Wikimania 2019 bids/Perth

Wikimania 2019 candidate cities:

Yerevan, Armenia | Perth, Australia | Prague, Czech Republic | Stockholm, Sweden

After submitting bids for 2008, 2017, 2018 we are again submitting a proposal for WMAU & Perth to host Wikimania in 2019.

Perth CBD from Mill Point

Updating for the 2019 bid;

• Personal safety of participants (e.g., welcoming environment/culture regardless of people's sexual orientation, race, age, gender, expression, disability, etc)
• Availability of affordable accommodation
• Accommodations within short distance to venue (or easy to provide transportation to/from)
• Availability of reasonably priced, flexible meeting space per our specs (see previous wikimania programs)
• Reasonably priced catering/service charges at event
• Strength of organizing committee's core team**
  • Composition of the team (who they are, background, commitment, experience). The ideal committee has 6-8 members with one lead organizer. They must be willing to take on all tasks as assigned, and especially recruit and manage volunteers for onsite support (anywhere from 30-50 people depending on estimates for attendance); recommend people to serve on scholarship committee; put together a program committee; aquire sponsorships; handle promotion/outreach/media; work with hackathon organizers; web site content; connectivity/technical issues if venue requires this expertise
• Strength of program e.g., theme, any new ideas; excellent program chair
• Venue's Network Infrastructure & Connectivity
• Transportation Cost to Venue (international round trip) (note: ellie will figure this out)
• Close proximity of venue to international airport (ease of transportation)
• Sponsorships (venue, etc.) - what can they bring?
• Find support from local chapters, governments, universities, venues and NGOs.
• how do you think locating Wikimania in Perth would promote the mission of the WMF and its global movement?

Personal safety of participants

Wikimedia Australia adopted a Safe Space Policy for all events that also incorporates the principles of the WMF Friendly Space Policy[1]. Perth is multi culturally diverse with only 38% of the population having both parent born in Australia. 25% of the population practices no religion and 45% are practicing christians the remain 30% practice other religions.ABS Stats 2011 2016 census data not yet released

Discrimination

Western Australia is covered by both State and Federal Law, and Australia was one of the first signatories of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

• WA acts
  • Western Australian Disability Services Act 1993
  • Western Australian Equal Opportunity Act 1984
• Federal acts
  • Age Discrimination Act 2004
  • Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986
  • Disability Discrimination Act 1992
  • Racial Discrimination Act 1975
  • Sex Discrimination Act 1984.

More information on these acts are available from Australian Human Rights Commission [2]

Personal safety of attendees is more than legislation. Perth has a low crime rate and it is safe to walk the streets ([3]). All major religions have multiple places of worship be it Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Confucian, Sikh, Hindu, or the Church of Scientology. Perth has a strong LGBT community.There are no restrictions on dress and people can safely wear religious dress or insignia. In the past week here in Perth we had the yearly Pride parade, which has been held since 1989 [4].

Australia and Western Australia have politically stable democratic Governments.

Availability of affordable accommodation

Conference Venues

There are several potential conference venues depending on number of participants, and preference for type of venue.

• Perth Convention Exhibition Centre (CBD) - 2000 attendees, upto 10 streams PCEC quote
• Esplanade Fremantle/Notre Dame University - 1000 attendee, upto 10 streams

CBD-based accommodation

Within the Central Business District (CBD) of Perth there are 30 backpacker accommodation places [5]. As an example the Perth City YHA has 233 beds [6]. According to Tripadvisor there 252 accommodation places within the Perth CBD area including backpackers, serviced apartments, and B&Bs [7]. During the July-August winter period it is low season in Perth which means that most accommodation places reduce the standard rate and all accommodation places have further discounts for groups [8][9].

University-based accommodation

University accommodation may be available at one of the following universities:

• University of Western Australia is the closest to the CBD (accommodation) on the Swan river in Nedlands about 4km or 10 minute drive, with a high frequency bus service.
• Curtin University in Bentley is 10km (15mins) from the CBD.
• Murdoch University is in Murdoch is 15km (15mins) from the CBD. It has access to a rail station that has multiple bus services to Murdoch University taking an additional 5 minutes at no additional cost.

The Universities are a distance from major entertainment areas.

Fremantle accommodation options

Fremantle Would provide a combination of conference venue and Notre Dame Australia University. Fremantle has significant accommodation options including a backpackers in the World Heritage listed Fremantle Prison. Fremantle has easy access to rail transport from the CBD (30 mins).

Accommodation within short distance to venue

We have a choice of venues from conference centres to hotels or universities where we could host the event. Choosing a conference venue is more expensive than a University, but two of the possible conference venues are within the Perth CBD giving us access to free transport from all potential accommodation options. Should we choose a University option we would then incur a logistical component from the accommodation to the venue as the on site accommodation at the Universities is unlikely to be available. Australian student accommodation is not as readily available during our short mid-year (July) break, compared to the end of year break.

All Australian accommodation options are required to be accessible by people with disabilities, and are smoke free.

Transport

All of the potential CBD venues are within a 10-15 minutes walk of accommodation, close to free CAT bus transport services [10] and within the Free transit zone [11] that operate in Perth.

Reasonably priced catering/service charges at event

Quotes provided for the 2017 bid show that the cost of catering would be significantly lower than comparable Wikimanias. The time frame of the request for information and the instruction that WMF would like to seek out its own quotes means we havent approached venues for more detailed costings. Perth is a multicultural city and food would be of a sufficient variety to ensure all attendees needs are catered for including any medical, religious or personal choices.

costing is being updated, and potential sponsorship opportunities has significantly increased from the bid for 2017/2018 - details to be forwarded to Ellie

Strength of organizing committee's core team**

Core committee all resident in Perth WA;

• Gideon Digby - 10+ plus years of contributions to the projects, Vice President Wikimedia Australia and part of the foundation of the Australian chapter in 2008. 25 years of experience in Tourism Transport industry work on coordination of logistics for multiple events. Co-ordinated the WA leg of the conference and lead WMAU during its most successful year which included the WikiData Tour Downunder. Initiated the first meetup in Perth in 2007, since then started and lead many outreach projects including 2 WikiTowns, WLE in Australia, multiple workshops and WikiTakes events. I have also done media interviews about the Wikimedia projects and activities along with news requests when issues involving the use of Wikipedia content occurs. If have attended 2 Wikimanias Washington and London, in Washington I learnt about QRpedia project, in London I shared my experiences with that project, in Perth I look forward to enabling attendees to experience those outreach projects first hand.

• Jennie Buchanan - Jennie Buchanan is currently an ARC Research Associate with the School of Indigenous Studies at University of Western Australia. Jennie has a background in youth studies and has taught in the Indigenous Studies program at UWA and the Community Development program at Murdoch University.
  The Noongarpedia team are developing the first Australian Indigenous Wikipedia, currently in Incubation. Her position involves liasing and developing relationships across Indigenous and non Indigenous groups involved in Noongar language, archival work and knowledge production. In collaboration with Wikimedia Australia members, Jennie is involved in introducing interested individuals, regional and metropolitan communities, language centres and schools to the possibilities of Noongarpedia. This includes hosting open community wikibombs along with other team members. A key consideration of the work is how other small or minority language groups can make use of Wikipedia to strengthen language and knowledge transmission and digital capacity in communities.
  Jennie’s teaching roles include the design, teaching and assessment of tertiary units and delivery of practical field trips. This has involved organising and overseeing numerous ‘on country’ camps for up to 500 tertiary students at a time. These camps are designed to introduce students to Indigenous and Western scientific ways of understanding ‘country’ and natural ecology. Jennie has skills in working with numerous government and non-government organisations, Indigenous elders and scientists to run workshops and talks for student groups. As well as developing academic content, Jennie undertakes logistical work such as arranging travel for large groups, accommodation, transport, catering and contingency plans.
  Jennie has worked with communities and schools in metropolitan and remote settings on sustainability values education and place mapping. http://www.kidsplacemaps.wa.edu.au She has sat on community school management boards and has been involved in recording the history of community development practice in WA http://whatnow.net.au. Her work has explored using and adapting digital technologies across age groups. Jennie¹s research interests and publications relate to how we can creatively use digital mediums to enhance the voices and experiences of children, young people and indigenous communities across the globe.

• Dave Palmer - see attached Murdoch University support documentation

• Tom Hogarth - Tom is one the most active content contributors with over 10 years and 100,000 edits on en.wikipedia, he also has extensive on other projects including WikiVoyage, WikiData, and Commons when he also holds a mop. Having attended Wikimania in Hong Kong and London he adds to committees knowledge and experience of Wikimanias. Tom has created a number of Wikiprojects and is an active WikiGnome of many more wikiprojects, this diverse and practical attention to detail compliments the skill set of the other committee members and provides an extensive insight to the community. Outside of the Wikimedia communities Tom has been involved with a range of community groups. A graduate of Murdoch University Tom has worked internationally with Indigenous communities, he also extensive experience with heritage and conservation.

Local there are number of active contributors who have the technical skills to support the committee on the necessary wifi, media, and any legal matters these to need be further explored including potential conflicts of interest before being able to identified, these are also skills we can access through the already established University networks.

Additional support to the committee not in WA;

• Steve Crossin - Former WMAU President, Committee member, tech guru, former WMF contractor.
• Pru Mitchell - current WMAU President, education and GLAM professional, and experienced conference organiser

Venue's Network Infrastructure & Connectivity

All proposed venues have wifi services and are connected to the NBN fibreoptic service with sufficient capacity. We also have access to the technical resources of three universities to support the event and ensure every major accommodation location has good wifi services and capacity. All accommodation facilities provide good wifi service. Additionally the Perth CBD area has a free wifi service available throughout provided by The City of Perth.

Close proximity of venue to international airport

Perth has an international and domestic airport (PER). Some passengers may arrive via Sydney or Melbourne where they'll pass through customs before completing their journey. Distances from the airports to the CBD:

• Perth Airport T1 (International) - 19km (20 mins)
• Perth Airport T3 (Domestic, including international passengers arriving via Sydney/Melb) - 15km (20mins)

Using the Fremantle option will add up to 15 minutes or 10kms from the airport regardless of the terminal of arrival.

An airport meet and greet service with a bus to provide transport to hotels for attendees would be part of the event.

Direct nonstop flights from London(LHR) to Perth are available - with flights from other European airports expected to available by late 2018.

Visa

Attendees will need a visa subclass 600 http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/600-/Visitor-e600-visa-online-applications which can be obtained online, these are processed within 48hours though they can take upto 30 days. Letters of support from the WMAU, Perth Convention Bureau(WA Government) can be provide to support applications. see https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/User:Gnangarra/Wikimania_2019_-_Perth#Visa for approved visa countries

Sponsorships

We have the support of the Perth Convention Bureau with a commitment for event support and funding should we choose one of the four commercial venues. All conference venues offer reductions for charities and WMAU as host chapter is a registered Australian Charity. We have sponsorship to provide an airport to hotel bus service 24/7

Perth Convention Bureau is a service provided the State Government to support conventions in Western Australia, it offers a number of assistance packages. The PCB has bid support to assist with materials for the bid and enable a site visit which includes travel, accommodation and venue visits. PCB provides support for advertising and marketing of the event including videos and give a ways. PCB has a number of corporate sponsorship options available upto A$66,000 for marketing(details forwarded to Ellie via email) and offers further assistance in obtaining additional sponsors. PCB can also supply letters from the State Government supporting the event and provide help with visa applications maximising the number of participants.

Find support from local chapters, governments, universities, venues and NGOs

WMAu chapter has expressed support for hosting Wikimania in Perth. The School of Art Murdoch University has indicated its support for Wikimania to be in Perth and offered to help with recruitment of volunteers and resources for the event. Perth Convention Bureau and the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre have both supported this and previous bids. PCB is willing to provide financial support to help with the event, PCEC has indicated that as a Charity there would be significant reductions in the costs for the event, both of these will be subject to outcome of negotiations.

How would locating Wikimania in Perth promote the mission of the WMF and its global movement?

WMF mission statement[12]

The mission of the Wikimedia Foundation is to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and globally.

Holding Wikimania in Perth, Western Australia would cause the WMF to have engaged with every Continent, engaging in Australia would also further empower the region with 300+ Australian Indigenous cultures and languages poorly cover. This engagement would be complimentary to work already started with the Noongarpedia project that has established Wikitonary and Wikipedia projects currently in the incubator stage, the first Indigenous Australian language project. Wikimedia Australia is working on replicating the project in the Indigenous languages and culture in the Northern Territory, and planning towards further activity nationally. The Indigenous cultures in Australia are dominated by intangible knowledge sources the process will be able to be replicate world wide by bringing people here they will be able to experience this first hand.

The Southwest of Western Australia is also one of the most significant biodiversity hot spots on the planet, so much of that knowledge has yet to filter through all projects and be disseminated globally. Locating Wikimania in Perth, Western Australia offers many opportunities to experience ways of disseminating knowledge through outreach projects that specifically engage in reuse like the WikiTowns of Toodyay and Fremantle. Noongarpedia as a language that started with asking the question of why there was no Noongar language Wikipedia has already grown to over articles and had unexpected knowledge sharing outcomes. This would be the first time that attendees at a Wikimania could actively experience the result of such outreach projects themselves as part of Wikimania. The opportunity of practical experience of outreach would empower attendees to consider replicating or developing new projects.

Direct impacts arent always measurable with instant numbers and immediate results, Australia is readily accessible to Asia, in particular the subcontinent and middle east countries that would increase the movements engagement with those communities. Oceania has been the 3rd highest contributing region for donations for many years, there is significant gap between the two highest contributing regions and Australia. These contributions could be increased through the very publicity such an event would attract. Perth is home to many of the largest mining companies, all of whom are generous supporters of charities and education programs. The fundraising team being here, along with the many faces of the project, would open opportunities to secure new sources of donations. Most of these mining companies work in some of the most disadvantage regions around the world by creating relationships programs like Wikipedia Zero could find new supporters and alternative access to areas where education has had limited reach especially in Africa and South America where like Australia resource companies are a significant part of the community.

Note Exchange rate predictions Dec 2017

According to the latest data predictions there is an expectation of the Australian dollor falling to USD 1 = AUD1.3 to AUD 1.5, Euro would shift from 1euro = AUD1.5 to 1.7-1.8 and uk pound 1uk = 1.75Aud to 2.0 AUD, such changes will make all costs lower for those paying from outside Australia. (source)