Project Mechanics and Logistics

Wiki Loves Monuments (South Africa) Concept Document / Project Planning1.

1. Abstract
This document introduces Wiki Loves Monuments 2012 (WLM-2012) to be held in South Africa. A definition of a monument in the South African context is developed. The current heritage landscape and data base are explored. Wiki Loves Monuments and the South African Heritage landscape. Project preliminary schedule; outlining competition dates, geolocation logistics and competition mechanics, is outlined and discussed. Media exposure and publicity plan are presented. A preliminary analysis of budget requirements and targets is presented and discussed.

2. Introduction
Wiki Loves Monuments is a public photo competition aimed at taking photographs of cultural heritage monuments (buildings, statues, etc.) and uploading them to Wikimedia Commons which is a database of freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute. Wiki Loves Monuments has a federal structure and is organised separately in every participating country by the local a wikimedia community that is familiar with heritage objects and bylaws that govern these. The Best photographs from participating countries will further be nominated for an international contest from which an overall winning photograph will be selected.

Wiki Loves Monuments was begun as a pilot project throughout the Netherlands between September 1 and September 30, 2010. The contest resulted in over 12.500 photos by more than 250 participants [1]. Owing to huge success, the project was rolled out to European countries in 2011 where it was organized in 18 countries. At least more than 165,000 pictures of European monuments were uploaded during the 2011 competition [2]. This year, the competition is going global with over 30 countries that have signed up [3].

The following subsections summarizes competition outcomes.

2.1 Photo Contest: 2010 - 2011 tangibles

 * Direct impact on the overall quality and coverage of heritage and culture topics on Wikipedia
 * more than 190,000 photos of monuments
 * 18 participating countries
 * 13 top images selected and published as a calendar.

2.2 Photo Contest: 2010 - 2011 intangibles

 * Participation of over 4,000 new users
 * the first ever community-driven contribution peak on Wikimedia Commons
 * Established working relationship between Wikimedia groups & chapters and local cultural institutions and organisations in several countries.

From the foregoing, it is easy to see the potential impact that this competition can have in South Africa. For a complete analysis of the social development focus of this competition, please see “Wiki Loves Monuments: Social Development Focus” released under a free license by Wikimedia-ZA.

3. A monument in the South African context
According to the South African Heritage Resources Authority (SAHRA), a national estate (monument) encompasses heritage resources of cultural significance for the present community and for future generations. It may include places to which oral traditions are attached or which are associated with living heritage; historical settlements; landscapes and natural features of cultural significance; archaeological and palaeontological sites; graves and burial grounds, including ancestral and royal graves and graves of traditional leaders; graves of victims of conflict; and sites relating to the history of slavery in South Africa. The national estate includes movable objects such as those recovered from the soil or waters of South Africa; objects associated with living heritage; ethnographic and decorative art; objects of scientific interest; and books, documents, photographs, film material or sound recordings. A place or object is considered part of the national estate if it has cultural significance because of its importance in the community, or pattern of South Africa's history, its possession of rare aspects of South Africa's natural or cultural heritage, its strong or special association with a particular cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons[4].

4. South African heritage landscape
All heritage sites and objects of historical and cultural importance, are under the oversight and protection of the state through the National Department of Arts and Culture. The department delegates this responsibility to the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) and the National Heritage Council. SAHRA is a statutory organisation established under the National Heritage Resources Act, No 25 of 1999, as the national administrative body responsible for the protection of South Africa’s cultural heritage [4].

SAHRA’s Vision is To provide for the identification, conservation, protection and promotion of our heritage for the present and future generations. This is achieved through its mission statement which is as follows [5]:


 * To coordinate and monitor the identification of our national heritage;
 * To set a norm and standards and maintain the management of heritage resources nationally;
 * To encourage and facilitate the development of provincial structures;
 * To control export and import of nationally significant heritage resources;
 * To develop policy initiatives on the promotion and management of our heritage;
 * To nurture an holistic celebration of our history;
 * To set national policy for heritage resources management, i.e. formal protection, general protection and management;
 * To develop an integrated and interactive system for the management of the national heritage resources.

The following subsections expand on the current heritage landscape of South African Monuments as overseen by SAHRA.

4.1 Authority Hierarchy and governance:
Heritage sites resources in South Africa are managed and protected through a decentralised system. National Heritage Resources Act (NHRA) follows the principle that heritage resources should be managed by the levels of government closest to the community. These local and provincial authorities will manage heritage resources as part of their planning process [4]. the following subsections expands on the responsibilities of SAHRA and those of Provincial Heritage Resources Authorities (PHRA).

4.1.1 National Estates (Monuments)
Estates of national significance, are declared national heritage sites under direct jurisdiction and protection of SAHRA and thus marked with national heritage site badge[4]. There are 3614 estates declared as national heritage sites. Subsection 4.2 discusses the categories assigned to these estates.

4.1.2 Provincial Estates (Monuments)
Estates of significance in the context of the province, are declared provincial heritage sites under direct jurisdiction and protection of a relevant PHRA and marked with a provincial heritage site badge[4]. There are 9 PHRAs representing each of the South African provinces. There is a total of ??? estates declared as provincial heritage sites. Subsection 4.2 discusses the categories assigned to these estates.

4.2 Categories of monuments:
There is a total of 3614 national heritage estates are categorized in three grades as follows:
 * Grade I:
 * Heritage resources with qualities so exceptional that they are of special national significance[6]. There is a total of 18 sites classified under this category.


 * Grade II:
 * Heritage resources which, although forming part of the national estate, can be considered to have special qualities which make them significant within the context of a province or a region[6]. There is a total of 3019 sites classified under this category, of these 1500 sites are unmapped.


 * Grade III:
 * Other heritage resources worthy of conservation[6]. There is a total of 39,145 sites classified under this category, all of them unmapped.

This competition will target photographing, uploading and categorizing of monuments that are classified under categories I and II. Future competitions may expand into remainder of monuments and heritage site that are classified under categories II and III.

5. Wiki Loves Monuments and the South African populace
The South African populace has a lot to benefit from Wiki Loves Monuments competition, including the following:


 * Discovering their cultural heritage in a fun and exciting way
 * Learning about Wikipedia and the importance of creative commons
 * Contributing to and having pride in ‘living’ heritage
 * Being able to articulate and communicate what they think should be considered a heritage site in contemporary South Africa
 * Being able to contribute to Wikipedia for the first time in a supported environment

The full estimated social impact that this competition will have on South Africans is discussed in the “Wiki Loves Monuments: Social Development Focus” released under a free license by Wikimedia-ZA.

6. South African Heritage Authorities and Wikimedia-ZA
Wikimedia-ZA through Wiki Loves Monuments competition, intends to achieve full representation of world monuments and heritage sites in a database (called Wikicommons) that can be freely accessed by everyone. South African Monuments are poorly represented in this database with only a total of ??? heritage sites. This competition intends to change this fact.

In order to reach the targets, Wiki Loves Monuments will need the following support from SAHRA and PHRAs:


 * Endorsement of the project and financial grant to cover project budget. See Section 9 below.
 * Introduction of project to provincial heritage partners, heritage societies and NGOs.
 * Supply of 2-3 Provincial prizes from PHRAs and 1 national prize from SAHRA or NHC.
 * + 1 prize for the Treasure Hunt per province from PHRAs.
 * A database of provincial heritage sites not currently on the SAHRA list.
 * A list of sensitive sites that should not be on the general list from each PHRA.
 * Existing database of historical photos linked to sites from each PHRA and SAHRA.
 * Support and encouragement of museums and other heritage sites.
 * Computer access for people on Heritage day.
 * Dissemination of printed material from museums and other heritage sites in the month prior.
 * Dissemination of e-flyer to database, networks and social media channels.
 * Ability to leverage of PHRA’, SAHRA and NHC’s publicity and marketing channels.

With the above assistance, Wiki Loves Monuments would be able to meet targets and break ground in involving South African citizens from all walks of life in this national exercise. For a detailed analysis on how Heritage authorities can benefit in partnering Wikimedia-ZA in this competition, please see “Wiki Loves Monuments: Social Development Focus” released under a free license by Wikimedia-ZA.

7. Project Mechanics
The South African version of Wiki Loves Monuments Competition, will entail a photo contest and a treasure hunt. Both of these aspects of the competition will be run concurrently in the month of september and then adjudicated separately. This will be preceded by an unprecedented publicity drive aimed at encouraging people to visit heritage sites and take photographs of the site. Contest mechanics, website, mobile phone applications and other build are currently underway and will be completed before the beginning of the competition. The following subsections describe each contest in detail.

7.1 Photo Contest:
The photo contest will run between the 1st and 30th of september 2012. During this time participants will be allowed to upload and categorise photographs of South African monuments. This participation will build up to marathon uploads on Heritage Day, to be hosted at museums and public libraries.

7.1.1 Rules

 * The photographs have to be own work.
 * Only pictures released under a free license are eligible to participate.
 * Only pictures must be uploaded during the month of September 2012.
 * All uploads have to contain the “Unique SAHRA ID number”
 * An account at wikimedia Commons will be required in order to upload images.

7.1.2 Criteria

 * Technical excellence of the photograph
 * Originality of the setting
 * Encyclopedic value for Wikipedia

7.1.3 Jury and price awarding
Wikimedia-ZA will setup a jury of judges for all provinces, who will assess provincial submissions and select 10 of the best photographs that are eligible for the national photo contest. The jury will sit for adjudication in October/November. Final selection will be done by a panel of 10 judges and a social media based live poll. There will be 3 prizes available for best provincial pictures and 1 national winning prize for the overall best picture. Provincial prizes and the overall national winning will be awarded at gala ceremony.

7.1.3 Technology and accessibility
Wikimedia-ZA has setup a web page to host this competition and facilitate registration for Wikipedia and Wiki Commons, here step-by-step instructions of how to upload and link a photograph to a heritage site can be found. A smartphone application to allow photo taken, geolocated upload and social media sharing is being developed for the South African version of Wiki Loves Monuments.

We believe that the above planning will enable Wiki Loves Monuments to reach to as many people in South Africa across all walks of life.

7.2 Treasure Hunt:
Add something here

8 Media and Competition Publicity:
The success of this project depends on a good organising team and brilliant media and publicity team. Wiki Loves Monuments has both of these aspects in abundance. Since one of the deliverables of this competition is number of people who contribute to the database and the number of photographs they upload, it is important to reach as many people as possible. The following subsections demonstrate the media channels that will be used to reach prospective participants.

8.1 Media plan :
Radio and television will be used for reaching the intended target market. The organizing team has factored this item in drawing up the project budget. This media channel will be utilized in the two weeks before the competition begin.

8.2 Advertising :
Advertising slots in local and national print media will also be utilized to launch the project and to announce winners. This item has been included in the project budget.

8.3 Social Networks :
Social network channels such as Facebook and Twitter are the primary means of connecting and communicating with prospective participants of the competition. This project has dedicated pages and handles to stream current information about the competition, offer tips and tutorials.

9 Proforma Analysis: Competition Budget
We have prepared a budget price to run the competition. The budget will continually be updated to accomodate new and other aspects of the project as it goes.

10. Conclusion:
South Africa has a rich cultural heritage landscape that needs conservation and protection. The first steps towards achieving this goal is to properly identify and catalogue all heritage monuments and raising the public awareness about them. This will be the first time that many South Africans will contribute to Wikipedia and other wikimedia projects, breaking down perceived barriers to access and technology divide. The addition of free-to-use and licensed contemporary quality photographs of South Africa’s cultural and heritage sites will enhance and add to the visual depth and the coverage of South African related articles on Wikipedia.

10 References:

 * 1)  --    Wiki Loves Monuments 2010 - by Wiki Commons
 * 2)  --    Wiki Loves Monuments 2011 - by Wiki Commons
 * 3)  --    Wiki Loves Monuments 2012 - by Wiki Commons
 * 4)  --    Introduction page - by SAHRA
 * 5)  --    South African Heritage Resources Authority - by SAHRA
 * 6)  --    National Heritage Resources Act [No. 25 of 1999] - by Department of Arts and Culture