Hello everybody, my name is Aniss and I was the main organizer of the 4th edition of WikiStage HEC Algiers: Leaders 2.0! Before jumping onto our main subject, I wanted to thank you all for being part of our WikiStage family. I encourage you to keep making efforts for a positive change in your environment because organizing a WikiStage event is all about impact. My main goal while I’m writing you today is to share with you how we as a team managed to get help from companies, and most important - what things were most difficult for us during the process of organizing an event that hosts 600 people each year and has a team of 60 organizers. Let’s start with the things you should do if you want to make a successful WikiStage event: 1. Start early! No matter what’s the size of your event, no matter how many people will be organizing it, if you start 2 months before the set date of your WikiStage event it’s too late. Sponsors tend to prefer being part of the process of organizing an event quite early, so the earlier you start the better. Companies also don’t like working in the urge so it’s always better to reach out to them months before the due date. Something I’d also like to share is that as a Project Manager, I was too focused on networking and that made my team uneasy and doubtful about the chances of making it. We ended up having some minor grudges during the process. This leads to the next point. 2. Your theme needs to be chosen wisely Depending on the theme of your WikiStage event a company is more or less likely to be your partner. Why? Because some companies don’t like to be involved in politics, for example, an industrial company has nothing to do in an event that’s aimed for agriculture and so on... So chose wisely, and target companies that share the same values as the theme you want to work on. 3. Teamwork You can’t possibly do everything alone, trust your teammates and associate them to your decisions as hard as it can be for us to not be in control... it’s for the better. As a project manager you can’t be in charge of everything, so make one of your team members responsible for sponsoring part. The time is limited and if you can’t give your full trust to the team, the event won’t happen! One of the mistakes I made was that I relied too much on myself at first. Listening to your teammates and exposing your problems to them might help you have a better chance of getting a sponsor. For example: I had approached a company without any contact while one of my teammates knew someone in there. If I had shared with my teammates this info I would have gained lots of time. So - share your thoughts and listen to your team more often. The communication between all team members is really important. In the end, what is crucial is that during the process of getting sponsors and partners you need a maximum of contacts and the best network. 4. Your sponsoring document is your ID! If you want to have an interview for an eventual sponsoring, your sponsoring document needs to be the best, not just good, the absolute best! It has to contain all the information about what you achieved as a team before, your event, why you are organizing it, when, where etc... all information needed for sponsors to understand better the context of your event. 5. Always choose a direct contact with the company Most of the companies will start by asking you to send your sponsoring folder (like I said it’s your ID) but sometimes it happens that they ask directly for an interview.  Never refuse that! If you can get in touch with one person from the company directly, you are more likely to get something from them. 6. Be honest about your intentions, problems, strengths, and weaknesses The relationship between a sponsor and a young team trying to make an event like WikiStage is bound to fail if it starts by lies. No company will ask you to be the perfect team and to have everything ready... what they see in you is potential and talent and they want to help by any means not only money. Just be honest, be ambitious, and be tenacious because you are going to fail multiple times before getting your first partner. Be patient - good work often takes times. I prefer sharing my mistakes with you - the future organizers of WikiStage, hoping that you won’t do the same when the times comes: - Never go unprepared to an interview with a company. If they see that you are not in control of your subject, you have nearly 0% chances of succeeding - Be sure to have the means necessary to receive the money, goods, or any support the company might accept to give you. One of the few mistakes we made as a team was to reach out to companies that agreed to support us, but in the end, we couldn’t receive that help because we didn’t have a bank account for example. So, try to see the limitations that you have, and find solutions to overcome it as quickly as possible. - Organizing an event = making a plan: I can hear you from my place saying: I have everything in control don’t worry... Yeah, I know, but write it down and expose it to your team. You can plan everything in your head but your solutions may not be the best and another point of views are always welcome. In addition to that, sponsors won’t read your mind, they want to see your plans black on white, written in a perfect, clear and easy to understand language. W.R.I.T.E. I.T. D.O.W.N.! - This one is quite difficult... it may vary depending on your region/country but as hard as it may be, you have to affirm yourself as the Chief/Leader/Manager (depending on your personality) and even if it displeases some people (or others don’t consider you as such) you have to keep going on and make the project the priority and make things move. As a WikiStage Project Manager you may have to lead teams like mine, which had about 60 people, so be patient and try hearing out everybody and solve the interpersonal issues. Depending on the situation you may have to take the decision of dropping a partner for the benefit of the other, so don’t be scared and take the best decision you can think of. Egos are not something you should care about, your goal as an individual and as a team is to make the conference a reality, and decisions need to be taken. - Last but not the least, don’t forget that it is supposed to be FUN! You are friends, you are a team, you’re in a process of learning how to work as a whole not as individuals. If you can sell yourself as a team, it will be easier to get sponsors. As silly as my advice may appear, they are quite effective. And here’s why: • During our edition of WikiStage HEC Algiers, more than 50% of our contacts came from our team members, more than 50% was set up thanks to the same team members, and the final sponsors were all with us because of same those team members • We were taken seriously because we had a plan, a vision, and a document to attest of what we were aiming for • We never lied nor gave promises we couldn’t accomplish • Even if we had conflicts, we always put the event before anything else • Problems always happen, but it’s how you deal with them that changes everything • Trust your team and let them take responsibility (even when it means not taking credits for something you did) nobody will be remembered as THE ORGANIZER, but THE TEAM will be remembered as the best Organizing an event is not like solving a math problem, you will all have a different result even if you follow the same steps. So be patient, try finding the right solutions and don’t waste time blaming people. As for me, you can contact me whenever you want if needed. Once again, thank you for being part of the great WikiStage family and good luck! May the force be with you!

In the year 2017, I was just a normal university student.  The highest of my dreams was to get good marks and spend my summer by watching series and going to the beach. Only one year after, I found myself among the organizing team of the best cultural event in Jijel – the WikiStage. My inspiration to join a WikiStage Community came from other WikiStage events, such as WikiStage Algiers and WikiStage Batna in Algeria, and other events like WikiStage Paris and WikiStage Cairo outside of Algeria. Since that day, the hard work has started, lack of sleep has come, and the stress got his pick… We got so many neglections, so much ignorance, and so much criticism. But all those obstacles didn’t stop us and didn’t put us down. Those negative sides just made us stronger! The support of our community gave us one more reason to give all our best to make this event happen. We wanted to show them who we are and what the WikiStage really is. The big day was on September 1st, 2018. The day we have been waiting and working hard for - the WikiStage Jijel event day. "Stories Worth Telling" was the theme of our conference. The organizing team started the preparations in the Culture House at 8 AM. The whole team was divided into few smaller teams: team for the check-in, the team for controlling the technical work, the team for organizing the coffee break etc.  At 11 AM, we opened the gate to welcome the audience. We were so surprised when we saw the crowd! We have expected 450, but there were 600 participants, which was a great success for us. The check-in was well organized, the audience was very respectful and was following the instructions. The speakers came on time, as well as the photographers. At 12 PM, as it was planned, the event has begun. The animator started with the opening ceremony and gave the audience extra energy and excitement before the speakers’ WikiTalks. Everything was according to the program: we had 6 speeches, 2 debates, a coffee break, and a musical performance. The WikiTalks overcame our expectations.  The speakers gave us a great amount of inspiration and motivation by sharing with us their "stories worth telling". We closed our event with a raffle in which we got eight lucky winners!

In 2013 I have taught a Public Speaking course at the Teacher Education College in Southern Algeria. The class was an opportunity for me to help learners be outspoken and use communicative skills for social change. One of the topics that I discussed with my students was the importance of saying “no”. At that time, I was inciting them to say no to tyranny and oppression and also to learn to say no when they are not ready to commit. Often, out of shyness or complacency, we say yes to everything and then under-deliver what we promised. After that, I left to finish my doctorate at Syracuse University in the US. Towards the end of my stay, I was approached by one of my bright students telling me how transformative “learning to say no" was to her. She said: "I am going to say no to an opportunity that was waiting for me and my team". I said: "Wait!” I changed my mind. After a lot of pondering I discovered that I was wrong. I told her: “Say yes!” Because I came to realize we live in a world with shrinking opportunities. After her apparent confusion, she said: "Sounds great! And by the way, we are organizing a WikiStage event in Djelfa and we would love if you can come and talk". I immediately said “no”. I could see clearly that she was very confused because she was certain I was going to walk the talk and say “yes”. She told me: “First you teach us to say no, now you are telling me to say yes and when I ask you, you say no.” Out of embarrassment and in an effort to be the role model I should be, I said yes and embroiled myself into podium panic! It took me a long time to choose my title. I wanted a positive topic to navigate the ocean of despair and negativity that I think prevails among Algerian youth scene after the frustrations of the Arab awakening. I wanted a topic that speaks to the audience that shares with me the same impoverished background. The talk location was just 50 km from my birthplace. I was born and raised in a region in Algeria with a lot of poverty, despair, school drop-outs, and deteriorating infrastructure. I wanted to share my success story with one idea that seemed to be the basis for all my breakthroughs. After a lot of hesitation, I had the “eureka” moment! “The Power of Saying Yes” is a big idea. Fast-forward to the day of the presentation, I talked about how saying yes to helping people, saying yes to opportunities and engagement boomeranged in my life and enriched my CV without initially intending it, diversified my background and led me to where I am today - an education specialist and project manager in leading international institutes. My main cry was: “Say YES, do good things, they will come back and haunt you in a positive way.” When Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook, he did not think of creating a company. I watched him say in one of the interviews: "I was convinced that someone will someday build something like Facebook for the world, but not me". He thought that it would be a company that already had thousands of engineers. He spoke about all the social pressures that he had. But saying yes led him to be a billionaire, and most importantly a game-changer in the 21st century. I concluded my talk by emphasizing the importance of relationships and how treating people with respect and kindness will also boomerang in a very serendipitous way. The last slide was a quote that really changed my life. Mark Twain once said: "Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe Harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” When young activists do this, they’ll have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Only the sky will be the limit!

Finding someone who can connect with your audience, be it an entrepreneur, a scientist, an artist, a community leader or a local hero is essential. WikiTalks are at the very heart of WikiStage and it is extremely important to find the right speakers for your event. Before you start, here are two questions to ask yourself: Who is my audience? Think of what issues or concerns they want to address, what problems they would want to be solved, or what is their passion? What do you want from your speaker? Decide what you expect them to bring to your event, and how they are going to help you achieve your goals. Is it to motivate, educate or entertain your audience?   When you define answers to these two questions, you are ready to start. Here are some tips on how to find matching speakers for your WikiStage event:  1. Use your own network Your colleagues and friends may be able to refer you to a speaker that they have personally seen in action or they personally know. Also, you could find expert speakers by connecting with organizations and clubs in your field. 2.  Use the Internet Start with searching through your LinkedIn network of mutual contacts, YouTube, and other social media. Seek out professionals who are developing content that is being read and shared by readers online. 3. Check your local university Professors can be ideal speakers because they are skilled communicators and educators. Also, many universities have a speakers bureau that connects conferences and event organizers like you with professionals interested in speaking opportunities. 4.  Look to nonprofits in your area Leaders in NGO are often very active in the community and are likely to share their experience. Consider a local nonprofit as a potential resource for a speaker. 5. Attendee feedback Always keep the desires of attendees in mind. Collect attendee feedback to see if they can recommend a speaker they are interested in hearing from. As an event organizer, you are well aware of the role that speakers can play in the success of your event. Event organizers often tell us that they find it more difficult to find women speakers. Nevertheless, we think is worth the extra effort to look for great female speakers. A good mix and balance is a very enriching ingredient in every WikiStage conference. If you get a line-up of who can deliver excellent content to your audience, then you’re likely to have a very successful event. 

Even though finding sponsors is just one piece to the event puzzle, it’s vital for your event. For many event organizers, potential sponsors are hard to find. Providing sponsorship involves a lot of hustle compared to other organizational initiatives. But this doesn’t have always to be so difficult. Follow this 4-step guide that will help you find sponsors, and build smart relationships with them, one step at a time: 1.   Build a list of potential sponsors The first step is to create a list of sponsors. Here you should think about - who could be interested to support your event? When researching potential sponsors, start with your personal network. Then find out who has sponsored similar events in your city in the past and which companies would be interested to be presented to your audience. Contact the companies from your list to ask who makes sponsorship decisions, so that your proposal goes to the right person. As you build your list, create a spreadsheet to keep track of your outreach progress. 2.   Make the first contact online The first email you will send to potential sponsors should be concise and to the point. Let them know why you chose to reach out to them specifically, and most important - give them the answer to the question: why should they sponsor your event?  Provide them with the next information: -Your event’s mission or cause (what differentiates your event from others) -Your event’s audience (show how many people a sponsor could reach and what defines your audience) - How they will benefit (on-stage announcements, logo placements, website marketing, email marketing, social media/press mentions, etc.) At the end of the email request for a short meeting, so you can work together to customize your proposal. 3.    Follow up with those who didn’t respond It’s important to remain consistent and maintain close contact, especially when you don’t hear back from your leads right away. Simple statements that require a short feedback work the best here. Sometimes your prospects simply don’t like what you’re offering. Try to provide as many alternatives as possible, whether it’s about the channel of communication, your sponsorship package, or any other important aspects of the pitch. 4.   Measure ROI data and present it to the sponsors after the event After the event is finished, be prepared to supply each of your sponsors with evidence that you fulfilled your commitments to them. This can be done by: - taking photos - uploading WikiTalk videos on the YouTube Channel and sharing links with sponsors - monitoring media coverage - headcount - social media mentions - attendee data collected (satisfaction, pre/post awareness, etc.) - unique website visitors   or any other evidence that proves your event was successful. Securing event sponsors is never an easy task, but with the right resources and strategy, this can be much simpler and more enjoyable than you expect. The secret to how to get event sponsors is to understand their needs and be flexible enough to meet them. And in the end, your main goal is to organize an exceptional event that people will enjoy and talk about!

WikiStage Stanford, WikiStage Berlin, WikiStage HEC Alger, WikiStage New Cairo - These are only some of the WikiStage Event Names of past WikiStage Conferences. If you are planning to organize a WikiStage Event yourself you probably wonder: how will I call my WikiStage event? Since our first event in 2013, we have grown into a network of more than 100 event organizers in 15 countries. Currently, we have 60 upcoming events all around the world, and this number is increasing rapidly! That's why a very important detail for us is the exact name of your license. Every WikiStage event is identified by its license name, for example: “WikiStage Stanford” or “WikiStage Maison de l’Europe de Paris”.  The number of licenses that we give out every week is growing fast, and it often happens that there is more than one event in the same city. Because of this, we have established a set of principles for event names, so that your audience and speakers can best identify the nature of your event and who is organizing it. For this reason, for example, it is not possible to obtain very large and broad license names, such as “WikiStage Italy” (name of a country) or “WikiStage Alps” (name of a large region) neither for generic topics, such as “WikiStage Medicine” or “WikiStage Marketing”.  We also don't give out licenses for too short names with only 2 or 3 letters, like an acronym - there needs to be an additional word to make it more specific.  Sometimes we even receive several applications for the same event name. If two people apply for, say, "WikiStage Paris", it's first come first serve. If we have already given out the license for a name, we can't give it to somebody else anymore. However, it is possible that you organise a WikiStage event in the same city where another WikiStage event already exists - what you need to do is chose a license name that is clearly different from the existing one in your city. We would like your license name to reflect either: - the name of your association, organization, university or company - The name of the area within the city - with large cities: the name of your district, a monument or a parc that symbolizes your district - the name of the location where the event is held, for example: Oslo library, or Théâtre de Châtelet. We would like to find a name together with you that more specifically represents who you are and where you will be organizing the event. We would like you to choose and be happy with your license name. By choosing the right name for your WikiStage event you will make it clear to your audience, speakers and sponsors who you are and which city or organization you represent. We hope that with these rules we can allow many people to contribute to share fresh ideas and change the world - one event at a time.