Hello Isla
I agree with you regarding that we need more structure in our approach. That is why I asked in the previous email whether you and Douglas will handle the media relations. We should definitely add more structure, because that way we will not duplicate work and I will stress less! :) Maybe we should just stick as it was set out originally on the website: http://wikilovesmonuments.co.za/wiki/Local_organizing_committee.%C2%A0Find my comments below. I agree with most of your remarks.
1) Indeed.
2) HWC did not specifically say for what prize that money is, but I assume it is only for the WC. I see that it is possible to get an iPad for R5,300, so I suggest that we tell them to buy the iPad and we can maybe make up the R300. What do you think?
3) So far we have not decided on someone to handle the launch. Will you be willing to lead this for us? We should definitely invite all of the relevant parties and mention them.
4) Good comment, I agree. I am currently talking with Michael from HWC regarding this, feel free to join the discussion. I posted a message about this yesterday to the list: http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimediaza/2012-July/000544.html.
5) I have already asked about the T-shirts, but HWC is not willing to sponsor this. They say they have had bad experiences with such ventures. Regarding the museum staff, I agree that there should be training. It is my goal to have the documentation completed by Monday when Michael will distribute it to the museum staff. They can then contact us with any questions, which we can then also use to improve the documentation. As far as I know most of these museums are open over the weekends, so I will be willing to help with training at the bigger ones such as mentioned. I believe that this will be the best use of time.
6) See previous comment.
7) Yes, this is indeed important. I leave it to you to decide on this, because I do not have any experience in the field. Maybe we can then send out the press release by Wednesday? I think this would be good, because then it is the beginning of August. Only one month left! :()
8) Happy to hear that you have done so. Blessing offered to handle this, so you can talk further with her regarding the mechanics.
9) Douglas took this discussion over from me, but I am sure that he will appreciate your help. I spoke with David Hart, but I will forward you the discussion. So also this link: http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimediaza/2012-July/000545.html.
Kind regards Lourie
From: Isla Haddow-Flood islahf@africacentre.net To: Lourie Pieterse louriepieterse@yahoo.com; "dumisanin@iburst.co.za" dumisanin@iburst.co.za; maarten deneckere maartendeneckere@gmail.com; Douglas Scott douglas.i.scott@gmail.com; "davidrichfield@gmail.com" davidrichfield@gmail.com Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 1:58 PM Subject: Re: HWC meeting 2
Dear Lourie
An excellent meeting then! I have a few comments and have included them in your emailed points below.
I do find the sporadic nature of this competition quite worrying with several people crossing over different potential job descriptions like sponsorship, publicity, marketing, etc. I feel that at the moment its a bit of a free for all and due to many people being out of the country for Wikimania unavoidable, but I would like to suggest that we all volunteer for a regional/national 'position' and work on that one, and then assist that person with any leads or ideas we have. What do you think?
From: Lourie Pieterse louriepieterse@yahoo.com Reply-To: Lourie Pieterse louriepieterse@yahoo.com Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 18:49:31 +0100 (BST) To: "dumisanin@iburst.co.za" dumisanin@iburst.co.za, maarten deneckere maartendeneckere@gmail.com, Douglas Scott douglas.i.scott@gmail.com, "davidrichfield@gmail.com" davidrichfield@gmail.com, Isla Haddow-Flood islahf@africacentre.net Subject: HWC meeting 2
Hi
I just posted this report to the list. As you can see, there is so much to do! Can you please lead the "attack" and just get involved where possible? This might also motivate others, as I am sure they are getting tired of me asking for help. We can make this competition such a success, but we need to put in it all.
Kind regards Lourie
- I managed to get hold of the long sought endorsement letter and official
HWC logo. The letter is visible on our website and can be found here: http://wikilovesmonuments.co.za/wiki/Letters_of_support.
IHF: Excellent move
- HWC decided to provide us with R5000 for use as the competition prize.
They can either wire this money to us, or they could buy the reward themselves and then pass it on to us, the latter being the least troublesome for them.
IHF: let them buy it, but perhaps we should suggest what it could be ... A voucher for photographic equipment or an iPad? Is this just for the Western Cape segment, or the whole national one?
- They wanted more information regarding the competition launch, to which I
gave them the decided upon date of 1 September. Andrew (CEO of HWC) mentioned that they would be willing to send someone to the launch to say a few words. I believe that we should invite a few people from their department, because of their efforts in helping us.
IHF: perfect, all our funders will have to be at both the launch and the prize giving, we will need to include them in the press releases and all communication
- They also started to work on a poster to promote WLM that they will be
sending to 23 museums throughout the Western Cape. This is very good exposure, and we should make use of it.
IHF: I think this is great, but please can we have a look at it. There are many things that need to be included and we need to make sure that all the parties are covered correctly. Do you want me to take this up with them/Andrew? I would also suggest that they design and carry flyers at their museums from the 1st September with info on the competition, what to take photos of and how to frame it. So that anyone who visits the museum will be able to contribute it throughout that month.
- Each of these museums does have at least one computer with internet access
and HWC are willing to ask the museum staff to help with WLM on Heritage Day. They are having a staff meeting soon, which means that we should decide as soon as possible on the exact methodology of that day.
IHF: that is great. We will need to do a training session for those at the museums. It would also help if the HWC would pay for t-shirts for the staff so that our t-shirt bill is less!
- It was also advised that we decide on a few core participating museums
(Cape Town, Worcester, George, Mosselbay) that will promote WLM heavily on Heritage Day. Should we decide on these museums, HWC would assist us in this process.
IHF: Great. Again, training is necessary.
- WHC also informed me that their contacts at the daily newspapers are
looking specifically for stories regarding Heritage Day, and that they will help us to work with these contacts to get the needed exposure.
IHF: the sooner we get a press release and media kit out the better. I will do this by Monday, and please supply what angles you think are necessary.
- They also came up with the idea that we should contact local photography
schools to help us with the initial levels of screening the photographs. That way we will only get the best images to the high-level judges.
IHF: also a good idea. I have a contact at the Cape Town school of photography. Will ask them. I also think we should speak to the photography schools nationally to let them know about the competition and encourage their students to get involved. Also all Unis.
On the same day, I also managed to meet with someone from the City of Cape Town. We previously met with them, and they are still very much interested in WLM. The other good news is that I managed to convince them to make available old maps they have in their possession. These maps are very old, some dating back to 1895! The only agreement is that these maps should be of such a resolution that it could not be used for commercial printing.
IHF: that is perfect. I can take over this discussion if you wish? Who have you been speaking to? We can release the maps at 1200 res, 72 dpi. Good enough to see on screen, but not online. Francis (our wikipedian in residence) can batch upload the maps if you need us to do this.
These discussions are still in
the initial phases and I agreed to follow this up with them. In addition to this, they also have small articles already written about a large amount of heritage sites, and with correct discussions, they might also release these under a free license to be used as article texts.
IHF: again, let me know how this goes as we can help with the upload of the text to the correct article.
Finally, they are potentially interested
in sponsoring us for the competition, which I must also still follow up.
I believe that these meetings went very well and that we have good governmental support. I suggest that the following points are important and should be followed up immediately:
- Decide on what we want to do with the R5000 made available by HWC. The
sooner we decide on this, the sooner they can start working on it. 2) We should decide on the detail of the competition launch, as it is only 40 days away. We should create a guest list and invite the high-ranking people before their diaries are full. 3) In addition to the above, we should decide on who could speak at this event and approach them early to ensure their availability. 4) Decide on the methodology of Heritage Day. 5) The documentation on our website should be completed, as we can then present it to the museum staff. They can then indicate to us how to improve it and we can beforehand help them with potential questions. 6) We should now already talk to the contacts at the newspapers and invite them to the competition launch. If we keep them informed, we can enjoy much more exposure during the competition. 7) The local photography schools should be approach for help with filtering the images. 8) We should also approach the City of Cape Town again and convince them to release the maps and the articles they already have. Potentially we can also get them to sponsor the competition.
As you all can see, there is so much that we still need to do before the competition! So if there is anywhere where you can help us, please contact us and do so. If we want to make a success of this we will need the support of everyone we can get.
Kind regards Lourie