WikiIndaba conference 2019/Scholarships/Criteria

Scholarships applications will be evaluated based on 3 main criteria:

1. Offline contributions
2. Online contributions
3. Value added by applicant for previous WikiIndaba participants

Eligibility to apply

Any active contributor (from Africa, Africans in the Diaspora and non-Africans) to Wikimedia projects as a volunteer is eligible to apply for a scholarship. Individuals whose participation is tied to paid work are not eligible to apply for a scholarship, including paid or contract staff of any Wikimedia organization. Interns, part-time staff and working students are not excluded from this rule except they can show proof of their contributions in their volunteer capacity. Selection will be based on contributions within the Wikimedia movement while also maximizing the diversity of the conference as a whole, including gender, language and representation of various communities. Contributions to other non-Wikimedia related open movements and initiatives is a plus but not a requirement for selection. Scholarship applications submissions after the deadline (2nd October, 2018) will not be reviewed.

Selection process

This process will be in 3 phases:

Phase 1 - eligibility assessment: applicants must pass basic eligibility criteria before they move further into the scholarship process.

Phase 2 - scholarship grading system based on the 3 main areas listed above (online/on-wiki contribution such as edits on wikis, patches made into MediaWiki and related software, etc.; offline contributions such as event planning and organisation, recruiting of new wikimedians etc.; value added by applicant from previous Wiki Indabas and expected value added after Wiki Indaba 2019). Priority will be given to Wikimedia affiliate members (e.g. board members of chapters and user groups.)

Phase 3 - Final review and approval of scholarships and connecting with other committees and WMF for further recommendations. After that, successful applicants will be informed via email and a list will be published on Wiki Indaba Meta-Wiki page.

Selection criteria

Phase 1 - Applications will fail phase 1 if any of the following criteria apply;

If the applicant’s application is incomplete or didn’t address any vital questions in the application form or failed to make reasonable efforts to address the questions in the application form. If the applicant is an inactive contributor to Wikimedia projects or has failed to show any significant Wikimedia contributions or activities which may merit the awarding of a scholarship such as

1. Active contributor to a Wikimedia project (e.g. Wikipedia, Commons, MediaWiki, Wikidata, etc), with at least 300 contributions (global edit count)
2. Active MediaWiki code contributor, gadget or other tool-builder for Wikimedia projects.
3. Involvement in some form of Wikimedia affiliate organization (chapter, thematic organization or user group).
4. For applicants who have attended previous Wiki Indaba, further contributions and post-conference impact (to community) after their previous Wiki Indaba.
5. On-wiki leadership roles, e.g. Wikimedia CheckUser, Admin, Bureaucrat, Steward or OTRS volunteer (current or former).
6. Wikimedia Researcher.
7. Participant in a Wikimedia program (e.g. GLAM partnership or education program).
8. Participant in Wikimedia organized events (e.g. photographer contributing to Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM), workshop attendee).
9. Organizer of Wikimedia events (e.g. WLM, edit-a-thons).

WMF staff reserve the right to remove people due to their conduct on or off-wiki (phase 3) Applications for which no failing criteria apply will pass into Phase 2 for further evaluation. Impact after previous Wiki Indaba (2014, 2017, 2018) will be considered.

Phase 2 - In this phase, applicants will be evaluated in depth according to the points listed in phase 1, considering the three main areas / dimensions listed above. Based on this evaluation, the committee members will propose a list of applicants to enter phase 3.

These criteria are put in place to get the most exceptional Wikimedians together to maximize the experiences, learnings and skills to be brought back home to enrich their communities.