English subtitles for clip: File:Wikimedia Summit 2020 Grant Report, Video 2a.webm

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So, Cornelius, what did go well
around this event?

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Or let’s say, what did we take
with us on the positive side?

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Yo! Let’s go right into it:

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When we announced the cancellation
of the Wikimedia Summit,

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we also announced directly

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that we would work towards a virtual
version of the Wikimedia Summit instead.

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In reality, I can tell you,
that’s much easier said than done.

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The Wikimedia Movement, despite being
“virtual” since its beginning,

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has never hosted an actual virtual
conference for a large number of people,

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where people actually work together
and not only listen to lectures.

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J: So, what did you learn?

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C: The two weeks after the cancellation,

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we worked on the idea how such
a virtual event could look like.

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I’m stating the obvious here,
but my main lesson learned on this:

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You cannot just replicate what you had planned
for a real-life event in a virtual conference.

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You have to completely rethink your concept
and adapt it to the virtual environment.

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Most people are not used
to continuously working several hours online,

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and for many, it’s an exhausting activity.

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That means, e.g., you need shorter sessions, 
you need more facilitation,

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you need to offer the same session 
for the different time zones, 

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offering non-English chat rooms
in parallel, etc.

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But now to you, Jana, what was
your main lesson learned around this event?

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J: Well, as you said, I’m also
stating obvious things here as well,

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but clear communication was essential,

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when it came to cancelling the Wikimedia Summit.

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It was indispensable to make
clear decisions and communicate them rapidly.

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Even though it took a few days
to have all processes concerning flights,

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reimbursements and hotel completely defined,

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we then communicated them
directly to the participants.

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C: Would you do something
differently communication-wise?

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J: The Summit’s processes are refined
and sharpened every year.

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In the future, I’d say,

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we would communicate even <i>before</i>
the registration for the event starts,

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so what kind of costs are covered

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– and which not.

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That makes things later much easier.