Wikimedia chapters/Reports/Wikimedia Österreich/September 2016

September 2016
Report

Community Support

WikiCon 2016

WikiCon 2016 group photo

This year's WikiCon, the yearly conference of the German-speaking Wikimedia communities, took place in the city of Kornwestheim in Germany. It attracted 333 participants. The volunteer core team decided to open WikiCon for people outside the wiki world. They provided an extra space at the venue for the interested public where our different projects and like-minded free knowledge initiatives presented their work and asked for participation.

For the first time, the hosting chapter (in this case WMDE) collaborated closely with the two other German-speaking chapters from the very beginning of organization of the conference. One WMAT and one WMCH staff member were part of the WikiCon's core team. This change and a higher financial support for the conference by WMAT and WMCH than in the past years were investmests into a better representation of the Austrian and Swiss minorities in the German-speaking world. For WMAT and the Austrian community, it paid in terms of quantity and quality: the number of participating Austrian Wikimedians rose from 9 in 2015 to 15 in 2016, and an Austrian volunteer was part of the organizing team for the first time since 2012 (when WikiCon took place in Austria).

The anonymous participants survey conducted via Qualtrics after WikiCon showed the German-speaking communities' high demand for and satisfaction with WikiCon. Its complete results can be found on Wikimedia Commons. What follows is a selection of some significant results.

About the participants of WikiCon 2016

The participants about WikiCon 2016

"Participating in WikiCon 2016 strengthened my motivation to contribute to Wikipedia and/or its sister projects."	"Regarding your expectations towards the conference: Your expectations towards the conference were ..."	"How do you rate WikiCon 2016 as a whole?"

Individuals involved: 334 (active editors: ~290 [engaging 1 editor who has formerly not been or very rarely been an active WMAT volunteer into the planning and/or executing], WMAT staff: 2). - WMAT support: financial and organizational support for the conference as a whole and the Austrian participants (travel grants) in particular.

→ WikiCon 2016 in the German-language Wikipedia

→ Images on Wikimedia Commons

WMAT PlanningLab

In the summer of 2015, the board and staff of Wikimedia Austria (WMAT) began to plan a schedule for the coming years. In a first step, efforts focused on creating a basis for further discussion, in particular the definition of objectives and matching key figures for performance assessment. In a final step, during this year's strategy meeting in August, we set the course for the association's development until 2020 and developed the roadmap 2017+. Ongoing activities were assessed in terms of their contribution to the achievement of these targets, while gaps and potential for further development were identified. The results together with the annual plans and budgets for 2017 and 2018 were presented to the community online on our member's wiki as well as during our PlanningLab on September 10, 2016 in Vienna.

Based on these results and discussions, WMAT finalised the FDC proposal, applying for a two-year funding period. This will help us save resources which we plan to invest next fall into aligning our strategy work with the new movement strategy which is currently being developed under the lead of the WMF. It also allows us to focus even more on developing sub-areas of our strategy such as our GLAM work in the coming year.

Individuals involved: 13 (active editors: 10, WMAT staff: 3). - WMAT support: Catering, organization and coordination.

Accountability Now

Accountable Now is a global platform that supports civil society organisations (CSOs) to be transparent, responsive to stakeholders and focused on delivering impact. In September they hosted a workshop for their meber organisations in Amsterdam which aimed to explore how to move from a relatively static governance model to a free flowing, dynamic engagement culture and practice of governance with empowered stakeholders. While dynamic, complex work environments have triggered significant changes in the structures, management and processes of many CSOs, governance by contrast still seems quite conservative for most mature organizations.

WMAT's Executive Director, who is part of an international group of Wikimedians who introduced peer-to-peer learning regarding workshops governance and organizational development, was invited to sharing the structure, process and culture underpinning Wikimedia’s governance model on a global and local level. At the same time she could get a benchmark of governance practices from all the big players in the NPO world, from established organisations such as Amnesty International or Greenpeace to young and dymnamic networks such as 360.org. This provided valuable insights for WMAT but also for other Wikimedia organisations, a short report with the most important take-aways will therefore be published on the organisational development repository on meta.

Individuals involved: 20 (WMAT staff: 1). - WMAT support: Travel and accomodation.

WikiDienstag

The WikiDienstag (“WikiTuesday“) is a weekly meet-up in the WMAT office. Volunteers share their knowledge and work together on improving the content of Wikimedia projects.

Topics in September 2016:

September 6th: Introduction new projector
September 13th: Planning for WikiCon
September 20th: Preparation special awards for Wiki Loves Monuments
September 27th: Preparation Volunteers Fair and Wiktionary writing competition(s)

Individuals involved: 26 (active editors: 24, WMAT staff: 2). - WMAT support: infrastructure, co-organisation, promotion.

→ WikiDienstag in the German-language Wikipedia

Free Content

Wartungsbausteinwettbewerb Summer 2016

Logo

The "Wartungsbausteinwettbewerb" is a contest for removing cleanup templates in the German-language Wikipedia. It is held four times a year. WMAT supports the contest by donating prizes, e. g. "Wartungsbausteinwettbewerb" shirts designed especially for the competition. The Summer 2016 edition had 28 participants who edited in teams or by themselves. The competition resulted in 393 improved Wikipedia articles.

Individuals involved: 29 (active editors: 28, WMAT staff: 1). – WMAT support: prizes.

→ Wartungsbausteinwettbewerb Summer 2016 in the German-language Wikipedia

Gallery: Equipment/accreditation support

We support Wikimedia Commons photographers with equipment from our tech pool and with accreditations for events. This gallery highlights some of the activities in September 2016.

WikiCon 2016
HTBL Hollabrunn
Busts in the University of Vienna
EuroBasket Qualification Austria vs Germany
Monument photography in and around Vienna
Monument photography in Kornwestheim
USA journey by TheTokl
Collections of Textiles Zentrum Haslach
Monument photography in South Tyrol
Ostseeparlamentarierkonferenz

Individuals involved: 15 (active editors: 13, WMAT staff: 2). - WMAT support: equipment and/or accreditation.

Reach / Free Knowledge Awareness

Wikipedian in Residence at the Constitutional Court

Thomas Planinger at VfGH

Nowadays, when people think of the Austrian Constitutional Court (VfGH), many of them think primarily of the recent decisions made there regarding the repetition of the presidential elections. But to us in the Wikiverse, the VfGH is also a good partner and pioneer of thought who wish to communicate their work - that is so important to our society - to a broader public in a contemporary way. Together with Dr. Josef Pauser - Head of the Library of the Austrian Constitutional Court - we have therefore adapted the Wikipedian in Residence model, so far practised only by classic GLAM institutions (museums, archives, etc.), to his organisation. As a result, the Austrian Wikipedian and prospective lawyer, Thomas Planinger, spent two months at the VfGH - imparting his expertise on free knowledge there and then sharing his experience and resources regarding the VfGH in the Wikipedia community.

Individuals involved: 3 (active editors: 1, WMAT staff: 1). – WMAT support: partnership building, public relations.

→ Interview with Dr. Pauser in members wiki (in English)

→ Blog post on the Wikimedia Blog (in English and German)

→ Images on Wikimedia Commons

Upper Austrian Townscape Fair

WMAT with Landesrat Michael Strugl at the Upper Austrian Townscape Fair

At the Upper Austrian Townscape Fair (Ortsbildmesse in German), communes, communal associations and other exhibitors present their projects on innovative improvements of Upper Austria. It also serves as an annual meeting of the Upper Austrian Wikipedia community. This year the Townscape Fair took place in the village Kirchberg ob der Donau on September 4th. WMAT was present with a fair stand for the fifth time. The Wikimedia volunteers talked to 176 visitors and exhibitors about Wikimedia, the Wikimedia projects and free knowledge in general.

Individuals involved: 181 (active editors: 4, WMAT staff: 1). – WMAT support: travel costs, information material, give-aways, organisation.

→ Upper Austrian Townscape Fair project page in the German-language Wikipedia

→ Images on Wikimedia Commons

Internet Summit Austria

Internet Service Providers Austria (ISPA) is a non-profit association which represents represent Austria’s digital economy and the interests of more than 200 members from all sectors around the Internet industry as a voluntary interest group. Every year they host the so-called Internet Summit Austria where representatives from across the ICT-industry gather to discuss the latest issues and developments around the internet. WMAT's ED Claudia Garád was invited to the summit this year and asked to participate in a panel discussion on digital innovaton and the impact on the NPO sector. As a result of the event we could not only raise awareness for the work of Wikimedia in Austria but also strengthen our ties to ISPA, who shares many of our goals regarding EU advocacy, and which resulted in a joint letter in the context of the national EU copyright consultation a few weeks later.

Individuals involved: 80 (WMAT staff: 1). - WMAT support: Staff time for networking and repesentation on the panel.

→ Event homepage (in German)

Monuments Day at Hofburg

Tag des Denkmals flag at Hofburg palace

During the annual monument day, monuments across Austria open their doors for visitors and provide access to areas which are usually closed for the general public. The monuments day is organized by our partner the Federal Monuments Office, which also hosts an open house in their offices in the Hofburg palace in Vienna in the context of this event. Like last year, WMAT volunteers were invited to host an information booth about Wikimedia, Wikipedia and Wiki Loves Monuments. They handed out information material and/or spoke to nearly 500 (of a total of 855) visitors at Hofburg palace.

Individuals involved: 500 (active editors: 3, WMAT staff: 1). - WMAT support: communication, transport, infrastructure, and information material.

→ Official website of Monuments Day (in German)