Report of ESEAP 2022 by Gnangarra
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One of the first areas of concern was the COT capacity to organise travel, support visa applications, and accommodation for this WMAU engaged Maxims to do this work. That wasnt well planned for in our original budget it was not an oversight but rather not having the experience to consider all the implications with this process. I have some reservations about how that worked with Maxims but I was outside that process so cant really comment with any depth or insight beyond anecdotal discussions with attendees. | One of the first areas of concern was the COT capacity to organise travel, support visa applications, and accommodation for this WMAU engaged Maxims to do this work. That wasnt well planned for in our original budget it was not an oversight but rather not having the experience to consider all the implications with this process. I have some reservations about how that worked with Maxims but I was outside that process so cant really comment with any depth or insight beyond anecdotal discussions with attendees. | ||
I participated in the programming discussions we had many good ideas put forward and those that we accepted were well received. One area of concern was the pressure from the WMF and various strategy working groups to try to accommodate all of their wants. This pressure raised some issues, first was from my perspective that it was ESEAP's conference and our choices on what mattered for ESEAP wasnt always being accepted. The lack of a single communication point for the demands of every group was another issue that could be explored. The communication and consultation from the team when initial plans were made the teams clutched to initial email response with plans not accept that the programming team had to make compromises in the dynamics schedule as it was being put together. This caused friction around the amount of time for presentations, what ESEAP | I participated in the programming discussions we had many good ideas put forward and those that we accepted were well received. One area of concern was the pressure from the WMF and various strategy working groups to try to accommodate all of their wants. This pressure raised some issues, first was from my perspective that it was ESEAP's conference and our choices on what mattered for ESEAP wasnt always being accepted. The lack of a single communication point for the demands of every group was another issue that could be explored. The communication and consultation from the team when initial plans were made the teams clutched to initial email response with plans not accept that the programming team had to make compromises in the dynamics schedule as it was being put together. This caused friction around the amount of time for presentations, what ESEAP wanted from the sessions compared to what the WMF teams wanted. | ||
=== Scholarship lead === | === Scholarship lead === | ||
Revision as of 09:13, 27 November 2022
This space is for me to unpack the ESEAP 2022 Conference, WoW22, Wikimania 2023 meeting reporting which I and help organised.
COT event organisation
As one of the original COT members and ESEAP organisor I support WMAU hosting the ESEAP event in conjunction with Worlds of Wikimedia 2022. Wikimedia Australia was already considering an Australian meetup following WoW as had occurred previously in 2019, I had suggested they expand it to allow for an all of ESEAP conference. The funding application was process was very short and put together over about a week the speed of this process would later contribute to some issues around costs and attendance. Conference wise the COT accepted my optimism and we planned for 100 attendees, with 60 scholarship places being funded via the WMF Conference grant with the balance being made up of WMF staff and people being funded through other means. While I'm happy my optimism was followed I do acknowledge that these numbers did place a heavier burden on the whole organising team and highlighted real concerns about our capacity to handle those numbers.
One of the first areas of concern was the COT capacity to organise travel, support visa applications, and accommodation for this WMAU engaged Maxims to do this work. That wasnt well planned for in our original budget it was not an oversight but rather not having the experience to consider all the implications with this process. I have some reservations about how that worked with Maxims but I was outside that process so cant really comment with any depth or insight beyond anecdotal discussions with attendees.
I participated in the programming discussions we had many good ideas put forward and those that we accepted were well received. One area of concern was the pressure from the WMF and various strategy working groups to try to accommodate all of their wants. This pressure raised some issues, first was from my perspective that it was ESEAP's conference and our choices on what mattered for ESEAP wasnt always being accepted. The lack of a single communication point for the demands of every group was another issue that could be explored. The communication and consultation from the team when initial plans were made the teams clutched to initial email response with plans not accept that the programming team had to make compromises in the dynamics schedule as it was being put together. This caused friction around the amount of time for presentations, what ESEAP wanted from the sessions compared to what the WMF teams wanted.