Below you can find two proposed prize schemes. Please let know which one can work better:

In both schemes, all participants will receive: Wiki Loves Monuments t-shirt, pin, sticker, diploma. In both schemes, participants will be given the choice to purchase photography or monument related items (equipment, books, software, etc.) for up to the value indicated in the tables below. We will not give cash as prize.

Note: The highest scoring picture will receive a printed copy of their winning photo signed by Maestro Plácido Domingo, the president of Europa Nostra. Sponsored by Europa Nostra.

I personally like scheme 1 better as it leave us with 1000 Euros that can be spent on shipping charges for each prize (Suppose we buy something from Amazon for the candidate, then the thing needs to be shipped, too, and that can have a significant cost). I understand that we have a separate 400 Euro shipping costs as part of the budget for diplomas and what not. ;)

I also understand that the task of back and forth with the winner to find the optimal prize can be time consuming. I'm signing up to do this with the winners, and I will look for a volunteer to replace me. if that person is not found, I'm the fall-back option.

@Effeietsanders @Yarl @Slaporte @Ilario Please share your thoughts.

In my opinion it makes sense to give a prize also to the local team organizing the event and having the 1st or the 2nd or the 3rd winner. This may increase and motivate the local teams.

About camera, please consider that recently the lithium batteries are considered "dangerous goods" (https://www.ups.com/es/en/help-center/packaging-and-supplies/special-care-shipments/batteries.page). I had no possibility to send a drone in Germany cause this limitation.

In T170749#3536458, @Ilario wrote:

In my opinion it makes sense to give a prize also to the local team organizing the event and having the 1st or the 2nd or the 3rd winner. This may increase and motivate the local teams.

good point. Can we use the 2000 Euros under Branding and thank you gifts for this one?

Yes, absolutely, but there is to check if they can be sent. For me it was impossible to send the batteries of the drone cause the size of the batteries (considered to much dangerous). No shipment service accepted them.

In T170749#3536479, @Ilario wrote:

Yes, absolutely, but there is to check if they can be sent. For me it was impossible to send the batteries of the drone cause the size of the batteries (considered to much dangerous). No shipment service accepted them.

got you re the battery issue. I'll make a note to make this conditional.

Thanks for starting this discussion! A few thoughts:

• While I'm a big fan of sending in-kind prizes, attaching the obligation that we buy it for them, also brings a lot of complexities. For example, what if someone wants to buy a camera that is more expensive than the prize and is happy to pay the difference? There are probably some more complexities around this that I don't think of right now, as we did not consider this option before.
• If we want to send actual 'stuff' around the world, you may have to consider customs dues etc - would you also want to cover those? Ideally we use local shops as much as possible, but that would limit the possibilities for us to pay for it. Please also consider the request of WMCH to simplify the payment process on their end - I'm not sure how this fits into that (more related to process than actual scheme)?
• We will indeed need to reserve budget for sending the T-shirt etc. I understand that for some countries, this could cost up to 100 euro on shipping alone as soon as you go beyond what fits in a letter. The diplomas also need printing & signing, but yes, we have budget for those. If we're uncertain I'd go with the lower scheme: nobody will complain if their prize turns out to be a bit higher than announced.
• I'm not supportive yet of the idea of providing a prize to the local teams. This could change the dynamics in our competitions and the way teams collaborate, and I'm not prepared to support that before we look into it more thoroughly. Lets consider this kind of changes for next year, perhaps. I definitely don't see how we could fit this under branding, btw.
• Did you discuss to throw in a Flickr Pro+ account for 1 or even a few year for the top-10?
• Otherwise both schemes look fine to me, it has a nice gradient.

In T170749#3536539, @Effeietsanders wrote:

Thanks for starting this discussion! A few thoughts:

• While I'm a big fan of sending in-kind prizes, attaching the obligation that we buy it for them, also brings a lot of complexities. For example, what if someone wants to buy a camera that is more expensive than the prize and is happy to pay the difference? There are probably some more complexities around this that I don't think of right now, as we did not consider this option before.

Good point. We should call out that we go with easy enough transactions. ;) We can add a clause as a footnote to make that clear.

• If we want to send actual 'stuff' around the world, you may have to consider customs dues etc - would you also want to cover those? Ideally we use local shops as much as possible, but that would limit the possibilities for us to pay for it. Please also consider the request of WMCH to simplify the payment process on their end - I'm not sure how this fits into that (more related to process than actual scheme)?

good point. I will call this out. I think based on the budget left in this category, we can only pay the cost of the order and shipping. Customs is a different cost category and we should call out that we won't cover. This way, the person will have a choice to choose according to their environment and their needs.

• We will indeed need to reserve budget for sending the T-shirt etc. I understand that for some countries, this could cost up to 100 euro on shipping alone as soon as you go beyond what fits in a letter. The diplomas also need printing & signing, but yes, we have budget for those. If we're uncertain I'd go with the lower scheme: nobody will complain if their prize turns out to be a bit higher than announced.

Ok. Scheme 1 it is then. :)

• I'm not supportive yet of the idea of providing a prize to the local teams. This could change the dynamics in our competitions and the way teams collaborate, and I'm not prepared to support that before we look into it more thoroughly. Lets consider this kind of changes for next year, perhaps. I definitely don't see how we could fit this under branding, btw.

I did not understand Ilario's comment as a prize for local teams but as a thank you to all local organizers. I'm supportive of the latter, and would skip the former.

• Did you discuss to throw in a Flickr Pro+ account for 1 or even a few year for the top-10?
• Otherwise both schemes look fine to me, it has a nice gradient.

This is a cool one. I will ask them. I won't stop the prize scheme discussion for that information to arrive. We can always throw it in as a bonus if we get it. :)

Thanks for this. I know quite a few national organizers are looking forward to hearing the final word on this matter :D

@Effeietsanders I'm kind of sorry for the stress I cause. :D done: http://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/awards/ informing the public list now. Thank you for your help and patience. :)