2022:Scholarships
Wikimania: The Festival Edition! will take place on 11-14 August 2022 as a primarily virtual event with local in-person gatherings across the world. The organizers are providing stipends for individual virtual participation (with a focus on first-time participants) and grants for Wikimedia affiliates to organize local in-person events and/or run their own scholarship programs. The deadline to apply was June 3rd.
Update: since Wikimania 2022 is the festival edition, the Core Organizing Team (COT) has decided to also consider application from Movement Groups that are not Wikimedia affiliates. Of course, these would only be considered if the organizations are eligible for funding. With this decision, the COT is optimizing for many events to take place during Wikimania 2022.
Overview
Wikimania 2022
Wikimania: The Festival Edition! will be taking place on 11-14 August 2022. Wikimania is the Wikimedia movement's annual conference celebrating all the free knowledge projects made possible by the volunteer community. The largest gathering of the Wikimedia movement, this year’s Wikimania will bring more Wikimedians together than ever, virtually and with in-person components, to create, celebrate and connect.
The theme for this year’s virtual Wikimania is “The Festival Edition”. We will come together to spotlight projects and movement groups and celebrate the diversity of our vast community.
Wikimania: The Festival Edition! can be summed up in three words: it will be fun, alive, and vibrant; it will be regional, shining a light on communities across the movement through the festivities; and it will welcome newcomers, creating a safe space for first-time attendees that illuminates and inspires.
Grants and scholarships
Wikimania 2022: The Festival Edition! will continue with the Affiliates grant program to organize your local Wikimania event / gathering / watch parties. Wikimedia affiliates can now apply on this page below.
Update: since Wikimania 2022 is a global festival edition, the Core Organizing Team (COT) has decided to also consider application from Movement Groups that are not Wikimedia affiliates. Of course, these would only be considered if the organizations are eligible for funding. With this decision, the COT is optimizing for many events to take place during Wikimania 2022.
And in welcoming first time Wikimania participants/attendees, there is a stipend available for individuals to apply for as well. Individual stipends are a lump sum of $200 that can be used for childcare, data packages, small hardware, and meals during the conference.
Eligible Expenses
| Affiliate Program (grant) | Individual Program (stipend) |
| Local meetups / events during Wikimania | Childcare |
| Childcare | Data |
| Data | Small hardware (webcam, microphone, mouse, head/ear phones) |
| Small hardware (webcam, microphone, mouse, head/ear phones) | Meals |
| Meals | |
| Administrative costs | |
| Translation services |
Important Dates and Information
| Task | Deadline |
| Application open | 09 May 2022 |
| Submission close | 03 June 2022 |
| Submission period open | 4 weeks |
| Application review | 16 May 2022 - 24 June 2022 (6 weeks) |
Get help
If you have questions:
- Review frequently asked questions in the section below
- Join office hours hosted by the organizing team — find more information at the link.
- Email your questions to the Core Organizing Team at wikimania
wikimedia.org.
Apply for an individual scholarship
The Wikimedia Foundation will provide stipends to support individuals attending the 2022 Wikimania to cover Wikimania-related expenses. All stipends are $250 USD. Scholarship recipients will be asked to provide a brief report of their participation after the event.
You could apply for an individual scholarship via LimeSurvey by the 3rd of June 2022. The privacy statement can be found here.
Apply for an affiliate grant
Apply on MetaWiki for Wikimania 2022 Affiliate Scholarships to support access to and participation in Wikimania 2022 in your community. Scholarships can be used to support a number of needs and activities to support access and participation in Wikimania 2022, such as covering data costs for participants, supporting childcare expenses, hosting meetups in relation to Wikimania, and more. A full list of eligible expenses can be found below. Please keep in mind that you must be a Wikimedia movement affiliate to be eligible to request funding.
Deadline
The deadline to submit scholarship requests was the 3rd of June 2022.
Eligible activities and expenses
- Childcare services (or similar family services) to support Wikimania participation
- Data packages to distribute to Wikimania participants
- Administrative or operational costs to distribute funds to community members, such as transfer fees
- Small hardware expenses to support access (such as webcams, microphones, head/earphones)
- Note: Requests for computers, laptops, tablets, and other personal devices are not eligible.
- Translation services for a Wikimania session
- Video production support for pre-recorded Wikimania sessions (such as equipment or space)
- In-person meetups that coincide with Wikimania activities (food, beverage, meeting space)
- Printed artwork, conference swag/merchandise for event participants
The application asked some of the following questions:
- What Wikimedia movement affiliate do you represent?
- How will the funding requested support your community’s participation at Wikimania?
- What is the amount of funding you are requesting?
Funded applications
A list of funded applications is available on Meta-Wiki.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a Wikimania scholarship?
- Affiliates - A scholarship is a grant given to an affiliate to enable them to organize their local Wikimania 2022 event and/or run their local scholarship programs for virtual participation. This is achieved through the Wikimedia Foundation providing funds that will cover local events, childcare, data, small hardware, meals, administrative expenses, and translation services.
- Individuals - A scholarship is a grant given to an individual to enable them to attend Wikimania 2022 virtually. This is achieved through the Wikimedia Foundation providing funds that will cover childcare, data, small hardware, and meals.
- When will the Wikimania 2022 scholarship application open?
Applications opens on May 9th 2022
- When will the Wikimania 2022 scholarship application end?
Applications closes on June 3rd 2022
- Is the application timeline the same for both affiliates and individuals?
Yes, the application submission period is the same for both affiliates and individuals.
- What is the submission process for the Wikimania scholarship?
- Affiliate: Wikimedia affiliates start application on MetaWiki
- Individuals: Individuals start application using LimeSurvey
- Who reviews the submissions for the Wikimania Scholarship?
Both Individual and Affiliate submissions received during the application period will be reviewed by the Core Organizing Team on an ongoing basis.
- How are the submissions reviewed for the Wikimania Scholarship and Grants?
In general, for both Individual and Affiliate applications, we expect the workflow for funding decisions to go through the following steps:
- Step 1: Application submission
- Step 2: Email confirmation sent
- Step 3: Eligibility review by the Core Organizing Team - Grants Team
- Step 4: Funding review and decision made by the Core Organizing Team - Grants Team
- Step 5: Applicants notified of the decision
- Step 6: Disbursement of grants
- Where can I find support/help during the Wikimania application process?
The Core Organizing Team - Wikimania will provide support through office hours offered by region and scheduling one-on-one sessions with grantees to review these changes and to discuss both needs and concerns.
In general, for both questions around Individual and Affiliate applications, the office hours will cover:
- Clarifying questions on the submissions and funds requested
- The Dos and Don’ts of application submissions
- Next steps after resubmissions
- What if I don’t get funded
- How long does it take to receive funds
- What can I [affiliate/individual] use the funds for
- What if I [individual] go over the amount received
- I am not part of an affiliate. How do I apply for funding?
Individuals are able to apply for the individual scholarship, which would be USD$250 for each applicant, in order to cover childcare, data, small hardware(webcam/mouse/earphones), and meals.
- Can I submit my application in a different language other than English?
- Yes, applicants are allowed to submit the application in a different language other than English. The COT will try their best to review the application.
- What are the requirements for reporting?
The applicant who receives the funding from the Wikimedia Foundation is required to submit a report after attending Wikimania.
- What is the funding limit?
- Individuals: The stipend available is a one-time remittance of 200 USD
- Affiliates: The scholarship grant available for affiliates has a maximum of 5000 USD. There is some flexibility in the maximum amount awarded. These will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
- Can I submit applications for a scholarship after the deadline?
To ensure that final decision results are released on-time in fairness to other applicants, late applications will not be accepted. It is recommended that applications are submitted at least a few days before the deadline to avoid missing it.
- How will applicants for scholarships be notified of the results?
The e-mail address provided on the application will be used to notify an individual of whether their application has been successful or not. All applicants will be contacted at some point, regardless of the result.
- I have more questions and they are not in this FAQ.
We will be hosting office hours (open calls) for communities to come in and ask questions on: Programming, Grants, Logistics, how to get involved with Wikimania. The dates and times of these office hours can be found here.
Individual applications
- Are the scholarships only for first time Wikimania participants?
The individual scholarships are not only for first time Wikimania participants but we will be prioritizing requests from people who have never attended Wikimania before.
- Can applicants for individual scholarships edit their application after submission?
Unfortunately not. It is recommended that applicants draft their application carefully and ensure they say everything they need to say before submission. However, additional information can be submitted by applicants to wikimania
wikimedia.org where a member of the Core Organizing Team or Wikimedia Foundation staff will note the new information on the user's application. Please do not submit an application twice; this creates a lot of additional work for reviewers.
- I applied for a scholarship but did not get it. What do I do now?
If you haven’t been selected to receive a scholarship from the Wikimedia Foundation, we strongly encourage you to get in touch with an affiliate in your region. They might be running their own scholarship program or hosting a local event! Have a look at the affiliates that are planning to host their event on this page. Also note that getting a scholarship is not a necessary prerequisite for attending Wikimania; you’ll be able to attend for free even if you don’t receive a scholarship.
- I have received a scholarship. When do I need to submit my report?
If you have received a scholarship - there is a reporting requirement for this purpose. The due date for submitting your report is September 30th, 2022. Not submitting a report will impact any future funding opportunities with the Wikimedia Foundation.
- How will Individual Scholarships be reviewed and awarded?
Once all surveys have successfully been completed and therefore all of the data has been collected, the Core Organizing Team (COT) will jointly determine which 200 people will be eligible as Individual Scholarship Recipients. The COT will give preference to people from Emerging Communities, first time Wikimania participants, those who are not able to attend without a scholarship, and female and non-binary applicants.
- When will I receive feedback around my Individual Scholarship Application?
The Individual Scholarship Submission Process ended on 03 June 2022, was extended for a period of approximately one week and then officially closed on 14 June 2022. The COT and the Wikimania Grants and Scholarships Team are reviewing all 400+ completed Individual Applications. It's important to note that only 200 Individual Scholarships will be funded.
You can expect to receive a confirmation email from the Wikimania Team, of whether or not your application has been approved, approximately one month prior to Wikimania 2022.
It is significant to highlight that precisely 15 Individual Applications will be processed each week (due to the complexity of processing international transactions), until all selected applicants have successfully received financial support. This means that even after Wikimania 2022 has concluded, Scholarship Applicants that have received confirmation of funding will still receive their Scholarship remitted from the Wikimedia Foundation.
Affiliate applications
- Can I include international travel as part of my event budget? Why not?
International travel is not an eligible expense for Wikimania grants and scholarships. The funding for Wikimania grants and scholarships are not intended for large events with an international profile. Those types of events have a large planning runway and include a multitude of expenses that the grant budget of Wikimania has not been designed for. These types of grants can be applied for through the Conference and Events grant fund.
- Does the grant cover production and creation of SWAG or conference memorabilia?
Yes, printed artwork, conference swag/merchandise for event participants is one of the eligible expenses for affiliate grants! Wikimania 2022 artwork is being developed and more on this will be shared soon.
- What type of events can be organized?
You may choose to organize a watch party, a local event with activities, or build your event around participation in Wikimania’s program.
- In 2021, post-Wikimania meetups were an eligible expense. Is that also the case for 2022?
Post-Wikimania meetups and events are not an eligible expense for this edition of Wikimania. We want to encourage everyone to be with each other as much as possible during 11-14 August 2022.
- Is there an example grant application I can use for reference?
You can find all funded affiliate Wikimania grant applications from 2021 at the link. Particularly, check the applications by Wikimedia UK (in English, application • report) and by Wikimedia Community User Group Côte d'Ivoire (in French, application • report)
- What will the reporting process look like for funded applications? When is the reporting deadline?
Successful applicants will be asked to submit a report once their activities are completed. You can see the reporting template at the link. Reports should be submitted on Meta by 31st October 2022.