Wikimedia CEE Hub/Microgrants/report/Wiki Loves Earth 2024 in Slovakia
- By: Armin
The main goal of the grant was to support Wiki Loves Earth 2024 in Slovakia to encourage the interest of Slovak Wikipedians in photographing protected natural areas and objects. This goal was achieved as almost 500 pictures of Slovak nature were uploaded on Wikimedia Commons during the photo contest.
The Wiki Loves Earth 2024 photo competition was promoted on Facebook, on Slovak Wikipedia with a special banner and also with an article on the [wikimedia.sk website of our user group] (Wikimedians of Slovakia). We think the competition was quite well advertised, as evidenced by the considerable number of good quality photographs, which exceeded last year’s numbers. More users also joined the competition this year as compared to the previous year. Members of the user group managed the preparation and promotion of competition, and - partially - the evaluation of the uploaded photos. The final evaluation was made by two invited professionals (one photographer and one art theorist). From the 485 uploaded photos, the evaluators selected the 10 best photos, which were uploaded by four photographers, with one participant from abroad. We also offered financial compensation for travel expenses to support the photography of natural monuments that have not yet been photographed. Only a few people asked for compensation, maybe because other participants were not aware of it even though the option was advertised on the landing page.
| Additional part of the report (Lessons learned) |
|---|
During the preparation of the photo competition, we encountered two or three issues that will need to be solved in the next round of the WLE photo competition. First of all, we would like to attract new photographers, because it turned out that the most beautiful photos were created by three or four participants of past competitions. In general, however, we mostly had new photographers (only about a third of participants of this year also participated last year), so we consider this a success. Secondly, in addition to online promotion, promotion in the media (press, podcast in radio, others) might also be helpful. On the other hand, they are more costly in both time and money. Lastly, we were also surprised by the little interest in the possibility of reimbursing travel expenses for the travel to lesser-known (and less photographed) natural monuments. This year we paid the expenses of only three photographers in the amount of less than 45 €. Perhaps they just did not need the support. Similarly, there was no interest in the three online consultations. We offered those in case people need help with their uploads, categorization and other issues with the competition. We also think that in the future, the photos in the first round of evaluation will not be judged by members of our user group, but by an extended collective of professionals - photographers and art theorists (maybe around 5 people). The evaluation of nearly 500 photos in the first round was quite time-consuming and some members of our group felt a lack of professional critical view. Getting in touch with the winners also proved a bit of a challenge as not everyone responded to our first message and we had to try repeatedly.
The promotion of the competition on a Wikipedia banner and also on the Facebook page of our user group proved to be effective. Both the number of participants and the number of uploaded photos was higher than in 2023. We are pleased with the fact that among the uploaded photos the high-quality close-up shots of animals appeared (4 of them were among the best 10). As mentioned previously, we could extend the promotion further to print or to other mass media. |
- Financial report
| Type of expense | Description | Amount (EUR) |
|---|---|---|
| Promotion | Promotion of WLE 2024 in Slovakia on internet (Facebook) | 141,49 |
| Travel support | Reimbursement of the travel costs | 44,55 |
| Prizes | Prizes for the photographers of the 10 best pics | 136,64 |
| Rest of the subsidy/grant to be returned | 77,32 | |
| Total | 400 | |
- Achieved metrics
Our goal was to have 500 photographs, which we nearly achieved (97%) as 485 photographs were uploaded. Next year we are hoping for even more photos.
- Additional information
We would like to thank the CEE Hub for the funding and support, which made this competition possible.