Good news reached Wikimedia CH during Wikimania 2024 in August 2024: User:Nokib Sarkar from Bangladesh (bottom left in the photo), who was able to attend Wikimania in Poland thanks to the support of our Swiss chapter, was among the winners of the “Coolest Tool Award”. This took place during the closing ceremony. “It was a wonderful coincidence that he was able to be there,” says Community Manager Ulrich Lantermann happily. But what motivates Wikimedia CH to award funding to Bangladesh? We asked Wikimedia CH’s community Manager Ulrich Lantermann.

Hello Ulrich, how come Wikimedia CH awarded Nokib from Banladesch a travel grant?

Ulrich Lantermann: Wikimedia CH had informed the Foundation that we were providing a place for an international application for someone who could not be considered by the Foundation. This was the case with Nokib. The Foundation then made contact with us in the spring. After checking the criteria, we decided that Nobik would receive the funding. We also helped to complete the complicated formalities to make the trip possible. Due to the extremely different cost of living, Nokib was dependent on us to provide a small financial contribution to cover the costs associated with the trip, even before his trip.
Nokib was the only participant from Bangladesh. As far as I know, some visas had been withdrawn due to the political unrest.
It was a great stroke of luck that Nokib was given such prominence in Katowice, Poland. He also took part in the hackathon. He actually wanted to leave before the final event because his flight back from Warsaw left early in the morning and he had to get there first. When the nomination was announced, he decided to take a later train to his hotel in Warsaw.

What ultimately tipped the scales in favor of Wikimedia CH’s support?

Ulrich Lantermann: The decisive factor for us was the prospect that Nokib would be able to take home many valuable impressions and contacts, integrate the experiences into his everyday life and thus further promote free knowledge in Bangladesh. As we know, access to free knowledge is an important prerequisite for demoktarie. Many new contacts help to carry the spirit of the movement out into the world. We have thus fulfilled our task of promoting free knowledge in Switzerland and beyond.

Which program is responsible for awarding a grant like this?

Ulrich Lantermann: The Community Program is in charge of this. We could have enabled other candidates to take part in Wikimania. However, the funding contingent was not exhausted.

What is the name of the cool tool that Nokib helped to develop and what is it good for?

Ulrich Lantermann: The tool is called CampWiz. It was created for the Feminism and Folklore Editathon, which celebrates cultural diversity and gender inclusivity on Wikipedia every year. It helps manage each campaign with real-time graphics and statistics for edits made during each campaign. Perhaps Nokib can also work with us on other projects.

To summarize: It is always worth asking Wikimedia CH whether funding is available for participation in events or for projects.

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Photo: Omar David Sandoval Sida, „Wikimania 2024 Hackathon Showcase“, CC BY-SA 4.0