2023:Attendee Guide
16–19 August 2023, Singapore and Online
Diversity. Collaboration. Future.
What’s in the guide?
- About Wikimania
- This year theme
- The Singapore experience
- Headline schedule
- Programming
- Our platform Eventyay
- Side events
- Venues
- Volunteers working at the event
- What to prepare (personal use)
- How to get around Singapore
- Making the most of Singapore - partnership & suggestions
- Being respectful of each other
- Friendly space policy
- Emergency contact list
- Practical notes
- Partners
- Social channels
The Singapore Experience
Singapore is a diverse, friendly, easy to navigate city with a great transport network. The main venue will be the Suntec Convention Center in the heart of Singapore. It is an exciting multicultural place, with an amazing array of food, heritage, arts, museums, libraries, entertainment and green spaces to enjoy. During the conference and on Sunday the 20th we are organising photo walks, editathons, visits and tours to help make the most of the Singapore experience.
Headline schedule - Merlion welcomes you!
Tuesday 15th
- Pre conference day at Suntec
- Google side event at Google Offices, Singapore
Weds 16th
- First day of the conference
- Wikimedian of the Year ceremony and opening event from 5pm at Suntec Main venue
Thurs 17th to Sat 19th
- On going conference at Suntec Main venue
- Closing event 7pm onwards at Gardens by the bay venue - Flower Field Hall
Sunday 20th
- National Library side event
- Tours
Programming
The program will revolve around the theme: Diversity. Collaboration. Future, and will include topics like:
- Education
- Equity, Inclusion and Community Health
- GLAM, Heritage and Culture
- Governance
- Advocacy
- Open Data
- Research, Science and Medicine
- Technology
See the full programme is here on the Wikimania Wiki.
Programming spotlight: Wikimedian of the Year
- The beloved award returns to in-person after 3 virtual iterations.
- Winners featured from every region of the world.
- Multiple categories to better celebrate who we are – Newcomer, Laureate, Tech and Media, honourable mentions, and the main award, of course.
- Get ready for a magical opening event at Wikimania with performances, and so much more.
Hybrid elements
We are basing the hybrid Wikimania off learnings from previous virtual Wikimanias as well as other virtual community events. There will be on demand content submitted ahead of time that viewers can watch at their convenience. Presenters who can’t make it to Singapore can deliver their session virtually to an audience in Singapore and online. Many sessions will have a mix of in person/virtual panels and discussions. All sessions that have permissions will be recorded.
Eventyay - our virtual platform
Eventyay is open source and will host registration for in person and virtual attendees. Live interpretation for a number of tracks will go through the platform directly. Languages are: English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Chinese and Indonesian. Attendees will be able to chat and interact on the platform. Please register whether you are planning to attend in person or virtually!
Side events
There will be a number of optional side events happening throughout Singapore that attendees can sign up for.
- Google event on Tuesday the 15th
- Various pre conference meet ups at Suntec on Tuesday the 15th
- National Library event on Sunday the 20th
- Other general tours about Singapore heritage, culture, sustainability and gardens.
- These will be added to the wiki this week so people can sign up via eventbrite
Meals for attendees
- Lunch at Suntec on the 16th to 19th
- Dinner at Suntec on the 16th for the opening event
- Dinner at Gardens by the Bay on the 19th
- There are a few malls right under and near Suntec for other meals.
- Try the hawker markets! They are clean, friendly and cheap but wonderful food!
Volunteers and scholars
Alongside working staff, we will have a large group of volunteer roles to help make the event a success. We are working with the National Youth Award Association in Singapore and 50 or so of their volunteers will be on site. We’ve also asked scholars to lend a few hours of their time during the event to support with volunteer activities.
Travel documents - make sure you have:
- Tickets for travel
- Hotel booking information
- Visa
- Yellow Fever Vaccine Certificate if you have come from or visited these countries: See more here
- Covid 19 Vaccine Certificate (it will not be needed but we advise to have it)
- Arrival Card - to be filled out within 3 days before arrival
- Make sure passport is valid for at least 6 months after your intended return home
- Make copies of passport and leave a copy at home. Also, leave in the hotel safe
- Keep your passport on your person at all times while traveling
- Make sure you abide by the rules around medicines
What to bring vs what NOT to bring
- Medication (check HSA)- check using this tool
- Sweeties to share! (be mindful of allergies!)
- Postcards to write or share
- Stickers to share and swap
- Chargers and adaptors
- No cigarettes or vapes! No chewing gum!
- Use your common sense and if you don’t know - ask one of our team
Arrival
- Follow the sign
- Connect to Wifi/Turn on Roaming Package
- Prepare documents
- Choose the right line according to your departing country/passport country.
- Answer the immigration officer and show the needed documents
- Take your luggage
- If you are not sure, no worries, the information service are very nice and helpful!
- Prepare to take transportation
Transport
- Getting from the airport into town
- MRT (+/- 2 SGD)
- Metered Taxi/e-hailing ride (+/- 20SGD)
- Getting around/to Suntec - walking, Grab taxi, metered taxi, bus
- Getting to and from the closing event - buses provided there and back
- Grab is a good app to download
Emergency contacts in Singapore
- 995 (ambulance & fire emergency)
- 999 (police emergency)
- 1777 (ambulance non-emergency)
- 71999 (police emergency SMS)
On site at Suntec there will be event stewards, trusts and safety team members, first aid staff and scholar and general helpdesk support.
Being together - respect for each other
We have many people coming from all over the world, be respectful, welcoming and kind to each other. Be mindful of others and their own space - some may hug, some may shake hands - test it out or ask. Be mindful of other cultural practices around meals, prayers, use of alcohol etc. Some people may be shy or overwhelmed at times - we have quiet spaces and members of staff to help. There will be jetlag - but also plenty of great coffee to help! Be respectful of different energy levels. There are shared spaces in Suntec - be respectful, take turns and let’s make space for everyone!
Friendly Space and Trust and Safety
Trust and Safety team will be on site in Singapore and also in the virtual sessions. Please let your room host or a T&S staff or volunteer know if you experience or see any behavior which goes against our policies. The Wikimedia community is dedicated to providing a welcoming experience for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, appearance, race, religion, or preferred free license (and not limited to those aspects). We do not tolerate harassment of event participants. Participants violating these rules may be asked to leave the event at the discretion of the event organizers.
Practical notes
- We will have 2 function rooms for after hours activity at the Park Royal and Village hotels - Park Royal for ents stuff like Karaoke and Village for chill out editing etc
- In Suntec there will be prayer rooms as well as a quiet room and a space for volunteers to take breaks
- It is hot! And humid! Bring appropriate clothes and look after yourself! Comfy shoes and an umbrella!
- Meals - brekkie everyday, lunch from the 16th through to the 19th and dinner on the 16th and 19th. AM/PM snacks and coffee on conference days. Other meals part of per diems
- Do join groups on telegram to get up to date info! @wikimania.chat
- Singapore uses the Singapore dollar. Most places take contactless card payments
- Places like hawker markets and smaller shops take cash
- Transport including the MRT, buses and taxis take card
- Wifi is everywhere in Singapore! Our main venue Suntec will have wifi as well as charging points for laptops and phones
- Remember to bring an adaptor, but if you forget there is a mall next to our main venue where you can buy one
- Where to exchange money:
- Money changer/bank at your home country (Singapore does not exchange some currencies)
- ATM machine with visa/mastercard sign in the Singapore airport (the banknotes SGD10, SGD50, SGD100), service fee around SGD 5
- Travelex (money changer) in the airport arrival hall.
- Money changer machine.
Follow us
Facebook/Instagram/Threads
@Wikimania.Conference
Twitter
@Wikimania
YouTube
@Wikimania
Telegram
@wikimania.chat
#Wikimania2023
wikimania.org
