Grants:PEG/WM US-NYC/Wiki-Conference New York 1

Funded

This submission to the Wikimedia Foundation Grants Program was funded in the fiscal year 2009-10. This is a grant to an organization.

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This project has been funded, completed, and a project report has been reviewed and accepted by WMF Staff.
To review a list of other funded submissions by fiscal year, please visit the Requests subpage, and to review the WMF Grants Program criteria for funding please visit the Grants:Index.

Legal name of chapter: Wikimedia New York City
Grant contact name: Richard Knipel
Grant contact user-name or e-mail: User:Pharos
Grant contact title (position): President
Project lead name: Richard Knipel
Project lead user-name or e-mail: User:Pharos
Full project name: Wiki-Conference New York / Wikimedia Conference New York City
Amount requested (in USD): $1000
Provisional target start date: July 1, 2009
Provisional completion date: August 1, 2009

Project scope

Wikimedia NYC would like to hold a regional-scale conference for North American Wikimedians (particularly from the Northeast US) and others interested in the Wikimedia projects, and hopefully to establish it as an annual event, in collaboration with one of the institutions (such as the local universities and libraries we are in discussions with) that will be willing to host us without charging a space rental. Funding for this project will go toward the logistic preparation for the event day, such as printed materials and conference supplies, food, possible incidental expenses like security fees and subsidizing travel expenses for some participants.

This conference will be free to all participants, and will be held either on one day or possibly over a weekend.

The conference is provisionally planned for Summer 2009; if another time proves more practical, it may be delayed to Fall 2009 or Winter 2010.

Project goal

The goal of this project is to promote dialogue among North American Wikimedians, interact positively with the broader free culture and institutional communities, and to further the effort for chapters and chapter-like entities in North America.

Non-financial requirements

Putting notice out to Wikimedians, and getting the word out to free culture and institutional communities, and as well as assistance with a press release to media outlets beforehand would be helpful if possible.

Fit to strategy

The project will reach out to a large number of Wikimedians and non-Wikimedians who would not find it easy to attend a global Wikimania, and who can hopefully build relationships both among North American Wikimedians and between Wikimedians and other communities on a grass-roots level for the future.

Other benefits

Big ideas tend to be nurtured in open communities when events of this kind are held, and people from a broad cross-section of the community are able to interact in new and interesting ways.

The conference would be an interesting event that has the potential for good media coverage.

Firmly establishing this conference as an annual event for us will increase our credibility as an organization, and further our ability for long-term planning with partners.

Measures of success

We will consider this project a success if we successfully hold the conference with 100-200 participants.