Grants:TPS/Pgallert/e-Learning Africa 2015

This Wikimedia Participation Support request was funded in the fiscal year 2014-15. A report is available.

statusfunded

Travel & Participation Support

e-Learning Africa 2015

summaryDeliver an accepted presentation on Wikipedia educational assignments

event locationAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

event websitehttp://www.elearning-africa.com/index.php

event date(s)20-22 May 2015

amount requested27,900 22,400 25,300 ZAR

home countryNamibia

creator• Pgallert

submitted on10:22, 2 April 2015 (UTC)

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Proposed participation

I have been approached by TFlanagan-WMF (talk · contribs) to be one Wikimedia volunteer to be present at this conference. I have for this reason submitted a talk which was accepted. It is a scientific presentation, so I will likely get Special Leave to attend. However, as my research cluster's work is largely unrelated to e-learning I cannot get funding from the cluster's budget to travel to Ethiopia.

The content of my intended presentation is the compound experience from running a large university project (high-level description | list of activities | rejected 2012 Wikimania panel) at Polytechnic of Namibia, and from discussing lessons learned at various Wikimedia gatherings. I believe I can suggest a recipe for successfully planning and implementing an educational assignment at a tertiary educational institution.

Goal and expected impact

Fellow educational practitioners in Africa will be alerted on the many benefits a Wiki[m|p]edia assignment has, and on the necessary planning and preparation that should precede its implementation.

Budget breakdown

This is for now largely guesswork. I will supply a quote from my local travel agent soon, but booking might be a lot cheaper if done by a travel agent in the US. Assumptions for the cost of accommodation and per diem come from this list which seems to indicate that Addis Ababa is at least double as expensive as Windhoek, where I stay. The currency is South African Rand (ZAR). Updated 09:27, 9 April 2015 (UTC), see talk page

• Business visa fee: 20 USD (roughly 200 ZAR) 50 USD (roughly 600 ZAR)
• Registration fee: 390 EUR (roughly 5,300 ZAR)
• Return flight Windhoek-Addis Ababa: 15,000 ZAR cheapest: 12,500 ZAR; second cheapest: 15,000 ZAR

Approved amount: 12,500 14,400 ZAR

• Four Five days of accommodation at 1,250 ZAR per night: 5,000 ZAR cheapest: 1,000 ZAR per night: 4,000 ZAR; second cheapest: 1,200 ZAR per night: 4,800 ZAR

Approved amount: 1,000 ZAR per night: 4,000 5,000 ZAR

• Per diem 3 full days at 1,000 ZAR per day: 3,000 ZAR
• 10% contingency: 2,500 ZAR

Total approved: up to 22,400 25,300 ZAR (see talk page for details)

Other instructions

• I believe booking would be cheaper if done in the US. So if you could book it for me, that would be great.
• I need your decision by 20 April, that's the last day to pay and register. Sorry for the short time frame.
• I still have funds from the WMF from a personal engagement grant. (Grant application | Report). So I would not need any transfer of funds, just the approval to use some of the remaining money for this conference.

Endorsements

• Support. I'm happy to see that Peter has the opportunity to participate in this conference as a member of the Wikimedia community who can share his real world experience using Wikipedia in an education context in Namibia. The organizers of the conference were very interested in having Wikimedia community members who could share practical experience. I think it's also important for the community to have a presence in this event, especially as the WMF remains committed to supporting emerging communities. Africa is an obvious priority, and this regional conference seems like a great opportunity to make sure Wikimedia is plugged into eLearning, knowledge and ICT communities on the continent. Tighe Flanagan (WMF) (talk) 16:41, 3 April 2015 (UTC)