Scholarships/Wikimania 2011 Scholars
The following are brief bios from a small group of the 2011 Wikimania Scholarship recipients. These individual stories are meant to provide a better idea about the types of people who do really well on the application! They are individuals from around the world who are able to articulate why they are a part of the Wikimedia Movement, what they love doing for Wikimedia, and what they hope to do in the future! We had over 130 people with scholarship in 2011, all with interesting background and passions; the following biographies serve as a brief representation of all those voices.
We want to select scholarship recipients who are passionate about our causes and who have plans for applying that passion in future.
Good luck!
User:Sodabottle
- Location
- India
- Projects
- English Wikipedia, Tamil Wikipedia, Tamil Wiktionary, Commons, WikiConference in India (Organizer), supporting Wiki related workshops and outreach events.
- Languages
- Tamil and English
- Background
- "I live and work in India. My income is in Indian Rupees. In real-world terms, a trip to Haifa without a scholarship would cost me about 18 months of rent for a two bedroom apartment. Although the actual dollar amount may sound relatively low for first-world citizens, (considering purchasing power parity) it is quite expensive for people like me to travel to Wikimania.”
- Projects
- Military History, Tamil & Indian History, Tamil & Indian politics, Tamil Cinema and Tamil Literature
- What did you think of Wikimania and how has it impacted you?
- “In short: awesome. I met Wikipedians and Wikimedians with diverse backgrounds and I learned a lot from them. Attending Wikimania has helped me come out of the ‘Wikipedia shell’. I used to only interact with fellow Wikimedians through Wikipedia, but now I have become more open and remain in contact with others outside of Wikipedia.”
User:Sumanadig
- Location
- Bangalore, India
- Projects
- Kannada Wikipedia and Outreach Activities
- Languages
- Kannada and English
- How did you get involved in the Movement?
- As a long-time user of Wikipedia, Suma was motivated to contribute by her husband (who is a long-time Wikipedian); she eventually took the plunge and began to edit. Tapping into her personal interests, Suma’s first Wikipedia article was about the village near Mangalore, where she spent her childhood days. As the only female from India to receive a scholarship, Suma encourages people to immerse themselves in the wiki-realm by editing, attending meetups, and engaging with people in the community.
- Interests
- A cook, artist, Carnatic music lover, electronic and electrical engineer; like many Wikipedians, Suma exhibits a range of eclectic interests. Suma’s dream is to build a farmhouse where she can grow and do research on ayurvedic plants and share information about them. Both her father and grandfather are writers, and her childhood home was full of books. Suma thought about going into teaching, but decided instead to start a consulting company with her husband, who is one of the founding members of the Wikimedia India chapter.
User:Waldir, Waldir Pimenta
- Location
- Cape Verde and Portugal (for PhD work)
- Projects
- Casual editor at many Wikimedia wikis, Administrator at English Wikipedia and Commons, Board Member of Wikimedia Portugal, Portuguese Wikipedia, MediaWiki, Wiktionary, Meta, TranslateWiki, Bugzilla.
- Languages
- Portuguese, English, a little Spanish
- What did you think of Wikimania and how has it impacted you?
- “Wikimania helped me connect with other editors, exchange ideas and experiences, as well as learn ways to improve as an editor and chapter member. For me, the greatest advantage of attending Wikimania was connecting with people I'd otherwise be shyer to approach, such as the developers or the Wikimedia Foundation Staff. I think many editors don't apply to the scholarship because they don't feel close enough to the community that participates in international meetups and conferences. I try to encourage valuable editors to apply for scholarships, knowing that the experience will greatly enrich their interactions, roles within the Wikimedia movement, and likely expand the extent and diversity of their contributions (all of which I've experienced first-hand).”
User:Seav
- Name
- seav <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Seav>
- Location
- Philippines
- Projects
- Member of the Board of Trustees and the current secretary of Wikimedia Philippines, English Wikipedia, Commons, OpenStreetMap Philippines
- Languages
- Tagalog and English
- Best Wikimania Memory and Thoughts for the Future
- “Attending Wikimania in Israel, via the scholarship program, was definitely one of the best experiences in 2011 for me. It was really great seeing people from all over the world come together and be excited and passionate about Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. Wikimania provided me with a lot of inspiration and ideas that I can now share and hopefully implement in my country. I’m taking what I've learned to help improve the organizational capacity of Wikimedia Philippines and by building the local chapter, we hope to implement exciting projects and activities, like GLAM, to promote Wikimedia projects in the Philippines. In the future, I hope that the Foundation can expand the scholarship program so that it can reach many more participants in the developing world because attending the conference is definitely an experience to remember.”
User:Xelawafs, Alex Wafula
- Location
- Kenya
- Projects
- Meta, Offline Wikipedia, Wikimedia Kenya, English and Swahili Wikipedia
- Languages
- Swahili and English
- Best Wikimania Memory
- “The best part of the conference was meeting the attendees, sharing ideas, experiences, making new friends and acquaintances. I took a lot from this to share back home! Contributing to Wikimedia has become an important part of my life and so I have ample time set aside to participate in various projects. My best takeaways as a contributor are meeting, sharing and working with the great people of this community, empowering and changing people’s lives through the work we do.”
User:Georgiasouthernlynn
- Location
- United States
- Projects
- Editor for en.wikipedia and the Global Education Program
- Language
- English
- Best Wikimania Memory
- “I was surprised at the vast intellectual resources available in this community and at the investment of volunteer hours that some people are willing to make. I teach my English students to write Wikipedia articles at Georgia Southern University. Of all the projects presented at the conference, GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives & Museums) appealed to me the most. I am also interested in the higher education program (Global Education Program) and in the novel wiki project.”
User:Rodrigo Tetsuo Argenton, R.T.Argenton (OTRS/meta) Rodrigo.Argenton (Commons)
- Location
- Brasil
- Projects
- Wikimedia Brasil, Strategic, OTRS, Commons, WikiNews-pt, Wikipedia-PT
- Languages
- Portuguese, English and Spanish
- Best Wikimania Memory
- “I think the overall experience (of Wikimania) is rewarding. We spend a week talking to people around the world who have similar ideas and values. It is also a place to feel how much the Wikimedia movement is present in the world. I think the best memory was the approval of the scholarship, because it is a positive response to an event that dignifies you, provides the opportunity for attendees to expand their vision of the project.
- Wikimedia Story
- “One of my favorite stories was completing the first Wikimedia Brasil event in 2008, which had a large space in local media with over 500 subscribers at the event. Wikimedia Brasil helped to create great partnerships and showcase a well-run event.”
User:SarahStierch
- Location
- USA
- Projects
- WikiProject: Public Art, WikiProject: Feminism. Also active in outreach programs for GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) and gender gap.
- Language
- English
- Best Wikimania Memory
- "Wikimania was inspiring. I was encouraged by my fellow Wikipedians to apply for a Wikimania Scholarship because I was unable to afford to attend without funding. The staff was supportive in the scholarship process and I was able to get to know WMF staff at Wikimania; many whom I consider friends, now. I also was able to meet a lot of people that I had met online through Wikipedia, and it really helped to strengthen those relationships. Wikimania 2011 was packed with activities and was really inspiring."
- How do you hope to be involved in the future?
- "I will continue to plan and assist in outreach events and provide outreach support for GLAM. After Wikimania, I have begun to devote more of my time to examine and support the closing of the gender gap in Wikipedia. I'm looking to develop a Wikimedia Fellowship proposal regarding it. I do hope that through examining the gender gap and putting strong effort into related outreach for female contributors, more women will become aware of the scholarship opportunities for Wikimania and Wikimedia. There are so many exciting opportunities within the community - we just have to let people know those opportunities exist!"