Grants talk:Project/Rapid/Nkansahrexford/BarcampTravels

Breakdown and cost

Hello Nkansahrexford, I've always been a great fan of doing things that actually create impact and looks interesting and great to me and you should have my endorsement. I will love to see a breakdown of estimated travel and accommodation costs. Looking at the amount for this grant .

Please use Nkansahrexford/BarcampTravels instead of RexfordNkansah/BarcampTravels.Enock4seth (talk) 18:59, 18 February 2017 (UTC)

Hi Enock4seth, thanks for taking the time to comment. About the breakdown, I currently have no concrete estimate of the entire cost of the expenses such as the travels. What I can think of is, considering how extensive the movements will be, the 2K$ likely won't be enough for the entire almost one year period.

Some of the travel variables are 'estimateable', for instance, the travel to and fro Bolgatanga. But since not everything worth capturing is within the township, extra movement will happen. For a considerable number of them I would have to travel even more, such as to Paga, the Tongo Hills, etc.

Internet cost on the other hand, though can be concrete, and I can estimate with a high level of certainty that, a 500 Gig bundle, worth 500 Cedis (~ 110$) should be okay for moving all the multimedia content online for the entire 1 year period.

Food & Accomodation, I also don't know, unfortunately, what the entire period it is gonna cost me.

And fees and charges: to be allowed to take pictures/videos at some sites, an extra cost is incurred, such as the Boti Falls. I do not know what each site cost is or will be, sadly.

What do you suggest I can do about the variables I have no idea the cost is or will be? The only part I'm very certain is the internet cost. The rest, I have no idea.

How about reporting costs per travel per each month of activity?

About the name change, yes, your suggestion is better. Will do a move? later on. Thanks for pointing that out. --Nkansahrexford (talk) 19:51, 18 February 2017 (UTC)

Thanks Rex for your reply. I agree with you.

How about reporting costs per travel per each month of activity?

Sounds good to me. Enock4seth (talk) 00:45, 20 February 2017 (UTC)

Questions and suggestion

Hi Wikicology, kindly find my responses and or answers inline. Look for the "ans" parts.

Hi Rex,

I am excited that you are organizing a project that would increase the number of Ghana related contents on Wikimedia Commons. However, I have some suggestion and questions.

Suggestions:

1. 5000+ images are much since you are focusing on high quality images and considering the FOP issues in Ghana copyright law. I suggest you review that figure.

ans: Good point. 5000 as a minimum is a lot. However, I still think it is an attainable target for a 1 year period. About the FOP, yes, I'll pay closer attention to content of the sort and not violate any rights. I'm no FOP guru, but where I'm lacking, I'll surely request for insights before sharing onto Commons.

2. Not all videos are realistically useful for educational purpose. Videos that are not useful for educational purpose are routinely deleted as out of scope per COM:SCOPE. My impression is that you will focus on videos that would be realistically useful for educational purpose. 500+ videos are much, you may want to review it.

ans: This is true as well. The plan is to gather educational purpose videos, similar to the ones found here: Wiki From Above. If the video footages of the type in the Wiki From Above is the type as Educational, then that's the likes of what I hope to capture. Again, 500 or more is the target and I think attainable.

3. Please, keep in mind the copyright law in Ghana. In most countries, all paintings, sculpture, architecture, text, and other creative works have copyrights which last for 70 years after the death of the creator. An image of a work that is still under copyright is a derivative work, and infringes on the copyright of the original work. Such images are unacceptable on Common. In some countries, there is a special exception to the copyright law which allows such images under certain circumstances. We call that exception freedom of panorama (FOP). Unfortunately there is no applicable FOP exception in Ghana. Keep this in mind as you are taken images so as not to end up uploading copyvios to Commons.

Questions:

• How do you want to upload the photos to Commons? I am curious since you are the only resource person listed on the grant page.

ans: The how? Via the internet using the Upload Wizard (kinda stupid answer, I guess). The images/videos will be uploaded as and when they're sorted and processed. If need be (less likely), the Communist uploaded will be used for batch uploads. I'll do all the uploads myself.

• Do you plan to recruit volunteers and are you already in contact with them? Who are these people? Are they Wikimedians with experience on how to upload contents to Commons who does not need any special training?

ans: No plans of that at the moment. At the before and at the Barcamp events, interested ones willing to join me as we take pictures/videos can do so, and I'll be more than willing to help them share their content onto Commons. However, these interested ones would do so as 'themselves' and their image/video upload count won't tally into mine.

• How many people are you expecting for the uploading session and do you have budget for them?

ans: The above budget is for me alone, because I'm only doing the upload sessions myself.

• If they are people with no experience, do you plan to organize a training session for them?

ans: N/A

• In your measure of success, you mentioned that you will recruit at least 500 new editors. Do you mean you want to recruit 500 new editors who will continue to contribute to Wikimedia projects or the 500 people will only help you with uploading. Do you have the capacity to train 500 new editors?

ans: The 500 or more editors are individuals I hope to help engage on any Wikimedia Foundation website within the period, either via talk sessions at the Barcamp events or those who join me in taking pictures (doing so as described in the answer above). Every single image/video under this project will be uploaded by me alone. If and when others join me to take pictures, I'll be helping them upload 'their' images, not mine.

So, what will happen is, within the project time span, I want to help at least 500 people get started with any part of Wikimedia Foundation websites. This value is probably what I should decrease to say, 200 minimum.

With kind regards. Wikicology (talk) 12:20, 21 February 2017 (UTC)

Thanks for taking the time to comment. Please lemme know of anything that wasn't clear in my answers above and I'll clarify. All suggestions you listed have been noted, and will keep in mind as project rolls. --Nkansahrexford (talk) 14:37, 21 February 2017 (UTC)

Rex, I appreciate the effort you have put into developing this project and responding to questions. It sounds like you have a brilliant idea but since you are the only person to work on this, I suggest you do a feasibility study of the project. For example, you may want to identify some possible challenges, risks and how you aim to mitigate them. Sometimes, project does not always work as plan. Rex, this may also be useful. Don't hesitate to seek for help, especially if it's a copyright related issues. You can ask questions at Commons Village Pump or contact individuals you trust on their talk page. During your uploading session, if I see any problem, I would draw your attention to it. Let me know if there is other ways I can help. I would be glad to help. Good luck with the project. Wikicology (talk) 16:18, 21 February 2017 (UTC)

Thanks for the best wishes, Wikicology. About the feasibility study, Ill think of some possible challenges and risks and add them. As it stands now, I have no potential show stoppers in mind. Ill do well to ask as and when I meet any copyright issues, plus will frequent the village pump with any questions I might have. Will give you a ping when the multimedia content starts flowing in, so you could help shape what content comes out subsequently. Thanks for your suggestions and insights. --Nkansahrexford (talk) 18:37, 21 February 2017 (UTC)

All the best, Rex. Wikicology (talk) 08:42, 22 February 2017 (UTC)

FAQs

I'm opening up this section to answer some of the potential questions readers might have in relation to this rapid grant application.

• You mention you're joining the Barcamp Ghana team as a volunteer video/photo guy. Sounds exciting. If the Barcamp Ghana team will be reimbursing you for your travels (will they?), why this rapid grant?

Yeah, sounds and hopefully will be an exciting role. The reimbursement the Barcamp Ghana will provide to me as a volunteer on their team, will entail funds enough to carry me to and fro events. Any extra (and there'll be lots of extras) travel I do in and around these destinations aren't going to be their responsibility. Thus, this funding is to support all the extras, such as extra travel costs in and around destinations, extra costs of accommodation related to staying longer and others such as internet cost for sharing content onto Commons. --Nkansahrexford (talk) 17:10, 22 February 2017 (UTC)

• Why Barcamp Travels? Does it not sound more of a Barcamp project than a Wiki-related one?

The name, could be changed to literally anything. I chose Barcamp because I'll be moving around to places based on the Barcamp schedule and Travel because, well, duh, I'll be traveling. To me, the project name isn't as relevant as what the project entails, unless it should come as Wikimedia-ish, then fine. --Nkansahrexford (talk) 17:10, 22 February 2017 (UTC)

• Why 2,000$, and not 350$ or 1,250$?

I understand for rapid grants, 2,000$ is the highest amount eligible to request. For this one year period of travels, I estimate it likely will cost more than the 2,000$. I might come back ask for more should this 2,000$ not suffice.

You may add your questions. I'll be glad to answer them. --Nkansahrexford (talk) 17:10, 22 February 2017 (UTC)

Not funded

Hello, Rexford. Thank you for this thoughtful grant application and for your responses to questions here on the discussion page of your request. We also appreciate the support that other community members have expressed. While this seems like a good opportunity for you to participate in the Barcamps and add some high quality photographs of different areas of Ghana to Commons, we will not multiple trips for one individual for the purpose of taking photographs on this scale. We would be consider funding your travel to one of these Barcamp events through a TPS request, and would review the results before funding your participation in future events. Also, note that we can't fund any grant that doesn't have a specific budget, so that's something to keep in mind for future requests. We are sorry if this result is disappointing. Thank you for your work for the Wikimedia Movement in Ghana. Best, Winifred Olliff (WMF Program Officer) talk 23:48, 22 February 2017 (UTC)