Hello all,

As you may know, the *WikidataCon 2019 https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikidataCon_2019* will take place on October 25th-26th 2019 in Berlin. The conference will host 250 people from the Wikidata community, but also the emerging Wikibase community, as well as partners, organizations and companies the organizations who may be interested in *using Wikidata and Wikibase*, or contributing in various ways to the evolution of Wikidata. The event will be focused on networking and strategic discussions around Wikidata and Wikibase, with a special focus on *languages and Wikidata*.

Because the number of seats is limited and in order to make sure that the access to the conference is fair, we decided to set up a selection process. People who wish to attend the conference can now apply by filling in the application form https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikidataCon_2019/Attend/Apply. A committee equally composed of volunteers and staff will evaluate the applications against criteria that are already published onwiki https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikidataCon_2019/Attend.

This application form aims to gather all of the useful information at once, that’s why it also contains the program submissions (limited to 3 per person) and the scholarship application if needed. You can find more information about the content of the form on this page https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikidataCon_2019/Attend/Apply.

Part of the attendees will be also invited directly by the organizing team, based on the connections we want to build with organizations during this conference, and the input they can bring to Wikidata’s strategy.

The deadline to fill out the application form is April 26th. No application can be considered after this date. Over the following month, the committee will evaluate the applications, and the applicants will receive an answer latest on June 12th.

Here are a few tips to help you prepare your application:

- Read the description of the conference https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikidataCon_2019 and the page describing the process and the criteria https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikidataCon_2019/Attend carefully. - Plan 20 to 30 minutes to fill out the form. - Don’t do it at the last minute :) it will be less stressful for you, as well as for the committee. - Prepare all your program submissions, as they will be requested in the same form (no submission can be done later). On this page https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikidataCon_2019/Program you can check the formats and questions. - Read the Friendly Space Policy https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikidataCon_2019/Attend/Policy that will apply to the entire event. - Look at the visa information https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikidataCon_2019/Attend/Visa to check if you need a visa to Germany and what actions you need to take.

You can find a lot of information regarding the conference on Wikidata:WikidataCon 2019 https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikidataCon_2019. If you have any question or issue, feel free to share it on the talk page onwiki or to reach the organizing team at info@wikidatacon.org

Finally, feel free to share this message with your local community, networks, or projects you’re working in! We want to make sure that everyone who’s involved in Wikidata or Wikibase has a chance to apply.

We're looking forward to receiving your applications!

Thanks for your attention,