Wikimania 2016 bids/Esino Lario/Program

Esino Lario is a small village and the attendees of Wikimania will benefit from proximity, walking distances, open space, formal and informal gatherings. Beyond the working sessions, an evening program is proposed with different activities, places to gather and special events; the program also includes activities for children. Our proposal highlights some excursions attendees might be interested in and the possibility to arrive before the pre-conference in Como for the Wikimania Takes Lake Como soft program. A broader calendar of initiatives is organized in North of Italy and in the Italian-speaking Switzerland to take full advantage of the preparation and visibility of Wikimania.

Wikimania Esino Lario has 3 main target groups involved in different ways and with different timing.

• The participants of the conference Wikimania Esino Lario (involved for the conference). The 3-5-1 days pre-conference, conference and postconference focused on wikimedians, and people active in ICT, online communities, communication, open licenses, OER Open Educational Resources, and culture. The conference is in English (since exchanges and discussions are at the centre of the event, it would not be efficient in this location to invest in interpreters and simultaneous translations). To involve the participants the program includes working sessions, special events, excursions, a program for children, and of course a collaborative space and a lot of informal meeting space.
  • Newbies. People who want to know something about a "topic", discover it or get introduced to it. These people can be new to Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, or they can know very well a specific Wikimedia project but do not necessarily other projects and initiatives (i.e. Wikidata, Wikisource, data available for research, WMF fundings, outreach projects related to GLAMs, education, medicine, the activities of chapters...). Formats such as "user digest" presentations, posters, the chapter village, and brochures are meant for them.
  • Advanced. People who want to move forward on a "topic": discuss it, challenge it, brainstorm about it, take a decision/position related to it, or learn how to develop the skills to do something more; they already know the background (or they can get an overview about it at Wikimania). Format such as "critical issues" presentations, discussions, meetups, the hackathon, and training are meant for them.
  • Journalists. Of course communication takes into consideration the needs of journalists (press information, press kit, reference contact, support in arranging interviews).
  • Cultural institutions. Wikimania can be a chance to invite cultural institutions and key stakeholders to discover the relevance of contributing to the Wikimedia projects and the use of open licenses. We have already booked Villa Monastero which is an extremely charming location for a gathering specifically designed for cultural institutions which could be organized during the preconferece.
  • Volunteers. Contributing to Wikimania is not only something we are grateful to volunteers for, but it should be a chance to enhance personal skills. We are browsing possibilities to link the event to existing volunteer programs (Italian and European, for volunteers <26 years old) and in the pre-conference we plan training for volunteers (i.e. how Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects work, video recording, how to facilitate a session, how to make interviews with participants and collect data about discussions). Please note that the program for children is specifically meant to allow volunteers to volunteer (i.e. people in Esino Lario and organizers); priority will be given to volunteers with children, but there are going to be some available places for participants with children.
  • Special guests and partners. We are involving guests and partners in the event (in the planning and for the sessions) and we are informing like-mind and relevant organizations about Wikimania. "Special guests" can contribute to the presentations and discussions and can bring specific skills to the event. Since they are not only involved in the presentations we are not calling them keynotes.
• The Esino Lario community (involved for the conference, and before and afte the conference). The conference deeply involves the Esino Lario community.
• People in Italy and Switzerland, with a specific focus on the Province of Lecco, Como, Varese and Sondrio, and the Canton of Ticino and Grisons in Switzerland (involved before and after the conference). Wikimania Esino Lario is a chance to trigger communication and participation among a larger audience. Beyond the participants at the conference we target a larger community with a specific focus on our territorial local area, the Italian language and three specific groups:
  • People working in associations and cultural institutions, and public administrations. During the planning phase we have already contacted and exchanged with many associations, cultural institutions, public institutions. We plan to reinforce in particular with communication (and fundraising) the current program of meetings, presentations and activities of Wikimedia Italia and Wikimedia CH.
  • Young people (reached through schools and universities). During this planning phase, we have already organized a training-game in Esino Lario primary school and we have set contacts with two high schools in Lecco. We plan to involve local schools (1 secondary school and 2 high schools) with presentations and training and to support with communication the program Wikimedia Italia has already with schools in Italy.
  • Female entrepreneurship and the Internet. We are planning to support a series of presentations and training for women in the Province of Lecco and Ticino in collaboration with a newly born association interested in developing and managing this program. The topic is the internet and female entrepreneurship; Wikipedia and open licenses are presented as a component of the Internet and to provide an understanding of online dynamics, but they are not the centre of the program because they do not appear in this phase as the best entrance point to enhance female online participation and use of the Internet and digital tools.

Wikipedia as a driver for change is the theme of Wikimania Esino Lario. This theme taps on the specific characteristics of Wikimania Esino Lario, it relates to the classic thematic tracks which have already structured past Wikimanias, and it allows to slightly change the general perspective of the event and its sessions. We plan to involve the community in the discussions by using a call for proposal, asking people in which ways they think Wikipedia is a driver for change. Using Wikipedia as a reference in the title is not meant to reduce the importance of other Wikimedia projects, but to refer to Wikipedia as the initial project and as the current largest and most well-known one. We assume that some of Wikipedia features (open license, editable content, collaborative work, community, work in progress, neutral point of view, no distinctions between editors based on academic titles, be bold...) have been relevant for the establishment of other projects and we assume that by focusing on Wikipedia features we can also consider links with other initiatives, groups and approaches online and offline.

Rather than a topic, the general theme guides the way sessions are structured. We would like to ask presentations to include in their proposals and talks visions for the future, or observations related to what has changed from the past (positively and negatively).

The working sessions we propose for Wikimania Esino Lario are based on the analysis of the different sessions which have already been organized in previous editions of Wikimania and other relevant conferences, and they relay on the observation of the targets we want to address (their relevance for the movement, their expectations and the way their expectations can be met).

Presentations are speeches meant to inform, persuade, or rise issues. According to the discussions on past Wikimanias we highlighted the need of two kind of presentations: presentations meant for newbies which provide an overview of a topic (user digest presentations) and presentations which are more in-depth which assume the public have already a certain degree of knowledge on a topic (critical issues). To introduce topics and to provide an overview to what is going on in the moment also posters, the community village and brochures are valuable tools.

A "user digest presentation" is a presentation which provides an overview of a topic. It is a sort of extended "State of the Wiki" which can browse all sort of more specific topics: status of the organization (i.e. Wikimedia Foundation, chapters-affiliates-groups around the world), strategies related to territories (i.e. Iberocoop, Africa, Wikipedia offline and on mobile phone), specific projects (i.e. Wikidata, Wikisource), projects in the field of education (i.e. schools, high schools, universities, outreach targeting specific groups), partnerships with GLAMs, dynamics of the online community, research related to Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, software development, events, legislation...

The idea behind general presentation is that people can be extremely informed in a specific field, but they can be newbies in another. The "user digest presentations" are conceived to provide an overview of a topic, and they do not expect people to have background knowledge on it. This kind of presentation is linked to existing groups (i.e. people working in education and partnerships with GLAMs). The evaluation of the user digest presentations should take into consideration the preparatory work of the applicant and the capacity of the presentation to acknowledge not only what is going on in one country or one linguistic projects but around the world and in different linguistic projects.

The user digest presentations are managed through the liaisons. You can contact them if you have ideas or suggestions.

• 
  The sport hall has a 700m2 floor and an upstairs gallery.
• 
  The cinema can accommodate around 300 seats or the tensile structure 500.
• 
  Outdoor space is also a possible option with good weather.

Presentations around critical issues are meant to present a topic more in-depth (problem, possible solution, critical analysis). Those presentations do not target newbies, and they can assume attendees have already a background knowledge on the topic. Those presentations are also meant to nourish discussions. In the call for proposals, applicants will be asked to specify who is the target of the presentation and what they would like the presentation to produce (i.e. decision, beta test, creation of a new specific project, collaboration with specific groups, application to the IEG or other grant). Those presentations can be also further discussed during meetups.

Presentations on critical issues will be selected for Wikimania Esino Lario using a call for proposals and a selection process managed by the Program Committee. Participants will also be invited to contribute to Wikimania by preparing posters. Presentations will be video recorded and uploaded online after Wikimania and not in Esino Lario.^[1]

• 
  The theatre of the Kindergarten has a palk and it is already equipped for presentations.
• 
  The meeting is a meeting space around 10 x 8 m with an upstairs gallery.
• 
  The new museum with a multimedia rooms for around 40 seats.

Posters can be a way to provide an overview of topics and of what is going on in the movement in different countries and locations. The chapter village has been organized during the last Wikimania as a space to allow participants to meet the chapters and who works and collaborates with chapters. Brochures are normally distributed in the chapter village and in London they have been produced specifically to allow people interested in a topic to get an idea of what was going on related to that topic during Wikimania (introduction and events which might interest). During Wikimania Esino Lario posters, the chapter village and brochures focus on newbies (in the different projects and initiatives); these formats provide space for a variety of information and they increase the number of topics covered by the conference. The posters are also a tool to prepare the "user digest" presentations and to provide the community with online documentation during and after the event.

Thematic discussions are discussions with an objective; the objective is what determines their structure. Among the objectives there can be for example taking a decision, browsing possible solutions for a problem, making latent problems and issues emerging, considering a topic from different perspectives.

It could be interesting to browse the possibility of transforming the Q&A with Wikimedia Foundation board into a discussion; also the presentation of Wikimedia Foundation could be structured differently: with a "user digest presentation" of the executive director and a discussion involving the executive director and representatives of the different areas of the foundation.

We estimated the price to have two facilitators involved in supporting the planning of those session (selection and definition of the structure, i.e. plenary and group discussions, simulations, different technique of brainstorming...) and contributing in facilitating their implementation.

• 
  The primary school has a hall and 6 rooms which can allow to focus on a topic and split the discussion in smaller groups.
• 
  The collaborative space is on two levels; at the second floor there is a long row of 7 rooms separated by few steps but without separation wall; all rooms have doors and a large window and long balcony outside.

Meetups are informal meetings. We expect the proximity which characterizes Wikimania Esino Lario to facilitate meetups. We expect them to take place in bars, restaurants and in the tensile structure. Time for meetups will be included in the schedule and not simply planned after the working sessions or at lunch.

• 
  Montanina bar restaurant and hotel with a large garden shared with the Hotel restaurant Rosa delle Alpi (same owner).
• 
  The garden of the Montanina bar restaurant hotel.
• 
  The bar restaurant 58 with a terrace.
• 
  The bar restaurant Oasi with a large outside and a terrace.
• 
  Outdoor space can be equipped with small tensile structures (in the photo the small tensile structures owned by Pro Loco Esino Lario).

The Wikimania hackathon is a classic Wikimania pre-conference event during which computer programmers are invited to collaborate insensibly on Wikimedia software projects. The connectivity of Wikimania Esino Lario is planned to provide the technical requirement to host such event.

The primary school is located closed to the arrival of the optical fiber and it can accommodate conveniently 200 people (one large hall and 6 other rooms surrounding it); it is adjacent to Villa Clotilde with its garden and the new museum with its multimedia room; it is near by the theatre of the Kindergarten.

• 
  Hacking days in Taipei.
• 
  Hackathon at Wikimania Haifa.
• 
  Hackathon at Wikimania Washington DC.
• 
  Devcamp at Wikimania Hong Kong.
• 
  Hackathon in the Barbican conservatory at Wikimania London.

A training is a session meant to enhance skills. The idea of the training is that you come out of it with a new or reinforced competence (or at worst you come out it knowing who can answer your questions). A call will be made to ask people what kind of training they want or need. Training can be on all sort of topics: how to contribute to a project (i.e. Wikipedia, Wikisource, Wikidata), how to get your group recognized by Wikimedia Foundation, how to organized an educational event in a high school, how to request a grant to Wikimedia Foundation, how to evaluate a project, how to take photos for the Wikimedia Projects, how to organize a contest, how to download and install kiwix, how to involve a museum, how to use QRpedia in a museum, how to adopt on open licenses or how to make others using them...

• The collaborative space is also designed to have an help desk where people can ask questions, in particular short technical ones (i.e. how do I make a table using a wiki, how I convert my video, how I do become an admin...).
• Workshops will also be organized in the evening as a sort of hands-on training.

• 
  A workshop at Wikimania Haifa.
• 
  A workshop at Wikimania London.

The collaborative space is a building which will be 24/24 open and equipped with working stations. We would like to create in this space also a sort of help desk where people can ask questions, in particular short technical ones (i.e. how do I make a table using a wiki, how I convert my video, how I do become an admin...). The collaborative space will remain a collaborative space also after Wikimania and it will host Esino Lario associations.

Always according to our site-specific approach, instead of organizing one big event per evening, we propose a series of initiatives taking place during the week of the conference. This allows attendees to have a broader choice of activities and it reduces the complexity of managing them. The eventing program is organized in collaboration with local associations and artists, and it takes advantage of the network Esino Lario and Wikimedia Italia has established through time. The curator of the special events is Domenico Barardinelli (biographies of the team). Please note that we included in the estimated costs the payment of the siae license for the days of the conference.

The collaborative working space will be open 24/24.

We will set a gathering space for the evening. In the estimated budget we included 15'000 euro ($ 20.587,35) for the welcome event; this budget can also be used as following:

The workshops in the evening are organized as sort of hands-on training, they are sort of games and they take advantage also of the skills of our keynote speakers and "special guests". Among the possible workshops:

• Simply in a Box, organized by ImpossibleSites dans la rue (and Giuditta Nelli). A workshop to build and use a pinhole cameras. Giuditta Nelli has already gave her availability.
• Open Street Map. This is a classic event at Wikimania which it would be nice to organize in collaboration with the Italian Open Street Map group (which is currently associated to Wikimedia Italia).
• According to the interest, it is possible to ask Massimo Banzi co-founder of Arduino if he can lead a workshop on Arduino.

Some of the possibilities for performances are:

• Performance with a concert and music by Roberto Paci Dalò. Roberto Paci Dalò has already gave his availability.
• Performance by Invernomuto. Invernomuto has being commissioned the artwork Culiarsi which belongs to the Associazione Amici del Museo delle Grigne in Esino Lario. The artwork is composed of a 6-meters theremin; in 2011 the theremin was activated by a falcon, and it included in the performance the meal prepared by the Alpini, a presentation of two Italian champions of bike and motocross and video. Invernomuto also works with music (very broad international interest in music) and it will dj the evening. Invernomuto have already gave their availability.
• Spot-Concerts. It is a format that has been already organized in other places in Italy. It is quite charming. Little orchestras and musician play one after the other in different spots. The programme tells when the concert starts and ends, but not the locations. People need to listen and follow the music, and by following the music the discover a place.

The theatre of the Kindergarten can be used in the evening for video projections (videos of artists, open license videos, documentaries or films).

Thematic dinners can be planned before the event and organized in particular in the restaurants of Cainallo and Ortanella (please refer to the session food). With a nice weather Cainallo and Ortanella are particularly enjoyable locations; Cainallo with an impressive view of the Grigna mountains and Ortanella with a beautiful view of Lake Como (in particular from San Pietro in Ortanella, a short 10 minutes walk from the restaurant)

Esino Lario is located in North of Italy, in the Alps above Lake Como. It is a charming mountain village immerse in a 18,66 kmq green area and in the Northern Grigna Regional Park. Esino Lario is the starting point for excursions in the mountains and visits to naturalistic, panoramic and historical sites in its territory and on Lake Como, Valsassina, Valchiavenna, Valtellina, Brianza, Milano, Ticino in Switzerland.

Wikimania Takes Lake Como is four-days soft program of gatherings and site-seeing designed for early arrivals and for people who want to take advantage of the event to visit and discover Lake Como. Participants will be accommodate in the city of Como, the program will include excursions on the lake, in the Como and Varese area and in Ticino in Switzerland^[2]. Como is a relevant location for this pre-conference event for its charme, its convenient distance from Malpensa airport, for its strategic position in between Lake Como, Milan, Province of Como, Province of Lecco, Province of Monza and Brianza, and Ticino. Transport from Como to Esino Lario will be organized by boat and bus. The format of the event relies on the Wikimania Takes Manhattan model and it responds to the need of enlarging the geography of the event and take advantage of Esino Lario location to allow attendees to enjoy and experience other sites and cities^[3].

For Wikimania Takes Lake Como we will provide:

• Information related to accommodation in Como; participants will manage directly their reservation.
• A soft program of gatherings and site-seeing; participants will be free to join the program and they will have the chance to meet for those gatherings and excursions.
• The presence of two volunteers organizing and facilitating Wikimania Takes Lake Como.
• An organized travel by boat and bus to Esino Lario on time for the pre-conference.

• 
  Esino Lario.
• 
  Excursions on the Grigna mountain.
• 
  Rifugio Brioschi.
• 
  Church of San Pietro in Ortanella with panoramic view of Lake Como.
• 
  Panoramic view of Lake Como from San Pietro in Ortanella.
• 
  Church of San Vittore.
• 
  Via Crucis by Michele Vedani.

30 minutes from Esino Lario by bus or car. From Varenna trains to move on the oriental side of the lake and boats to cross the lake.

• 
  Lake Como.
• 
  Varenna.
• 
  Villa Monastero in Varenna with its botanical garden.
• 
  Il Castel of Vezio, between Perledo and Varenna.
• 
  Orrido di Bellano.
• 
  Bellagio and Villa Serbelloni.
• 
  Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo with its botanical garden.
• 
  Corenno Plinio (Dervio) with its church and castle.
• 
  The monastery of Piona (Colico).
• 
  Santa Maria del Tiglio in Gravedona.
• 
  Como with its cathedral and San Fedele.

• List of museums in Province of Lecco.
• List of museums in Province of Como.

• 
  Milan.
• 
  Crespi d'Adda (word heritage site).
• 
  Rock Drawings in Valcamonica (world heritage site).
• 
  Bergamo.
• 
  Palazzo Besta in Teglio
• 
  Lugano.
• 
  Monte San Giorgio, between Italy and Switzerland (world heritage site).

• List of museums in Province of Bergamo.
• List of museums in Province of Milan.
• List of museums in Milan.
• List of museums in Province of Sondrio.

To meet the necessities of the volunteers involved in the organization and to offer a relevant program for all the attendees, children-care and activities for children are planned in collaboration with local institutions. The cost of the child-care will be cover meals, insurance and staff.

Esino Lario was awarded in 2010 the Prize FamilyWork for its project Esino Lario child-friendly (Esino Lario a misura di bambino), which included activities, workshops, artworks and a simple communication system with logos which identify available services for children. The prize is promoted by Lombardy Region and ALTIS, a research unit at the Catholic University of Milan.

You find Wikimania Esino Lario schedule on Wikimania2016 website. Wikimania Esino Lario will actually take place from 2015 until 2017 with an extended program of gatherings, presentations and trainings organized thanks to the project Wikimania Esino Lario - Protagonismo culturale offline e online (in Italian).

Wikimania Esino Lario takes place the last week of June 2016 (21-28 June 2016).

• Pre-conference wednesday 22 June - thursday 23 June 2016
• Conference friday 24 June - sunday 26 June 2016
• Post-conference monday 27 June 2016.

Reasons for the selected dates. The last week of June has been selected for a series of important advantages it can assure: school is over in Italy so we can take advantage of transport and venues, tourism is heavy in the region in July-August, and normally it is the best weather. The availability of restaurants and accommodation would be critical in July and August, and – because of the main tourist season – we would have problems to have the support of local volunteers fully working in the area in July and August, or away for holidays. We can of course take care of everything which can facilitate the participation of attendees during the Ramadan and we can assure meals and food at the needed time.