Dear Farhad,

Thank you very much for your quick reply.

As it is going into the wikimedia-ru list, I'll just give a quick summary. We at Wikimedia Portugal have two situations in hands, one very urgent, and another more easy.

The first is related with those two events that we were unable to get the funding to: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/Rapid/DarwIn/Fall_2018#Partic...

Includes those two events we are organizing /co-organizing, bound to happen between 23-27 this month:

- https://moita2018.softwarelivre.eu/ - FOSS event / First Ubuntu Congress in Portugal - https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikip%C3%A9dia:GLAM/Biblioteca_Nacional_de_Por... BNP GLAM days - Wikidata capacity building / GLAM awareness event

For those we've just started a crowdfunding campaign here: https://pt.wikimedia.org/wiki/Campanha_2018/en

This is not directly related to Russian culture, though we have some hope of get funding from the Russian Federation Embassy in Portugal to go forward with them. We are kind of desperate trying to fund them, and the embassies, such as the Russian, seem a viable option, specially with all the approach that has happened between both countries (and especially between Madeira, where I live, and Russia) in the last few years.

The Portugal/Russian cultural project is a long term one, and initially may probably involve the first Russian school which just opened here in Madeira Island. It will certainly involve the Wikimedia Asian Month too. We also have a significant number of Russian expatriates, and a considerable amount of tourism from Russia (with a constant presence here since the times of the czars), and Russia cultural weeks are regularly held here. The exact way this project will go is something we'll have to work out with the Embassy, to see what could be the best way to go forward.

It's fantastic to know there is interest on your part to be part of this project, and it is very interesting to know that you have letters of recognition and support from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Do you think you can help us passing our message of cultural cooperation along the Russian Federation Embassy in Lisbon?

Looking forward to hearing from you, Paulo

Фархад Фаткуллин / Farkhad Fatkullin frhd@yandex.com escreveu no dia segunda, 12/11/2018 à(s) 11:49:

Dear Paulo,

Below are just a few thoughts off the top of my head. Copying this also into [wikimedia-ru] list, as you need help urgently and I am quite busy till Wednesday evening.

On top of the Wikimedia Asia month, please look at our ongoing https://ru.wikimedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BA%D1%83%D1%80%D1%81%D1%... contest open for anybody & upcoming https://ru.wikimedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BA%D1%83%D1%80%D1%81%D1%... We can easily come up with something similar between Russia & Portugal. My Moscow colleagues have various letters of recognition and support of their activities from various Public and State bodies of the Russian Federation, including the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Wikimedia Russia previously organized plenty of various contests with local sponsors, some of which can be seen at https://ru.wikimedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BA%D1%83%D1%80%D1%81%D1%... (Russian version is more up-to-date)

I hope this gives some initial food for thought. My English-speaking colleagues might email you directly with more.

Regards, farhad

-- Sent from Yandex.Mail for mobile

20:49, November 11, 2018, Paulo Santos Perneta paulosperneta@gmail.com:

Hello Farkhad,

First of all, congratulations for your well deserved selection as Wikimedian of the year for 2018.

I've been directed to you by someone ("John D.") who saw my post about the WMPT project on Russian culture at the wikimedia-l. To make a long story short: The WMF abruptly extended an (already unjustified) suspension of the Portuguese chapter for more three months, and ruined all the funding for the events scheduled for that period of time, including two key national-scope GLAM and FOSS events scheduled to happen later this month [0], so we are desperately trying to find other sources of funding to try to save those events.

When I found out that next 13 November the Russian Federation Embassy will going to open a special 1 day consulate service here in Funchal (where I live) [1], and recalling a small pilot project we have done with the Russian Wikipedia at our last Art+Feminism event, our organization of the ongoing Wikipedia Asian Month contest - and considering a large part of Russia is in Asia, the old relation of friendship between Portugal and Russia, with a special influence in the Island where I live (Madeira Island), which has a significant amount of tourists, expatriates and a number of cultural relations with Russia[2], and specially the very recent opening of the first Russian School in Funchal [3] (and the curious fact that the fact that the founder of WMPT is Russian by birth himself!) it seemed a great opportunity to start a project about Russian culture here, and on the way try to save those events, and get the funding for more Wikimedia activities, without being so dependent on the WMF for everything

• which, as we are feeling on our skins, has tragic consequences.

So I 've contacted the embassy, and I expect to meet the consulate here next 13 November (or someone will meet the ambassador in Lisbon next week, I'll have an answer next Monday), to see what is their openness for this project, also hoping we'll get some funding to carry on the events of 23-27 with the support of the Embassy or any other entity. We are really trying everything to save those key events, not only because of their importance on the promotion of Free Knowledge in Portugal, but because cancelling them at this point will cause significant damage for the Wikimedia movement here in Portugal.

I'm writing to you mainly for two reasons - to invite you to participate in the long term project about Russian culture, and to ask you if you have any idea that would help us saving these events in the short term, even with a fraction of that (already little) funding. I apologize for the urgence of the call, but this all been very sudden. Nobody expected an extension of that WMF suspension on us, and even less that it would carry with it the suspension of individual grants, so we were caught totally unprepared.

[0] - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/Rapid/DarwIn/Fall_2018#Partic... [1] - https://funchalnoticias.net/2018/11/05/cmf-informa-a-pedido-da-embaixada-rus... [2] - http://www.dnoticias.pt/hemeroteca/407101-albuquerque-desafia-russia-a-ter-c... [3] - https://funchalnoticias.net/2018/10/23/escola-russa-devera-ajudar-a-reforcar...

Looking forward to hearing from you, Paulo (DarwIn) Wikimedia Portugal