Benutzer:BugWarp/Wikimania 2019
Wikimania 2019 in Stockholm was my very first Wikimania, and also my first huge international Wikimedia event. Since I became an active volunteer on the movement, I wanted to take part of the event, so I was thrilled when I was confirmed as one of the tandem scholars.
And I think that is where we should start, with the process of the tandem scholarship. When I was invited to participate on this process, I thought that the logical thing to do was to apply with one of the members of the German Community that worked alongside me at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, but instead, I went with MB-one, which we barely know each other until this. In the end, we developed a strong relationship and exchanged and proposed new ideas for international cooperation projects, most of them, focused on photographic coverage of events. We also shared some great moments together before and after the conference.
After I was awarded the scholarship, the contact between WMDE was excellent and helped me with every single question I had, the organization made by the WMF wasn’t terrible but it could certainly be better, their contact wasn’t as fluid and direct as I wanted, and there were some logistical mistakes by them too, as not covering luggage for my return trip to Argentina.
On the very first day of the conference, I gave a talk alongside DerHexer and Marcus Cyron about our project on the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics at the partnership space, it was quite an interesting experience for me since I never gave a presentation of this magnitude outside of my native language. Nonetheless, I’m more than satisfied on how it went, and it was an experience that would certainly be helpful on the rest of my life. This also inspired some people of the audience to propose new ideas and projects, such as the creation of a sports photographers user group and a co joint project with members of Wikimedia Chile on coverage of sports events.
The rest of the conference was very useful to learn about new projects and ideas. The panel on “Integrating Wikidata into Education” was very useful for my work as Wikimedian in residence at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, and I started contact with one of the members of the panel, since we had a very similar project as Wikimedians in residence. I already exchanged some of the ideas I learned to improve my work with members of the community. The other topics were super interesting as well, and I already talked and exchanged ideas with members of Wikimedia Argentina to replicate this projects, or at least to build on the bases of it (for example, projects like Wiki loves Parliaments).
This was also an outstanding opportunity to meet face to face the people behind this wonderful project, and also to meet new people from it. It was something wonderful to me having the possibility to meet people from all the continents, and, most importantly making new friends and relationships. Without doubt, the best memories from this experience are the ones with the people.
1. What do I bring back from Wikimania for me and my work in Wikipedia? Mainly friends, but a lot of knowledge and ideas on various topics and field (mainly international cooperation, multimedia coverage, and integration on education with Wikidata for my work as Wikimedian in Residence). As well as experience on public speaking and international relations.
2. What have I learned in the chosen topic area (international exchange or movement strategy)? The idea of having an unknown tandem partner was amazing, I started a great relationship with MB-one, we shared great moments, before, during and after the conference. We even discussed ideas for international cooperation projects, most of them, focused on photographic coverage of events.
3. What have I contributed to the conference? What worked out well and what not? I gave a talk alongside DerHexer and Marcus Cyron about our project on the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics at the partnership space. The result was very good, this also inspired some people of the audience to propose new ideas and projects, such as the creation of a sports photographers user group and a co joint project with members of Wikimedia Chile on coverage of sports events. The overall organization of the scholarship process was very good, the contact between WMDE was excellent and helped me with every single question I had, the organization made by the WMF wasn’t terrible but it could certainly be better, their contact wasn’t as fluid and direct as I wanted, and there were some logistical mistakes by them too, as not covering luggage for my return trip to Argentina.
4. Which ideas for projects or similar activities came into existence? How have I pursued them so far, what are my plans for the future? Many, many ideas for international cooperation projects (most of them, focused on photography, as stated above). As well collaboration and exchange about my work with Wikidata as Wikimedian in Residence at the National University of La Plata. For the first ones, we already held some preliminary talks between the potential partners, that will get more technical as the dates for the potential coverage get closer. I'm already using some of the knowledge gained about Wikidata, but I will discuss even more possibilities with Patricio Lorente in a future meeting.
5. Which contacts to international Wikimedians have I made or foster, on which topics? How do they affect my activities in Wikipedia or its sister projects, and how do I intend to carry on dialogue? I met people from all around the world. Apart from my obvious relations with the German speaking community, I fostered relations with members of the Iberocoop community, this was an outstanding opportunity to meet this people. Having already introduced ourselves, we could talk more easily about potential projects and collaborations and all topics. We keep ourselves in contact through various channels.
6. How have I shared my Wikimania experiences with my local community? Which activities are still planned for sharing? I've been sharing my activities on Wikimania with my partners since day one through social media. And once I came back, I shared my experience with my partners at Wikimedia Argentina. Still, some meetups are arranged (as stated above) for the future.