Wikimania Committee/Minutes/2022-07-14

Session overview

Discussion on risk assessment for various locations for Wikimania 2023, timeline for decision-making and looking ahead post 2023.

Attendees

Butch, Gideon, Iolanda, Phoebe, Linda, Mayur, Joël, Lisa, Mehrdad.

Topics

• ESEAP voting on locations
• Risk assessment
• Timeline for decision-making
• Looking ahead post 2023

Summary

• ESEAP Communities narrowed 9 locations down to 2 - Japan and Singapore. They are now voting on both options.

• Discussion about risk assessment for these locations including crime, medical, ease of visas (see Passport Index, travel (connecting flights etc), local COVID related travel restrictions, legal restrictions in location (around LGBTQI+ rights, other human rights), community presence etc.

• Current situation for tourist sector in Japan is that organised tours are OK but not do it yourself travel. Both options do not have an affliate.

• There is a concern generally both about invitation letters for visas and having the right partner in place on the ground to issue invitation letters. Collaboration with Universities on the conference and scholarships can help with this.

• All locations have some "risk" but with enough planning, right partnerships and time these can be overcome.

• Mayur noted that Wikimania 2023 gives us an opportunity to reorganise an in-person Wikimania after a three-year hiatus and think about how to do things in a new way, explore new ideas and approaches. From a Foundation perspective, we want to de-center ourselves and follow the example of WMDE in WikidataCon - how they are using that event to build capacity and share power with others.

What's next

Finalising the location for Wikimania 2023 and considering what qualifiers should be added, amplified etc within the risk matrix for Wikimania 2024 and beyond.