Commons:Wiki Loves Earth/WLE Resources Center/Checklist of what to do before, during and after the contest
CHECKLIST OF WHAT TO DO BEFORE YOUR LOCAL CONTEST, DURING, AND AFTER IT FINISHED
You can use these checklists to track your team's work for a better and clearer understanding of your steps before you start your local contest and after it has just finished.
Note: We proposed all the obligatory and recommended points; feel free to add or remove anything additional that your local contest requires or doesn’t require.
BEFORE the contest starts
editBASICS:
- You have a team of volunteers ready to devote their time to organizing the contest. All the roles and responsibilities are divided;
- The timeline of the contest is planned and reviewed (not only the main dates but also the timeline for each stage and working tasks). Find the template of the timeline;
- Your country is on the list of participating countries, + contact info is provided;
- The actual dates of your active contest are provided (if the dates changed before the contest started, please change them in the list. If the dates changed during the contest, please change them in the list and inform the international organizing team);
- Your landing page on Wikimedia Commons or website is created, and the link is added to the list;
- The relevant list of protected areas is added here (if you need help with creating or improving the list, please contact the international organizing team. Also, you can check the instructions on how to use the list);
- Info and translations have been provided for the CentralNotice banner here (in case you need it);
PROMOTION:
- Content plan for social media channels is planned and reviewed;
- You invited all the participants from the previous years (if you need help with it, please contact the international organizing team);
- You have prepared promo materials for social media channels (some examples and more details about social media check here);
- We would be glad if you would add to your promotion plan the international special nominations: special nomination "Human Rights and Environment", "Video" nomination.
ADDITIONAL:
- In case you applied for funding, make sure you know the results and that you received the money;
- You have an approximate list or have already invited the jurors (it’s fine to gather the jury team during the contest if you feel you have enough time for it. And if you need help with finding the jurors, please contact the international organizing team);
DURING your local contest
edit- Keep promoting your contest, especially if you see that the amount of uploaders is low or you are now achieving the amount you planned (e.g., the first results of the local contest, announcement reminders, jury team introduction, interesting stories about the images and authors, useful articles, etc.);
- Be in contact with participants on social media, talk pages, mailing lists, etc., and respond to their questions;
- Try to check the images you are receiving and offer feedback to the uploaders so that you can obtain more quality and up-to-criteria images (it is better to do it during the contest, as it helps you to save your time after the contest is finished and not to shortcut that much images before the main evaluation process);
- Prepare a final list of the potential jurors you plan to invite (if they are changing from the previous year) and send them out invitations;
AFTER the contest finished
editRATING AND SUBMITTING THE IMAGES:
- You have selected the team of jurors, who will help you to choose the best local winning images and/or videos (find more details here. And if you need help with finding the jurors, please contact the international organizing team);
- You have a tool for rating the images and know how to use it (find more details here. As the international organizing team, we can propose using the WLX jury tool, as we can assist you with it. Find the instructions on how to use it and contact the international organizing team for more details);
- You have selected your local winning images + selected the images for the international round (it can be the same, and it can be different; it’s up to you);
- You have checked and complied with the criteria for the images needed before submitting them to the international round (copyright, protected place, species, description, etc.);
- You have submitted up to 15 winning images (no more than 10 from each category: macro and landscapes) to the international round by the 1st of September (add the images to the winner’s page and/or email the international organizing team with the results. Read more on how to submit the winners);
COMMUNICATION WITH THE WINNERS:
- You are in contact with all the winners and make sure that everyone is aware of their victory;
- Create and send a feedback form for the participants (it allows you to gather all the needed information about prizes, the award ceremony, and the points for improvement of the contest for the next time). Find the template of the feedback form;
SHOWCASING AND POST-SERVICE:
- Plan the publications on social media about finishing the contest and the final results;
- Plan and organize an award ceremony for your winners (find the detailed instructions on how to organize the ceremony);
- Plan and send out the prizes for your winners, and if you also want the souvenirs for jurors, teams, volunteers, and partners as well (it depends on your budget, but we recommend having at least something memorable to raise the participant’s motivation and to have them recognized. Read about the prizes in more detail here);
- You can also plan and make online diplomas for your winners and/or jurors. Find a diploma template (if you don’t have the capacity to do it yourself, you can ask the international organizing team, and we will do it for you);
- Fill out the feedback form from the international organizing team, which we will send privately;
- Prepare and publish all the needed reports of your local WLE.
Important: We recommend adding your deadlines to each of the points. This will help you better understand your local timeline and track your work. But it is better to put everything in one spreadsheet with a timeline (the link is provided above).
Comments and ideas
editWe wish you to organize an excellent contest this year!
If you have any more questions or need help, feel free to approach us at wle-team@wikimedia.org.ua.
If you want to add your suggestions, questions, or ideas for this instruction, please leave them here.