Submissions
This page is currently under construction.
We invite you to submit a proposal for a workshop, seminar, tutorial, panel, or presentation for WikiConference North America!
To submit a proposal, first create an account (if you don't have one already) and login. In the green box below, replace the "Your proposal title" text with the title of your proposal and click "Create Page". You will be directed to a self-explanatory wiki page. To submit your proposal, please be sure to save the wiki page.
If you are presenting at Wikimania 2017, but would also like to present at WikiConference North America, we encourage you to do so; there will be many concurrent tracks at Wikimania, and presenting twice will allow you to reach more people who may otherwise miss out on your presentation.
The deadline to submit proposals is ???.
Browse existing submissions here.
Proposal Review Process
You will be notified about the Program Committee's decision regarding your submission. 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 compatible license.
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 Criteria
Presentation Types
| Type | Description | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Panel | A facilitated discussion among three or more speakers on a pre-selected topic. | 30–45 min. |
| Workshop | A facilitated group-wide discussion or hands-on tutorial/work session on a pre-selected topic. | 30–75 min. |
| Presentation | A presentation on any topic within the themes covered by the conference. | 15–30 min. |
| Unconference | Lightning talk, open space, and other informal formats. | Various |
Academic Peer Review Option
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.
After the conference, authors might also wish to consider submitting these presentations to the new journal Wiki Studies.
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. This year we have created five themes for the conference, though you are welcome to submit proposals on any relevant topic; these are mostly provided for guidance and organization!
Advocacy & Outreach
- How do contributors find community, local and global?
- How do usergroups and chapters mobilize independent contributors?
- How does the Wikimedia community fit into the global conversation about open culture, information freedom, and digital rights?
Proposals under this theme could focus on outreach to diverse institutions and communities to promote Wikipedia’s mission.
Topics under this theme may include:
- Free culture advocacy
- Methods for digital collaboration
- Local community building and outreach events
- Broad campaigns (like Wiki Loves Monuments and Wikipedia Loves Libraries)
- Copyright licensing and legislative reform
- Building partnerships with open access allies
- Internal and external grant funding for Wikimedia chapters and contributors
- Effective use of social media to promote chapter activities
Community
- Why do people contribute to Wikipedia?
- What are the major concerns of Wikipedia contributors and readers, and how can we address them?
- How might we broaden and diversify the community (in terms of professional experience, multicultural and gender participation), while building on the original grassroots spirit of the project?
Proposals under this theme could explore the dynamics of wiki culture and community, and provide a forum for participants and researchers to share methods for community management, engagement, participation, and conflict resolution.
Topic areas under this theme may include:
- Community and chapter dialogue
- Multicultural, linguistic, and gender diversity on Wikipedia
- Dispute resolution for Wikimedia projects
- Discrepancies and conflicts between different policies
- Paid editing, generic advocacy editing, and conflict of interest editing
Technology & Infrastructure
- How can we empower the non-tech contributors to participate in technological development?
- How can we make tools more user-friendly for the non-tech users?
- How can communities more effectively and sustainably contribute to the development of new tools for Wikimedia?
- How we can empower our Wikimedia community on privacy and cybersecurity?
Proposals under this theme could focus on showcasing technology applications and theories, demonstrate new uses of existing and evolving technologies, and applying technologies to meet user needs and improve the overall user experience.
Topic areas in this track may include:
- Usability studies
- Wikipedia mobile interface
- Repositories and documentation for tools
- Article feedback tools
- MediaWiki extensions
- Tool labs
- Translation and localization
- Wikidata
- Wikimaps and geo projects
- Tools for GLAMs (RAMP, Authority Control, etc.)
- Tools for multimedia content donations
GLAM
- How do we create strong, long-standing and sustainable cultural heritage and institutional partnerships with Wikipedia?
- How can institutions use Wikipedia tools and community to increase use and access to institutional resources and digitized materials?
- How do Wikipedians respond to the concerns of institutions about public domain content donations?
- How do GLAM projects connect with each other to increase institutional support and develop best practices?
GLAMs – Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums – and academia have become major contributors of new content. This track aims to foster collaboration and synergy between Wikimedians, GLAMs and educational institutions. Presentations and panels will demonstrate effective outreach techniques and results from ongoing activities as well as envision the future path for these efforts.
Topic areas in the cultural part of this track may include:
- Partnerships and coordination
- Technical tools such as QRpedia, Wiki Loves Monuments and Wikipedia towns
- Case studies
- Wikipedian In Residence programs
- The Wikipedia Library
- Project reporting
Education and Academic Engagement
- How do we foster greater collaboration among educational institutions, educators, and Wikipedians?
- How can academic literatures on the construction of knowledge contribute to new understandings of Wikipedia's potential?
- What factors make for a successful educational project?
- How can we manage growth, collaboration and sustainability in the Wikipedia Education Program?
- How do we work with different academic disciplines and subdisciplines?
- How do we keep materials up to date in the face of academic change and controversy?
Proposals under this theme could focus on the Wiki Education Foundation (Wiki Ed)'s programs in the United States and Canada, parallel initiatives in Mexico, and furthering mutually beneficial academic partnerships.
Topics in the educational part of this track may include:
- Wikipedia-editing assignments in universities
- The Wiki Education Foundation (Wiki Ed) programs, and parallel initiatives
- Perceptions of Wikipedia in academia
- Teaching the increasing reliability of Wikipedia
- Information literacy among students
- Wikipedia as a secondary education resource