Grants:Project/Rapid/mjecclestone A+F/Nanaimo Wikipedia Edit-a-thon/Report
- Report accepted
- To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:Project/Rapid/mjecclestone A+F/Nanaimo Wikipedia Edit-a-thon.
- 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 rapidgrants at wikimedia dot org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.
Grants:Project/Rapid/mjecclestone A+F/Nanaimo Wikipedia Edit-a-thon
Goals
editDid you meet your goals? Are you happy with how the project went?
Yes! We are pleased to report that our event outcomes have been extremely positive.
We were successful in hosting the first ever Wikipedia Edit-a-thon in Nanaimo BC, and received extremely positive feedback. Our attendees showed an incredible amount of enthusiasm for editing, applying their expertise to Wikipedia, and helping to make Wikipedia better for everyone.
Overall, we feel that this event has had a significant impact on our community’s engagement with Wikipedia. We are already in discussions with members of another VIU Library campus in Duncan (a town located south of Nanaimo), as well as other local GLAM community partners about hosting future events similar to this one.
Our impact, as captured by the Art+Feminism dashboard, included the following metrics:
- 17 Articles Edited
- 31 Total Edits
- 13 Editors (10 new)
- 1.03K Words Added
Outcome
editPlease report on your original project targets.====Project metrics====
| Project metrics | Target outcome | Achieved outcome | Explanation |
| 1 event | 1 event | ||
| 15+ participants | 13 participants | ||
| 10+ new editors | 10 new editors | ||
| 10+ articles created or improved | 17 articles created or improved | As most editors (apart from the organizers) were new editors, the emphasis was more focused on improving existing articles than creating new articles. Total Words Added: 1.03K |
Learning
editProjects do not always go according to plan. Sharing what you learned can help you and others plan similar projects in the future. Help the movement learn from your experience by answering the following questions:
We learned that there is significant value in finding the right Guest Wikipedian who is not only experienced, but also a good fit for the event. We faced challenges in finding a good candidate in our small local community, but the extra work it took to find our Guest Wikipedian from another city was well worth the effort! It would not have been the same without his contributions.
Throughout the planning stages of this event, we made contact with several different groups within our community, and we were repeatedly struck by how much interest there is -- even in a small city like Nanaimo -- for this kind of event. Those who attended the event were keen to become editors and start making their first edits. We had not anticipated this level of enthusiasm! After the Wikipedian's presentation, the group got straight to work -- bringing their diverse areas of expertise and interests to existing pages -- editing and improving Wikipedia for the better.
The Art+Feminism dashboard was incredibly helpful -- it kept track of all edits made at the event. This is a valuable tool, and one that we hope to make use of again for any future events. Post-event, we sent emails out to all attendees to thank them for their participation, and it was great to be able to share these event statistics so easily, and show participants what impact we made on the day.
In future, we might consider: hosting on a Saturday (to allow for more participants to take part), hosting off-campus in downtown Nanaimo (to attact a more diverse group), and possibly extending the Edit-a-thon event times in order to allow for more hands-on editing time.
Finances
editGrant funds spent
editPlease describe how much grant money you spent for approved expenses, and tell us what you spent it on.
1. Guest Wikipedian transportation costs for travel/return from Victoria BC to Nanaimo BC = $151.38 CAD
2. Guest Wikipedian hotel accommodation in Nanaimo BC = $183.65 CAD
3. Guest lunch for Wikipedian = $58.97 CAD
4. Food and drinks for the event = $44.37 + $87.35 CAD
5. Promotional button-making materials = $19.28 CAD
6. Honourarium for Guest Wikipedian = $30 CAD
Total = $575 CAD ($460 USD)
We were grateful to be approved for a Wikimedia Rapid Grant. It allowed us to fund the attendance of an experienced Wikipedian from a nearby city on the island. The Wikipedian’s enthusiasm, knowledge, and rapport greatly attributed to the success of our event. In addition, the funding allowed us to provide food and refreshments at the event for all participants -- helping fuel the editing and discussions.
Remaining funds
editDo you have any remaining grant funds?
No remaining funds.
Anything else
editMassive thank-yous to the Wikipedia Foundation for funding our efforts, Wikimedia Canada, and Art+Feminism for all of their assistance along the way -- merci beaucoup!