Grants:TPS/Reem Al-KAshif/Women Tech Storm

This Wikimedia Participation Support request was not funded. Reasons have been communicated with the request submitter on the Discussion page.

statusnot funded

Travel & Participation Support

Women Tech Storm

summaryLearning how to get involved in the technical side of Wikimedia.

event locationThe Hague, the Netherlands

event websitehttps://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Netherlands_Hackathon_2018_-_Women_Tech_Storm

event date(s)10,11, and 12 May

amount requested657.795 USD

home countryCairo, Egypt

creator• Reem Al-Kashif

submitted on16:58, 5 April 2018 (UTC)

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Proposed participation

Part of the Wikimedia mission is to create a friendly space for learning how to contribute to the Wikimedia Projects and bridge the gender gap in many areas including technology. Learning about how to actively participate in the technical side of Wikimedia is one of my objectives of attending this event. This event specifically is unique in that it is the first technical event I see in Wikimedia community that is not intimidating. The event page is easy to navigate, the language used is very encouraging, and the event promises a friendly space for beginners, specifically female beginners, who really want to learn more.

I want to represent my community there, learn how to participate in the technical fields, and thus break the male-domination of the technical areas in my community.

I have been interested in the technical side of Wikimedia project for a couple of years. I am interested in editing and querying Wikidata and making bots to give visitors and editors to my home Wikipedia (i.e. the Arabic Wikipedia) a better experience. I have asked people to write queries for me because I didn't know how. Currently, I know how to write a very simple query, but need to learn more. I also have beginner level knowledge of programming, but need to know how to improve that in a way useful for the Wikimedia context.

Additionally, my current research is based on using corpus tools on the computer for analyzing Wikipedia. It is the first thesis of its kind in my university. Hence, I do have a bit of background to be able to participate. I am also an active editor, a leader of Wikipedia Education Program in Ain Shams University, and a co-founder of Wikimedia Egypt Usergroup. Through this, I have been actively involved in the community since 2012, so I have an idea about what the community needs.

Goal and expected impact

• My technical knowledge and skills will improve and I will be able to employ this for the benefit of my community. For instance, creating a bot that caters for our needs in the Arabic Wikipedia or Wikipedia at large.
• I will know more technical areas to which I can contribute.
• I will meet with people with similar interests to learn from and be in contact with for large-scale projects.
• I will be a contact person for people interested in working on Arabic in my region.

Budget breakdown

• Travel (round trip airfare from Cairo, Egypt to The Hague, the Netherlands): USD 500-550 (according to online search)
• Visa fees: USD 107.795 (according to the application center)
• Total: USD 550+107.795= USD 657.795

Other instructions

• Would you like us to book flights or hotel for you? If so, please let us know here!

Yes, I would like help in booking the flights, if possible.

• Do you need advance disbursement? If so, please let us know here, and make sure you are submitting this request at least 1 month before the event.

Would be helpful to get the visa money in advance, if possible.