Hello everyone, Following the recent news that 2021 Wikimania will be virtual <https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2021-January/096141.html> [1], the Wikimania Steering Committee <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_Committee>[2] wanted to follow up with some updates and opportunities to be involved in the planning for Wikimania 2021. TL;dr: *The Wikimania Steering Committee has begun planning for Wikimania 2021, and we are looking for 5-6 people to be on the core organizing team, plus additional volunteers for other roles.* If you would like to be part of the core team for organizing this year's virtual Wikimania, please let us know by applying by *March 1.* Details are here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2021/Call_for_volunteers <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2021/Call_for_volunteers>or read on! ==Hosting Wikimania 2021== As there’s no physical location for this year's Wikimania, there are no geographically based hosts. Instead, the Wikimania Steering Committee and the Core Organizing Team (details below) will serve as an international team of community organizers for Wikimania 2021. The Foundation will be providing infrastructure, logistics and organizational support. We invite you to join us and help produce this event for the community, by the community. ==What we've done== In order to help imagine and design a virtual event, in January 2021 the Wikimania Steering Committee engaged in a series of design sprints that were facilitated by event design experts. The goal of our design sprints was to collaboratively start designing a few formats for a virtual Wikimania experience to bring back to the wider community. You can read more about the process, the people involved, and the outcomes of our design sprints here <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2021/Event_design_process_narrative>.[3] ==Theme & Dates== Since this year marks the 20th anniversary of Wikipedia, and celebrations are ongoing, Wikimania 2021’s theme will also celebrate 20 years of Wikipedia. We’ll look back at our history and imagine our future. We’re planning for the conference to be held in August 2021, following the precedent set by past Wikimanias. Exact dates will follow soon. ==What about scholarships?== Since an in-person event scholarship cannot be awarded for a virtual event, there is an opportunity for us to look into repurposing the scholarships program to enable participation and promote accessibility. A feasibility study will be completed to develop how the scholarships program can be repurposed, and the Core Organizing Team will help decide on the best course of action. ==How to get involved== For supporting the organization of Wikimania, we will need help from community members around the world. To begin, we've identified roles that will be part of the Core Organizing Team. We are inviting nominations and self-nominations for the Core Organizing Team for Wikimania 2021. This team will help lead the development and production of the overall event, focused on the conference program, and will be supported by technical and project staff at the Wikimedia Foundation and the Wikimania steering committee. Volunteers will need to commit time each week between now and August to make the event a success. There will be additional calls for volunteers in other roles in the coming months as well. If you have an idea for how you might be able to contribute to Wikimania organization in other ways, please let us know by filling out the application form <https://survey.wikimedia.it/index.php?r=survey/index&sid=856642>. If you have organized past events in person or online, or are interested in hosting international Wikimedia events in the future, we need you! Planning Wikimania is an amazing way to meet and collaborate with other Wikimedians from all over the world. This group will need people who are strong collaborators, communicators, and solution-oriented and who are able to be consistently involved through the conference. If you have thoughts, ideas, or questions before applying, feel free to add your comments on this meta page: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimania_2021 [4] ==So what are we looking for?== Total number of people we are looking for - Organizing core team members: minimum of 2, maximum 3 community representatives - Programming core team members: minimum of 2, maximum 3 community representatives - These will be joined by 1-2 steering committee liaisons and staff from the WMF, including a project manager and virtual event producer What are the responsibilities of Organizing core team members (2-3 people)?: - - Help choose the right format for a virtual Wikimania - using prior design work to set the length and outline of the event - Help shape/decide the outcome of the recommendations of the Scholarship Feasibility Report - Keep our international community up to date and involved throughout planning phase - Help coordinate communications, the Wikimania wiki, and other volunteers What are the responsibilities of Programming core team members (2-3 people)? - Create and manage the call for program contributions - Manage programming and establish programming framework - Coordinate community submission/acceptance process - Assist with programming logistics and communications - Help coordinate program volunteers What does the commitment look like? - 60-90 mins active weekly participation (possibly more or less in some weeks depending on tasks). Times and dates for meetings will be chosen by Core Organizing Team members, and will be inclusive of all timezones. - Starting in March 2021, ending in September If you would like to help but do not want to be a part of the core team, you can also use our volunteer form below to let us know! Is there an incentive for volunteering my time? - For active core team members (as detailed above), a full scholarship <https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/Scholarships/FAQ> [5] (travel, lodging, registration fees) to the next in-person Wikimania will be awarded. What kind of qualifications are we looking for? - For organizing members: event organization experience of virtual, in-person or hybrid events; previous organizers of events such as regional events, thematic events, meetups or Wikimanias - For programming members: experience with the programming of international community events; experience as previous program chairs, program committee members - Past or future Wikimania organizers are welcome - Collaborative approach as a principle - In good standing with the community and the Foundation - Members from anywhere in the world are welcome; the working language of the committee will be English *How to apply* - Send your application to WMSC using this form <https://survey.wikimedia.it/index.php?r=survey/index&sid=272925&lang=en> [6] - You can use the application form for the Core Organizing Team - You can also use the form to provide your availability for other volunteer roles - By March 1 2021 - Members announced by March 8th 2021 [1] https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2021-January/096141.html [2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_Committee [3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2021/Event_design_process_narrati… [4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimania_2021 [5] https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/Scholarships/FAQ [6] https://survey.wikimedia.it/index.php?r=survey/index/sid/856642&lang=en <https://survey.wikimedia.it/index.php?r=survey/index/sid/856642&lang=en> -- * I use this address for lists; send personal messages to phoebe.ayers <at> gmail.com *