Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2024/Bids/Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group

Hosting of Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2024 in Prizren, Kosovo

Logo of the CEE

Application

Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group

Summary

WCEEM 2024 Proposed Logo

Organizing the Wikimedia CEE Conference in Prizren, Kosovo, has several meaningful benefits for the community.

1. Knowledge, Experience, and Innovation Sharing for the community of Wikimedians in the CEE region. Everyone participating in the WMCEE meeting will be able to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices to learn new skills, and techniques in improving the quality and quantity of Wikimedia content in the CEE region.

2. Strengthening regional ties. Strong regional ties provide an inclusive community to come and work together towards the goal of improving free knowledge of the Wikimedia Movement and projects. It encourages long-lasting relationships in the community.

3. Visibility and outreach. Welcoming the conference to Prizren will encourage a wide and great engagement not only of the local community but also of the Wikimedia Movement and community of the CEE region for better support and greater initiatives.

Affiliate

Established in 2014, The Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group (WoALUG) is a collective of Wikimedia project participants from the Albanian-speaking community. Our primary focus is increasing and enhancing the content on the Albanian language in Wikimedia projects. WoALUG has two Project Managers as full time staff and a volunteer board of three persons. It uses FLOSSK, an NGO legally established in Kosovo, for administrative support and as fiscal sponsor.

More than one affiliate in the proposed country

N/A

Proposed event venue

Kosovo Kosovo has one of the youngest populations in Europe, welcoming of foreigners and able to communicate in several European languages. As a place full of lively cafés and wide-ranging restaurants, a thriving outdoor adventure scene, the warmest locals you can imagine, and some of the cheapest prices across a vast region, Kosovo and its neighboring countries deserve the attention not only of the intrepid but of anyone looking to avoid the regular tourist traps. Visitors can appreciate the well-preserved Ottoman architecture of Prizren, sample raki or homemade wine around Rahovec, visit a traditional stone kulla in Junik or Drenoc, dive into the coffee-drinking culture in one of Prishtina’s many wonderful cafés, or explore Islam, Catholic, and Orthodox Christianity at beautiful monasteries and mosques (sometimes found side by side) around Kosovo. The country is surrounded by steep mountains and is easily accessible in many ways while being one of the most affordable European destinations. Cross-border hiking routes like the Via Dinarica and Peaks of the Balkans bring visitors to Kosovo who spend their time exploring these previously untapped possibilities. Across the border from Prizren, one of Albania’s best, Valbona National Park is available. From there, you may choose to take the ferry on the Drini river canyon or hike to Theth National Park, which is another Albanian treasure. From the Koman ferry landing or Theth, you can reach the city of Shkodra on the Shkodra Lake and the beaches of Northern Albania and southern Montenegro on the Adriatic coastline.

Prizren Set in the foothills of the Sharr Mountains, Prizren was once a capital city, being a large cultural and trading center. The town has always been one of Kosovo’s most beautiful cities, with unique roads, churches, mosques, and lots of old houses, which now serve for visual storytelling on the city's history and tradition. The city has carefully maintained its influence from the Ottoman Empire while also adopting architecture from the west, so it gives the sensation of a mixed culture. Prizren is home to one of the best international documentary film festivals, Dokufest, which takes place in early August.

The Venue The conference will be held at Innovation & Training Park (ITP) Prizren. ITP Prizren is a business park located in a suburb of the city of Prizren. The area of 39 hectares offers a networking atmosphere that builds on collaboration and shared resources. ITP benefits traditional economic sectors by acting as a center for the distribution of innovative technologies. The buildings in the area include 23 accommodation houses, administrative buildings, maintenance buildings, workshop sheds, a sports facility, recreational facilities such as cafes, and a modern restaurant. Rooms include the main conference hall, Red Building with large classroom-type rooms, front desk, etc.

Address: Innovation and Training Park (ITP) Ukë Bytyçi St. 20000 Prizren, Kosovo OSM / Google Maps. 360 view

Proposed accommodation

For accommodation we propose using the dorms at the Innovation and Training Park in Prizren for about ⅔ of participants, with ⅓ placed in hotels in downtown Prizren. ITP has 100 rooms and can accommodate 1-2 persons, 6 rooms per floor, sharing toilets and showers.

For ⅓ of participants, there are over 20 hotels in Prizren that can be used for the accommodation of participants. Rooms per night range from 40-80 EUR including breakfast. In addition, guesthouses, B&B, and hostels are available at 20-40 EUR.

Proposed dates

Considering Wikimania 2024 Kraków is being held in June or July 2024, we propose two months in between to CEEM 2024 putting the potential dates in September or early October 2024. The weather at this time is European continental autumn with warm days, cool nights, and some rain. We are open to discussing this point further.

Expected total budget

Total Budget 112,056.00€.

The budget was calculated based on real data, mostly on actual offers we have received.

Description

Concept and venue The conference will be held at the Innovation & Training Park (ITP) Prizren. We believe the concept from previous CEE Meetings (i.e. Ohrid) works well although we can discuss adjustments for the final proposal. We aim for the conference program to concentrate on sessions dealing with specific projects – ongoing or planned – and project development. We expect 150 attendees based on history although this number can be scaled up without any major logistical difficulties.

We foresee three tracks: One in the Main Building which is a modern concrete and glass high roof setting which can easily accommodate up to 200 people for keynotes. Pre-Learning Day will also be organized here in the roundtable and workshop format. Two tracks in two large classroom settings in the Red Building across the street.

Suggested format:

Thursday

Learning day

Friday

09:00-17:00 - Day one of Conference Program

20:00-24:00 Social activities at ITP with live DJ and cocktail party.

Saturday

09:00-17:00 - Day two of Conference Program

18:00-23:00 Tour of Prizren and Dinner

Sunday

09:00-16:00 - Day three of Conference Program

Food will be served at the buffet restaurant on campus which is of good quality and sizable portions.

Project Management We will organize the conference using modern software tools and methodologies for project management such as Kanban. From grant definition to award to the first few months after grant award we will communicate on Telegram and meet online as needed. Starting 6 months before the conference date we will hold monthly meetings to bring everyone up to speed and check on progress.

Logistics

Our partner FLOSSK has a long experience in organizing conferences, starting with Software Freedom Kosova in 2009. Software Freedom Kosova is an annual international conference held in Kosovo organized to promote Free/Libre and open-source software, free culture, and an open society. In recent years FLOSSK has organized at the current venue several large international events: FOSS4G 2023 (680 attendees), Debian Conference 2022 (250 attendees), State of the Map Southeast Europe 2019 (150 attendees). FLOSSK will cover the following activities:

lead facilitator
logistics
design work
venue and accommodation
food
fiscal sponsorship
local sponsorships and reporting
A/V equipment, recording and live streaming and
tour and special dinner.

Organising team

Arianit Dobroshi - WoALUG Board Member - co-chair, visa-process
Greta Doci - WoALUG Board Member - co-chair, WMF liaison
Liridoni Selmani - WoALUG Board Member - Program Committee
Vjollca Merdani - WoALUG staff - Volunteer coordination and media outreach
Rita Maliqi - WoALUG staff - Finance, attendee communication and front desk
Kleini Muçi - scholarships
Sinan Berisha - photographer
Gëzim Bullaku - volunteer
Marsi Dhimitri - volunteer

FLOSSK Team

Valmir Mustafa- Logistics coordinator
Edonis Hashani - Logistics
Elira Çallaki - Logistics
Qendresa Kastrati - Financial reporting

WoALUG contributors to Program Committee

Klein Muço
Liridon Selmani

Experience

The organising team members as aforementioned will be members of WoALUG and FLOSSK. WoALUG has staff of 2 project managers who work full time and 3 board members who are engaged unpaid. They have experience with organizing large scale events. FLOSSK currently has a full-time staff of 3, 1 part-time, and executive board of 3. We will also include team members with experience in international Wikimedia CEE organizing so that the experience learned throughout the years can be carried over and there is broader representation. WoALUG provides the overarching vision and direction. With our experience with previous events, we will ensure a seamless experience for attendees. Our team will guide strategic planning and program development to logistical management and participant experience. FLOSSK is WoALUG’s financial sponsor and for this conference will be our logistics partner. FLOSSK brings the IT community closer to free and open-source projects by organizing yearly conferences, workshops, and meetups. FLOSSK has organized many large scale conferences including FOSS4G 2023, BSides Prishtina 2023, DebConf 2022, 9 editions of Software Freedom Kosova, and much more.

Accessibility

Visas

Most CEE countries can enter Kosovo without a visa.

Don’t need a visa visitors holding passports of:	Need a visa visitors holdings passports of:
Schengen and EU countries Albania Moldova Montenegro North Macedonia Serbia Turkey USA UK Ireland Israel	Armenia Bosnia and Herzegovina Georgia Azerbaijan Belarus Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Russia India

In addition, holders of EU biometric ID cards and multiple-entry Schengen visas don’t need a Kosovo visa to enter Kosovo. For those needing a visa FLOSSK will facilitate distance visa applications by mail. Visa policy of Kosovo

Travel

Flights from CEE region to Prishtina, Tirana or Skopje airports will cost 100 - 700 Euros, depending on the booking period, originating region and landing airport.

Prishtina International Airport has direct flights to main European hubs to the west and Istanbul, Turkey to the east. In addition, several low cost carriers offer flights to these three airports.

Bus travel is also possible as Kosovo is well connected with direct bus links to the region, Western Europe and Turkey.

Trip time from the airport to the venue

From Prishtina airport: 45 min by car/taxi or 2.5 hr by bus
From Tirana airport: 3 hr by bus/car
From Skopje airport: 1.5 hr by car or 3 hr by bus

Metrics

Number of Participants	Number of Submissions	Partner Involvement
We expect at least 150 members from different affiliations and communities + local members.	Based on the number of previous editions, we expect approximately 70 submissions for the program.	We expect the support of at least 5 government and non-government institutions for our event
150	70	5

Sponsorships

With the support of FLOSSK which is widely known in Kosovo among potential donors, we will try to raise funds and donations in kind from sources other than WMF. We will reach out to Kosovo Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Municipality of Prizren, foreign donor organizations in Kosovo and Albania, etc.

Safety

Summer festivals and international events in Kosovo are usually very safe and inclusive towards many groups, such as the LGBTIQ+ community. Women can travel alone and there aren’t any specific laws against the LGBTIQ+ community.

Budget

Budget for WMCEE24 Prizren