Wikimania Support Team Report
Introduction
This report does not attempt to be a full account of Wikimania 2014. With so many people involved from such a diversity of perspectives it is unclear how a single document could realistically claim to offer a full account. This account is written from the perspective of the three Wikimedians recruited by Wikimedia UK (WMUK) in May 2014 to provide support to the Wikimania London Team. Our role was to provide support to them in such a way that not only was their ambitious programme realised, but also to ensure that Wikimania 2014 would leave a lasting legacy for Wikimedia UK and the UK community. This report is part of our fourth objective: “to build and develop through reflective practice”.
As far as we can determine there has been no reports produced for previous Wikimanias, and we have endeavoured to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative data herein.
We need to express our thanks for the support of our colleagues, the other Wikimedia UK staff, who from the outset welcomed us as part of the team, worked closely with us, shared their knowledge and experience with us and were an integral part of delivering Wikimania 2014. Also Declan Pattison, the contractor who handled technical aspects was amazing.
Katherine Bavage joins other volunteers to help out with registration
Jonathan Cardy engrossed at a GLAM session
Toni Sant at Education Pre-Conference
Jon Davis pointing the way forward at the Opening Ceremony
Robin Owain at the Communities Village
Richard Symonds working in a foxhole outside the Barbican Centre
Richard Nevell carting a load of notebooks into Development House
Bekka Khan staffing the Open Coalition stand
Daria Cybulska at Evaluation Learning Day Pre-Conference
Stuart Prior with the last object to leave the Barbican
Katie Chan presenting her session Where's the T in Wikimedia Diversity?
Stevie Benton watches the opening ceremony
- Peter the Platypus watches the fish in the Barbican Conservatory 02.jpg
Peter the WikiPlatypus inspects the fish in the Barbican conservatory
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Finally, we need to say a big thank you to all the volunteers who contributed massively to making Wikimania 2014 a success. At the outset the scale of the task was quite daunting and we had cautionary tales from previous Wikimanias where volunteers had melted away during the event. We offered volunteers access to the whole event on the basis of contributing a single five hour shift. We discovered that two thirds of the volunteers worked two shifts or more with a hard core of eight volunteers working throughout Wikimania 2014: Ed Saperia, Francis Dickinson, Harry Mitchell, Hera Hussain, James Moulding, Kevin McLaughlin, Naureen Nayyaer and Tom Walker.
Ed Saperia with his UK Wikimedian of the year award
Hera Hussain co-ordinating volunteers
Naureen Nayyar in the Conservatory
Francis Dickinson assisting a session host
Harry Mitchell on day 1 of the Hackathon
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Volunteer Drinks 8th May
Volunteers staffing a helpdesk during the Hackathon
Volunteers shortly before the closing ceremony
Volunteers take a selfie
Volunteers posing after the group photo
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Wikimania London Team
Our principal partners were the Wikimania London Team, who Ed Saperia had developed from the bid team after it was confirmed that WIkimania was coming to London. They retained their independent identity but collaborated closely with Wikimedia UK and the WMUK Wikimania Support Team. At times the WMUK London offices were bursting at the seams with some staff finding space in the basement of Development House, where they could get on with some work.
The Plan
The WMUK plan highlighted five objectives:
- That the Chapter enhances its reputation for innovation, competence and achievement
- That the Chapter fully involves its wider community, so that they feel ownership and develop as active volunteers into the future
- That what we do complements and enhances our planned programme and strategic goals.
- That our programme at Wikimania 2014 allows us to build and develop through reflective practice.
- That there is a lasting legacy for the chapter once the conference is over.
The Chapter enhances its reputation for innovation, competence and achievement
Innovations
- This report is the first report to summarise activities around a Wikimania event
- This Wikimania was the first to have a planned social media strategy
- This was the first Wikimania to have the highly successful Games Corner (Thanks to Adi Khajuria)
Competence
- Wikimedia UK proved itself as competent in supporting the delivery of the largest Wikimania yet, working closely with the Wikimania London Team.
Achievement
- Wikimania 2014 is the largest Wikimania to date.
- Over 10,000 members of the public passed through the Community Village at Wikimania 2014.
- Wikimania 2014 received a wealth of positive press reports.
The Chapter fully involves its wider community, so that they feel ownership and develop as active volunteers into the future
Meetups
This covers meetups in UK during the May-July 2014 period
| Region | No. of Meetups | Total No. Attendees (WMUK staff attendances) | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| North East England | 0 | 0 | |
| North West England | 3 | 12 | |
| Yorkshire and Humber | 1 | 8(1) | |
| East Midlands | 0 | 0 | |
| West Midlands | 0 | 0 | |
| East of England | 1 | 12(2) | |
| London | 3 | 35(5) | |
| South East England | 4 | 17(4) | WMUK staff initiated first Portsmouth meetup |
| South West England | 0 | 0 | |
| Wales | 1 | 5(1) | |
| Scotland | 2 | 8 (1) | WMUK staff support ensured Glasgow meetup a success |
| Northern Ireland | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 97(14) |
Meetups are essentially products of the Wikimedia community in the UK. We did not see our role to artificially create meetups which did not have a sustainable future. Rather we wanted to make sure that we attended a large number of meetups to encourage Wikimania participation. We had a target of increasing the number of meetups by 10%. As we fully organised 1 meetup and shared in the organisation of another, this gives us a metric of 1.5, 10% of 15.
Other
- We had over 30 identified UK Wikimedians involved in the delivery of Wikimania.
- Some of volunteers were long time Wikimedians who had not previously been in touch with either Wikimedia UK or the attended any meetups
What we do complements and enhances our planned programme and strategic goals
Our activities were linked to the Wikimedia UK Strategic goals:
| Goal No. | Goal | Metric | Target | Achieved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G1.3 | We are perceived as the go-to organisation by UK GLAM, educational, and other organisations who need support or advice for the development of open knowledge | Media Organisations attending | 20 | 72 |
| Positive Media items about Wikimania | 50 | 136 | ||
| Twitter Report | none | Twitter report: 20,488 Tweets, 3,428 contributions | ||
| G2.a1 | We have a thriving community of WMUK volunteers. | Number of Volunteers for Wikimania | none | 180+ |
| Number of Activity hours in preparation for Wikimania | none | 800+ | ||
| Number of Activity hours delivering Wikimania | none | 3,700+ | ||
| G2.a3 | We have a thriving community of WMUK volunteers | Volunteer training events | none | 3 |
| G2.b1 | We have effective and high quality governance and resource management processes, and are recognised for such within the Wikimedia movement and the UK charity sector | This report exemplifies an effective resource management process | n/a | n/a |
| G2.b2 | We have a high level of openness and transparency, and are recognised for such within the Wikimedia movement and the UK charity sector. | This report exemplifies openness in sharing our data | n/a | n/a |
| G2.b3 | We have high quality systems to measure our impact as an organisation. | This report exemplifies measuring our impact | n/a | n/a |
| G3.2 | There is increased awareness of the benefits of open knowledge. | Number of visitors to the Barbican who will have walked through the Community Village | none | 10,138 |
| G5.1 | A thriving set of other Wikimedia communities | Wikimedia organisations represented in Community Village | none | 36 |
| G5.2 | An increased diversity of Wikimedia contributors | Number of countries whence attendees came | none | 59 |
| Number of women attendees | none | 725+ (36.1%) | ||
| G5.3 | Wikimedia communities are skilled and capable. | Train the Trainers International attendees (2 days) | 12 | 10 |
| Governance Course | 20 | 17 | ||
| G5.4 | Open knowledge communities with missions similar to our own are thriving. | Open knowledge organisations represented at Community Village | none | 19 |
There is a lasting legacy for the chapter once the conference is over
It is still too early to really asses the lasting legacy.
- A greatly increased database of volunteers - but will they be retained?
Volunteering at Wikimania 2014
Wikimania, like the Wikimedia community as a whole, works on the basis of co-production, and so in a sense everyone was a volunteer. Likewise the ethos of Wikimedia is that it overcomes the distinction between the role of professional and amateur. However, in order to provide effective metrics, our statistics are based on recorded hours of specific volunteering dedicated to delivering Wikimania 2014. Also our statistics do not attempt to cover the amazing contribution of the Wikimania London team, who had been hard at work long before the time span of our involvement (May-August, 2014), and which continued all the way through to the actual delivery of Wikimania 2014. Our figures are based on recorded hours including a portion of Wikimania London activities facilitated through use of the Wikimedia UK London offices.
Fringe Events
The Five Weekend Events
There were five weekend events in the period May-July 2014 which provided a lead up to Wikimania itself and were aligned with the five major themes running throughout Wikimania.
| Date | Title | Theme | No. Attendees | Volunteer hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 - 25 May | Social Machines Weekend | Social Machines | 14 | 24 |
| 07 - 08 June | Free Culture Weekend | Democratic Media | 34 | 27 |
| 21 - 22 June | Future of Education Workshop | Future of Education | 24 | 24 |
| 05 - 06 July | Open Data Weekend | Open Data | 15 | 24 |
| 19 - 20 July | Open Scholarship Weekend | Open Scholarship Weekend | 19 | 41 |
Education Pre-Conference
The Future of Education weekend received substantial support from Toni Sant (Wikimedia Uk's Education Organiser), Floor Koudijs (Wikimedia Foundation's Education Program Senior Manager), and LiAnna Davis (Director of Programmes) and Jami Mathewson (Educational Partnerships Manager) of the Wiki Education Foundation. This meant it played a significant role in preparing for the Education Pre-Conference (6th-7th August).
Hackathon
The Hackathon is a regular ingredient of Wikimania. The WMUK Wikimania Support Team had no particular involvement in the running of this, as Wikimedia Foundation had this in hand. We did however take some photographs:
11am in the Barbican Conservatory on day 1 of the hackathon
Hacking maps and Wikimedia in the Garden Room
Five Wikimedians use the time for a productive face-to-face discussion
The conservatory provided a relaxed atmosphere
Recording the Wikipedia Weekly podcast at the hackathon
Hacking wasn't limited to English-speakers - or humans!
GLAM Wiki Revolution
One key contribution to Wikimania 2014 was the GLAM-Wiki Revolution video, which was premiered at WIkimania and made available on Wikimedia Commons (see right) and YouTube.
| Metric | Target | Achieved |
|---|---|---|
| Attendees at Wikimania premier | 140 | about 100 |
| Views online 29th August | 100 | Commons 577 |
| You tube 878 | ||
| Total 1,455 | ||
| Views online Jan 31st 2015 | 100 + | Commons 1,228 |
| You tube 1,724 | ||
| Total 2,952 | ||
| Institutional reuse | 3 | Translations: 4* |
- * German, Finnish, French and Swedish completed (Italian started)
Community Village
This was a concept which was initiated at Wikimedia 2012 (Washington).
Case Studies
Linked Up
by Marieke Guy
- I was there representing LinkedUp and the Open Education Working group.
- LinkedUp is an EU-funded project that aims to push forward the exploitation of the vast amounts of public, open data available on the Web, in particular by educational institutions and organizations. The Open Education Working Group is one of over 20 Open Knowlege working groups. It brings together people and groups interested in open education. Its goal is to initiate global cross-sector and cross-domain activity that encompasses the various facets of open education including open education resources, open policy, open learning and teaching practices and open data. http://education.okfn.org
- I found the Community Village incredibly useful. It was well located, the tables were set out in appropriate places so there was an even footfall and we had a steady stream of people over the 4 days I was at the stand.
- I used my community village space as a hub point for discussions about the LinkedUp Project and Open Education Working Group. I had some marketing materials (flyers, rulers, stickers) but these disappeared pretty quickly! After that it was a place to exchange business cards and chat to people.
- I was able to talk to technical people and those interested in open data about the LinkedUp Challenge. There were also quite a few people who were new to open education, so I was able to explain ideas and concepts to them. It was great to meet such a varied audience who were often new to the project and working group. As a result of the stand we hope to have at least 2 new entries to the LinkedUp Challenge!
- As a result of attending Wikimania I have gained a better understanding of the breadth of the Wikimedia work. The stand gave me an opportunity to engage with the community and appreciate how diverse it is, yet how the community is also united and incredibly welcoming. Being on a stand is a great way to start a conversation with people you won't necessarily have chatted to if you'd just attended the event.
- Over the course of the 4 days I probably spoke to over 100 people at the stand. I have contacted over 20 people since I returned to see how we can work together in the future.
- The only thing I had a problem with was lighting - it was a little dark where we were standing! In the future it might be good to offer display screens - though there is a cost associated. Maybe there could be an opportunity to highlight all the stands on the main stage (a minute madness!).
See Marieke's blogs
- Open Education Working Group: Wikimania 2014: Wikipedia belongs in Education
- LinkedUp Project: Wikimania 2014: Wikidata all the way
Organisations with whom connected
- City of London
- They provided a stall for the Comm
- Museum of London
Videos uploaded
| Period | Videos uploaded | Aggregated views | Max hours viewing |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 2014- October 2015 | 30 | 578 | |
| November 2014 - October 2015 | 47 | 2,970 | |
| Total | 77 | 3,548 | 4,834 |
- also see:
- Nkansah Rexford's short video: Wikimania Documentary
Wikimania London Survey Results
This section incorporates information transcluded from Wikimania London Survey Results.
The survey was a collaborative effort of the Wikimania Conference and Hackathon organizers along with the WMF Learning and Evaluation team.
Methodology
- Online survey via Qualtrics (view items)
- Data collection:
- August 10th – September 15th, 2014 (after the Conference closing)
- Unique conference participants: 1520
- Survey Respondents: 792 (52% of conference participants)
Conference Program
- The majority of the respondents judged the conference as a good opportunity.
- 92% felt that the conference provided useful information.
- 88% felt that the conference was suitable for their background and experience.
- 86% felt that the conference gave them the opportunity to exchange ideas with others on Wikimedian issues.
- 82% felt that the conference contributed to reaching a shared understanding of the future of open knowledge.
- 77% felt that the conference increased their understanding of the open knowledge movement.
- Overall participants were satisfied with the organization of the conference. Survey participants reported being most satisfied with the conference venue, their personal accommodations and access to help for any questions they had while they experiences some dissatisfaction with the conference catering, outings, and evening events.
Networking & Learning Outcomes
- 85% of participants reported they would pursue a new project with at least one of the contacts they made this year at Wikimania
- Meeting all the Wikimedia people at the conference helped participants to gain knowledge (90%, strongly agree or agree), motivate to contribute to Wikimedia and its projects (80%), gain a better understanding of each others' views (82%) and share knowledge (75%).
The Conference Overall
- Participants were highly satisfied with the conference overall.
- 91% of respondents rated the conference as "Good" (48%) or "Excellent" (43%)
- 87% indicated their expectations had been "met" (48%) or "exceeded" (39%)
- The most named benefits of attending Wikimania were meeting people and finding out about projects.