part of the conference was dedicated to getting acquainted with and summarizing the results of Wikimedia UG Georgia 2020 activities, as well as presenting and discussing the 2021 Action Plan. The facilitator of the session was Mehman Ibragimov, Chairman of the Wikimedia UG Georgia.

Group photo at the end of the meeting (not all participants in the picture).

Speaking about the activities of WM UG Georgia within the framework of the 2020 Action Plan, Mehman Ibragimov noted that the UG held 9 contest in 2020, of which 8 contest were held directly in Georgian and other Wikipedias and aimed to create new content and improve existing ones. In September 2020, an international photo contest "Wiki Loves Monuments" was held, which involves take picture cultural and historical monuments and uploading them to Commons.

In total, up to 2,500 new articles were created and up to 300 articles were improved through these contests. More than 300 new pictures were uploaded as part of the photo contest.

Speaking about the 2021 Action Plan, Ibragimov noted that WM UG Georgia will continue to implement various projects for the development of Georgian (and not only) Wikipedia, including competitions aimed at increasing Wikipedia content. In 2021, it is planned to organize international and local competitions such as "CEE Spring", "Wiki Loves Caucasus" and "Wikipedia Asian Month".

Representatives of our partner organizations also spoke at the conference. Active editors of the Georgian Wikipedia and representatives of the Georgian WikiCommunity also spoke. Within the framework of the conference, all the participants of the meeting were given memorable souvenirs on behalf of Wikimedia UG Georgia.

Monthly meetings

Board meeting in May

Wikimedia UG Georgia held various meetings throughout the year, including Board meetings, meetings with various stakeholders and meetings with partner organizations.

In just a year, more than 12 Wikimedia UG Georgia Board meetings were held, where organizational issues, management of Wikimedia UG Georgia projects and programs and other important issues related to the organization and WikiCommunity in Georgia were discussed.

For the whole year we held more than 10 meetings with different groups and organizations within the framework of our cooperation. We met to discuss the details of cooperation, points of contact as well as details of work in Wikimedia projects.

WikiClubs

In 2020, 2 WikiClubs were launched at full capacity in Marneuli and Surami of Georgia. Geographically, they are located in two different regions of Georgia, from where the Marneuli WikiClub is located in the region of Georgia where the ethnic minority lives compactly. This gives us an additional opportunity to expand our influence and involve representatives of ethnic minorities in our projects and start integrating them into the processes, and it's also an additional opportunity to ensure community diversity.

In total, the two WikiClubs unite about 20 volunteers, who in 2020 created a total of more than 300 new articles in the Georgian and Azerbaijani Wikipedia. More than 30 trainings and meetings were held in both WikiClubs, most of them were held remotely due to the current situation (Covid-19).

WikiClubs remain the best way to attract new volunteers to Wikimedia projects and to support them on an ongoing basis. It's the premier platform for learning Wikimedia technology, tools and editing Wikimedia projects.

In addition to supporting these clubs through trainings and meetings, Wikimedia UG Georgia also supported by providing technical tools, mainly by providing laptops, projectors and other necessary accessories.

In 2021, it's planned to create 3 additional new WikiClubs in different regions of Georgia. Active work is underway to create appropriate conditions for this.

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  Training in the Marneuli WikiClub
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  Training in the Marneuli WikiClub
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  Training in the Surami WikiClub
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  Training in the Surami WikiClub
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  Training in the Surami WikiClub
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  Training in the Surami WikiClub
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  Training in the Surami WikiClub
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  Meeting with the members of the Marneuli WikiClub
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  Meeting with the members of the Marneuli WikiClub
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  Meeting with the members of the Marneuli WikiClub
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  Meeting with the members of the Marneuli WikiClub

Note: All photos were taken from meetings that took place before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Partnerships

During 2020, Wikimedia UG Georgia began cooperating with several organizations, including government and banking institutions.

WM Georgia and Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia

In the second half of 2020, Wikimedia UG Georgia began cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia. The main goal of this cooperation at this stage was the creation of new articles about Georgian athletes in the Georgian Wikipedia, as well as in the next in other Wikipedias. Within the framework of cooperation, more than 200 articles about Georgian athletes have been created.

On November 25, 2020, in Tbilisi, at the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, a memorandum of cooperation was solemnly signed between the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport and Wikimedia UG Georgia. The memorandum on behalf of the Ministry was signed by the first Deputy Minister.

The parties pledged to cooperate further to develop Wikimedia projects in Georgia.

WM Georgia and Georgian Gastronomy Association

In September 2020, Wikimedia UG Georgia, at the initiative of representatives of Georgian Gastronomy Association, conducted trainings for representatives of Georgian Gastronomy Association, who expressed a desire to help Georgian Wikipedia improve the quality of articles and enrich Wikipedia on the subject of cuisine.

Together with the Gastronomy Association, in September we held a contest on the theme of world cuisine, where the Association introduced a special nomination for the prize.

At the end of the year, we signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Gastronomy Association, where the Association pledged to help us achieve our goals.

WM Georgia and Art Palace of Georgia

In 2020 Wikimedia UG Georgia began cooperation with the Art Palace of Georgia and signed a memorandum of cooperation in December. The main goal of the cooperation is that Wikimedia UG Georgia will help the Art Palace of Georgia in placing photos from the fund of the Art Palace on Wikimedia resources, primarily on the Commons.

WM Georgia and TBC Bank

Wikimedia UG Georgia and TBC Bank agreed to cooperate to improve articles related to literature on Georgian wikipedia.

WM Georgia and EGI

Wikimedia UG Georgia implemented a cooperative project with the Europe-Georgia Institute, the leading non-governmental organization in Georgia, and Friedrich Naumann Foundation, a German foundation for liberal politics, resulting in 50 improved articles about politics, political figures and topics related to liberalism.

WM Georgia and Free University

The students of International Relations class at the Free University led by George Melashvili improved 10 articles related to international relations and politics as part of their class assignment.

Outreach

We added an outreach program after we had an additional amount, after canceling offline events. With the help of outreach programs, we want to popularize Wikimedia projects in Georgia and involve as many people as possible in projects for the development of the Georgian-language segment of Wikimedia projects.

Looking at the media statistics of Georgia, it's clear that online media and social networks are very popular in Georgia, therefore, Wikimedia UG Georgia decided to attract more volunteers and contributors with the help of paid content in online media and social networks. After paid content in online media and social networks, the number of people interested in our projects and contests has increased, and messages received from people have also increased.

The paid content program in online media and social networks, was split into two segments. In the first segment, we signed a contract with one of the most popular online media (On.ge) in Georgia and posted all our ads and achievements on their news platform. Up to 10 publications were posted. In the second segment, we used social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) to publish our materials, achievements and call on a paid basis.

Spending update Final

Please link to a detailed financial report for your spending during the grant period. This should be in the same format as your detailed budget from your Simple APG application.

Report can be found here

Please include the total amount of Simple APG funds you spent during the grant period.

17,000.00 USD (54,400.00 GEL according to the weighted average exchange rate)

Grant Metrics Reporting Final

Metrics, targets and results: grants metrics worksheet here.