I do not have a lot to add to this conversation as I believe most everyone has been weighing in with ideas and insights that are much inline with anything I would contribute.  Mostly I want to share that I fully support the creation of a committee or some kind of oversight group which would not be responsible to create or develop Wikimania every year, but would be a resource to the organizing team to set expectations, timelines, assist with the obtainment of keynote speakers, and develop relationship with the Foundation and community to assist in the collaborative conference the Wikimedia community has created.  I do however want to make sure anyone who sits on this committee/group is fully engaged and considers the responsibility heavily and plans to work throughout the year to ensure local teams have the resources they need and are fulfilling the commitment they made when creating and winning a Wikimania bid. It would be reassuring not only to the Wikimedia Foundation but to the Wikimedia Community to know that a devoted group is ensuring and strategically thinking about the success of not only individual Wikimania's but the future of the conference for years to come. Currently we have a local planning teams that create a bid and think about Wikimania for a year and then are done with their work and move on to other projects, no one thinks about the future of Wikimania -- do we want to always be a small conference or do we aspired to see in 5-10 years a conference over 5,000 plus attendees, do we believe in rotation or do we pick bids that are strongest, do we make Wikimania an outreach conference or keep it internal and community focused...  A body fully devoted to answering these questions in my opinion would ensure the success and future of the conference, and provide value well beyond the scope of Wikimania.

Over the past year and a half I have been invested in the success an organization of Wikimania, although some of this falls under the scope of my position for the Foundation most of my contributions to the conferences and jury is as a volunteer outside of the scope of my work and work hours.  I believe strongly that Wikimania is an important event that not only allows Wikimedians to share with each other but also is a platform to share with the world the capability of the Wikimedia Community.  I as a person who came to know Wikimedia not as a volunteer but as an applicant for a job, attending events like Wikimania has and continues to humble me when I see the work and dedication of our volunteers.  That is something I truly feel we should share and I think Wikimania can help do that in communities throughout the world. 

I would be happy to sit on or help any oversight group that would be committed to the long-term success of Wikimania.  I thank Phoebe for her efforts and dedication to this project and look forward to more conversations in the days and weeks to come.  

James T. Owen

James Owen
Executive Assistant
Wikimedia Foundation
Office +1.415.839.6885 x 604
Mobile +1.415.509.5444
Fax +1.415.882.0495



On Jun 20, 2010, at 12:09 PM, phoebe ayers wrote:

Right, and the nature of what the Foundation has done has changed over the last few years, so that's actually been in flux (what was true for us in 2006 is totally different now, re: scholarships etc). Which makes it even harder to get an authoritative answer!

Otherwise, I totally agree with Ray. There is no group/body/individual providing that kind of comprehensive timeline support now, unless someone decides to step in and make it their job, and it would be nice to see things a bit more organized on that front. Basically: the community & the Foundation have certain expectations for Wikimania, but it's up to the local team to implement them. The bid criteria reflect these expectations pretty well, I think, but it might be nice if they were more explicit.

-- phoebe



On Sun, Jun 20, 2010 at 5:41 AM, Harel Cain <harel.cain@gmail.com> wrote:
Let me just point out in response to Ray: the "one stop shop" contact person on the Foundation staff will be answerable to Foundation-related questions (funding, sponsorship, program, scholarships) etc. Of course things which are local by nature such as entertainment programs, catering, venue, local government relations etc. are better answered by the local team (we can learn from others' experience, but the solution is local by nature). It's just that as a local team we're not too sure who to ask about the Foundation-related issues, and we need a better address for that.


Harel


On Sun, Jun 20, 2010 at 3:00 PM, Ray Saintonge <saintonge@telus.net> wrote:
phoebe ayers wrote:
> Yes. Let me be extremely clear: this committee would not organize
> Wikimania. Full stop. That is, and has always been, the job of the
> local team that gets appointed to run the bid.
>
> What Harel is saying that there isn't a formal point of contact within
> the WMF, which is true. Yes,  every person who has been named in this
> thread so far has worked on Wikimania in the past, and/or has a
> specific area of expertise. What a *committee* would be good for is
> making sure that all of these connections are made. For instance, Kul
> works on sponsorships. He is one direct point of contact within WMF
> for Wikimania-related funding issues. But he doesn't -- shouldn't --
> answer all of your questions about Wikimania. Conversely, Delphine,
> me, Samuel, and a bunch of other people know the history of Wikimania
> and roughly what is going on -- but I don't think any of us want to
> keep volunteering to be on the organization committee year after year.
> And if Delphine or I are unavailable for some reason, that shouldn't
> mean the local team can't get their questions answered. Having a group
> rather than just one or two people makes it more failsafe.
>
> So yes, keeping a general eye on progress is what I would go for here.
> The "actions" of the committee would only consist in that -- getting
> reports, making sure questions are answered. All other organizational
> actions -- the ones that Moushira are fondly remembering ;) -- would
> be done by the local team, as ever.
Speaking in general support for this proposal, I too think that it's
important for the organization of particular Wikimanias to remain with
the local community.  Pulling together the documentation and the
planning guide will be an important ongoing task for this group, but the
committee should be able to draw on a variety of experiences as and when
necessity arises, and local committees discover a deficiency.  For this
year it was important that Austin was able to step in when it was
discovered that registration was not being organized.  It's one thing to
respond when a local groip asks for help, but it's equally important to
be aware that lack of experience may mean that those local groups may
not know they're in trouble until it's too late.  Thus, the planning
guide should also include a timeline for when things must be done.  If
registration needs to be open two months before the event, and has an
impact on the ability of attendees to obtain visas, the committee needs
to be in a position to act quickly when things are not being done.

Harel said:
> I'm more confident, thought, that we're missing one or more "formal"
> "one-stop-shop" points of contact, people who can answer us in an
> on-going and interactive manner not only based on their accumulated
> experience, but rather with full authority about their answers.

The problem with that approach is that the committee may not be familiar
with local circumstances, and different committee members may be the
best ones to ask depending on the nature of the problem. No committee
could have come up with the kind of excellent attendee's party that we
experienced in Alexandria, or could have come up with the museum venue
that we had in Boston. Harel's suggestion carries the risk of undue
dependance on the committee or WMF staff.

When the selection committee chooses a site it is expressing a degree of
confidence that the local group will be able to carry through with its
mandate. If it has no confidence in any of the applicants it is free to
reject them all, though the consequences of that would be uncertain. By
the time of its decision it should also be aware of potential
difficulties where additional help may be needed.

Ray



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