Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Wiki Loves Monuments 2023 in the United States (ID: 22216150)
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Applicant Details edit
- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
SuperHamster
- Organization
N/A
- If you are a group or organization leader, board member, president, executive director, or staff member at any Wikimedia group, affiliate, or Wikimedia Foundation, you are required to self-identify and present all roles. (required)
I'm a board member or president of a Wikimedia Affiliate or mission-allied organization., I'm a group leader of a Wikimedia User Group (submitted to the Affiliation Committee).
- Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)
I am on the Board of Directors for Wikimedia District of Columbia. I am also a group leader for the Ohio Wikimedians User Group. I have organized Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States since 2017 as an individual, outside of my roles in Wikimedia DC and Ohio.
Main Proposal edit
- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.
Wiki Loves Monuments 2023 in the United States
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2023-08-30 - 2023-12-31
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
United States of America
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
Wiki Loves Monuments
- 6. What is the change you are trying to bring? What are the main challenges or problems you are trying to solve? Describe this change or challenges, as well as main approaches to achieve it. (required)
Wiki Loves Monuments focuses on gathering photos of registered historical sites from all around the world. From the official "about us" page, "Cultural heritage is an important part of the knowledge Wikipedia collects and disseminates...An image is worth a thousand words, in every language at once and local enthusiasts can (re)discover the cultural, historical, or scientific significance of their neighborhood."
In the United States, the National Register of Historic Places is the main national register with over 80,000 listings. On the English Wikipedia, WikiProject National Register of Historic Places tracks what what percentage of sites have been illustrated, which is currently ~85%. Beyond the national register, however, are hundreds of thematic and geographic registries on the national, state, and local levels that catalog thousands of additional historic sites that can be illustrated by contest participants. Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States has a guide for finding historic sites across the country.
The United States has participated in Wiki Loves Monuments nine times (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021). A directory of past events can be found at wikilovesmonuments.us. Together, these contests have resulted in over 75,000 photo uploads of historic sites across the country by an average of ~1,200 participants each year. The event also attracts new contributors to Wikimedia, with at least 70% of participants each year being new registrants.
By running this contest again in the United States, we are trying to accomplish the following:
- Help illustrate important historic and cultural sites across the United States
- Provide free-use media for use by not only the Wikimedia projects, but anyone in the world
- Onboard new contributors to the Wikimedia Commons and Wikimedia platform at-large
- Build relationships with external organizations dedicated to the same causes (such as local historic societies)
- 7. What are the planned activities? (required) Please provide a list of main activities. You can also add a link to the public page for your project where details about your project can be found. Alternatively, you can upload a timeline document. When the activities include partnerships, include details about your partners and planned partnerships.
During the month of September, Wikimedians and the general public will be invited to upload their photos of historic sites in the United States to the Wikimedia Commons. The primary method to attract participants will be a central notice across Wikimedia sites. We will also do promotion via social media and collaborating with external organizations, such as historical societies.
We will have an event page, similar to our 2021 event page, that has information and instructions for participating. We have a guide to help people find historic sites across the country on national, state, and local levels. After September, we will have a jury of 10-15 judges who will determine the top-10 photos for the contest, in a process similar to our 2021 judging. The top-10 winners will receive a gift card prize and certificate, and will be submitted to the Wiki Loves Monuments international jury.
- 8. Describe your team. Please provide their roles, Wikimedia Usernames and other details. (required) Include more details of the team, including their roles, usernames, Wikimedia group, and whether they are salaried, volunteers, consultants/contractors, etc. Team members involved in the grant application need to be aware of their involvement in the project.
The current head of the project (and this project's grantee) is Kevin Payravi (User:SuperHamster), who has helped lead and run the contest since 2016.
Laura Soito (User:Quercusechinus), who has co-led the project since 2016, will also be helping organize this year.
We are currently discussing with other potential organizers to join the team; this list will be updated accordingly.
The jury team will be determined and onboarded closer to October.
- 9. Who are the target participants and from which community? How will you engage participants before and during the activities? How will you follow up with participants after the activities? (required)
Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States is of interest to anyone who has any combination of interest in photography, history, and free media. This event naturally targets people in the United States, but we have also attracted contributors from other countries who have visited the United States and photographed historic sites.
The main driver to the event is our central notice that runs across Wikimedia projects. Visitors to Wikimedia sites will see a banner inviting them to upload their photos and participate in the contest. Secondary ways to attract participants is mass-messaging previous participants; promoting on our social media profiles; and working with Wikimedia affiliates and external organizations (such as local historic sites) to promote the event.
Participants will be updated after the event via mass-message on-wiki, to thank them for their participation, inform them of the results of the contest, and invite them to participate next year.
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
No
- 10.1. Please provide a link to your Youth Safety Policy. (required) If the proposal indicates direct contact with children or youth, you are required to outline compliance with international and local laws for working with children and youth, and provide a youth safety policy aligned with these laws. Read more here.
N/A
- 11. How did you discuss the idea of your project with your community members and/or any relevant groups? Please describe steps taken and provide links to any on-wiki community discussion(s) about the proposal. (required) You need to inform the community and/or group, discuss the project with them, and involve them in planning this proposal. You also need to align the activities with other projects happening in the planned area of implementation to ensure collaboration within the community.
Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States is a near-annual event since 2012. Over the years, our event has developed as a result of input from various groups, including the international Wiki Loves Monuments team, the Wikimedia Commons community, our judges, and our participants.
- 12. Does your proposal aim to work to bridge any of the content knowledge gaps (Knowledge Inequity)? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Cultural background, ethnicity, religion, racial
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Culture, heritage or GLAM
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Geographic
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Innovate in Free Knowledge
Learning and metrics edit
- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
Wiki Loves Monuments always provides many learnings. These can include:
- Learning about hundreds of historic sites and which ones still need to be documented
- Learning about new cultural heritage organizations and their registries
- Learning about the types of historic sites people are interested in, based on what is submitted and used across Wikimedia sites
- Ways that people are interested in both capturing and consuming historical and cultural heritage
- New and growing technologies that are being used to capture historic sites (e.g. drones, panoramas, photo spheres, etc.)
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 600 | Prior years of Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States have ranged from ~500 participants to just under 2,000. For 2023, we estimate at least 600 participants. A significant factor in number of participants is how effective the central notice is (any limitations, competing banners, etc.). Since the Untied States did not participate in Wiki Loves Monuments in 2022, we may see an increase of participants this year.
In the past, anywhere between 70% and 90% of participants were new contributors. We expect a similar percentage for 2023. |
| Number of editors | 600 | Our number of editors is the same as the number of participants, as participation in the event means contributing a photo to the Wikimedia Commons. |
| Number of organizers | 3 | We expect ~3 core organizers, as well as a jury of ~10-15 members. |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | |
| Wikimedia Commons | 5000 |
| Wikidata | |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies | |
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
- Optional description for content contributions.
In 2019, 2020, and 2021, Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States resulted in between 5,000 and 6,000 uploads each year. If this trend continues, we can expect at least 5,000 uploads for 2023. This number may be higher as we did not participate in 2022, so participants may have more photos to contribute from over a 2-year period.
- 19. Do you have any other project targets in numbers (metrics)? (optional)
Yes
| Main Open Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Images used on wikis | The percent of uploads that are used across Wikimedia projects. This may be realized in the months following the event as editors add images to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects over time. | 10 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
- 20. What tools would you use to measure each metrics? Please refer to the guide for a list of tools. You can also write that you are not sure and need support. (required)
The Wiki Loves tool on Toolforge provides statistics about our event, including number of participants, uploads, and new contributors. Uploads are tracked via categories on the Wikimedia Commons.
Financial proposal edit
- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2023_in_the_United_States/Budget
- 22. and 22.1. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in your local currency. (required)
1890 USD
- 22.2. Convert the amount requested into USD using the Oanda converter. This is done only to help you assess the USD equivalent of the requested amount. Your request should be between 500 - 5,000 USD.
1890 USD
- We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
Yes
Endorsements and Feedback edit
Please add endorsements and feedback to the grant discussion page only. Endorsements added here will be removed automatically.
Community members are invited to share meaningful feedback on the proposal and include reasons why they endorse the proposal. Consider the following:
- Stating why the proposal is important for the communities involved and why they think the strategies chosen will achieve the results that are expected.
- Highlighting any aspects they think are particularly well developed: for instance, the strategies and activities proposed, the levels of community engagement, outreach to underrepresented groups, addressing knowledge gaps, partnerships, the overall budget and learning and evaluation section of the proposal, etc.
- Highlighting if the proposal focuses on any interesting research, learning or innovation, etc. Also if it builds on learning from past proposals developed by the individual or organization, or other Wikimedia communities.
- Analyzing if the proposal is going to contribute in any way to important developments around specific Wikimedia projects or Movement Strategy.
- Analysing if the proposal is coherent in terms of the objectives, strategies, budget, and expected results (metrics).