Hi all,
We are less than 2 months away from the start of Wiki Loves Monuments 2017 and we figured we should start our (hopefully) weekly updates to this list. The goal of these updates are to let you know what the international team [1] is busy with, share with you things you should be aware of if you are organizing Wiki Loves Monuments, provide an opportunity for you to ask questions or provide feedback/comments, and more. This first update will be long, because we haven't talked for a long time. We expect the next ones to be shorter.
== Is your country participating or are you tempted? == You are not alone! 30 countries have signed up to participate so far. 5 are on the likely list. This is a great start. Here is what we need from you: * If your country is undecided, make sure you're listed in our maybe list. [2] Also, tell us what we can do to help you turn Likely to Definitely status. * If your country will participate, make sure it's listed in the participating list. [3] This information is crucial for us and the sooner we know it, the better. * If your country will participate, make sure we have the contact information of your team's point of contact. This is going to be one of your team members who will have the most back-and-forth with the international team. * If you are a local organizer, we would love it if you list your team [4]. A few countries have already started using that space. As a global project, the more ways we can create interfaces to be aware of, in contact with, and visible to each other, the better. Add your name if you are an organizer for your country, and if you like, add a photo of yourself.
== Montage == The team behind Montage [5] is actively working on the next version of the software which will bring better user workflow and some of the most wanted features to you. If you want to propose features or comment on the current ones the team is working on, check out the issues on Github: https://github.com/hatnote/montage/issues . Thanks to those of you who are already working with us to improve the tool. :)
== Monumental == Many of you have heard about Monumental [6]. It's the tool that is going to help the discovery of the monuments and the data associated with them for both reading/learning as well as editing. The team is working on the next release of Monumental that is expected to go out next week.
== Wikimania == Wikimania is around the corner and a good part of the international team will be there. We would love to see you, chat with you, answer your questions, and more. Here are at least two opportunities: * We will be around during the hackathon days. Come hack with us if that's your thing! :) * We have a dedicated session for you, too: https://wikimania2017.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Everything_You_Need_to_... Sign up and come see us and have some of your questions answered!
== New opportunities in the international team == With this email, we are officially starting two searches for positions in the international team: * We are looking to add one more person to the international team to help us with the tasks associated with the jury coordination at the international level. The responsibilities of the jury coordinator include: putting together a jury for the international team, setting up the jury process for the international team, coordinating the work of the international team's jury, and more. :) If you are a good communicator, you can deliver on time, you know when to poke who to make sure the work gets done, know how to bring in new and old jurors to the international jury process and are interested, please ping me off-list. We would like to close this search in the next 2-3 weeks though we will not rush through this step if we don't find the right candidate in this time. * And, we are looking for someone who can help us with communications. By communications we mean any or all of the work associated with: social media announcements/activity, blog posts, working with Wikimedia Foundation's communications team for the announcement of the results, etc. We can define the scope of the work with you if you're interested to contribute. We are looking for a good communicator, someone ideally with substantial experience with Wikimedia community, reliable, and fun to work with. :) If you are interested, please ping me off-list.
Questions, comments? We are here for you. :) Otherwise, please enjoy the coming weeks and do let us know if we can help you with something.
Happy Wiki Loves Monuments 2017!
Best, Lily, on behalf of Wiki Loves Monuments international team
[1] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2017/Organiz... [2] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2017/Partici... [3] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2017/Partici... [4] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2017/Organiz... [5] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Montage [6] https://tools.wmflabs.org/monumental/#/