2019/Submissions

WikiConference North America 2019 • Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.

Registration • Travel Guide • Unconference

2019 Theme: Reliability
Other Focus Areas:
Relationship Building & Support	Inclusion & Diversity
Editor Recruitment & Retention	Tech & Tools
Harassment, Civility, & Safety	Other Your topic here!
More details at bottom.

WikiConference North America 2019 will be taking place November 8-11 in Boston, Massachusetts. November 9th and 10th will serve as the conference's main programming days, filled with workshops, seminars, tutorials, panels, and presentations from the community and organizations affiliated with the movement.

This year's theme is the reliability of information, and we invite submissions that explore the reliability of information on Wikimedia platforms and beyond, and solutions in that space. This year's conference is made in collaboration with the Credibility Coalition, and we're excited to have two communities coming together to discuss this space.

We also have several focus areas that the community has expressed interest in, listed to the right. While the theme and these focus areas will be particular topics the conference will revolve around, we welcome all submissions that are relevant to the Wikimedia movement - do not feel confined to the conference theme or focus areas if you have something great to share!

To submit a proposal, first create an account (if you haven't already) and login. In the green box below, enter your session's title and click the "Create Submission" button. You will be directed to a self-explanatory form to fill out and submit. If you have any questions about the process, you may leave them on the talk page.

General submissions closed September 22, 2019. Academic submissions (see below) are still being accepted through September 27, 2019.

Submit a Session Proposal
Note: You must create an account first.

Existing proposals may be viewed at Category:Submissions/2019.

Proposal Review Process

Proposals will be reviewed by a Programming Committee. Each Committee member scores each submission on a scale of 1 through 10. Each submission is rated on a variety of factors including but not limited to the level of impact and expected outcomes; expected community interest; and how well-connect the submission is to the theme or a focus area. Committee scores are averaged, and the top portion of submissions will be accepted as they fit into the schedule.

You will be notified about the Program Committee's decision regarding your submission via email. If your submission is not added to the preliminary schedule, please do not be discouraged. WikiConference North America will have time set aside in the schedule for participants and attendees to participate in self-organized talks and working groups during our lightning talks and unconference sessions.

Terms of Participation

By submitting a proposal, you agree that the text of your proposal, your presentation slides, and any video recordings can be distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License or a similar license. (Note that NC and ND licenses are generally incompatible with Wikimedia projects.)

You also agree that, under the terms of the license, recordings of your presentation may be broadcast live, recorded, and made available for download later. If you prefer not to be recorded, please contact one of the conference organizers, we are happy to accommodate your request.

Further, by submitting a proposal, you agree to abide by the terms of the Safe Space Policy.

Submission Notes

Presentation Types

Type	Description	Suggested Length
Presentation	A presentation on any topic within the themes covered by the conference.	15–30 min.
Panel	A facilitated discussion among three or more speakers on a pre-selected topic.	30–45 min.
Workshop	A facilitated group-wide tutorial and/or working session on a pre-selected topic.	30–75 min.
Round Table	A group-wide discussion on a pre-selected topic.	30–60 min.
Unconference	Lightning talk, open space, and other informal formats.	Various

Academic Peer Review Option

We are seeking presentations addressing topics related to teaching with Wikipedia and/or the intersection between higher education and Wikipedia generally. Presenters have the option of submitting their proposals under Academic Peer Review, which will be evaluated by a subset of academics serving on the Program Committee. This option is entirely voluntary, and is intended primarily for academic-type presenters who require a peer review process for travel support through their home institutions.

Unlike previous years, this year there is no separate scholarship process for academic submitters. Any academic submitters who wish to apply for a scholarship can apply through the normal scholarship process when it opens.

Unconference

In additional to traditional programming, we have set aside time for Unconference sessions. These sessions give time for anyone to propose or spontaneously organize a mini-presentation, discussion, or workshop on a wiki-related topic. Lightning talk sessions will also be made available for folks to give short (typically ~2 min) presentations.

Visit our Unconference page to brainstorm and jot down ideas.

Proposal Themes

We invite attendees to submit proposals for panels, workshops, seminars, and other presentations in topics that fall under topics related to Wikipedia or free culture.

Our theme this year is reliability, and will be the biggest portion and focus of our program. We also have five other focus areas the community has expressed interest in. Don't worry if your proposal does not exactly fit in one of the below categories; you are welcome to submit proposals on any relevant topic!

2019 Theme: Reliability This year, WikiConference North America's theme is the reliability of information. We're putting an emphasis on analyzing the current state of information reliability across Wikimedia projects and beyond, and how we can create solutions to improve this reliability. Some examples of topics that would fit fell in this track include: Wikidata workshops on structured metadata and/or modeling reliability and bias of sources 'In the News' current events articles and innovating talk page mechanisms Perennial sources - current state and future improvements Exploring the promises and pitfalls of white- and blacklisting of articles from academic and practitioner perspectives. What do signals or indicators for news quality look like?
Focus Area: Relationship Building & Support Topics under this theme may include: Building partnerships with external institutions GLAM partnerships (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) Universities Research organizations Local community building and outreach events Affiliates and other organized groups Effective use of social media to promote chapter activities Grantmaking	Focus Area: Inclusion & Diversity Topic areas under this theme may include: Tools (identifying content gaps, recruitment, etc.) Research Organizing inclusive projects and events Case studies
Focus Area: Editor Recruitment & Retention Topic areas in this track may include: Online and offline outreach Case studies and research Organizing offline events Tools	Focus Area: Tech & Tools Topic areas in the cultural part of this track may include: Wikidata Contributing Structured Commons Integration with other projects Tools to edit Wikipedia Tools to edit Wikimedia Commons Tools in development Tools for offline events
Focus Area: Harassment, Civility, & Safety Topic areas in this track may include: Tools to combat harassment Guidance for dealing with harassment Research Safety considerations at events Protecting community members	Other These focus areas are topics that the community has expressed interest in, but they don't cover everything! Don't worry if your proposal does not exactly fit in one of the other categories; you are welcome to submit proposals on any relevant topic.