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Wikimedia Foundation Scholarship Travel Policy

From Wikimedia Foundation Governance Wiki

The Wikimedia Foundation ("WMF") believes that convening community members face-to-face is important to the future growth of the Wikimedia projects. To recognize community members' dedication and participation in the Wikimedia movement, the Foundation offers travel scholarships for many of these events. The following policy was developed to ensure that scholars traveling on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation are treated equitably, regardless of which event they are attending.

  • A Wikimedia Foundation travel scholarship includes roundtrip economy airfare between the traveler's home airport and their destination city on their approved arrival and departure dates. Requests to change either the travel dates or the airports of the traveler's itinerary cannot be accommodated, unless there is a demonstrated need for doing so.
  • By agreeing to travel for the Wikimedia Foundation, the traveler acknowledges that there are health and safety risks inherent in all travel, as well as the possibility that they may need to incur unforeseen expenses. If they have specific concerns, they should reach out to the Global Travel & Convening Team before travel.
  • Travelers are responsible for ensuring they can meet all entry/exit requirements of their destination and transit countries, including any necessary visas and proof of vaccinations and associated costs.
  • Cancellations
    • If a scholarship recipient notifies organizers that they are not able to attend an event before their travel has been booked, they may still be eligible for future scholarships.
    • If a traveler needs to cancel their trip after their tickets have been issued, they should contact the Travel and Convening Team at least 72 hours prior to their departure so that flight tickets can be canceled. In this case, the scholarship recipient will not be eligible for a travel scholarship to any WMF funded event (including Wikimania and Wikimedia Conference) for one year. Exceptions will be made for illness, those who were unable to obtain a visa, and other extenuating circumstances such as a family emergency.
    • Failure to contact the Travel and Convening Team at all ("no shows") may permanently impact a scholarship recipients' eligibility to receive a future travel scholarship from the Wikimedia Foundation.

See also