WikiIndaba conference 2021/Submissions


With the theme Rethink + Reset : Visions of the future, WikiIndaba 2021 (05 - 07 November 2021) will also be the 5th in a series of annual African conferences which provide a unique opportunity for the Wikimedia community in Africa and the diaspora to come together, share their common goals, and develop better ways to work together. It will also have learning days on 03-04 November but these are organised separately and are not part of the main conference.

WIKI INDABA
2021
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Online Activations Conference Platform Guide

Whether you are a community member of one of the Wikimedia projects (such as Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Wikidata, Wikisource, Wikinews, Wikimedia Commons, Wiktionary, Wikiversity, MediaWiki or others), or a fellow open content creator or consumer, we welcome your proposal for a session at WikiIndaba 2021. Sessions will consist of a number of concurrent tracks, presentations, discussions, lightning talks, invited speakers workshops and tutorials.

This is a call for submissions for the virtual conference.Proposals can be submitted as a Movement Group, Affiliate, Individual or as a Collective of individuals.

If you would like to propose a speaker for the Keynote and Invited tracks (including yourself), you may do so by contacting the organisers of the conference. We will give particular consideration to allies and leaders of the Free Knowledge movement who can provide a new, fresh perspective on our projects or their communities.

The deadline for submissions is 23:59 GMT/UTC on September 24 2021 01 October 2021.

Themes edit

WikiIndaba presentations are about topics related to the work of Wikimedians and the Wikimedia projects in Africa and the diaspora.Submissions may include but are not limited to any area of Wikimedia work such as :

  • Outreach, Education and GLAM
  • Gender,Diversity and inclusion
  • Community topics, projects and development
  • Partnerships
  • Innovation and Research
  • Advocacy, safety and community health
  • Technology and infrastructure
  • Legal and social aspects

Submissions can be about ongoing or new projects and initiatives, related projects outside Wikimedia, and research related to the Wikimedia projects. Presentations, workshops and discussions can be aimed at any audience, including experienced Wikimedia contributors, new or beginning Wikimedia contributors, or current Wikimedia contributors who want to learn new skills or start work in a new area.

We especially welcome new WikiIndaba presenters, presentations about issues of current concern to the Wikimedia community, reports from Wikimedia's "sister projects" and discussions of the current work and future of these projects, and discussions meant to address and solve current issues relating to the Wikimedia projects and community.

This will be a bilingual conference, and presentations in both French and English are welcomed. To aid in reviewing, if possible including an English abstract (for French submissions) or a French abstract (for English submissions) is welcome, but not required.

All presentations and discussions are encouraged to be as interactive as possible and facilitate learning and sharing by the attendees.

Submission types edit

There will be several formats, including lectures, panel presentations, discussions, and workshops focused on skill development. There will also be sessions of lightning talks and social interaction. We are also open to new and original program format ideas, including combinations of types; please contact the program committee if you have any questions.

You will have the choice between the following submission types:

  • Lightning talk: One presenter gives a talk with no follow-up by the audience. The total time for a lightning talk will be 8 minutes.
  • Discussion: 1-2 presenters moderate a discussion on a particular topic and invite the audience to join and share their opinions. The total time for a discussion will be 55 minutes.
  • Panel: 3-6 presenters share a presentation slot to discuss a particular topic and respond to questions and comments from the audience. The total time for a panel will be 55 minutes.
  • Presentation: 1-2 presenters offer a presentation to an audience. The total time for a lecture will be 25 minutes.
  • Workshop and tutorials: One or two moderators present(s) a topic by actively interacting with the audience with a focus on practical work and directed either to acquiring a specific skill or doing a specific task. The total time for a workshop or tutorial will be 55 minutes.

Application form edit

All submissions must include :

  • the title of the proposal
  • the general topics covered with the proposal;
  • the name(s) and affiliation(s) of the author(s);
  • An abstract describing the topic of the proposal;
  • A description of what attendees can expect to take away from the session.

In addition:

  • For presentations, panels and discussions, please state the expected or intended audience of the session (new contributors, experienced contributors, or all).
  • Discussions should indicate what the outcome of the discussion is hoped to be.
  • Panel presentations should include the name of the presenters, if confirmed, and a brief synopsis of what each presenter will contribute.
  • Workshop and tutorial submissions should include the level of the workshop or tutorial (beginning, intermediate, experienced), what attendees should do to prepare for the workshop or tutorial, and a description of the workshop presenter's experience.

You will not be asked about the time needed to present your proposed session because each submission type has a standardized duration to which you will have to abide (see Submission types above). So please make sure that you have properly adjusted your proposal to fit within the standardised duration for the specific submission type.

How to submit a session proposal? edit

To make a submission for Wiki Indaba 2021, click the link below and follow the instructions.

Submissions will be made privately via pretalx conference management software. If you have used pretalx for a conference submission in the past, you can re-use that username/password.

Click here to submit your proposal for Wiki Indaba 2021

The deadline for conference submissions is 23:59 UTC on Friday September 24, 2021 Friday 01 October 2021.

Authors will be notified between October 03 - 05 ,2021 October 10-12, 2021of submissions acceptance or rejection.

Note edit

By submitting a proposal, you must agree that:

  • your proposal's abstract and any slides associated with it will be released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike Licence 3.0; and
  • if accepted, the session will be recorded and made available in audio and/or visual form under the aforesaid licence.

If you prefer not to be filmed during your session, please indicate it as a special requirement while submitting your proposal.

Acceptance edit

By submitting a proposal, you agree that at least one of the authors will attend the conference to present it. If attending the conference will pose a hardship for the presenter of the accepted paper, please contact the organising team. Complete program and registration information will be available in October 2021 on the conference website.

Your proposal will be discussed and rated in public by the program committee, and you will be notified through the contact information you supply of the committee's decision.

If there are multiple similar submissions on the same topic, the program committee may suggest combining these submissions.

If your submission is not accepted, please do not be discouraged. WikiIndaba 2021 will have time set aside in the schedule for participants and attendees to participate in unofficial, self-organized talks and working groups. You will have many opportunities to bring topics forward on-site, as well as socializing and sharing ideas casually.

Important dates edit

Activity Proposed date
Call for submissions opens 02 September 2021   Done
Call for submissions closes 24 September 2021 01 October 2021   Done
Submission period 3 Weeks 4 Weeks   Done
Review of submissions 25 September - 02 October (1 Week) 02 October - 09 October 2021   Done
Notification of acceptance for submissions 04 - 05 October 10-12 October   Done

Program Committee edit

  • Alice Kibombo
  • Antoni Mtavangu
  • Boris Bahire
  • Houcemeddine Turki
  • Kelly-Ann Foster
  • Phephile Tshabangu
  • Ruby Damenshie Brown