Grants talk:Project/Rapid/Atudu/Wiki Loves Butterfly/Report

Hi Atudu. Thank you for this detailed and interesting report! We really appreciate the time you and the rest of the team put into documenting the project. It really helps us understand the full scope of activities, including partnerships, content development, and learnings. It's definitely one of the best reports we've received in a long time! We have a few comments upon reading the report below:

1. The high usage rate (44.25%), number of valued and quality images, as well as significant number of articles written is a testament to the quality of the project!
2. It's obvious you have a good collaboration with professional photographers. Were these people already contributing to the Wikimedia projects before this project? If not, how did you make the initial contact to engage them?
3. We are especially impressed that the project has "built up a nice coordination and relationship with renowned lepidopterists, butterfly experts, scholars and even reputed writers of books on Butterflies". We often encourage Wikimedians to reach out to subject matter experts to partner on article writing. We're curious to know how you made those connections.
4. One of your hopes for the next phase of the project is to involve more language Wikipedias. Do you have ideas for how to do this?
5. We understand it can be difficult to estimate the budget when you are starting a new project and we don't want you to have to pay for project expenses with your personal funds. Please request to have the overspend of Rs.7,755 covered in your next grant request.

Best, Alex Wang (WMF) (talk) 04:08, 2 May 2017 (UTC)

Dear Alex Wang (WMF), Thanks for your nice observation of my maiden grant report. You have made some quarries in this regard about which I have pleased to answer which goals as follows:

• In respect to your quarries about the Professional photographers in point no 2: I say that the professional photographers collaborated with our project had no previous connection with any Wikimedia project. They have started contributing first time to Wikimedia after we had communicated them, motivated them about the broad spectrum of Wikimedia movement and joined them in Wikipedia as well as our project.

As an initial effort, we searched out some such quality butterfly photographers through Facebooks and through the websites of different foundations and bodies working in the genre of Lepidoptera. Then we made appointments and contacted them personally and talked, discussed and motivated them face to face about the Wikimedia movement and the goal and targets of our project. Our outreach and motivational aspect worked well with them and they joined Wikipedia and started contributing and quality photographs relating to butterfly as well as participating actively in the project.

• In response to your quarries about how we have communicated with the noted butterfly experts (point no 3), I’d like to share the at the outset of WLB project part-I, we strongly felt that as it was a project work dedicated to species level; so without the active cooperation and participation of special knowledge and interest group people like renowned butterfly experts, lepidopterist and butterfly book writers etc, it is impossible to give the project a mark of authenticity and the desired height. Subsequently, we went on approaching and communicating such expertise persons near and far one by one; discussing with them and motivating them in the broader spectrum of Wikimedia movement of knowledge sharing and outreaching as well as to join Wikipedia and our wiki project. Our ardent and hearty approach made these people highly interested and they started contributing in Wikipedia at the same time supporting our project with the requisite helps and suggestions and identification work, subspecies level knowledge. Out of their severely hectic schedule, they managed up valuable time for Wikipedia contribution and participating and supporting WLB project part-I.

We have frequently contacted and communicated with them and still doing the same in taking their valuable suggestions and expertise ideas and scientific knowledge to shape out the project properly.

• Responding to your quarries in point no 4 I am to relate that In our WLB project part-II, we are hoping and will try our best to interest and inspire Wikipedians of different language communities to translate and develop our articles in their respective language and thus doing multi lingual versions of our articles. To that effect, the prime need rests on informing the Wikipedians globally of our project and make them aware what we are trying to do. Hence, we have planned to send SWAG materials highlighting our project to the participants of Wikimania 2017, at Montreal through the selected participants of our Bengali community. This will enable us to reach maximum no. of language communities at one instant. The Wikimania (Montreal) representatives of respective language community will be able to make a display of those SWAG materials highlighting our project to the other members of their communities. Later we will communicate and/or contact with those people and approach and inspire them to translate our articles in their respective language. Thus, we can make a global invitation to translate and develop those articles. This promotional programme will catch the attention of any butterfly species interested person of any community of the world who can create and develop a respective language version of our article.

Thanks, --Atudu (talk) 12:34, 2 May 2017 (UTC)

Hi Atudu. Thank you for these detailed responses. It sounds like your persistence in recruiting experts to participate in the project paid off! It will be great if participants at Wikimania can do some outreach around the project and give away some promotional materials at the community village. I would also suggest writing a post for the Wikimedia blog as a way to get more people involved. Here are directions on how to do that. I'm also approving an increase in this grant to cover the overspend expenses of Rs.7,755. We will send the additional funds with payment for your next project. Cheers, Alex Wang (WMF) (talk) 16:40, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

Thanks Alex Wang (WMF) for your effective suggestion about the blog. We shall try our level best to materialize this.--Atudu (talk) 13:22, 6 May 2017 (UTC)