Grants:Conference/Algeria Wikimedians User Group/WikiArabia 2021 Remote Conference/Report

Report accepted

This report for a Conference Grant approved in FY 2021-22 has been reviewed and accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:Conference/Algeria Wikimedians User Group/WikiArabia 2021 Remote Conference.
You may still comment on this report on its discussion page, or visit the discussion page to read the discussion about this report.
You are welcome to Email conferencegrants at wikimedia dot org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.

Guidelines on how to fill out this grant report

If you wish to write your report in your native language, you are free to do so. Please indicate (in English) what language are you using.
If you prefer to submit the narrative report in a video format, you can. The video should be in English. Please upload the video to Wikimedia Commons and share the link in your report page. Make sure to answer all the required questions. All Financial documentation will still need to be submitted in a written form.
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Outcomes and Impact

WikiArabia 2021 Algeria is the fifth edition of the WikiArabia conference, organized by Wikimedia Algeria, the conference has remote for the first time in the Arab world under the headline openness إنفتاح.

Context : Twice postponed and after consultation with the community the date was set for between 15 to 17 October 2021.

A remote survey about the organization of wikiarabia was collected during the month of March, early April 2021 was distributed in social media and distributed to the 500 most active users of the Arabic Wikipedia and in the banner ads, where we received

126 answer in Arabic, 5 in English, 2 in French After sorting, we kept 131 answer,

With the launch of the conference, the WikiArabia Algeria program was published on the conference page in the meta, more than 120 participants registered on the platform and more than that in the rest of the sites. Quick interventions, round tables, interventions, discussions, readings. and published its video of the conference for those who wish to follow it on the Arabic Wiki channel dedicated to the conference, the content consisting of 60 videos from various fields and excellent and new topics

Did your event have any impact that you did not expect, positive or negative?
- For the first time the floor has been opened to unknown contributors who are usually silent.
- The conference by its remote online character, has for the first time taken up the technological challenge of a very delicate control that finally many have appreciated.
- The choice of the theme opennesse was contested because of the lack of explanation of the theme which was then accepted
Please tell us about the top 2-3 innovative (new to you and your community) or things you tried this conference.
- The conference management technology was very innovative and unique. The use of University Skills to analyze the surveys towards the community and also to extrapolate a theme and eventually find a connection to the previous conferences and the next ones by writing a report with the community on Wikipedia as requested by the community

Were there any significant changes from the initial grant proposal?
- The the organizing team has completely changed the organization we have divided in to three main committees program + logistics + communication plus technical teams + animation + design + budget We had to ask for an extra funding to get equipment and to complete our software requirement which we totally opted for free software
What do you think will be the long term impact of this conference?
- A deeper impact than it seems First of all a buzz that provoked a great activity in the discussion pages of the Arab community, this conference was totally different because of its reactive character and possessing the reaction to the attractive theme, it needed an action that pushes to react since a conference at a distance did not have a lot of attraction so we followed a strategy followed by the media as the TV channels to deliver the participants The spots, the music clips, the presenters, the translators and the choice of the theme more or less reactive. We are more known, the WikiDZ team is more linked by a team work that we consider successful by the testimony of all
Do your best to estimate the number of attendees in your event that have never attended any Wikimedia event before. How were you able to support and engage this group?
- 120
Do your best to estimate the number of participants who have been involved in Wikimedia activities for more than 5 years. How were you able to support and engage this group?
- 70

Learning and next steps

Conferences and events do not always go according to plan! Please use this section considering the perspective of what future event organizers within our movement organizing a similar style conference can learn. Make sure to include lessons around work with external/ internal partners; your communication efforts; your work with the community and volunteers etc.

What would you do differently next time and why? Please share with us if there's anything you wouldn't do or something future organizers should avoid.
- It is always necessary to work with the community, because this kind of meeting, whether it is face-to-face or remote, and for the expansion, reinforcement, and improvement of the co-workers, etc., it is always necessary to find the right balance and to be reactive with a very good organization.
Was there any non-financial support that the Wikimedia Foundation could have provided that would have better supported you in achieving your goals?
- Event management tools were in high demand and we had to innovate to make this conference a success.
What would you recommend on a local and/or regional level as the best next step to leverage your success and momentum? (Please consider potential new allies and partners; internal wiki collaborations; future projects etc. We don't expect you to necessarily do those, we are only looking for more ideas from your own perspective.)
- It must be admitted that without the support of several actors who believed in the idea it could not be a reality so it is always and continuously working to create very good relations with local partners
Does your organizing team / affiliate / user group have any plans to follow up with your attendees in the future or support efforts related to the outcomes of this conference within your community?
- It is very difficult to get participants to follow up, especially when it is a remote conference, we can always distribute surveys and it stops there, our collaboration with university academics during the conference and discussions with the community made us conclude that the follow-up must be done directly at the end of the conference that the work does not stop at the date of the end of the conference but must continue until the next conference.
Please add any 3 operational recommendations for future events organizers.
- 1- Design the event well, choose your team of organizers well 2- Find partners in all fields (technical + experience + finance + communication) 3- Listen to the community and react quickly

Financial documentation

This section describes the grant's use of funds

Budget table


Number	Category	Item description	Budgeted cost DZD	Budgeted cost USD
1.1	Travel costs	Domestic Travel Transport - Taxi - Fuel - Train	41 450,00	310,05
2.1	Accommodation & catering	Hotel accommodation for 5 persons	167 205,00	1 250,69
2.2	Accommodation & catering	Catering + Beverages etc	37 229,96	278,48
3.1	Event costs Tech	Platforme odoo + Maintenance & Dev	117 465,00	878,64
3.2	Event costs Tech	Wifi Connection	91 270,00	682,70
3.3	Event costs Tech	Plateforme BBB by Elosys Wiki Arabia	224 553,00	1 679,66
3.6	Event costs Compensation Interpreter	Human translators	38 921,28	291,13
3.61	Event costs Compensation Animator	Animation	45 000,00	336,60
3.62	Event costs Compensation IT Support	Tech Support	30 000,00	224,40
3.7	Event costs Advertising	Design / logo / graphic charter / Material	158 161,50	1 183,05
3.9	Event costs Material	Material for confrence (Mic + Webcam + Head) etc	153 484,00	1 148,06
4.1	Event costs Gifts	Babel virtual gifts * 31 for participants	110 825,55	828,98
4.2	Additionnal expenses Health	Kit Covid 19	3 450,00	25,81
4.3	Additionnal expenses Compensation	Compensation 3 months full time for 3 Persons	490 000,00	3 665,20
		Total Expenses	1 709 015,29	12 783,43

		First Grant Sent	1 353 390,00
		Second Grant Sent	358 286,28
		Total Amount Received	1 711 676,28	12 803,34
		Total Remaining = Total Sent - Total Expenses	DZD 2 660,99	USD 19,90


	oanda.com of 25 may 2020	DZD1,00 = USD 0,00748

Summary of funding

Total project budget (from your approved grant submission):DZD 1.353.390,00 + DZD 358.286,28 = DZD 1 711 676,28

Total amount requested from WMF (from your approved grant submission): DZD 1.353.390,00 + DZD 358.286,28 = DZD 1 711 676,28

Total amount spent on this project (this total should be the total calculated from the table above): DZD 1 709 015,29

Total amount of WMF grant funds spent on this project:

Are there additional sources of revenue that funded any part of this project? List them here.

Remaining funds : DZD 2 660,99

Are there any grant funds remaining?

YES

Remaining funds have been used or will be used for other approved mission-aligned activities. This use has been requested in writing and approved by WMF.

Please list the total amount (specify currency) remaining here. (This is the amount you did not use, or the amount you still have after completing your grant.)

Evaluation

Optional - Event Evaluation Toolkit - In this page you can find a list of basic questions that the Wikimedia Foundation uses to evaluate large movement events like Wikimania and other regional and thematic events. Feel free to use any part of these questionnaires to evaluate your own event. You will find: Registration Questions; Post-event questions for participants and Follow-up questions for participants.