Wikimedia Georgia/Scholarship Award Policy

Approved by
the Wikimedia Georgia's Board of Trustees
On March 22, 2026.

Wikimedia Georgia's
Scholarship Award Policy

Tbilisi
2026 y.

About

The Scholarship Award Policy of Wikimedia Georgia (hereinafter, the “Organization”) defines the types of scholarships awarded by the Organization, their purpose, award procedures, scope of use, the accountability of recipients, and reporting procedures.

The Board has approved this Policy of Trustees of Wikimedia Georgia and must be fully observed and applied. Amendments to it, or the exceptional disregard of any of its individual provisions, may only be made based on a decision by the Board of Trustees of Wikimedia Georgia.

Types of Scholarships

Wikimedia Georgia awards scholarships in accordance with the goals and objectives defined in its “Bylaws,” to achieve them and to support members of the Organization, as well as the local Wikimedia movement and community. A scholarship may be full, covering all expenses, or partial, covering a certain pre-defined portion of the expenses.

The Organization awards the following types of scholarships:

• International travel scholarship — awarded on a one-time basis, in accordance with the procedures defined in this Policy, to ensure a person’s participation in events of international and regional (Central and Eastern Europe) significance, including conferences and meetings.
• Local travel scholarship — awarded on a one-time basis, in accordance with the procedures defined in this Policy, to ensure a person’s participation in an event held within the territory of Georgia, including events organized or co-organized by Wikimedia Georgia.
• Educational scholarship — awarded in accordance with the procedures defined in this Policy to ensure a person’s admission to training courses and other educational activities for the purpose of developing and improving that person’s skills and knowledge.

A scholarship shall be awarded in non-monetary form, which means that the person or persons may not receive the scholarship in cash, except where reimbursement of specific expenses is required, based on duly submitted documentation.

Purpose of the Scholarship

The scholarship of Wikimedia Georgia is intended to achieve the goals and objectives defined by the Organization’s Bylaws, including:

• promoting the creation, accumulation, development, dissemination, and inclusion in international projects of any type of universally accessible and permissible encyclopedic, educational, scientific, reference, and other forms of knowledge;
• participation in international and local academic events;
• representing the Organization at international and local events;
• promoting free knowledge;
• promoting the creation and development of free software;
• ensuring participation in other international and local events, projects, and programs that promote encyclopedic information and free knowledge.

The Board of Trustees of Wikimedia Georgia has the right, by way of exception, to use scholarship awards for other additional purposes beyond those listed here, provided that such purposes are connected with the Organization’s Bylaws.

Awarding

A Wikimedia Georgia scholarship is awarded on a one-time basis for pre-defined goals and objectives. Approval of a scholarship for a specific person may be granted by the Organization’s Board of Trustees, or, with the authorization of the Board of Trustees, by the Organization’s Executive Director.

A recipient of a Wikimedia Georgia scholarship must meet the following general conditions:

• must be an adult under Georgian law, or a minor whose legal representative provides written permission for receiving the scholarship;
• must have a valid identity document (national ID card, passport);
• must not be blocked on any Wikimedia project (www.wikimedia.org);
• must not be subject to any restriction imposed by Wikimedia Georgia or the Wikimedia Foundation from participating in Wikimedia events;
• must not have received a scholarship from another organization for participation in the same event, project, or program;
• must comply with the Wikimedia Universal Code of Conduct, Privacy Policy, Friendly Space Policy, as well as the Bylaws of Wikimedia Georgia;
• must have made a minimum participatory contribution to projects and programs of Wikimedia Georgia or the Wikimedia Foundation.

The Board of Trustees of Wikimedia Georgia, and, with its authorization, the Organization’s Executive Director, may exceptionally remove or add specific requirements to the general conditions.

In addition to the general requirements above for awarding a scholarship to a person, Wikimedia Georgia establishes additional conditions for two events organized by the Wikimedia Foundation and other Wikimedia organizations (“Wikimania” and the “Wikimedia CEE Meeting” — Central and Eastern Europe Wikimedia Meeting), as follows:

• Additional requirements for receiving a scholarship to attend Wikimania:
  • The person must be an adult under Georgian law by the date registration for the event opens;
  • must have a valid passport with at least 6 months remaining before expiration after the event end date;
  • must know English at a communicative level;
  • By the date scholarship applications open, must have been registered on Wikimedia projects for at least 2 years;
  • By the date scholarship applications open, must have made at least 2,000 edits on Georgian Wikipedia or any other Wikimedia project;
  • By the date scholarship applications open, must have participated in at least 1 Wikimedia Georgia event (conference, camp, contest, edit-a-thon, etc.).

• Additional requirements for receiving a scholarship to attend the Wikimedia CEE Meeting:
  • The person must be an adult under Georgian law by the date registration for the event opens;
  • must have a valid passport with at least 6 months remaining before expiration after the event end date;
  • must know English at a communicative level;
  • By the date scholarship applications open, must have been registered on Wikimedia projects for at least 1 year;
  • By the date scholarship applications open, must have made at least 2,000 edits on Georgian Wikipedia or any other Wikimedia project;
  • By the date scholarship applications open, must have participated in at least 1 Wikimedia Georgia event (conference, camp, contest, edit-a-thon, etc.).

The Board of Trustees of Wikimedia Georgia, and, with its authorization, the Organization’s Executive Director, may exceptionally remove or add specific requirements to the scholarship conditions for the above two events.

The process and procedures for selecting scholarship recipients shall be determined in advance by the Board of Trustees of Wikimedia Georgia, while the final decision on awarding a scholarship to a specific person shall be made by the Board of Trustees or, by its decision, by the Organization’s Executive Director. The Board of Trustees has the full right to refuse any person, even after the process and procedures have been completed, and decline to award them a scholarship.

Scope of Use

A Wikimedia Georgia scholarship may be used only for the purposes and objectives defined by the Organization’s Bylaws and for the purposes set out in the “Purpose of the Scholarship” section of this Policy.

It is prohibited to use a scholarship awarded by the Organization for any political, military, religious, or other non-free-knowledge purpose, or for non-Wikimedia purposes.

Accountability

A recipient of a Wikimedia Georgia scholarship (scholarship holder) is obliged to submit a report on the use of the scholarship, including, where necessary, a financial report on the use of the scholarship. The scholarship holder must describe in writing what goals and objectives were achieved and what results were obtained through the use of the scholarship awarded by the Organization.

The scholarship holder is also obliged to fulfill the responsibilities determined in advance by the Organization after receiving the scholarship, including sharing the knowledge and experience they acquired with others.

The scholarship holder must submit a written report to the Organization no later than 30 calendar days from the official end date of the event, project, or program. Failure to comply with this condition will result in an indefinite restriction on the person’s eligibility to receive a scholarship from the Organization. If the person cannot fulfill this requirement within 30 calendar days and has a valid reason, they are obliged to notify the Organization’s administration in writing and request additional time. If the person fails to comply with this condition, does not provide a valid reason, and submits the report only after the 30-day deadline has passed, they shall be ineligible to receive a scholarship from the Organization for 1 year (365 days) from the date of report submission.

The Board of Trustees has the right, at its discretion, to modify, add, or reduce the above-mentioned requirements in a specific case.