Grants talk:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Wiki Loves Monuments 2022 in Serbia (ID: 21881690)

Questions from I JethroBT (WMF)

Hello Ivan25, and thanks for this proposal to support WLM in 2022 in Serbia. Here are my questions and comments:

• Thank you for the context provided around the history of the contest in Serbia and that it has been run by a number of entities.
• I understand you were a former board member of Wikimedia Serbia. What role or association do you have with Wikimedia Serbia currently?
• Thanks for confirming that there are no other Rapid Funds supporting WLM in Serbia. Have you coordinated with Wikimedia Serbia to confirm if they have any plans to conduct any WLM activities this year?
• Given your association with Wikimedia Serbia, that the team includes a WMRS staff members, and that many participants will be members of the chapter, are you able to provide any context around why the event is being supported on an individual basis instead of by the chapter? I can also reach out the chapter leadership for more information about this if needed, and I do not expect you to speak on behalf of the chapter where that might be more appropriate. However, this is an important question as we generally try to avoid providing additional Rapid Funds related to a chapter's ongoing work if they are already receiving General Support Funding (which can be amended during the funding period if needed to support opportunities for new events or activities).
• I understand the ceremony will also include a capacity-building session. Could you provide more about what knds of skills or aspects of capacity will be prioritized in this session for attending participants?
• While this is an individual proposal, there are a few places that refer to an organization (in Question 11) or organizational costs (in the budget). What organization does this refer to, and what information can you provide about it?

Thanks very much for your proposal to once again support WLM in Serbia, and I look forward to your responses. 19:57, 22 June 2022 (UTC) I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 19:57, 22 June 2022 (UTC)

Answers

Dear I JethroBT (WMF), thank you for the questions. Please find the answers below.

• My engagement in the WMRS Board was short-term some ten years ago. However, I’m still a member of WMRS formally, but with very limited activity since 2015. In the last seven years my focus was on a professional career. All in all, I would define my status as inactive member,
• Definitelly, yes. My ideas and plans were very transparent from the beginning, and the very first step I had made was contacting key persons in the local chapter, to check if they have any WLM activities for this year. WMRS didn’t plan any activities on it this year (2022).
• As I already mentioned, my role in WMRS is formal and passive. As you pointed out, I’m not probably the best person who can speak in front of the whole organization (WMRS). I would assume that in time of annual project planning WLM was not on the short list, because there were no interested parties. And so it has been for years. It is very good to underline that this project is not from the organization (WMRS) and there isn’t any active member, board member or key persons related with WLM 2022. One and only reason for staff participation is making healthy connections between formal organization and inactive community, individuals, especially in marketing and promotion areas. If the involvement of WMRS staff is a potential problem, we could review this decision. Anyways, my opinion is that it is good to support individuals and other groups when they have an aim to participate in different projects, but only if these projects are not in cross-over with active or planned projects within the chapter.
• This concept is in the preparation phase. Main goal is to connect and meet formal and informal groups, individuals and newly interested persons in terms of mutual support and potential collaboration in the future (potential/upcoming) projects.
• I think that this is one example of misunderstanding and bad translation. Word “organization” in Serbian has many meanings, but two are the most important: 1st, “organization” as an entity (for example group of people, football club, Wikimedia chapter etc) 2nd, “organization” as a process of preparing something, or working on something. First one is a noun, the second one is a verb. I apologize for this misunderstanding. In this specific case in my Grant proposal, I thought on the second one (verb).

If you have any other questions or doubts, please let me know. –Ivan25 (talk) 16:48, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

@Ivan25: Thanks for these responses above, and for clarifying the circumstances around the chapter. Normally, when chapter staff are involved, and when a chapter's membership is a significant community for expected participation, we expect that event to be run and funded by the chapter itself. I am willing to grant an exception in this case, but in the future, the event will need to be prioritized and funded through the chapter given this kind of involvement from the organization, not through a separate Rapid Fund request. This is because organizations that receive General Support Funds cannot also receive Rapid Funds to support events they are involved in, and there is substantial involvement in this proposal from staff and chapter members.

Before I finalize a funding decision, I would request a response to Gikü comments below-- I agree this is a significant investment for an external website for an individual grant. Could you provide more information on the need for a separate website as opposed to using Meta as a space to promote and provide information about the contest? Given that this is an individual grant, what is the plan for maintaining the website beyond the funding period? I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 15:40, 5 July 2022 (UTC)

I JethroBT (WMF) Thank you for your answer and additional question, please find my answer to Giku bellow. Let me know if there is any other doubts. --Ivan25 (talk) 14:02, 6 July 2022 (UTC)

Questions from Gikü

The grant request only once mentions creation of a website and then in the budget it is described very summarily what purpose it would serve ("promotion of the project, but also for uploading instructions, blog posts and information"). I observe it takes a good chunk of the budget. Wasn't the website already created a decade ago? Or if it has disappeared in the meantime – in the "Tiktok world" we live in, what impact would a new website have, did you forecast it? If you would compare project expectations with and without a new website, how much would it help? Gikü (talk) 22:02, 29 June 2022 (UTC)

Answer

I'm sorry for a late answer, since I was absent for a while. Thank you for your question, please find the answer bellow.

Bearing in mind that it is somewhere around 30-35% of the actual local price, and that it is still a significant item, it speaks to the size of the budget and how much we have worked to reduce costs. The old website is dysfunctional and disappeared from the web many years ago. "TikTok world" is a debatable topic that should be approached from all sides and fields. It remains to be seen how popular it is, and in what sphere at the domestic level, and not just in planetary statistics. In any case, TikTok should be approached through a part of the communication strategy of the local team and not through the current topicality and global popularity.

The content that is planned to be placed and which is the target group should also be taken into account. It would be interesting to invest resources in testing and developing how new/other networks (such as TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, Ficker or so) can contribute to the project globally and we support that idea. Our resources, capacities, funds, but also the fact that TikTok, for example, in Serbia is not so used for project presentation (and projects like this), lead us to continue to follow the current good practice (which many apply for their projects) and use the web presentation, which is an established way to access users and present materials.

Local experiences from before, that have not changed significantly in recent years, show that websites are very useful and desirable. The audience likes to have access to information in the usual way they are used to such projects, and the organizers have the freedom to create and post content with great autonomy and flexibility and to offer it to the public in a more acceptable way. This is not excluded in the "WLM world" where, for example, Austria or Armenia or Republic of Srpska has its web presentations too, but also the global WLM organization itself. It is generally accepted by the local audience, which is the most important for us here.

Also, I want to take the opportunity to clarify that the proposed budget is not only for website design, but also for hosting, domain, design, graphic preparation of press/promo materials and exhibition photos, etc. We hope to continue working on the project next year too, so that the existing infrastructure will be reused. It is planned that, in addition to local information, instructions for taking photos, instructions on behavior in protected localities, and safety instructions will be posted on the website. There will also be translated information about global campaigns and achievements in other countries, so the site will be rich in information. –Ivan25 (talk) 13:56, 6 July 2022 (UTC)

@Ivan25: Thanks for this clarification around the website. Given that there is no existing website to be used, and that your expectations are that having an external website will support better participation and engagement with the campaign, we are willing to support this investment for the development of the website. However, in developing the website, please be sure to consider a plan around how best to transfer maintenance duties if you and your team are not able to maintain the project in future years (so that it does not become dysfunctional like the old website). That may be accomplished in a discussion with other community members or with Wikimedia Serbia. I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 16:01, 11 July 2022 (UTC)