Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Wikimedia Estonia Community Fund General Support Application for the year 2023
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Applicant details edit
Wikimedia username(s):
- K2suvi
Ivo Kruusamägi: Kruusamägi
Organization:
- Mittetulundusühing Wikimedia Eesti
G. Have you received grants from the Wikimedia Foundation before?
- Applied previously and did receive a grant
H. Have you received grants from any non-wiki organization before?
- Yes
H.1 Which organization(s) did you receive grants from?
- Republic of Estonia Ministry of Education and Research
M. Do you have a fiscal sponsor?
- No
M1. Fiscal organization name.
- N/A
Additional information edit
R. Where will this proposal be implemented?
- Estonia
S. Please indicate whether your work will be focused on one country (local), more than one or several countries in your region (regional) or has a cross-regional (global) scope:
- Local
S1. If you have answered regional or international, please write the country names and any other information that is useful for understanding your proposal.
T. If you would like, please share any websites or social media accounts that your group or organization has. (optional)
- Home page: https://wikimedia.ee/
Chapter wiki: https://ee.wikimedia.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wikimediaeesti
M. Do you have a fiscal sponsor?
- No
M1. Fiscal organization name.
- N/A
Proposal edit
1. What is the overall vision of your organization and how does this proposal contribute to this? How does this proposal connect to past work and learning?
The biggest vision of Wikimedia Estonia is to reach every person living in Estonia - so that every resident has a wealth of knowledge about Wikipedia and its sister projects. Knowledge includes, for example, writing and editing Wikipedia articles, adding images to Wikimedia Commons, linking to Wikidata, having knowledge about the process of wiki projects, etc. Accordingly, we have formulated our basic principles and challenges in 2022 as follows:
We want people to have the best possible access to the best possible information about the world around us because we believe it helps people to be more successful.
So we need lots of quality information and an effective way to share it. We have a wiki infrastructure that allows us to collect and share information. Accordingly, our challenges:
- 1. awareness and trust, because if we don't know about wiki projects or if we don't trust them, we can't fulfill our purpose because we can't reach people;
- 2. involvement and cooperation, because such amount of information cannot be managed with a small number of people, just as we cannot effectively solve all the problems that arise within our own organization;
- 3. content, its usefulness, and quality, because every piece of information is not equal and our resources are inevitably limited, i.e. we can achieve our goal better if we prioritize larger and higher quality data sets and those that are in greater demand;
- 4. Connection with the country and languages of Estonia, because we operate in this country and above all, we can contribute with local topics and in the languages, we are familiar with, but at the same time it is also in our very direct interest that there would be a lot of information about Estonia all over the world and that the Estonian and Võru languages would progress well;
- 5. infrastructure and legal space, because all of the above is still only possible as long as the wiki infrastructure continues to function well and our legal system allows and encourages such sharing.
This application is primarily aimed at ensuring the continued daily work of Wikimedia Estonia. Only as a result of consistent work can we strive towards the goals we have set and find the best solutions to the challenges we have formulated.
We hope to work to ensure that Wikimedia Estonia continues to be part of the global Wikimedia movement and also an important voice in local society.
2. What is the change that you are trying to bring about and why is this important?
Our vision: We want to see a society where as many of its members as possible participate in the sharing of freely available information.
Our mission: Wiki projects become a central infrastructure through which information is shared.
Based on our vision, Wikipedia and its sister projects are at the center of the change we are creating. This means that people have grown to trust Wikipedia as a free encyclopedia of information and also know how to contribute to it themselves. Encyclopedias will continue to be needed, however (at least in Estonia) there is a high probability that paper encyclopedias will no longer be published. So we have to ensure the credibility of Wikipedia.
This is also important because in today's information noise it is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish between false information and true information. Since Wikipedia is largely also a media literacy project, it helps to clarify how to filter out important and true information - a skill that needs to be developed today by both young and old.
3. Describe your main approaches or strategies to achieve these changes and why you think they will be effective.
Our base of operations is quite broad: based on job positions, we mostly focus on education, GLAM, and communication and outreach.
Work in the field of education is very diverse - we deal with both basic education and adult education. For example, this year we are also organizing a competition aimed specifically at the senior level of elementary school and high school. At the same time, we are also starting cooperation with Tartu Public University, where we will also provide Wikipedia training as part of the adult learner campaign. Gradually, we have also moved towards the interest group of seniors, and we plan to involve seniors in our activities in the future. The involvement of various interest groups related to education could serve both our goals and the goals of the education sector. We can share Wikipedia knowledge and build media literacy, and students can practice academic writing skills. Seniors can also apply their knowledge for the benefit of society.
Working in the GLAM field brings specific interest groups even closer, and once again, our interests and those of the institutions mostly overlap. For example, museums are mostly interested in sharing their developed materials after the exhibition is over rather than leaving them to collect dust in a drawer. Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons provide a good platform for this - however, we are also working towards creating a WikiMuseum that meets the needs even better. At the moment, we are cooperating with libraries primarily regarding the Wikiquotes project, but this also helps library staff to learn about media literacy and the principle of how Viki projects work.
Communication and outreach is a field that also supports the previously mentioned fields. In order to increase motivation for writing on Wikipedia, we continue to organize writing, editing, and photo competitions. We want to be part of the copyright field and continue to stand for freedom of panorama. With the help of effective communication, we can easily reach the desired interest groups - for example, we are currently cooperating with a press publication aimed at seniors, where an article about how Wikipedia works will soon be published. This way we can reach interested parties faster and help them more effectively.
4. What are the activities you will be developing and delivering as part of these approaches or strategies?
Education: Working with schools (higher, secondary, and basic school levels) to introduce Wikimedia projects to students Supporting teachers and (if needed) students with their Wikimedia problems Introducing Wikipedia as a tool for CLIL methodology Putting together teaching materials on copyright and open culture Promoting Wikipedia activities via wikiclubs in local communities Active communication with educational organizations and authorities to promote cooperation and projects in the field of education
GLAM: Working with GLAM institutions to make more of their data and content publicly available Improving and expanding our set of Wikidata tools to import Estonian GLAM data Organizing photo expeditions to GLAM institutions to help digitize materials Visit libraries and provide training for their staff on the use of Wikipedia, including writing articles Organize wiki workshops for mostly young people under the age of 18 at their local hobby school
Open culture and outreach: Workshops/online seminars about copyright in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice Organizing thematic months and activities (environmental month, art month, etc.), including thematic article and/or photo competitions Promoting open culture to the public and recruiting new Wikimedians Organizing competitions to engage both existing and new Wikimedians Supporting Wikipedians of smaller Finno-Ugric communities Participating in public discussion about open culture Being the voice of knowledge in Estonian society
5. Do you want to apply for multi-year funding?
No
5.1 If yes, provide a brief overview of Year 2 and Year 3 of the proposed plan and how this relates to the current proposal and your strategic plan?
- N/A
6. Please include a timeline (operational calendar) for your proposal.
- January: public domain day, keeletoimetamistalgud (editing contest)
February: Keeletoimetamistalgud Aprill: CEE spring May: CEE spring July: Focus on locals: summer days of Wikimedia Estonia September: launch of elementary schools project Oktober: The art month December: Science Photo competition
Throughout the year, we intend to continue regularly with Vikiklub meetings, involvement of volunteers and interns, virtual exhibitions and other ongoing collaborations.
7. Do you have the team that is needed to implement this proposal?
Staffing Plan · Job title: CEO o Who is filling this role?: Käbi Laan o Brief description: The CEO is in charge of running the day-to-day affairs of the chapter. They oversee the work of the other employees, helping them implement the general directions suggested by the board of directors. They oversee the chapter's internal and external communication. They run the chapter's blog and social media pages, help organize and promote events and make sure the chapter members and the public are kept up to date on the chapter's activities and on anything interesting happening in the Estonian Wikiverse. Additionally, they deal with minor but important day-to-day organizational issues (organizing transport, making small purchases, ensuring bills are paid on time, etc.). They report directly to the Board of Directors. o Indication of FTE and duration of work:1.0 FTE, permanent contract (as mandated by Estonian law). Wikimedia username: K2suvi · Job title: Project Manager (Education) o Who is filling this role?: Pille Priks from the summer of 2021 o Brief description: The Project Manager for Education oversees finding opportunities for cooperation with educational institutions and running the projects that develop from those opportunities. They are also expected to cooperate with the Communication/Outreach Manager to promote open culture and the Wikimedia projects more generally to educational institutions. They report to the Organizational Manager on day-to-day duties, and to the chapter members via weekly update reports. o Indication of FTE and duration of work: 0.5 FTE, permanent contract (as mandated by Estonian law). · Job title: Project Manager (GLAM) o Who is filling this role?: Kerdo Kristjan Tamm from summer of 2021. o Brief description: The Project Manager for GLAM oversees finding opportunities for cooperation with GLAM institutions and running the projects that develop from those opportunities. They are also expected to cooperate with the Communication/Outreach Manager to more generally promote open culture and the Wikimedia projects to GLAM institutions. They report to the Organizational Manager on day-to-day duties, and to the chapter members via weekly update reports. o Indication of FTE and duration of work: 0.5 FTE, permanent contract (as mandated by Estonian law).
8. Please state if your proposal aims to work to bridge any of the identified CONTENT knowledge gaps (Knowledge Inequity)? Select up to THREE that most apply to your work.
Age (regency) , Geography
8.1 In a few sentences, explain how your work is specifically addressing this content gap (or Knowledge inequity) to ensure a greater representation of knowledge.
Geographic: promotion of wiki clubs and greatly increased number of photo expeditions helps to reach a wider geographic area. Since we are located in Eastern Europe, it is especially important to include the eastern cities and settlements (where a large percentage of Russian-speaking people live) in the free cultural space and thus also in the free space of knowledge. Age: we are looking towards involving both seniors and school students.
9. Please state if your proposal includes any of these areas or THEMATIC focus. Select up to THREE that most apply to your work and explain the rationale for identifying these themes.
Education, Culture, heritage or GLAM , Public Policy
10. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Please note, we had previously asked about inclusion and diversity in terms of CONTENTS, in this question we are asking about the diversity of PARTICIPANTS. Select up to THREE that most apply to your work.
Geographic , Linguistic / Language
11. What are your strategies for engaging participants, particularly those that currently are non-Wikimedia?
As already mentioned above, the main strategies are approaching new and specific GLAM and educational interest groups. In Estonia, the field of education is controversial - on the one hand, many new possibilities of the digital world are included, on the other hand, teachers are still underpaid. However, we embrace the first half of this field and try to be an opportunity for students in the world of education, not a barrier. In this way, we can also involve our Eastern cities and people, and we will be free to develop the encyclopedia. We also organize competitions every year so that, in addition to the so-called old contributors, new people can also contribute. For this purpose, we have, for example, a newcomer award for language editing works, which has attracted someone new to edit articles every year.
12. In what ways are you actively seeking to contribute towards creating a safer, supportive, more equitable environment for participants and promoting the UCOC and Friendly Space Policy, and/or equivalent local policies and processes?
Event organizers, employees, and the board are responsible for ensuring that the instructions adopted by the NGO are followed. Estonian legislation supports the principles of UCOC and Friendly Space, so the Estonian community has not considered it necessary to directly apply them separately.
13. Do you have plans to work with Wikimedia communities, groups, or affiliates in your country, or in other countries, to implement this proposal?
Yes
13.1 If yes, please tell us about these connections online and offline and how you have let Wikimedia communities know about this proposal.
As usual, when writing this application, we have always taken into account the wishes or opinions of the members of our NGO and Wikipedians, which can be submitted throughout the year. It is for such expressions of opinion that we organize meetings of Wikipedians and volunteers several times a year.
14. Will you be working with other external, non-Wikimedian partners to implement this proposal?
Yes
14.1 Please describe these partnerships and what motivates the potential partner to be part of the proposal and how they add value to your work.
We will continue and expand our work with local universities, high schools, and primary schools including cooperating with teachers and students. As of the year 2022, Wikimedia Estonia is a Strategic Partner for the Ministry of Education and Research. We are seeking opportunities to work with local governments. We will also continue working with our GLAM partners - we will build trust in wiki projects such that museums see Wikimedia commons as a desirable platform for virtual exhibitions.
15. How do you hope to sustain or expand the work carried out in this proposal after the grant?
We have been working on the WMEE 2030 strategic plan: we have completed the plan, but it yet needs to be formulated into a short document. We also have an active team that works on Wiki projects on a daily basis. We have managed to attract several interns to us, so we hope that the interns will also be future activists and contributors.
16. What kind of risks do you anticipate and how would you mitigate these. This can include factors such as external/contextual issues that may affect implementation, as well as internal issues, such as governance/leadership changes.
- The biggest problem of our NGO so far is the rapid turnover of employees and active persons. Both internal and external communication, as well as clarity, suffer from this.
The best risk mitigation is to create a friendly atmosphere where employees, volunteers, and board members feel so good that they don't want to leave. For this, it is necessary to establish and clarify the roles of everyone and the personal motivation of everyone.
17. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select a maximum of three options that most apply.
Improve User Experience, Manage Internal Knowledge, Innovate in Free Knowledge
18. Please state if your organization or group has a Strategic Plan that can help us further understand your proposal. You can also upload it here.
Learning, Sharing, and Evaluation edit
19. What do you hope to learn from your work in this fund proposal?
What approaches are best for introducing students to wiki projects? Does it make more sense to introduce wiki projects to teachers or students? How can wiki projects be used in cooperation with GLAM authorities? We want to experiment and explore different ways to advertise ourselves. What is the inflammatory factor for the so-called ordinary person that draws him to Wikipedia? What is this communication strategy to reach more and more people?
20. Based on these learning questions, what is the information or data you need to collect to answer these questions? Please register this information (as metric description) in the following space provided.
| Main Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Projects with students | Tried or tested projects involving students: 5 | 5 |
| Projects with teachers | Tested or tested projects involving teachers: 5 | 5 |
| Joint projects with GLAM institutions | Projects made with GLAM institutions: 10 | 10 |
| Newsletter | New newsletter subscribers: 70 | 70 |
| Communication | Different communication channels were used: 10 | 10 |
Here are some additional metrics that you can use if they are relevant to your work. Please note that this is just an optional list, mostly of quantitative metrics. They may complement the qualitative metrics you have defined in the previous boxes.
| Additional Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Number of editors that continue to participate/retained after activities | N/A | N/A |
| Number of organizers that continue to participate/retained after activities | N/A | N/A |
| Number of strategic partnerships that contribute to longer term growth, diversity and sustainability | N/A | N/A |
| Feedback from participants on effective strategies for attracting and retaining contributors | N/A | N/A |
| Diversity of participants brought in by grantees | N/A | N/A |
| Number of people reached through social media publications | N/A | N/A |
| Number of activities developed | N/A | N/A |
| Number of volunteer hours | N/A | N/A |
21. Additional core quantitative metrics. These core metrics will not tell the whole story about your work, but they are important for measuring some Movement-wide changes. Please try to include these core metrics if they are relevant to your work. If they are not, please use the space provided to explain why they are not relevant or why you can not capture this data. Your explanation will help us review our core metrics and make sure we are using the best ones for the movement as a whole.
| Core metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | All participants: 300, new of them: 200. | 300 |
| Number of editors | All editors: 1000, new of them: 600. | 1000 |
| Number of organizers | All organizers: 15, new of them: 10. | 15 |
| Wikimedia Project | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | New articles created or improved 5000 | 5000 |
| Wikimedia Commons | Images uploaded 1000 | 1000 |
| Wikiquote | Pages created or improved 200 | 200 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
21.1 If for some reason your proposal will not measure these core metrics please provide an explanation.
N/A
22. What tools would you use to measure each metric selected?
However, the basic method remains mechanical counting - with our volume and size, it is the easiest to organize and do. We'll take a closer look at other tools in the future.
Financial Proposal edit
23. & 23.1 What is the amount you are requesting from WMF? Please provide this amount in your local currency. If you are thinking about a multi-year fund, please provide the amount for the first year.
- 72148 EUR
23.2 What is this amount in US Currency (to the best of your knowledge)?
- 71653.4 USD
23.3 Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it.
23.4 Please include any additional observations or comments you would like to include about your budget.
- The biggest change compared to last year is the restoration of international travel. We hope that next year we will be able to use these lines more boldly again.
Please use this optional space to upload any documents that you feel are important for further understanding your proposal.
- Other public document(s):
Final Message edit
By submitting your proposal/funding request you agree that you are in agreement with the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and the Universal Code of Conduct.
We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
- Yes
Feedback edit
- Please add any feedback to the grant discussion page only. Any feedback added here will be removed.