2024:Scholarships
Types of scholarships
A scholarship is a grant given to an individual to enable them to attend Wikimania 2024 in person. This is achieved through the Wikimedia Foundation providing funds.
- Full scholarships will provide flights, transport, accommodation, limited medical insurance, food, and registration fees.
- Partial scholarships will provide accommodation, food, and registration fees.
All scholars will be provided meals in the time of lunch and dinner during pre-conference, conference days, and closing party at the venue. Meanwhile breakfast will be covered by the hotel.
No online scholarships will be offered to online participants. No dedicated Wikimania scholarships will be offered to affiliates wishing to organize Wikimania-related events around the world either. (Deferred to the General Support Grant. See also Related affiliate events funding section.)
Who can apply?
Like in the past, anyone who is able to prove contribution to or activities in Wikimedia is welcome. Examples are as follows:
- Active involvement (other than just membership and fulfilling member duties) in some form of Wikimedia group or organization (committee, hub, chapter, thematic organization or user group)
- Participation in Wikimedia organized events (e.g. photographers contributing to Wiki Loves Monuments, workshop attendees)
- Participation in a Wikimedia program (e.g. GLAM partnership or education program)
- Organization of Wikimedia events or contests (e.g. WLM, edit-a-thons)
- Being a steward, CheckUser, VRT member, interface admin, admin, or other advanced rights holder (current or former)
- Being a Wikimedia Foundation grantee
- MediaWiki code contributions, gadget or other tool-building for Wikimedia projects
These are just examples, though. Go to the section Detailed advice, read recommendations in the table, and think how you would answer the questions your way.
[NEW] Affiliate staff and contractors, and hubs and regional conference teams' appointees
- Affiliate staff and contractors: There will be a separate pool of scholarships available to the paid staff of Wikimedia movement affiliates. Their applications will be graded separately and those applications will only compete with each other, while volunteer applications only compete with other volunteer applications.
- In addition to the general pool of scholarships, each currently organized Wikimedia hub and/or regional conference team (where a hub is not present) will get 1–3 spots for their representation at Wikimania. Given hubs' natural understanding of their communities, this can be used to increase diversity in participants by inviting a volunteer from a non-represented community, to invite paid staff, an expert, or a member of a steering committee. Hubs and regional event teams will be contacted about this after the scholarship decisions are published.
If you have questions, go the section "Who can apply" in the FAQ. If you have further questions, go to Contact / Help / I have questions not answered on this page.
Advice for filling out the application form
Open calls "A road to Wikimania 2024"
The Core Organizing Team will be hosting open calls for everyone interested in Wikimania. The meetings will take place at different times of the day to accommodate different time zones:
- Thursday, November 30, 2023 – 17:00 UTC
- Thursday, December 7, 2023 – 13:00 UTC Click here to join · dial by your location
- Friday, December 15, 2023 – 09:00 UTC
We will share general updates about Wikimania 2024, help with scholarships, and answer other questions. Come in and ask us about programming, scholarships, logistics, or how to get involved with Wikimania.
Detailed advice
- Filling out the application form will take approximately 45–60 minutes. You can not edit the application after submission. You can only edit it before submission if you don't clear your cookies. Draft carefully and ensure that you write everything you need to write. Please do not submit an application twice.
- You may submit your application in language other than English. If possible, do consider English, though. This is the only language spoken by all Scholarship working group members. Also consider that you will need a working level of English for travel and volunteering at the event anyway.
- We kindly request an honest delineation of individual contributions in group efforts. We do not accept accomplishments that cannot be proven or are untruthfully claimed as solely individual if in fact these were group efforts. Add a link to Diff, a wiki page or even a social media post that will allow us to check if you did what you claim as yours.
| Question | Tip |
|---|---|
| Travel and contact details | In this section please be precise with your answers. Further questions about information inside your passport etc. will be requested only if you are a successful recipient. |
| Statistical demographics | We ask for this information for statistical purposes, in order to ensure that the diversity of applications is reflected in scholarship awards. This data will only be reported in aggregate. |
| Assessment questions | The following questions are the primary questions from which your application will be assessed.
We are eager to read good insights with supportive links. |
| If a person walked up to you and asked you, “What is Wikimedia?” what would you respond? | We are looking to understand how you engage outsiders around Wikimedia. Why is the Wikimedia mission important for the world? How does it work? Why should they care? One paragraph answer is recommended. Please support any references to your own work with links where possible. |
| Why do you keep engaged in the Wikimedia movement? What motivates you to participate? | We want to understand why Wikimedia is important to you: what keeps you contributing? What have you found most exciting about being part of Wikimedia? What has given you the most satisfaction? One paragraph answer is recommended. Please support any references to your own work with links where possible. |
| What does the Wikimania 2024 Spirit “Collaboration of the Open” mean to you? | We are looking for a creative and well reasoned answer about your personal thoughts considering the given spirit: how does this theme resonate with contributions to Wikimedia? How has your work contributed to connecting the larger open ecosystem? One paragraph answer is recommended. Please support any references to your own work with links where possible. |
| Tell us about your recent involvement in your home wiki or the broader Wikimedia movement. What have you built or contributed to in order to improve your wiki or community? Have you led or organized any of these activities? Which activity mattered the most to you personally, regardless of outcome? Please indicate which of these activities took place in the last 12 months. | For this question we are mostly assessing the last 12 months of involvement and activities, so please be intentional to underline these. If necessary, you can also indicate longer-lasting activities with a history and participation in them. Two to three paragraph answer is recommended. Please support any references to your own work with links where possible. |
| How do you usually share your experiences (or things you‘ve learned) with your community? How will you share what you have learned at Wikimania 2024? Examples of on-wiki summaries, reports, blog posts, meetup talks, etc. are welcome here. Please include links to examples. | In the answer we value a concrete, verifiable plan of sharing the Wikimania experience after Wikimania 2024. A bullet point list with some explanation/context is a fine format for this response. |
Criteria for immediate refusal
Applications will fail phase 1 if any of the following failing criteria apply:
- The applicant received a scholarship in 2019 but did not complete their post-conference report(s).
- The applicant received a scholarship in 2023 but did not complete their assigned duties at Wikimania.
- The applicant is a current or past grantee from any WMF Grant program and found to be non-compliant.
- The applicant is currently globally blocked by the Wikimedia Foundation or the community.
- The application is empty.
- The application consists of content which is off-topic or abusive.
- The applicant has failed to make a reasonable effort to answer the questions on the application form.
- The applicant has failed to demonstrate any significant Wikimedia contributions or activities which may merit the awarding of a scholarship.
Core Organizing Team is cooperating with the Wikimedia Foundation and in some cases, Wikimedia hubs or affiliates to determine the final list of scholars. We reserve the right to remove certain people due to their conduct on/off-wiki. Examples would be those on global and event ban lists, under sanctions from the Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC), or otherwise known to the COT as rule breakers.
Applications for which no failing criteria apply will pass into phase 2 for further evaluation.
FAQ
When and where will Wikimania 2024 take place?
In Poland some time between mid-July and mid-August 2024. More details will be published soon.
Who can apply?
Are the scholarships only for first time Wikimania participants?
We will be prioritizing applications from those who best fulfill the criteria of contributing to the Wikimania experience. We will take into account how the scholarship would enhance the applicants' contributions to the mission after the event.
I am not part of an affiliate. How do I apply for funding?
Individuals are able to apply regardless of their affiliate membership status.
I am a Wikimedia Foundation staff member. Can I apply?
- Not as staff. The Core Organizing Team does not provide scholarships to Wikimedia Foundation staff. Attendance of Wikimedia Foundation staff, Wikimedia movement Committees and Wikimedia Foundation Trustees is covered by the Wikimedia Foundation.
- If a paid staff member decides to apply for a scholarship, we expect that they clearly mark which of their accomplishments were coordinated as a staff member, and which were done on volunteer time. Please offer an explanation where required.
I am a Scholarship working group member. Can I apply?
Yes. Volunteer scholarship reviewers will be eligible for a scholarship. To avoid conflict of interest, their applications will be reviewed by a team made of Core Organizing Team members and past Wikimania scholarship reviewers.
If I can't attend Wikimania in person, how can I participate?
There will be an option to join virtually as it will have elements of being a hybrid event.
You may choose to organize a watch party, a local event with activities, or build your event around participation in Wikimania’s programme. This year though we will not be funding Wikimania-related events organized by affiliates from the Wikimania grants fund, funding for the meetup can be requested via the regular grant process.
What is the funding limit?
There is no dollar amount or value. There will a balanced selection process across all regions.
What is the process?
When will the Wikimania 2024 scholarship application open and end?
Applications phase opens on November 15 and closes December 18 2023, Anywhere on Earth. This is midnight on the Pacific Howland and Baker Islands, and 12:00 UTC for the following day. Check what time this translates into for your time zone.
Can I submit applications for a scholarship after the deadline?
No. This is to ensure that final decision results are released on-time and in fairness to all applicants. We recommend to submit applications at least a few days before the deadline to avoid missing it.
What is the process for a Wikimania scholarship?
In general, we expect the workflow for funding decisions to go through the following steps:
- Individuals submit the application forms via LimeSurvey
- The Scholarships working group reviews for eligibility (phase 1 described above)
- The Scholarships working group reviews applications and makes decisions (phase 2 described above)
- Individuals are informed of the decision and are asked for information to enable the Wikimedia Foundation to book transport and accommodation
- The Wikimedia Foundation books and confirms transport and accommodation.
What will happen after the application submissions phase?
When will the submissions be reviewed?
Submissions will be reviewed by the Scholarships working group on an ongoing basis.
How will scholarships be reviewed and awarded?
We will encourage you to provide the suitable answer and link accordingly on LimeSurvey. Once all surveys have successfully been completed and therefore all of the data has been collected, the Scholarship working group will jointly determine which people will become scholars.
When will I receive feedback around my scholarship application?
Offers will start going out in [TBD]. All applicants will be notified of their outcome as quickly as possible. This may take a couple of weeks as some people's circumstances may prevent them from accepting. Other applicants will be referred to their affiliates if you choose that option.
How will applicants for scholarships be notified of the results?
We will use the e-mail address provided on the application to notify applicants. All applicants will be contacted at some point, regardless of the result. We encourage you to use your active email address or provide your active username account in the application form.
I have received / not received a scholarship, and...
What are the requirements for reporting?
Instead of reporting, we are asking scholars to support by volunteering at the event. We will work with you on finding a role that suits your needs, skills and experience. You may write a report, though!
Can I pass my scholarship to someone else?
No. To provide equality, the scholarship was reviewed to a certain order of merits. If a recipient will confirm to decline it, we will pass it to the next person in the order of the review.
If I decline the scholarship for this year, can I pass it to next year’s Wikimania?
No. Each year Wikimania was set under different themes under the consideration of each COT in certain regions. We will encourage you to apply again for the following year, but we will ensure to consider your continuous valuable contribution in our review process.
If I didn’t receive a scholarship, can I ask the scholarship group to review my application again?
No. Our review process involves several meticulous steps, and regrettably, it can only be completed once.
I applied for a scholarship but did not get it. What do I do now?
Getting a scholarship is not necessary for attending Wikimania; you can also register to attend as long as you can cover your own costs.
If you can't cover your own costs, 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!
Contact / Help / I have questions not answered on this page
- See Open calls "A road to Wikimania 2024".
- You may also write an email message to
wikimania.
wikimedia.org - Our help will cover:
- Clarifying questions on the submissions
- The Dos and Don'ts of application submissions
- The issues during the application submission
- Next steps after submissions
- What if I don’t get funded
- If possible, we kindly request not to send us questions on social media – we use the profiles on Facebook, Twitter etc. to keep you updated, but we don't check their inboxes very often.
Related affiliate events funding
(Last year, this was called Satellite events)
Wikimedia affiliates may use funds already obtained through the Wikimedia Foundation General Support Fund (GSF) to run a Wikimania-related event locally, even if such an event was not initially included in their GSF proposal. The GSF grantees have the ability to move funds around their budget as needed, and, per the General Support Fund agreement, the Foundation only requests that Program Officers be informed if that variance is more than 20% from the original proposal.
We encourage all affiliates interested in hosting a Wikimania-related event to list their event details on the Related affiliate events subpage, so that affiliates may coordinate between themselves, encouraging collaboration and connection amongst Wikimedians and to better promote their events.
- Affiliates wanting to live stream into Wikimania should get in touch with the programme working group at
wikimaniaas soon as they have the details of their event.wikimedia.org - The Core Organizing Team will provide technical support for groups wanting to livestream into Wikimania.
- Please use the talk page to discuss ideas.