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Grants:APG/Proposals/2013-2014 round1/Wikimedia Israel/Progress report form/Q3

< Grants:APG‎ | Proposals‎ | 2013-2014 round1‎ | Wikimedia Israel‎ | Progress report form



Purpose of the report edit

This form is for organizations receiving Annual Plan Grants to report on their results to date. For progress reports, the time period for this report will the first 6 months of each grant (e.g. 1 January - 30 June of the current year). For impact reports, the time period for this report will be the full 12 months of this grant, including the period already reported on in the progress report (e.g. 1 January - 31 December of the current year). This form includes four sections, addressing global metrics, program stories, financial information, and compliance. Please contact APG/FDC staff if you have questions about this form, or concerns submitting it by the deadline. After submitting the form, organizations will also meet with APG staff to discuss their progress.

Global metrics overview - all programs edit

We are trying to understand the overall outcomes of the work being funded across our grantees' programs. Please use the table below to let us know how your programs contributed to the Global Metrics. We understand not all Global Metrics will be relevant for all programs, so feel free to put "0" where necessary. For each program include the following table and

  1. Next to each required metric, list the outcome achieved for all of your programs included in your proposal.
  2. Where necessary, explain the context behind your outcome.
  3. In addition to the Global Metrics as measures of success for your programs, there is another table format in which you may report on any OTHER relevant measures of your programs success

For more information and a sample, see Global Metrics.

Overall edit

Metric Achieved outcome Explanation
1. # of active editors involved
2. # of new editors
3. # of individuals involved
4. # of new images/media added to Wikimedia articles/pages
5. # of articles added or improved on Wikimedia projects
6. Absolute value of bytes added to or deleted from Wikimedia projects


Telling your program stories - all programs edit

Please tell the story of each of your programs included in your proposal. This is your chance to tell your story by using any additional metrics (beyond global metrics) that are relevant to your context, beyond the global metrics above. You should be reporting against the targets you set at the beginning of the year throughout the year. We have provided a template here below for you to report against your targets, but you are welcome to include this information in another way. Also, if you decided not to do a program that was included in your proposal or added a program not in the proposal, please explain this change. More resources for storytelling are at the end of this form. Here are some ways to tell your story.

  • We encourage you to share your successes and failures and what you are learning. Please also share why are these successes, failures, or learnings are important in your context. Reference learning patterns or other documentation.
  • Make clear connections between your offline activities and online results, as applicable. For example, explain how your education program activities is leading to quality content on Wikipedia.
  • We encourage you to tell your story in different ways by using videos, sound files, images (photos and infographics, e.g.), compelling quotes, and by linking directly to work you produce. You may highlight outcomes, learning, or metrics this way.
  • We encourage you to continue using dashboards, progress bars, and scorecards that you have used to illustrate your progress in the past, and to report consistently over time.
  • You are welcome to use the table below to report on any metrics or measures relevant to your program. These may or may not include the global metrics you put in the overview section above. You can also share your progress in another way if you do not find a table like this useful.
Target Last year (if applicable) Progress (at end of Q2) End of year (projected or actual) Comments
Example Example Example Example Example

Revenues received during this period (6 month for progress report, 12 months for impact report) edit

Please use the exchange rate in your APG proposal.

Table 2 Please report all spending in the currency of your grant unless US$ is requested.

  • Please also include any in-kind contributions or resources that you have received in this revenues table. This might include donated office space, services, prizes, food, etc. If you are to provide a monetary equivalent (e.g. $500 for food from Organization X for service Y), please include it in this table. Otherwise, please highlight the contribution, as well as the name of the partner, in the notes section.
Revenue source Currency Anticipated Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Cumulative Anticipated ($US)* Cumulative ($US)* Explanation of variances from plan
A B C D E F G H I J K

* Provide estimates in US Dollars


Spending during this period (6 month for progress report, 12 months for impact report) edit

Please use the exchange rate in your APG proposal.

Table 3 Please report all spending in the currency of your grant unless US$ is requested.

(The "budgeted" amount is the total planned for the year as submitted in your proposal form or your revised plan, and the "cumulative" column refers to the total spent to date this year. The "percentage spent to date" is the ratio of the cumulative amount spent over the budgeted amount.)
Expense Currency Budgeted Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Cumulative Budgeted ($US)* Cumulative ($US)* Percentage spent to date Explanation of variances from plan
A B C D E F G H I J J2 K
TOTAL B C D E F G H I J J2 N/A

* Provide estimates in US Dollars


Compliance edit

Is your organization compliant with the terms outlined in the grant agreement? edit

As required in the grant agreement, please report any deviations from your grant proposal here. Note that, among other things, any changes must be consistent with our WMF mission, must be for charitable purposes as defined in the grant agreement, and must otherwise comply with the grant agreement.

Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement? Please answer "Yes" or "No".

Are you in compliance with provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), and with relevant tax laws and regulations restricting the use of the Grant funds as outlined in the grant agreement? Please answer "Yes" or "No".

Signature edit

Once complete, please sign below with the usual four tildes.

Resources edit

Resources to plan for measurement edit

Resources for storytelling edit


Basic entity information edit

Table 1

Entity information Legal name of entity Wikimedia Israel
Entity's fiscal year (mm/dd–mm/dd) 1/1 - 12/31
12 month timeframe of funds awarded (mm/dd/yy-mm/dd/yy) 01/01/14 - 12/31/14
Contact information (primary) Primary contact name Itzik Edri
Primary contact position in entity Chairperson
Primary contact username itzike
Primary contact email itzik@wikimedia.org.il
Contact information (secondary) Secondary contact name Michal Lester
Secondary contact position in entity Executive Director
Secondary contact username לסטר
Secondary contact email mlester@wikimedia.org.il


Overview of this quarter edit

The purpose of this section is to provide a brief overview of this report. Please use no more than 1-2 paragraphs to address the questions outlined below. You will have an opportunity to address these questions in detail elsewhere in this report.

CHANGES: Please describe how you changed your plans and budget based on the FDC allocation approved by the Board in December 2012, and your rationale for these changes. You can then use the changed plans and budget as the basis on which to report back on the first quarter.

  • There were no significant changes made during the 2nd quarter. Activities continued as planned and according to the annual work plan.

HIGHLIGHTS: What were 1–2 important highlights of the past quarter? (These may include successes, challenges, lessons learned.)

  • Meetings with new communities: First meeting of the Wiki Women a Facebook group and WikiSource 10th anniversary celebration were both held at the chapter’s offices, and organized and attended by the chapter’s staff. Both meetings were hugely successful, and the relationship with both communities is strengthening.
  • During this quarter, We also celebrated the 11th birthday of the Hebrew Wikipedia at a picnic with Wikipedia community members

WIKI-FOCUS: What Wikimedia projects was your entity focused on (e.g., Wiki Commons, French Wiktionary) this quarter?

  • Hebrew Wikipedia, WikiSource.

GROWTH: How did your entity grow over the past quarter vs. the previous quarter (e.g., Number of active editors reached/involved/added, number of articles created, number of events held, number of partipants reached through workshops)?

Lectures 6
No. of participants in the Lectures Approximately 120
Workshops 10
No. of participants in the workshops 143
No. of articles that were written or edited during the 2ns quarter (as part of programs) 36 + dozens of drafts and expansions
No. of new editors 2
Community gatherings 4

Financial summary edit

The FDC requires information about how your entity received and spent money over the past year. The FDC distributes general funds, so your entity is not required to use funds exactly as outlined in the proposal. While line-item expenses will not be examined, the FDC and movement wants to understand why the entity spent money in the way it did. If variance in budgeted vs. actual is greater than 20%, please provide explanation in more detail. This helps the FDC understand the rationale behind any significant changes. Note that any changes from the Grant proposal, among other things, must be consistent with the WMF mission, must be for charitable purposes as defined in the grant agreement, must be reported to WMF, and must otherwise comply with the grant agreement. The WMF mission is "to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and globally."

Revenues for this quarter edit

Provide exchange rate used:

  • 1$ = 3.6 NIS

Table 2 Please report all spending in the currency of your grant unless US$ is requested.

  • Please also include any in-kind contributions or resources that you have received in this revenues table. This might include donated office space, services, prizes, food, etc. If you are to provide a monetary equivalent (e.g. $500 for food from Organization X for service Y), please include it in this table. Otherwise, please highlight the contribution, as well as the name of the partner, in the notes section.
Revenue source Currency Anticipated Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Cumulative Anticipated ($US)* Cumulative ($US)* Explanation of variances from plan
Donations from individuals ILS 2000 700 720 940 2360 555 655.56 35%
Membership fees ILS 800 400 60 80 540 222 150 50%
Sponsors ILS 30000 0 0 40000 40000 8333 0 0
Funds ILS 90000 0 0 0 0 33333 0 0
Partnerships ILS 25200 0 8400 10600 19000 7000 5277.78 33%
FDC ILS 709000 413583 0 297509 711092 196944 197525.56 58%
Total ILS 857000 414683 9180 349129 0 772992 24638 214720 48%
In kind donation and volunteers hours ILS 50000 11733 31567 22680 65980 13888 18327.78 23%

* Provide estimates in US Dollars


  • FDC grant revenue category includes a special grant given for translating documents and FDC reports. (Translation grants in the amount of 2092 NIS- about $ 560).

Spending during this quarter edit

Table 3 Please report all spending in the currency of your grant unless US$ is requested.

(The "budgeted" amount is the total planned for the year as submitted in your proposal form or your revised plan, and the "cumulative" column refers to the total spent to date this year. The "percentage spent to date" is the ratio of the cumulative amount spent over the budgeted amount.)
Expense Currency Budgeted Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Cumulative Budgeted ($US)* Cumulative ($US)* Percentage spent to date Explanation of variances from plan
Community ILS 56000 6406.9 3345 22905 32656.9 15555.56 9071.361 58% -
Promoting free knowledge ILS 114400 2485 41882 2586.8 46953.8 31777.78 13042.72 41% -
Global engagement ILS 40824 8147 15820 11845.34 35812.34 11340 9947.87 88% -
Management and Administration ILS 228232 33601 39643 66742.76 139986.76 63397.78 38885.21 61% -
staff ILS 438000 86670 102212 113697.32 302579.32 121666.67 84049.81 69% -
TOTAL ILS 877456 137310 202902 217777.22 557989.12 243737.78 154996.98 64%

* Provide estimates in US Dollars


  • The purchase of a camera and photographic equipment as a Microgrant, was classified under 'Fixed assets' - Management and Administration, Because of internal accounting procedures.

Progress toward this year's goals/objectives edit

This section addresses the impact of the programs / initiatives* and objectives your entity has implemented over the past quarter and the progress your entity is making toward meeting this year's goals. We understand that some metrics may not be applicable in this quarterly report, so please add metrics here if they are applicable.

*In the past, the FDC has used the term 'initiative', but we are using the term 'program.'

Program 1 edit

Program title Strengthening the existing volunteer base
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.

1. Creating, developing and sustaining all communication channels between the Israeli chapter and the Wikipedia communities through:

  • Enabling and sustaining communications through diverse channels such as Wikipedia and Facebook.
  • Following-up on any correspondence between the community and the volunteers in Wikipedia and in Facebook, with the aim of keeping ourselves informed on community activities and to locate cases in which we can promote projects and assist the people involved.
  • Mapping lists of Wikipedians and Wikimedians.
  • Personally contacting Wikipedians and new editors in our editing workshops.
  • Creating a page for the chapter in the community Wiki space.
  • Sharing information about volunteer activities by posting updates on the international blog as well as the Israeli blog. Six posts are to be written by the end of 2014.
  • Sharing information about the chapter’s ongoing activities through and a bi-weekly email sent to all chapter members; and updates in the Village Pump, Message Board, our Facebook page and the chapter's website.

2. Developing and strengthening connections between additional Wiki initiatives. 3. Strengthening our current volunteer baseː

  • 12 community meetings which included:

- 2 edit-a-thons.

- 4 editing workshop sessions (with 10 editors at least, each).

- At least one face-to-face meeting with an external expert lecturer.

- At least three gatherings organized by the community.

- Face-to-face meetings to discuss chapter activities in Wikipedia - as needed.

- Frequent community gatherings in the community area of the chapter’s office in Tel Aviv.

  • Recruiting inactive members back to the community as active editors/chapter members:

- Mapping a list made of 50 inactive Wikipedians, at least.

- Developing a work plan to reach them.

- Recruiting 10% of inactive members back to the community as active editors.


  • Recruiting volunteers to strengthen organizational infrastructure:

- Providing training tools and guidance to volunteers - at least 2 meetings for potential/current volunteers.

- Recruiting more than three new volunteers in accordance with the needs of the organization.

  • Encouraging new initiatives:

- Two-three new initiatives.

- Publishing calls for proposals for micro-grant applications in the community and amongst our partners.

  • Strengthening relations between the community (especially among active editors in the community) and the chapter:

- Integrating the WMIL portal in the community portal at the Hebrew Wikipedia.

  • Organizing Wikipedia's 13th birthday and Hebrew Wikipedia's 11th anniversary events - 80 Wikipedians and guests are expected to attend each event.
  • Arranging meetings between the chairperson of the WMF (during his visit in Israel) and community members. 20 Wikipedians are expected to attend the meetings.

3. Assisting volunteers with issues of copyright.


Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?
Activities conducted.
  • Micro-grants
  1. During this quarter, the project "Someone to Run With" was concluded. As part of the course “Sports as a Cultural Phenomenon", students from Sapir College wrote eight new excellent articles about Israeli athletes. Two chapter volunteers were assigned to lecture, lead a Wikipedia editing workshop and facilitate the project until the articles were moved to mainspace. As of today, the students have not yet applied for reimbursement (travel costs and access to archives). It is probable that such an application will be made at the start of the next academic year, November 2014.
  2. The “Public Figures Photography” project for Wikipedia, which was approved in the 2nd quarter, took off during this quarter. Its goal is to enrich existing Wikipedia articles with updated images of public figures (as well as contacting the family members of deceased public figures to request the release of images for use). One camera and accompanying equipment were purchased, and work began on compiling a database of articles about public figures that lack images. In the future, we plan to create a project page, and the members of the Hebrew Wikipedia will be able to request images of public figures.
  3. During the past quarter, the micro-grant committee reviewed three more micro-grant applications. One requested funding for the creation of a research-related database on Wikipedia. Since funding was requested to cover working hours, the application was rejected. Another research-related application was rejected for the same reason.
  4. Throughout August 2014, we held a meeting with the WikiSource Hebrew community in the chapter’s offices in Tel Aviv. Following this meeting, the community requested a grant for purchasing an OCR software to convert scanned images in order to upload them to the WikiSource project. The application won the majority of the committee’s votes, and the software was purchased. Community members then created a database of scanned texts projected for conversion. During the 4th quarter, the software will be installed on the chapter’s computers for the use of the community, and remote access will be granted subject to coordination.
  • Sustaining and improving relations with the community
    • 7 Wikipedians contacted the communities Coordinator through her talk page. In addition, she was tagged in 35 discussions in other Wikipedia pages.
    • The chapter portal gained 837 unique visitors.
    • 6 bi-weekly newsletter were sent during the quarter, generating a total of 6 comments from chapter members.
    • Copyrights: 1 request was made and dealt with successfully. In an article published in the news website Walla, file IDF-Namer003.jpg was used, the image mistakenly credited to the IDF Spokesperson's office instead of the owner. Proper credit was restored after a formal request was made by the communities Coordinator to the Chief Editor.
    • Collaboration was established between the communities Coordinator and the volunteer in charge of the Greenhouse. 4 new editors were referred to the volunteer.
    • As part of our community building and sustaining efforts, we have contacted a distinguished community member to test the possibility of gathering statistical data on the use of the “Thank You” button. The Wikipedian then posted an article he wrote in the community newspaper, featuring a chart of the most “grateful” Wikipedians and the pattern of use of the “Thank You” button according to seniority (veteran editors vs. new editors) in the Hebrew Wikipedia.

Here are the two opening paragraphs of his article:

Approximately a year ago, a new option was added to the software: clicking on the “Thank You” button to express gratitude for editing an article. The option to thank users appears in the revision history page as a “Thank You” link, and its aim is to express positive feedback for effective editing. This kind of positive feedback encourages users to contribute, and enhances a positive atmosphere within the community. It is also pivotal to new users, who often have to deal with messages requiring improvements rather than positive feedback.

Recently, the Wikimedia chapter has held meetings to discuss ways to improve the atmosphere in the Wikipedia community. In a discussion with the users Chenspec-WMIL and Lester, we requested information regarding the frequency of use of the “Thank You” button in the Hebrew Wikipedia, the most “grateful” users, and the users who have received the largest number of “Thank You”s. I scanned the database for statistics related to these questions, and other data That I found wither relevant or interesting.

Since the “Thank You” button was added to Wikipedia, more than 7,500 “Thank You”s were clicked […] many by veteran users to new users, and by veteran users to each other.”

— Eran, The community newspaper
  • Summary of applications and requests made to WMIL:

As part of our collaboration with the National Library of Israel, which includes the online library reference desk established by library employees and Wikipedia editors, 30 applications were made to the library through diverse channels. 5 images were uploaded using the reference desk, and 5 more images through email.

    • Number of applications made through the communities Coordinator's talk page: 16.
    • Number of applications made through online library reference desk: 40
    • Number of requests to deal with copyright infringements: 1.
    • Personal tutoring sessions: 16.
    • Number of applications made through email to the volunteers:16
    • Total: 89
  • Recruitment of volunteers to WMIL

Following the community meeting with Jan-Bart de Vreede, one participant approached us and offered to help the chapter with fundraising and networking. The ED met with him, introduced the chapter’s activities, and they discussed plans and activities for fundraising. This past quarter, we have met with representatives of the British embassy in Tel Aviv to discuss a possible collaboration. In addition, emphasis was given to networking with high-tech companies to advance a developers’ community.

During this quarter, we more than 20 inactive Wikipedians were mapped with the help of two veteran Wikipedians. A personal email were sent to the former Wikipedians to invite them to meet the community coordinator or to take part in one of the chapter activities (For example, a feminist Wikipedian was invited to the Wiki women meeting).

  • Community meetings
 
Elef Milim Project - Wikipedians in Sarona
 
Friday Morning in Sarona, Tel Aviv
  1. During June, we initiated the Thousand Words photography project in Sarona open-air commercial center in Tel Aviv. 37 Wikipedians and their friends participated, and the tour was led by the manager of the Sarona’s Visitor Center. 67 images of the restored colony were uploaded to Wiki Commons.
 
Hebrew Wikipedia Bday11 logo
 
Hebrew Wikipedia Meetup - Tel Aviv - July 2014
 
Hebrew Wikipedia Meetup - Tel Aviv - July 2014
  1. On July 4th, we held a picnic to celebrate the anniversary of the Hebrew Wikipedia, attended by 75 Wikipedians and organized with the help of the chapter. A give-and-take book market was also held, as well as a trivia quiz about Wikipedia, composed by chapter volunteers. We were fortunate that Anasuya Sengupta, Senior Director of Grantmaking at Wikimedia Foundation and Garfield Byrd, Chief of Finance and Administration at Wikimedia Foundation, took part in the event at the time of their visit to Israel.
  2. During September, we took part in the University of Haifa’s “Scientists Night”, for the second year in a row. Our activities there were led by a volunteer. “Scientists Night” is a yearly event held in all Israeli universities, sponsored by the European Union and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space. It aims to expose the general public and policy setters to scientific activities in the academia. Research institutions and science museums are opened free of charge to the public, and lectures, meetings with researchers and scientists and other related activities are held. During “Scientists Night” in Haifa, a “Wikipedia booth” was established, activated by four chapter volunteers and the Hebrew Wikipedia community. In addition, a Wikirace was held. We created a page for the Wikirace and a leaflet with information about Wikimedia projects and the chapter. “Scientists Night” in Haifa was attended by hundreds of visitors. The chapter booth was visited by approximately 150 people.
  • Sustaining and improving relations with the community
 
Wiki Women Editors Project - Opening Meeting
 
Wiki Women Editors Project - Opening Meeting

Wiki Women – a celebratory event Following our collaboration with the active Facebook group Wiki Women, we held a meeting that included a short editing workshop for the group members, a lecture and a short edit-a-thon. The communities coordinator contacted the group admin with the aim of organizing this meeting, which proved fruitful and successful. 15 group members attended, most of them new users. The meeting began with a short editing workshop that focused on the visual editor and included short exercises. We feel this served the boost the participants’ confidence and soothed many concerns they had regarding their initial work in Wikipedia. Dr. Tal Dekel from the Women studies Program and Art History Department in Tel Aviv University held a fascinating lecture on identity spaces in art. She also spoke on the importance of writing articles about gender and women in Wikipedia, and inspired the participants to work on these subjects. Dr. Dekel brought relevant materials and contributed from her knowledge in article writing. During the workshop, one new article was written, 6 articles were expanded and 3 others are in draft. Three more subject-related articles were written in the week following the workshop. The workshop also inspired the “collaboration of the week” to focus on the arts. This activity has yielded 3 new articles and 8 expansions. Contact with the group admin is ongoing, and further meetings/workshops are planned.

 
Artistic Jewish music meetup

Lecturing Wikipedians: Jewish Music – Not what you had in mind! This meeting was a unique product of our work with Mr. Ilan Bar Shalom, a teacher who participated in two editing workshops for teachers, and became an active Wikipedian. Mr. Bar Shalom wrote an extensive article about Jewish art music. On the basis of the article the Communities Coordinator invited him to give a lecture meeting focused on the subject, to veteran Wikipedians. During the meeting, 3 articles were edited. The lecture served to highlight the subject, created interest in pursuing it by writing and expanding articles, and fostered new collaborations between the participants. In addition, a new editor came to the meeting and thoroughly enjoyed the lecture. She then requested to learn how to edit, and one of the veteran editors volunteered to tutor her.

The meeting has motivated further meetings with lecturing Wikipedians. As of today, the chapter is in contact with 4 other Wikipedians who are interested in organizing similar events on different subjects.


  • Relations with new communities
 
10th Birthday Celebration Hebrew Wikisource

WikiSource’s 10th anniversary celebration: The Hebrew WikiSource communities celebrated its 10th anniversary in the chapter’s offices in a unique gathering. 7 editors attended, many of whom met each other for the first time outside the virtual world. In addition to the celebratory atmosphere and the social gathering, the meeting was used to coordinate activities between editors and between editors and the chapter. One editor has already joined the chapter as a member, and some community members signed up for the chapter’s newsletter.

In the meeting, several issues were discussed: strengthening ties with the Wikipedia community, recruitment of new editors to WikiSource and the need for an OCR software to nullify the need for manually transferring PDF texts. Following the meeting, correspondence ensued on Wikisource members began to be more active in the Hebrew Wikipedia Facebook group.

The WikiSource community is a very small community, and not yet accustomed to collaborate with outside bodies. In addition, new volunteers have not joined it lately. Therefore, it was decided to gradually enhance its activity by recruiting new editors and creating collaborations.


What worked and what did not?
  • Activities are progressing as planned.

Any additional details:


Program 2 edit

Program title Recruiting new volunteers
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.
  • Developing guidance methods and tools for effective instruction, and assisting in the onboarding process of new editors.
  • Conducting lectures and editing workshops
Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?
Activities conducted.
  • Remote assistance by email

During July, a new section aimed to assist new editors was created in the chapter’s page. This includes references to internal assistance mechanisms, such as the Greenhouse and a link to assistance options within the National Library. To use the various assistance options in Wikipedia, basic editing proficiency is required, including the use of talk pages. We noticed that new editors, who are in most need of these services, are those who have the hardest time using them. We therefore approached veteran editors, experienced in tutoring new editors, and requested that they support their work through email. The new page section was established during July, supported by 4 veteran editors. During September, another editor (the Greenhouse manager) joined; as of today, the new section is run by 5 volunteers. At first, the new service was not utilized. The chapter published the existence of the new service among participants in workshops, tutors and on Facebook. A Wikipedian added, on her own initiative, the service in a “Welcome” template; this is a template received by almost every new user that subscribes to the Hebrew Wikipedia in his/her talk page. As of today, 15 new editors have signed up for remote assistance through email.

  • Training the trainers

Work on the development of new instruction materials for one-day workshops, led by Mr Beni Labov, VP for projects and technology at Blackboard, inc., was initiated during the 2nd quarter and is yet to be concluded. At this stage, we have an initial draft for a lesson plan, a collection of exercises, and the course syllabus. After examining the drafts and following several discussions with Mr. Labov, we concluded that the new instruction materials must be adapted to Wikipedians who are not professionally trained in instruction. It was decided that the remainder of the work be concluded by our chapter staff. We thanked Mr. Labov for his important contribution. A session focused on instruction methods and public speaking was supposed to be held on September 15th, 2014. This meeting was planned after two articles dealing with instruction and tutoring were published in our bi-weekly email sent to all chapter members and in the chapter website. Due to low attendance, it was eventually cancelled.

  • Editing workshops held in the 3nd quarter

{{

Date Audience Location No. of participants Contributions
11.7 General public The National Library in Jerusalem 15 No info
13.7 General public Chapter offices 5 One active editor who joined the chapter
18.7 General public The National Library in Jerusalem 4 2 significant expansions
1.8 General public The National Library in Jerusalem 35 1 article, 3 images
10.8 Gifted students Math summer camp – Technion at Haifa 19 4 significant expansions
31.8 General public Chapter offices 13 1 active editor who joined the chapter + few expansions
2.9 Librarians David Yellin College in Jerusalem 7 7 active editors who joined the chapter + expansions
5.9 General public The National Library in Jerusalem 4 5 new articles + 5 expansions
5.9 Women editors Wiki Women gathering 13 4 articles, 6 expansion, 4 articles in draft
19.9 Active Wikipedia editors Lecturing Wikipedians 10 3 significant expansions

}}

What worked and what did not?
  • The development of new instruction materials is taking more time than expected, and we have yet to decide on how to assimilate the materials among the volunteers.


Any additional details:


Program 3 edit

Program title Organizational strengthening
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.
  • To constitute a professional Wikimedia chapter in Israel that is able to work efficiently, create partnerships with other institutions and support and promote volunteers' work.
  • Hiring a communities Coordinator (50% FTE).
  • Developing at least three procedural guidelines to support volunteers in executing projects and initiatives.
  • Launch a 3-year strategic plan.
Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?
Activities conducted.
  • Launching a three-year strategic plan

One of our main objectives in the 3rd quarter was to develop and promote our 2015-2017 strategic plan. Following the analysis of the interviews we conducted (10 in total) and the questionnaires we disseminated (more than 90 respondents) during the 2nd quarter and the beginning of the 3rd quarter, general directions for action started to emerge. The questionnaires asked respondents to grade the chapter’s activities and to suggest new directions for action. The main themes arising from both the interviews and the questionnaires express the need for a more open community, one that recruits and welcomes new editors and volunteers, tutors new users and facilitates their work. The need to expand the Hebrew Wikipedia through an increase in the number of articles in various and diverse subjects also arose. Increasing the number of articles is a direct result of diversifying our community of editors (more women, more under-represented groups in the Israeli society, etc.).

Another issue that arose was the need to promote projects in sister-projects (Wiktionary, Wikisource, etc.). In the interviews, respondents highlighted the importance of strategic partnerships with local and international communities of free and open knowledge; the underlying rationale being that these partnerships can deepen, expand and make free knowledge and information more accessible, and provide helpful ideas for Israeli volunteers on how to be more effective and achieve more impact. Examples for such partnerships were offered by some respondents, and included academic institutions and the formal education system.

As part of the planning process at the end of July, a first meeting was held, attended by 25 community members. In the meeting we introduced the main conclusions drawn from the interviews and questionnaires, and presented new directions for action in the coming years. In a two-hour discussion, we received meaningful feedback from community members, who assisted us in further developing the plan.

At the end of August, another meeting was held, attended by 20 community members. In the meeting, we introduced and discussed the vision, Values, strategic goals and multi-year goals, and presented them for approval.

The last stage of the process will include the expansion of each goal for the 2015-2017 plan to include the definition of fields of action and desired results if we achieve our goals.


What worked and what did not?
  • Activity is progressing as planned.

Any additional details:


Program 4 edit

Program title Increasing the chapter’s resources
  • Fundraising to the amount of $25,000
  • In kind donations to the amount of $15,000.
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.
  • Volunteer hours: 546 hours, equal to NIS 12,623.52, according to the minimum wage in Israel (NIS 23.12 per hour, approximately $6 per hour).
  • In Kind donation: NIS 10,057 (approximately $2,695) through funded advertising in Google AdWords.

During the month of July, we held a meeting with the Science and Innovation Officer at The British Embassy to examine possible support for Wikimedia activities in Israel. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Science and Innovation team, the WMIL volunteer who set up the meeting and the WMIL ED. Several directions were discussed, and a proposal was written for supporting a contest for writing articles related to science and technology in the UK.

During this quarter, private donations were received to the amount of NIS 940. We were especially moved by a private contribution from a lecturer who participated in an article-writing as an academic assignment project. In an attached letter, the contributor expressed his appreciation for the chapter’s work:

Please accept my personal donation as a testimonial for my appreciation of your work and our continued fruitful partnership…

A small donation was also made by the academic institution where the project was held.

Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?
Activities conducted.
What worked and what did not?
  • Fundraising in the 3rd and 4th quarters will focus more on building collaborations and partnerships, and less on grant applications.

Any additional details:


Program 5 edit

Program title Creating long-term strategic partnerships
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.
  • Developing and establishing collaborations with academic and cultural institutions.
  • Initiating a photography contest - Wiki Loves Monuments.
  • Developing collaborations with the free content community in Israel.
  • Developing a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Education.

What key activities and/or milestones are associated with this program?

  • Regarding cultural institutions:
    • Establishing partnerships with cultural institutions, and strengthening our existing collaborations with The National Library of Israel and others.
    • Building new models of partnerships with cultural institutions.
  • The National Library of Israel (NLI):

Our activities in the National Library are progressing according to plan. Four editing workshops were held, and 10 images were uploaded to Wiki Commons and integrated in Wikipedia following requests. The Wikipedian in residence also supplied remote assistance through email following questions regarding editing, copyrights, release of materials from the Library, etc. To our delight, the Wikipedian in residence, became an active volunteer in the chapter, and takes an active part in all meetings and activities. She also participated in the 2014 London Wikimania. Towards the end of the quarter, we held a brainstorming meeting with the Library’s Head of Public Services to discuss joint activities for 2015. During the meeting, the ED presented the chapter’s directions for action for 2015-2017 in light of the strategic plan. Several possibilities for expanding the partnership were explored. Approval is yet to be granted.

  • Photography projects:

Photography contest – “Wiki Loves Monuments 2014”: The contest took off on September 24. As of today, 4,040 images were uploaded to Wiki Commons from a list of 2,012 sites. In addition, the volunteers in charge of the project have significantly expanded the sites list. This year, it was decided to expand the scope of the contest, and in addition to photographing heritage sites in Israel, the contest also includes archeology and antiquity sites. As in previous years, the judging panel is comprised of representatives of the Hebrew Wikipedia and representatives of the contest partners. This panel will choose 10 photographs, and the three top photographs will award the photographers with prize money. This year, the chapter awards two additional prizes, each for NIS 1,500 ($400 approximately) for photographing images in more remote locations in the north and south of Israel, with the aim of encouraging photographers to document sites in periphery regions, and images of sites that lack high-quality images in Wiki Commons. This year, as in previous years, the chapter will hold guided tours to the general public, free of charge, in heritage and antiquity sites throughout the country. In addition, we will hold photography tours guided by professional photographers who will assist the participants in urban photography. We produced an explanatory leaflet to introduce volunteers and members to the contest.

  • Securing at least one sponsor for WLM

As in previous years, we were joined by several partners: the Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites, Galitz School for Photography, Israel Internet Association and Neve Schechter - the Center for Jewish Art and Culture (itself a heritage site). Our partners assisted us in the production of the contest, creating a sites list, arranging free admission to heritage sites, sponsoring the photography tours and hosting the closing event.

  • Establishing a new partnership

We are glad to announce that during 2014, two new significant partners joined the contest. The first partner is the Digital Diplomacy Unit in the Foreign Ministry. The Foreign Ministry will assist us in publishing the contest and raising awareness for the importance of preserving heritage sites in Israel and Jewish heritage sites around the world. WMIL has ongoing partnerships with the Foreign Ministry through editing workshops for the Foreign Ministry Cadet Course and Foreign Ministry employees.

The second partner is the Israel Antiquities Authority, a partnership pursued with the aim of expanding the scope of the contest and its subject matters. At the beginning of 2014, we approached representatives of the Israel Antiquities Authority and suggested it will take part in supporting and participating in the contest. Similarly to our established partnership with the Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites, the Antiquities Authority assisted us in compiling detailed lists of 220 archaeological sites, ancient synagogues and antiquity sites. In addition, guided tours were held in these archaeological and antiquity sites.

We see our partnership with the Israel Antiquities Authority as momentous for the contest, and believe that it contributes significantly to the database of Israeli sites and images in Wiki Commons. We hope that this partnership will also assist us in recruiting new volunteers who are interested in archeology, with the aim of encouraging the creation of new content and knowledge.

We are glad that Israel Antiquities Authority recognizes and believes in the value of free content and its contribution to human knowledge. We hope to turn this into a long-term collaboration, and find new ways and directions for joint activities in the future.

  • Building a MediaWiki Developer Community
    • Recruit a developer community that will meet on a monthly basis.
    • Two Hackathons: Revolving around tools/extensions needed to further the movement’s goals, as well as the Hebrew Wikipedia’s goals, such as Hebrew interfaces for existing tools, or specific developments needed to hasten local GLAM partnerships.

This activity was halted during 2014.

  • Ministry of Education:
    • Building long and stable cooperation with the Ministry of Education, in order to:
      • Promote Wikimedia projects in secondary school and among gifted student classes.
      • Wikipedia will be used as a teaching tool in the Israeli Education System
      • Students and teachers contribute free knowledge, and write or edit at least 30 new articles.
Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?
Activities conducted.
 
Introduction for teachers on Wikipedia - CET meeting

Following our meeting with Jan-Bart de Vreede, Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees and Shai Piron, Minister of Education, we began to implement the decision made in the meeting. The main action is directed towards creating a 30-hours online professional course for teachers on the use of Wikipedia, led by the the WMIL ED and the Deputy Director for Pedagogical Affairs at the Ministry of Education. The course was developed by CET, the largest education-related NGO in Israel. CET works in collaboration with the Ministry of Education to develop educational content and instruction tools. To develop the course, we assigned Mr. Nimrod Rapaport, who leads our Be’er Sheva education project, and Ms. Chen Spector, our communities Coordinator, to take part in the course development team. We are concurrently working with the Legal Department at the Ministry of Education to publish the contents of the course under a free license. A first meeting was held with representatives of the The Legal Department, attended by the WMIL lawyer, a WMIL Board Member and the WMIL ED. During the meeting we insisted that the materials of the teachers’ course will be released under an open license. WMIL views the publication of this content under such license as a vital part of this activity.

  • Gifted Students:

During the summer months, no activities were held in schools. Following the editing workshop for teachers we held in the 2nd quarter, WMIL was approached by representatives of three schools requesting the coordination of editing workshops for gifted students. During the month of October, we will begin to collaborate with two gifted students’ classes in Ramat Gan. We are still looking for volunteers for two additional schools.

 
Meeting with the mayor of Be'er Sheva - September 2014
 
Be'er Sheva Educational Initiative
  • Be'er Sheva Educational Initiative

Goals

    • Expanding public discourse on free content and using Wikipedia as a tool to advance the interest and technological capabilities of high school students.
    • Writing or editing 40 articles about the city of Be'er Sheva and the surrounding area.
    • Expanding free content available about Be'er Sheva.

Until the end of the school year, 25 new articles were moved to mainspace. 10 more articles are waiting for the approval of the Wikipedians who facilitated the project. One student continues as an editor, and is tutored by a veteran editor. Due to security concerns in the midst of Operation Protective Edge, a meeting of the steering community, intended to summarize the yearly activities and examine activities for the following year, was cancelled. A meeting with excelling students in the chapter’s offices in Tel Aviv was also cancelled, for the same reason.

In the beginning of September, with the conclusion of the first year of the project, the Mayor of Be’er Sheva invited WMIL volunteers, as well as representatives of participating teachers and students to his office in order to thank them and show his appreciation for the project. The Mayor congratulated both students and volunteers, saying that the project constitutes “a perfect example skills utilized and in-depth learning that comes from fascinating subject matters”. The Mayor added that the city of Be’er Sheva was “proud of this project”. The recognition and positive feedback from Be’er Sheva Municipality and the Ministry of Education are vital to Wikipedia’s public and educational status.


  • Kfar Kama project

Goals

    • Familiarization with Wikipedia and Wikipedia information literacy.
    • Writing entries about the Circassian heritage for the Hebrew Wikipedia.
    • Writing entries for the Circassian Wikipedia.

The activity was concluded at the end of the school year. We hope to re-establish it in the next school year.


What worked and what did not?
  • Expansion of our partnership with the National Library, is yet to be realized.

Any additional details:


Program 6 edit

Program title Strengthen public awareness of Wikimedia and its mission and of open data
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.
  • Encouraging and sustaining free licensed content available to the public, especially in subjects concerning Israel and the Hebrew language.
  • Wiki-Academy conference.
Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?
Activities conducted.
  • Promoting and strengthening free content

The Public Knowledge Workshop and WMIL have decided to hold an open knowledge festival during 2015. A meeting of the organizations’ EDs is yet to be scheduled. However, an introductory meeting was held by the WMIL ED and The Public Knowledge ED with the Transparency Israel ED.


What worked and what did not?
  • A meeting of both the organizations’ EDs is yet to be scheduled


Any additional details:


Lessons learned edit

Lessons from this quarter edit

A key objective of the funding is to enable the movement as a whole to understand how to achieve shared goals better and faster. An important way of doing this is to identify lessons learned from entities who receive funds, and to share these lessons across the movement. The purpose of this section is to elicit some of these insights, which will be shared throughout the movement. Please answer the following questions in 1–2 paragraphs each.

What were your major accomplishments in the past quarter, and how did you help to achieve movement goals?

  • The contact made with Wiki Women, initiated through Facebook and evolving into a significant and fruitful face-to-face session. The editing workshop held contributed to strengthen ties between the group members and the chapter. In addition, Wikipedia community members participate in discussions in Facebook groups and try to assist members there. This activity assists in closing the gender gap.

What were your major setbacks in the past quarter (e.g., programs that were not successful)?

  • During the month of September, the school year in Israel began. During the summer, several schools have approached us to coordinate editing workshops for gifted students in the upcoming school year. Unfortunately, we were unable to recruit the necessary number of volunteers to address those requests. This is mainly due to the fact that these workshops have to be naturally held during school hours. We have a waiting list of approximately 10 schools.
  • In addition, an instructor from the Science and Technology Administration at the Ministry of Education, who was supposed to begin tutoring in schools, has not yet received approval. We hope that it will be granted soon.

What factors (organizational, environmental) enabled your success?

  • Our communities Coordinator has integrated rapidly and successfully with our staff, succeeded in creating meaningful contacts within the Wikipedia community, and has opened the door for strengthening the ties with additional communities: WikiSource and Wiki Women.

What unanticipated challenges did you encounter and how did this affect what you were able to accomplish?

  • Building separate collaborations with different departments at the Ministry of Education proved challenging, due to internal disagreements within the ministry. This led to the slowing down of activities with gifted students and necessitated the ED to deal with internal politics in the ministry – a time-consuming endeavor. We hope that these internal factors will not impede the chapter’s activities among teachers and gifted students.

What changes might you make in executing your initiatives into the next quarter?

  • Once the work of the instructor from the Science and Technology Administration at the Ministry of Education begins, the chapter’s activities among gifted students will be able to expand.
  • Ongoing recruitment of volunteers.

Additional information edit

Provide any other relevant information that may be helpful or relevant for the FDC (e.g., links to any media coverage, blog posts, more detailed reports, more detailed financial information).

Media coverage during this quarter:

 
Wikimedia Israel - A TV item on Wikipedia and WMIL Channel 10

Other mentions:

July 2014 edit

August edit

September edit

Compliance edit

Is your organization compliant with the terms outlined in the grant agreement? edit

As required in the grant agreement, please report any deviations from your grant proposal here. Note that, among other things, any changes must be consistent with our WMF mission, must be for charitable purposes as defined in the grant agreement, and must otherwise comply with the grant agreement.

  • Yes

Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement? Please answer "Yes" or "No".

  • Yes

Are you in compliance with provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), and with relevant tax laws and regulations restricting the use of the Grant funds as outlined in the grant agreement? Please answer "Yes" or "No".

  • Yes

Signature edit

Once complete, please sign below with the usual four tildes.
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