A word of caution. Photos of plushies are likely to be eventually
deleted from Commons unless we know they are not copyrighted toys. It
may be possible to host a file locally, but that probably defeats the
object of having a mascot widely recognized. If you are choosing a
mascot, think about whether you can find a fun mascot which you know
is copyright free and this will save you hassle and debate later.

The requirement that must be satisfied to be hosted on Commons is at
COM:TOYS[1] which states:

"When uploading a picture of a toy, you must show that the toy is in
the public domain in both the United States and in the source country
of the toy. In the United States, copyright is granted for toys even
if the toy is ineligible for copyright in the source country."

Checking the manufacturer's label, or a verifiable assertion that one
of the toys is home made, would be sufficient evidence but this must
be added to the image page text to avoid future challenges.

Links:
1. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons:TOYS
2. Related detailed essay
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Elcobbola/Stuffed_Animals

Thanks,
Fae
Wikimedia LGBT+, Commons copyright geek

On 6 April 2017 at 06:45, Romaine Wiki <romaine.wiki@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> (Please forward to whoever this may concern.)
>
> On request of Wendy the Weasel the following notes from the Wikimedia
> Conference 2017 in Berlin.
>
> 1.
> At the conference 16 mascots were present, of which 13 are on the group
> photo, and 3 sadly stayed in the hotel room during the group photo.
>
> The group photo of the plushies, supported by the rest of the participants
> of the Wikimedia Conference, has been tagged and added to the Meta page. The
> tag contains all names + species, so far known! From 3 mascots the personal
> assistants were gone too fast to ask for the names, who can help?
>
> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Conference_2017_%E2%80%93_Group_photo_1_(big).jpg
>
>
> 2.
> During the group photo the traditional cuteness meetup took place. As
> transparency and cuteness are core principles of the Wikimedia movement, it
> is good to show that the cute mascots are everywhere. Therefore a list of
> cuties has been created at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Cuteness_Association/Membership_list
>
> Please check and fill in missing fields. Also some mascots still need to be
> added.
>
>
> 3.
> The Wikimedia Cuteness Association (WCA) has now a Wikidata item at:
> https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29169245
> Please help with filling other statements!
>
> One question that comes up is when the WCA was founded?
>
>
> Thank you for the great meeting says Wendy,
>
>
>
> Romaine
>
> assistant of Wendy the Weasel

--
faewik@gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae