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Grants talk:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Conference Fund/ESEAP Conference 2024

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Latest comment: 5 months ago by WAqil (WMYS) in topic Conference Committee funding decision
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Endorsements edit

Latest comment: 7 months ago43 comments43 people in discussion
  •   Strong support ESEAP conference did not happen in 2023 to give way for a gathering in Singapore within Wikimania 2023. Our 2024 gathering will keep the community momentum of the achievements of the Sydney 2022 conference and the 2023 Singapore Summit within Wikimania.

-- Exec8 (talk) 05:14, 14 September 2023 (UTC)Reply

WMF review and feedback edit

Latest comment: 7 months ago2 comments2 people in discussion

Hi @Tofeiku and the ESEAP conference team,

Thank you very much for this proposal and for your initiative in organizing the second Wikimedia and Libraries Conference. I highly appreciate the time and effort you put into this proposal. I have reviewed your proposal and have some comments and follow up questions.

  • Can you please elaborate on the Hybrid elements? From our experience it is extremely challenging to facilitate an hybrid events and to set the ground to an active engagement from both online and in person participants at the same time.
  • You indicated that you would like to “share knowledge and enhance literacy among youth”. How do you identify ’Youth’? Are you referring to minors under the age of 18?
  • No need to include medical insurance as part of the scholarship (and for COT because all scholarship recipients (and people who are traveling outside their home country and that you are paying for their flight) are covered by the WMF health insurance. So you can remove this specific budget item. This also means that if you are considering partial scholarships that will not include flight, those recipients will not be covered by the WMF health Insurance.
  • How many organizing team members do you have?
  • Will you have someone based in Malaysia for on ground support and logistics?
  • Do you have an action plan and capacity to track the post conference metrics you identified?

Budget:

  • If this is a 2 days event, why do you require 5 nights stay for the scholarship recipients? the standard is 4 nights for a 3 days conference.
  • The travel agency fees seems relatively very high. Have you checked this with a travel agency?
  • As noted - there is no need to budget for medical/health insurance for international travelers as this is covered by the Wikimedia foundation health insurance. Regular travel insurance (luggage etc) is not a part of a standard scholarship and can be purchased independently.
  • I also wonder what is the need for a venue for 5 days if the conference is only 2 days. I don't see the rationale. If you need a pre conference day, or a meeting space for the COT, it is better to rent a meeting room which will be much less expensive.
  • I see you would like to include costs for organizer's phone data. How many members would you like to cover and for how long? Because this seems like a very high cost for individual data. If you are referring to AV at the venue, please check with the venue because in many times this is included in the service fees (or at least negotiable).
  • Can you please clarify what is the 'Cultural Village night tour' item? And why did you budgeted for this twice?
  • Can you clarify what is the 'Welcome room booking'?
  • Please elaborate on the translation needs and methods. What kind of translation will in be?

The overall planning and vision is clear and reasonable. And the need for this conference is definitely understood and appreciated. But unfortunately the budget request is very high. I suggest planning for other resources of funding or potential sponsorships and partnerships (in kind as well). Our partnership team might also be able to help with that later. Please also have another look at the budget and see what kind of adjustments you can make, and maybe removing or scoping down some of the services and expenses. As much as we would like to, I do not think we will be able to support the full funding request and unfortunately you will probably need to make significant reductions to the budget.

Thank you again for this proposal. When you're able, please respond to the questions above and revise the proposal on Fluxx if needed. These revisions will be due by October 2nd, 2023, after which the Conference Grant Committee will begin formal review of the proposal to make the funding decisions. Thank you, CAlmog (WMF) (talk) 05:18, 24 September 2023 (UTC)Reply

Hello @CAlmog (WMF). I am responding to your message on behalf of the conference team.
Can you please elaborate on the Hybrid elements? From our experience it is extremely challenging to facilitate an hybrid events and to set the ground to an active engagement from both online and in person participants at the same time.
A: The previous ESEAP Conference was held in a hybrid format in Sydney. Consequently, we are considering the possibility of organizing a hybrid conference to accommodate participants who may be unable to attend in person. For this purpose, we intend to utilize the Zoom platform.
You indicated that you would like to “share knowledge and enhance literacy among youth”. How do you identify ’Youth’? Are you referring to minors under the age of 18?
A: This decision was informed by the community engagement survey we conducted as a requisite for our grant application. It's important to note that in our context, 'youth' primarily refers to university students who are 18 years of age or older.
No need to include medical insurance as part of the scholarship (and for COT because all scholarship recipients (and people who are traveling outside their home country and that you are paying for their flight) are covered by the WMF health insurance. So you can remove this specific budget item. This also means that if you are considering partial scholarships that will not include flight, those recipients will not be covered by the WMF health Insurance.
A: We have decided to remove the insurance item
How many organizing team members do you have?
A: The final decision regarding this matter will be made during the upcoming ESEAP meeting scheduled for October 8, 2023.
Will you have someone based in Malaysia for on ground support and logistics?
A: Malaysia has its own user group, Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia, which provides on-ground support and handles logistics. Nevertheless, we are interested in seeking additional assistance and guidance from the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) for these.
Do you have an action plan and capacity to track the post conference metrics you identified?
A: We plan to collect reports from each conference participant, outlining their post-conference activities related to the sessions they attended. Additionally, we will monitor the number of activities organized by participants that are directly linked to the conference sessions, as well as the overall number of edits made by all participants in the three months following the conference.

Budget
If this is a 2 days event, why do you require 5 nights stay for the scholarship recipients? the standard is 4 nights for a 3 days conference.
A: We are planning to have a 3-day conference for this year’s edition. Hence, a minimum 4-night accommodation is required. We put 5 nights just in case for participants who need to arrive to the venue early as some flights are unavailable a night before the conference. We will put 4 nights for this and have the extra one night covered through the contingency cost
The travel agency fees seems relatively very high. Have you checked this with a travel agency?
A: We have made a request for a quotation from the travel agency for the upcoming conferencee, but as of now, we have not yet received it. Given the time constraints we faced when requesting the quotation, we are considering using the fee from the previous edition's travel agency as a reference point for the 2024 budget. We anticipate that the cost for the upcoming conference should be lower.
As noted - there is no need to budget for medical/health insurance for international travelers as this is covered by the Wikimedia foundation health insurance. Regular travel insurance (luggage etc) is not a part of a standard scholarship and can be purchased independently.
A: We have decided to remove the item
I also wonder what is the need for a venue for 5 days if the conference is only 2 days. I don't see the rationale. If you need a pre conference day, or a meeting space for the COT, it is better to rent a meeting room which will be much less expensive.
A: Instead of the previously planned 5 days, we will now allocate 3 days for the venue.
I see you would like to include costs for organizer's phone data. How many members would you like to cover and for how long? Because this seems like a very high cost for individual data. If you are referring to AV at the venue, please check with the venue because in many times this is included in the service fees (or at least negotiable).
A: The fee will just cover for AV and not the organiser’s phone data. We are still waiting for the quotation from the travel agency. We planned to have the ‘Technical support’ item to cover video recording. For post-conference, this cost will cover for trimming the recorded sessions to be made available in Commons Wikimedia and Youtube. This has been done in this year’s CEE Conference.
Can you please clarify what is the 'Cultural Village night tour' item? And why did you budgeted for this twice?
A: The ‘Cultural Village night tour’ item is to cover the activities for ESEAP Conference 2024 participants to visit the Mari-Mari Cultural Village after the 1st day of the core conference ends. Participants will watch cultural performance and eat dinner there. ESEAP Conference 2018 also has a cultural performance activity where participants went outside to watch a Balinese performance. For 2022, there was no cultural performance at night and it was replaced with a dinner cruise. Hence for 2024, we would like to resume the cultural performance night. The ‘Cultural performances’ item is a different item than the former. This item is to cover cultural performances performed by secondary school students in the state where a wiki club has been established there. The students will perform during the opening ceremony of the conference. The item is to cover their accommodation and travel expenses to the conference venue.
Can you clarify what is the 'Welcome room booking'?
A: Night before the first day of the conference, we are planning to organize a welcoming ceremony for participants. This event will provide attendees with an opportunity to network with one another, receive their badges and souvenirs, exchange ideas, and be briefed about the conference agenda. Please note that the venue for this welcoming ceremony will be different from the core conference rooms
Please elaborate on the translation needs and methods. What kind of translation will in be?
A: We will be providing live virtual translation services for participants via Zoom meeting. Our goal is to offer translation in three languages: Malay/Indonesian, Chinese, and Japanese. The interpreters will not be physically present in the conference room; they will facilitate translation remotely.

Thank you for your thoughtful feedback and for taking the time to review our conference proposal. We appreciate your acknowledgment of our clear and reasonable planning and vision, as well as your understanding of the conference's importance. We understand your concern regarding the budget request, and we appreciate your valuable suggestions. We will certainly reach out to your partnership team for assistance in the regard of exploring other avenues for funding, including potential sponsorships and partnerships, both in-kind and financial.
Your advice to revisit and potentially adjust the budget is well-received, and we will take this opportunity to scrutinize the expenses further, looking for areas where we can make necessary adjustments. We understand the need for fiscal responsibility and will make every effort to streamline the budget while ensuring the conference's success.
We recognize that full funding may not be feasible, and we are prepared to make significant reductions to align with the available resources. We are committed to ensuring that the event remains viable and impactful.
Thank you for your feedback. We are committed to providing a well-thought-out and financially responsible plan for your consideration. WAqil (WMYS) (talk) 07:48, 2 October 2023 (UTC)Reply

Conference Committee funding decision edit

Latest comment: 5 months ago2 comments2 people in discussion

Hi @Tofeiku, @WAqil (WMYS) and the ESEAP conference team,

Thank you for your work on the funding request and responding to our comments. On behalf of the Conference Fund committee, I wanted to notify you that we've reviewed the final proposal for the ESEAP conference 2024 and will be happy to support the event in the amount of 798,786.31 MYR (approximately 175,000 USD). We know this is not the full amount you requested but I hope we can work with you closely on exploring other potential opportunities for support along with the partnership team. In the coming weeks, I will contact you to set up our first meeting. This will be followed by a regular monthly meeting. Looking forward to working together! CAlmog (WMF) (talk) 23:25, 21 November 2023 (UTC)Reply

@CAlmog (WMF) Thank you so much for this exciting update! We truly appreciate the Conference Fund committee's review of our ESEAP conference 2024 proposal, as well as your commitment in assisting us. While it's not the full amount, we're excited about the opportunity to collaborate closely with you and the partnership team to explore additional avenues of support. I eagerly anticipate our upcoming meetings and am confident that, together, we can make the event a resounding success. Looking forward to the collaboration ahead! WAqil (WMYS) (talk) 04:30, 22 November 2023 (UTC)Reply
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