Founded in 2011, Wikimedia Canada is an independent nonprofit organization based in Montreal, Quebec and an official chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation. We support and promote the distribution of free educational material within Canada, mainly through the Wikimedia projects. Wikimedia Canada engages in a range of activities in support of the vision of the Wikimedia movement such as outreach activities, advocacy initiatives, community-building events, content-creation projects, partnerships with cultural and knowledge institutions, collaborations with Aboriginal communities. etc. In 2016, Wikimedia Canada began a process to bring the chapter to a more mature level by developing and putting into place necessary policies and generally improving its corporate standards, including the election of a new Board of Directors with fresher energy and motivations in September and the donation of an office space by the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) in Montreal, Quebec in December.

Wikimedia Canada shares the vision statement of the Wikimedia Foundation: “Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment.”^[1]

Wikimedia Canada has identified four priorities for the next five years:

1. Develop and disseminate free knowledge,
2. Promote the use of free knowledge resources,
3. Encourage the development of communities across Canada, and
4. Achieve and sustain a high level of corporate maturity.

The Annual Plan 2017 focuses on the first goal. This Annual Plan is aligned with the the Wikimedia Strategic Plan (2011-2015)^[2] and the on-wiki 2017 Strategy of the Wikimedia movement.^[3]

Description

Right now, an average of two contribution workshops are organized every month throughout the year in Canada. We want to support those and enable new ones in order to increase the contribution of Canadians to free knowledge. Through this program, the chapter aims at increasing the average of contribution workshops in Canada to five every month throughout the year.

Contribution workshops can take different forms, most are edit-a-thons. All aims at increasing the free knowledge through contribution to Wikimedia projects. They can be organized around a specific thematic or be general. They can be targeted to experienced Wikimedians or to newcomers, or both at the same time. The chapter will put an emphasis on contribution workshops that aims at closing the gender gap on Wikimedia projects, both in terms of contributors and content.

In order to achieve this goal, Wikimedia Canada will support its members and other volunteers to host contribution workshops in the country. It will supply financial support for having snacks, which lessons learned showed that it often makes the difference between a succesful and a less succesful workshop. The chapter will also acquire required equipment to be used in the communities where workshops are hosted regularly, including projectors and laptops, as well as visual resources such as rollups and posters, since the chapter has learned that those help to make workshops look more professional and attractive.

Wikimedia Canada will continue to partnership with Bibliothèques et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) to continue to host regular events such as Mardi c'est Wiki, Mecredi Cartographie, Wikisource workshops and other types of workshops within BAnQ's space. It will also continue to partner with other GLAMUs, including Library and Archives Canada (LAC), to host contributions workhops. Those contribution workshops aims at showing the participants how to use the GLAMU's resources, physical or online, to contribute to Wikimedia projects. The chapter has also learned that hosting contribution workshops with GLAMUs is the best way to initiate lasting relationships and enhance communications.

The chapter will build upon the successes of the workshops "Mardi c'est Wiki" (Wiki Tuesdays) and "Dimanche Wikisource" (Sunday Wikisource) held once a month at BAnQ to expand the program. "Mardi c'est Wiki" are monthly workshops to contribute mainly to Wikipedia where the general public is invited at the Grande Bibliothèque de Montréal to learn how to contribute. "Dimanche Wikisource' are monthly Wikisource transcription workshops using archives from the BAnQ. We will put in place a new format Mercredi Cartographie (Wednesday Cartography) where we will partner with the existing OpenStreetMaps Montréal community to hold monthly joint workshops with the aim to add coordinate locations to the archives of BAnQ. We will also enable our members and other volunteers to hold thematic or generic contribution workshops across the country.

For the second time, Wikimedia Canada will organize a Canadian National Contribution Month where experienced contributors across Canada are invited to host different types of events to contribute to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.

Objectives

• Increase the number of volunteers hosting workshops
• Increase the number of montlhy workshops
• Increase the number of Canadian contributors
• Increase the awareness of Canadians about Wikimedia projects, free licences and free knowledge in general
• Strengthen relationships with GLAMUs partners, including BAnQ and LAC
• Increase the content about Canadian cultures, languages, geography, history and other fields of knowledge on Wikimedia projects
• Increase the content about women on Wikipedia
• Increase the number of female contributors
• Expand the workshops across Canada

Metrics

Number of workshops

• At least a monthly average of 5 workshops across the country
• At least a monthly average of 3 workshops organized within BAnQ's space
• At least 1 workshop organized within LAC's space
• At least 5 workshops organized jointly with OpenStreetMaps
• At least 10 workshops hosted in English
• At least 10 workshops hosted in French
• Workshops hosted in at least 3 different provinces

Number of participants

• A total of at least 50 participants to workshops
• A total of at least 60 persons instructed about Wikimedia projects, free licences and free knowledge
• A total of at least 15 female participants to workshops

Number of organizers

• At least 5 different Canadian Wikimedians hosting workshops

Number of articles

• At least 70 articles created or improved during workshops
• At least 50 articles about Canadian topics created or improves during workshops
• At least 15 articles about women created or improved during workshops

Timeline

• Wikimedia Canada will host at least 3 monthly contribution workshops at BAnQ in Montréal throughout the year.
• The chapter will host more contribution workshops across the country to bring the average of workshops every month to 5.
• In October 2017, Wikimedia Canada will organize the Canadian National Contribution Month.

Resources

• A Canadian Wikimedian received a personal microgrant from Wikimédia France to organize 2 monthly workshops (Mardi c'est Wiki and Wikisource Workshop) at BAnQ.
• With the goal of increasing the monthly average of workshops to 5, additional resources are needed. Those resources are mostly financial to get snacks for the participants and cover local transit, if needed, for the local organizers.

SWOT

Strengths		Weaknesses
Build upon the successful monthly workshops of Mardi c'est Wiki and Dimanche Wikisource Established contributor community in Montreal Established relationship with several GLAMUs partners including Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ), Library and Archives Canada (LAC), Association pour le savoir (Acfas), Bibliothèques de Montréal, Fondation Lionel-Groulx and Café des savoirs libres. Building on lessons learned from sucessful previous editions of the Canadian National Contribution Month and the International Francophone Contribution Month.		No resources to increase the number of monthly workshops (snacks, local transport). No equipment to host the monthly workshops, currently relying on volunteers' equipment (it became apparent in our lessons learned that permanent equipment such as laptops and projectors are necessary in communities where there is regular workshops like Montreal)
Partnership with Library and Archives Canada (LAC) in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec is starting after holding a workshop during the International Francophone Contribution Month and after LAC's hiring a Wikipedian in Residence Partnership with OpenStreetMaps Montréal (OSM Mtl) is getting stronger; OSM Mtl is well established community on which the chapter can find a new contributors and volunteers base Partnership with other OpenStreetMaps (OSM) communities; several OSM local groups exist in Canada with established group of volunteers, the chapter can use those local groups to dynamise new local communities of Wikimedians in Canada by hosting joint events, partnerships with OpenStreetMaps in Ottawa is already starting. Wikimedian community in Quebec City is well established, can build upon it to create a new monthly workshop in this city	Exhaustion of volunteers; can be counterbalanced by simple support from the chapter to highlight their successes in the medias and providing simple financial support for their events for snacks and goodies.
Opportunities	Threats

Description

Right now, the Wikipetia Atikamekw Nehiromowin^[4] (the Wikipedia in Atikamekw language, a First Nation in Quebec) exists in the Wikimedia Incubator and has approximatly 300 articles, the core Mediawiki interface is 13% translated in Atikamekw language, and the images about the Atikamekw First Nations on Wikimedia projects are all very outdated or inexistant. Currently Wikimedia Canada is conducting the project "Atikamekw knowledge, culture and language in the Wikimedia projects" to support the development of the Wikipedia in Atikamekw language and the presence of the Atikamekw knowledge on the Wikimedia projects (in French and English, and can then be translated by Wikimedians in every languages). By the end of this project, we hope to have the Atikamekw Wikipedia created outside of the Wikimedia Incubator, to have 100% of the "most-used messages" of Mediawiki translated in Atikamekw language, and at least 30 pictures representing the Atikamekw First Nations uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. This project is building upon a pedagogic project carried in the Otapi Highschool of Manawan, Quebec (an Atikamekw Indian Reserve) held in 2013 and 2014 where 160 Wikipedia articles where written by students in Atikamekw language, there were 0 at the start of the project.

The project includes a research part supported by academics from the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO) with the goal of documenting the project, including recording the lessons learned, the good practices, the concerns of the First Nations, etc. Wikimedia Canada will use those results to develop a toolkit that can be scaled and reused across Canada (and even the world) to carry out similar projects with other Aboriginal communities.

After the end of this project, Wikimedia Canada intends to extand this project into a program to continue the development of the Wikipedia in Atikamekw after the conclusion of the on-going project and to develop a toolkit to conduct similar projects with other Aboriginal communities in Canada. At the end of this, we hope to have at least 500 Wikipedia articles written in Atikamekw, and at least 60 pictures representing the Atikamekw First Nations uploaded to Wikimedia Commons and used in at least 10 Wikipedia articles. The bigger goal is to develop the skills of Atikamekw contributors so their communities can become autonomous is developing the Wikipedia in Atikamekw language. Wikimedia Canada also plan to conduct outreach to other Aboriginal communities by hosting information and training sessions about Wikimedia projects.

Objectives

• Increase of the number of contributors from the Atikamekw communities
• Increase the awareness of the Atikamekw about Wikimedia projects, free licenses and free knowledge in general
• Increase the number of Wikipedia articles written in Atikamekw language
• Creation of the Wikipetia Atikamekw Nehiromowin outside of the Wikimedia Incubator
• Translation of the "most-used messages" of Mediawiki in Atikamekw language
• Increase the quantity and the quality of content about the Atikamekw on Wikimedia projects
• Increase the quantity of translations in Atikamekw in Wiktionary

Metrics

Number of contributors and participants

• At least 10 different contributors from the Atikamekw communities to Wikimedia projects or Translatewiki
• At least 10 different members of the Atikamekw communities received training or presentation on Wikimedia projects
• At least 1 member of the Atikamekw participated in Wikimania Montréal

Number of articles and other content

• The Wikipetia Atikamekw Nehiromowin created outside the Wikimedia Incubator
• At least 20 new Wikipedia articles written in Atikamekw language
• 100% of the "most-used messages" of Mediawiki translated in Atikamekw language
• At least 15% of the core messages of Mediawiki translated in Atikamekw language
• At least 10 Wikipedia articles in French about the Atikamekw created or improved
• At least 5 Wikipedia articles in English about the Atikamekw created or improved
• At least 20 pictures of the Atikamekw communities, culture and traditions uploaded to Wikimedia Commons
• At least 15 translations in Atikamekw added in the French Wiktionary
• At least 5 translations in Atikamekw added in the English Wiktionary
• At least 10 words in Atikamekw created in the French Wiktionary
• At least 5 words in Atikamekw created in the English Wiktionary

Timeline

• The project "Atikamekw knowledge, culture and language in Wikimedia project" is going on schedule from August 22, 2016 to April 31, 2017.
• Wikimedia Canada will start its program to continue this initiative at the end of this project and carry it out throughout the year.

Resources

• The project "Atikamekw knowledge, culture and language in Wikimedia project" is financed through a Project & Event Grant (PEG) from the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF)^[5]. Spending is according to plan and current outcomes are exceeding targets; the results of the project will be presented at Wikimania in Montréal. As such, this project is not included in this APG request.
• Additional financial resources are required to expand this project after the end of the grant to cover training sessions and other types of workshops with the Atikamekw communities.

SWOT

Strengths		Weaknesses
Wikimedia Canada has collected lessons learned from other Wikimedia organizations and several external organizations and academics to develop a comprehensive "Aboriginal Communities Outreach" program including strong guidelines[6] The project "Atikamekw knowledge, culture and language in Wikimedia projects" in going according to schedule and current outcomes are exceeding planned targets. Wikimedia Canada is partnering with academics from the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO) in communications and aboriginal studies to deliver this project. The project is supported by an Atikamekw Language Keeper acting as a Local Project Coordinator. Representatives from the governmental bodies of the Conseil de la Nation Atikamekw (CNA) and the Conseil Atikamekw de Manawan have formally expressed their support of the project. The project is support by a German linguist from the University of Leipzig that have worked with the Atikamekw community of Manawan, Quebec in the past.		The Atikamekw community does not have experienced editors; they require training from experienced contributors. The transmission of knowledge is traditionnaly oral among the Atikamekw communities and not written like on Wikimedia projects; information and discussion sessions need to happen to better the understanding of free licenses versus protecting traditional knowledge, and identifying what knowledge can be shared and what knowledge should remain within the Atikamekw First Nations.
The project started with the Atikamekw community of Manawan, Quebec. There is 2 others Atikamekw communities in Quebec. Wikimedia Canada hosted information, discussion and training sessions at La Tuque, Quebec and Joliette, Quebec with partners from the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO) where members of the other 2 communities have expressed their interest in this project; this program will use this opportunity to expand in those communities by conducting information and training sessions and other workshops with them.	Acceptance by the Atikamekw communities; this is mitigated by having the project led by a member of the Atikamekw First Nations and having acceptance from leaders of the Atikamekw communities. The Atikamekw communities are far from the urban centers; this will require experienced Wikimedians to travel to them to provide training and support, this is also mitigated by the creation of a group on social media where Atikamekw contributors can get online support from experienced Wikimedians.
Opportunities	Threats

Description

The goal of this program is to develop the photographers communities in Canada that support the Wikimedia projects in order to augment the quantity and the quality of images about Canada under free licenses. Activities under this program include holding local photographic events likes Wiki Takes Your City. Wiki Takes Montréal was conducted in 2011 and was a huge success with 115 participants despite Hurricane Irene hitting the city. Wikimedia Canada will expand this concept into other Canadian cities, beginning with Quebec City.

Wikimedia Canada will also organize Wiki Loves Earth in June 2017. This is the first time that Canada participate in this international contest with the goal to get pictures of natural protected areas in Canada to illustrate Wikimedia projects.

Objectives

• Increase the awareness of the Canadian photographer communities about Wikimedia projects, free licenses and free knowledge in general
• Increase the involvement of the Canadian photographers in Wikimedia Commons
• Increase the quality and quantity of photographic content from Canada on Wikimedia Commons
• Increase the quality and quantity of photgraphic content about national and provincial parks of Canada in particular
• Increase the quality and quantity of photographic content about Canadian towns and villages in particular
• Increase the use of photographic content from Wikimedia Commons on Wikipedia and Wikivoyage articles about Canada

Metrics

Number of events

• At least 1 national photographic contest organized in Canada
• At least 2 local photographic events organized in Canada

Number of pictures

• At least 350 pictures about Canada uploaded to Wikimedia Commons
• At least 120 pictures about national and provincial parks of Canada uploaded to Wikimedia Commons
• At least 50 pictures about Canadian towns and villages uploaded to Wikimedia Commons

Number of articles illustrated

• At least 10 Wikipedia articles in English illustrated with new pictures about Canada
• At least 10 Wikipedia articles in French illustrated with new pictures about Canada
• At least 5 Wikivoyage pages in English illustrated with new pictures about Canada
• At least 5 Wikivoyage pages in French illustrated with new pictures about Canada

Timeline

Wiki Loves Earth will be hosted in June 2017. Wiki Takes Quebec City will be held in the Autumn 2017. Other local photographic events will be held throughout the year.

Resources

• Wikimedia Canada received a Rapid Grant from the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) for organizing the Wiki Loves Earth contest in May 2017.^[7] As such, Wiki Loves Earth is not included in the APG request.
• Financial resources are needed to acquire and rent photographic equipment to be used for WikiCheese and Wiki Takes Your City. All equipment acquired will be made available for future events for our members, supporting the development of our communities.

SWOT

Strengths		Weaknesses
Building on lessons learned from organizing three editions of Wiki Loves Monuments in Canada. Building on lessons learned from Wiki Takes Montréal. Building on an existing Wikimedians photographers community in Quebec City to expand the program.		Depends on local volunteers which involvement may vary. Canada is so wide that sharing photographic equipment between communities is not really feasible.
Existing Wikimedians photographers community in Quebec City Existing partnership with an Atikamekw community to expand photographic events to Aboriginal communities	NIL
Opportunities	Threats

Canadian winners of Wiki Loves Monuments

• 
  2014 1st place
• 
  2013 1st place
• 
  2012 1st place

Obtain Charity Status

Currently, Wikimedia Canada has the status of a nonprofit organization registered federally in Canada. We want to obtain Charity Status with the federal government of Canada to officially recognize the charitable work that Wikimedia Canada and its members are doing in education by developing and sharing quality free knowledge in Canada. In order to achieve this, the organization need to achieve and sustain a high level of corporate maturity.

At present, we are not able to provide tax receipts for any cash or in-kind donations. This limits our ability to expand and grow our activities. At the end of this program, we hope to have obtained Charity Status and be able to give receipts for charitable donations to Canadian taxpayers. To obtain and maintain Charity Status, the association is required to achieve and maintain good financial record keeping and reporting. It is important to establish good policies to sustain these good record keeping standards because the Charity Status can be lost and, if that happens, cannot be easily obtained again by the association.

Provide a meeting space

Wikimedia Canada received a donation of office space for 10 years within Gilles-Hocquart Building of Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ). Right now, this office has no furniture and require improvements to be able to serve as the main meeting space of the Wikimedia movement in Canada and be used to properly represent the movement to partners. We want to get this office up and running in order to provide a suitable workspace for a proposed paid office manager and volunteers as well as having a real adress to serve as the headquarters of Wikimedia Canada. At the end of this program, we hope to have an efficient and useful meeting space for the Wikimedia movement in Canada and a working space from where to offer support to volunteers across Canada. According to Canadian laws, it is also necessary to keep some legal records available at the headquarters of the association, which is another compelling reason why the space needs to be improved to serve that purpose.

The purposes of this office space are:

• To serve as a formal headquarters for the chapter
• To have a place to keep hardcopies od documents as required by Canadian laws
• To be used as an official mailing address for the chapter
• To serve as space for the chapter to meet partners
• To receive volunteers
• To have a place to showcase the good work done by Canadian volunteers
• To establish a fixed phone line for the chapter

This is a great opportunity since the space is provided by Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) and is located in a central location in Montreal, Quebec in a beautiful building. Using the space within BAnQ will strengthen our relationship with this important partner.

1. ↑ https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Vision
2. ↑ https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/WMF_StrategicPlan2011_spreads.pdf
3. ↑ https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017
4. ↑ https://incubator.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wp/atj/Ka_ici_natawapatcikatek
5. ↑ https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:PEG/Atikamekw_knowledge,_culture_and_language_in_Wikimedia_projects
6. ↑ https://ca.wikimedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_communities_outreach
7. ↑ https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/Rapid/WMCA/Wiki_Loves_Earth_2017_in_Canada