Wikimedia User Group of Aotearoa New Zealand/Wellington WikiCon 2023

Wellington WikiCon is New Zealand's third Wikimedia conference, running 11–12 March 2023 (Saturday and Sunday).
All are welcome regardless of experience with Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons or Wikisource.

Registration and fees

The conference is subsidised and fully catered; most of the organising and presentations are by volunteers. There is a small registration charge for participants which will contribute towards the costs of the venue and catering.
If you are a speaker or organiser at the conference there is no charge for registration.
There are a number of travel subsidies available and also scholarships for Māori or Pasifika participants. Get in touch to know more! lisamauleinfo@gmail.com.

General participant:
One day $10
Two days $20

Institutional participant:
One day $25
Two days $50
Registration is ticketed through Lil Regie for all attendees including speakers. Please follow the link and sign up. As you register please let organisers know what your accessibility needs are. wellington-wikicon-2023.lilregie.com

We look forward to seeing you at our event. All welcome. Nau mai, heaere mai.

Aims

The conference will be a relaxed event with opportunities for meeting other like-minded people. You will get to learn about areas of Wikipedia and sister projects you don't know about, and share ideas for creating content that adds to the Wikimedia movement and free and open access to information about Aotearoa and the region. It is fully catered with lunch and snacks provided. You can attend all or part of the conference.

The aims of the Wellington WikiCon are to:

share information about Wikimedia projects with new and existing audiences and editors
create a space for skill sharing and development in all areas of Wikimedia

On Saturday afternoon there will be an update about the new Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand Incorporated Society.

Please note this WikiCon Wellington will be a masked event to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

To register sign up here: Wellington WikiCon 2023 Registration

Venue – The Home of Compassion

In Our Lady of Compassion chapel

The conference venue is a quiet retreat surrounded by gardens in the suburb of Island Bay, close to Wellington Airport. There is free parking, it is close to the No. 1 bus service, and has accommodation that can be booked by out-of-towners. Our conference rooms have good WiFi and ventilation. The Home of Compassion was founded in 1907 by Suzanne Aubert and has an interesting history, having in the past been an orphanage and a hospital.
We look forward to welcoming you to the rooms, courtyard and gardens.

Our Lady’s Home of Compassion
2 Rhine Street (off Murray Street)
Island Bay
Wellington 6023
Website: https://compassion.org.nz/

Programme

The programme is outlined below and will be updated and details added as things develop. The purpose of the programme is to support editors to meet face to face and share topics, issues and techniques with each other from advanced through to beginners level. This will get refined and tailored further once the registrations come in, so please reserve a space by signing up online. This WikiCon is also a chance to extend an invitation to the many GLAM, educational and government institutions that are based in Wellington to come and learn more, meet Wikipedians and see how they can contribute.

Please bring a computer device with you - a laptop is ideal - and the charger too.
If this is a problem let Lisa know lisamauleinfo@gmail.com

One of the cool things I have encountered of Wikipedians is the 'journey into the wormhole' experience. It is endlessly interesting of why people do it, what they do, and where it ends up! I am hoping the conference has space for people to share this with each other. And we all know that lunch is the best bit of conferences, so as well as delicious food and a courtyard - there will be time for chats'. (Lisa, conference organiser)

**Friday 10 March 2023**
Time	Activity
7.00pm	Dinner is booked at The Southern Cross. (Self-funded). https://thesoutherncross.co.nz/ 39 Abel Smith Street, Te Aro, Wellington (upper Cuba Street in town) They can accommodate more people if you didn't register for this and want to go. Just turn up.

Saturday **11 March 2023**
Time	Activity
9.30am	Registration desk open. Tea, coffee & scones available.
10.30am	Event welcome Welcome from the Home of Compassion, introduction to the conference & whakawhanaungatanga
11.15am	Tamsin Braisher delivering her keynote presentation Keynote Insight into some inspirational projects from Tamsin Braisher including reflection and discussion time.
Noon - 1pm	Lunch (catered)
	Lyon Room (main space)	Marcelle Room	Ryan Room
1pm	Auckland Museum suburb article project Marty Blayney, Wikimedian in Residence at Auckland War Memorial Museum Outline of good suburb article project, template, process and workflow, exemplars with discussion. What articles in your region need improving? [Intermediate & Advanced]	New & emerging editors introduction to Wikipedia Lisa Maule & others Introduction to Wikipedia for new, rusty and mid-level people. You will be coached in small groups to develop skills from wherever your starting point is. Please have created a username prior to the conference if you can. Remember to bring a computer device (eg. laptop) and charger. Have a look at some articles on Wikipedia in subject areas of your interest to discuss. [Beginner]	Wikidata & Wikipedia Alex Lum, Wikimedia Australia Wikipedia/Wikidata mapping workshop. This workshop will cover some of the ways contributors to Wikimedia projects can gather, process, use and display geographic data (such as boundaries, satellite imagery and coordinates) to enhance their Wikimedia work. Alex will take participants through the existing templates and tools, and explain OpenStreetMap which forms the basis of the Wikimedia Map Service, as well as showing how to obtain and use open geospatial data for New Zealand using the free but powerful open source GIS tool QGIS. Lastly, some real-life questions and requests raised by the New Zealand community over the last few years will be discussed and worked through to develop possible workflows and solutions using the tools and data sources demonstrated. [Advanced]
2pm	Gadgets & tools for Wikipedia and Wikicommons Siobhan Leachman, Wikipedian Introduction to improving your Wikipedia editing with gadgets & tools by prolific and friendly editor Siobhan Leachman. See this link for google slides or you can see the slides in Wikicommons. You never know what you don’t know! Workshop - have computers ready to install useful things. [Intermediate & Advanced]		New Zealand article survey Marshall Clark, Wikipedian Examine the hierarchy of important New Zealand articles and establish which ones need urgent work. [Intermediate & Advanced]
2.50pm	Waiata practice We will learn a waiata together from the LIANZA group which has generously been offered for use for Wikimedia Aotearoa Usergoup events. Waiata: Ko ngā kete wānanga e rapuhia e Tane, by Mike Kawana
3.05pm	Afternoon tea
3.30pm	Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand Inc (WANZ) & the Future Victoria Leachman (President, Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand Inc) Introduction to how the incorporated society (WANZ) connects to the global Wikimedia Foundation, the benefits of being a member, and the strategic priorities of the Usergroup. Bring your ideas for events and things you'd like Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand group to develop and deliver. You will also learn about funding support! Outcome of Session: Ideas for the events and activities were developed via a Lean Coffee session. Photographs of resulting sticky notes and popularity. This information directly informed the WANZ priorities for the next funding application to the ESEAP General Support Fund.
4.15pm	Wikipedia and institutions Facilitated by Victoria Leachman (President of Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand and Te Papa staffmember) Group discussion for Gallery, Library, Archive, and Museum staff and other interested people How institutions / organisations can support their people to interact on Wikimedia Foundation platforms and why they would encourage it! [Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced]	What are 'Good Articles' and why are they good? Marshall Clark and Emma (Wikipedians) Work demonstration and guidelines about the benefits of Good Articles from the application to assessment. [Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced]	Wikify the Sisters of Compassion Sofia Roberts & Mike Dickison Learn how to 'Wikify' any subject, using the Sisters of Compassion as an example: planning a project, photography and archives, collecting sources, making a "To Do" table, working with subject experts and clearing copyrights, getting help and running an edit-a-thon. Site visit to the information panels and chapel and maybe the archives. [Beginner & Intermediate]
5.00pm	Drinks and nibbles on site (complimentary)
7pm	Dinner is booked at The Botanist plant-based restaurant. (Self-funded). They can accommodate more people if you didn't register for this and want to go. Let Sofia Roberts know on Saturday. https://thebotanistlyallbay.co.nz/ 219 Onepu Road, Lyall Bay (a suburb nearby to Island Bay)

Sunday **12 March 2023**
Time	Activity
9.00am	Registration desk open. Tea, coffee & scones available.
9.30am	Keynote: Pasifika, Mana Moana and Wikipedia Sophia Coghini Introduction to past & current Pasifika projects. Outline of potential and future goals.
10.30am	Morning Tea
	Lyon Room (main space)	Marcelle Room	Ryan Room
11am	Newbie questions addressed Lisa Maule and others maybe Mary / David Table 'round' then small groups depending on what emerges. Examples of questions (all questions are valid!) How to link, how to make a citation? The ‘culture’ - what is notability, conflict of interest etc How to upload an image [Beginner]	Wikidata Tamsin Braisher, Marty Blayney (Wikimedian in Residence at Auckland War Memorial Museum), Alex Lum (Australia Wikipedia), Victoria Leachman (president of Wikimedia Aotearoa Usergoup and Te Papa staff member) Discussion about Wikidata, the thesis project and other. This is an open topic for people who have a background in data - so bring your thoughts. [Advanced]	Wikimedia Commons Mike Dickison (former Wikipedian-at-Large) Getting more images into Wikipedia. Where to find Creative Commons open-licensed photos Ways that have successfully convinced others to release their photos, and a script (discussion) Organising photo releases, bulk uploads, scanning Photo competitions, public events, and WikiShootMe [Intermediate & Advanced]
12.30pm	Lunch
1.30pm - 3.30pm	This afternoon session is a two hour timeslot with a programme decided by participants. The rooms will be available for table discussions, workshops and editing sessions. The suggestion is also some in the group may like to do a site visit to the local parks and reserves. People can choose to 'Wikify' a site visit or to have break from their screens, get some exercise and talk with others – or any mixture that suits you!
1.30pm - 3.30pm	Workshop / discussion ideas Wikify the Home of Compassion based on Saturday's discussion Rongoā expand the Rongoā article with the Home of Compassion information as a discussion starting point Pasifika expand some articles together		Site-visit suggestions Karioi reserve historic walk (45mins round trip from the Home) Redrocks / Southcoast drive to Te Kopahou Visitor Centre (5 mins). Walk to Red Rocks and back (approx 60mins).
3.30pm	Afternoon tea
3.45pm	Lightning talks / Pitopito kōrero ROYAL SOCIETY & WIKISOURCE (5min) Launching the project for the Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute (later called the Royal Society). So many articles covering a wide variety of topics, particularly in the earlier issues. See s:Wikisource:WikiProject Transactions NZ Institute. Beeswaxcandle FORGET-ME-NOT (10min) Te Papa recently released 350 images of native New Zealand forget me nots to Wiki Commons. We wanted to get our feet wet in the wiki ecosystem, try out OpenRefine’s bulk upload functionality, and start building up a system we could use to do it again (and again and again and again). Lucy is Te Papa’s Digital Channels Outreach Manager, working on sharing the museum’s images and data far and wide. She’d like to talk to you about documentation. Heidi is one of Te Papa’s Botany Curators, and is motivated to share biodiversity research and knowledge (especially about New Zealand’s native plants) using Wikimedia. 2022 TOUR OF WIKIMEDIA EUROPE (5min) Mike Dickison did his PhD on giant flightless birds at Duke, and was Curator of Natural History at Whanganui Regional Museum before becoming Aotearoa’s first Wikipedian at Large. He is now a freelance Wikipedia consultant based in Hokitika, and has worked with New Zealand Opera, Otago University, Development West Coast, and the Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies.
4.15pm	Debrief and closing remarks Lisa Maule A summary of what people learnt and got out of the conference and ideas for the next one. Close by singing together with the LIANZA waiata .
5pm	Finish

Two people meet each other at the beginning of the conference

Outcomes

About 30 people attended each day with participants from around Aotearoa and one from Australia.

A presentation on tools and tricks is now publicly available for people to work through See this link for google slides or you can see the slides in Wikicommons.
The editing community provided ideas and a prioritisation for the WANZ committee to develop as part of their funding application. Photographs of resulting sticky notes and popularity.
Launched the Wikisource project for the Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. See s:Wikisource:WikiProject Transactions NZ Institute.
A tools learning session, dreamed up the day before the conference, is planned for Dunedin on the weekend of June 17–18.
Wikidata item and WikiCommons gallery of Our Lady's Home of Compassion, the venue.
Wikidata item for Danilo R. Reyes, a local printmaker whose art was gifted to attendees
Image request filled for St Patrick's College, Kilbirnie, Wellington

Marty Blaney from Auckland Museum interacting with another participant

Conference accessibility

Please let the conference organiser's know any accessibility needs you have. There is a place in the registration to do this or you can organise a phone call or online meeting by emailing lisamauleinfo@gmail.com. The venue is all on a single level although assistance will be required for some wheelchair users for some of the doors.

When the main sessions are on the other rooms become quiet spaces, and there are other places at the venue for individual quiet space.

Masks are required in shared spaces to support the safety of all including the comfort of immunocompromised people. Please see the Covid19 section for more details.

Code of conduct

The conference has the guiding Wikimedia Foundation Universal Code of Conduct for all participants.

In line with the Wikimedia mission, all who participate in Wikimedia projects and spaces will:

Help create a world in which everyone can freely share in the sum of all knowledge
Be part of a global community that will avoid bias and prejudice, and
Strive towards accuracy and verifiability in all its work

The principles of the Code of Conduct are:
In the interest of fostering an open and welcoming community, we are committed to making participation in Wikimedia technical projects a respectful and harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sex, sexual orientation, disability, neuroatypicality, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, political affiliation, or religion.

Technical skills and community status make no difference to the right to be respected and the obligation to respect others. Newcomers and other contributors with limited experience in our community deserve a welcoming attitude and constructive feedback. Prolific contributions and technical expertise are not a justification for lower standards of behavior.

Please be aware there is a list of unacceptable behaviors which includes harassment, intimidation, derogatory or discriminatory comments, gratuitous or off-topic use of sexual language or imagery and inappropriate or unwanted attention, touching, or physical contact (sexual or otherwise). If you feel unsafe in anyway this can be reported to the Wikimedia Foundation and / or brought to the attention of one of the conference organisers.

Accommodation options

Wellington has many accommodation options, but it is worth booking in advance. Here a few recommended by the WikiCon team.


Accommodation name	Cost	Distance from venue	Accommodation website	Notes
Home of Compassion	Single room $100 per night (private bathroom opposite to the room), Twin room (2 pax) $150 per night, Single ensuite $ 125 per night. Access to a shared dining room with a microwave, oven, and fridge. To make a booking, please email: islandbay@compassion.org.nz	It is the venue! These rooms are onsite.	Website	On-site parking & close to Number 1 Bus route
Soujourn Apartments	Petite double studio apartment in Newtown, a suburb close to town with interesting shops, bars and eateries near to town and Island Bay. Early bird deal for two nights $394.20.	Approx 8 minutes by car. 20 minutes by bus according to Google Maps (includes a little walk).	Website	On the Number 1 Bus route
Naumi Studio Wellington	Hotel on Cuba Street in town. Queen - approx $680 for two nights.	Approx 15 minutes by car. 32 minutes by bus according to google maps (includes a little walk each end).	Website
MÖVENPICK Hotel	Hotel on The Terrace in town. Single person - approx $646,00 for two nights (Fri, Sat)	Approx 15 minutes by car.	Website
Other

Carpark and entrance way to the home of compassion, Island Bay, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa

Stay with local Wikipedians
Accommodation with a local Wikipedian may be possible. Email lisamauleinfo@gmail.com to organise.

Supporters and sponsors

Comms

Twitter hashtag for the conference is #WellyWikiCon

Covid-19

To keep everyone safe please follow our Covid-19 health and safety requirements. Our goal is to be a welcoming safe space for people including those with compromised health conditions and to ensure all measures are taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and other airborne diseases.

Please stay away if you are sick. Full refunds can be given.

Masks are expected to be worn (by those who can).

If you are feeling unwell, have any Covid-19 symptoms, were recently in close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID, or have been instructed to isolate, please do not attend.

Our event will be masked and our expectation is that people will wear a quality N95 or KN95 mask (supplied) apart from when eating or drinking. Those who are unable to wear a mask are also welcome. People eating and drinking will manage their own safety in a variety of well ventilated spaces with the ability to social distance. Masks will be required in the function rooms during sessions although speakers and facilitators will be able to unmask during their presentations to aid communication, but they will have done a negative Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) on the day before attending. We will have RAT tests available if participants want to do one.

We also have a CO₂ meter to monitor air quality. The venue rooms are spaces that can be ventilated to outside.

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