congrats Buenos Aires!! thanks to jury for the hard work and decision (finally :-p).<br><br>just a minor point, but please read the subject <font size="2">"</font><font size="2"><span id="1eus" class="VrHWId">Announcement: Wikimania 2008" as 200<u><b>9</b></u> :-p<br>
<br>many thanks<br><br>mark<br><br><br><br></span></font><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Mar 28, 2008 at 3:44 PM, phoebe ayers <<a href="mailto:phoebe.wiki@gmail.com">phoebe.wiki@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
All,<br>
<br>
We are pleased to announce that Buenos Aires has been selected as the<br>
location for Wikimania 2009.<br>
<br>
The jury was particularly excited by a few parts of the Buenos Aires bid:<br>
* A strong, organized team, with division of labor already underway<br>
and support from Wikimedia Argentina. Many people contributed to the<br>
bid, with obvious enthusiasm for organizing the conference and quick<br>
responses to inquiries.<br>
* A detailed budget proposal and planning schedule. Many major<br>
expenses are being covered by the provider. The total budget is<br>
similar to Wikimania 2007's, including a larger travel scholarship<br>
fund, and they have provided detailed charts ahead of time.<br>
* A significant number of sponsors already lined up, with some already<br>
confirmed. They hope to cover half the accommodation and $60k in<br>
travel scholarships, which will help to ease travel costs for<br>
participants from far away.<br>
* A solid venue : as with Toronto, this was situated within a<br>
well-maintained cultural center in a major international city, near an<br>
airline hub; culturally open, and an international melting pot.<br>
* Relaxed visa rules, and easy entry from South American countries.<br>
* Good Spanish-language media contacts, with the promise of outreach<br>
to and the opportunity to work with the Spanish-language Wikimedia<br>
communities.<br>
<br>
Toronto, the runner up, also provided a great bid. The jury was<br>
especially excited by:<br>
* Strong English-language press in the area, and media experience<br>
among the bid team<br>
* A very accessible venue, especially for US/European attendees.<br>
* An excellent venue : a university campus, with dorms directly at the<br>
venue. As with Buenos Aires, it was situated within a well-maintained<br>
cultural center in a major international city, near an airline hub;<br>
culturally open, and an international melting pot.<br>
* Extensive budget accommodation in the dorms; with many options for<br>
casual social space.<br>
* A dedicated bid team, with the hope of Wikimedia Canada being formed<br>
in time to help coordinate.<br>
<br>
However, the jury felt that Buenos Aires' bid showed stronger<br>
organization overall. Additionally, much of the information in the<br>
Toronto bid was carried over from previous bids, and it was unclear<br>
how much of a commitment for the University of Toronto facilities<br>
there was specifically for 2009.<br>
<br>
Brisbane and Karlsruhe also provided good bids. Brisbane in particular<br>
had an enthusiastic bid team and a strong proposal, with particularly<br>
good local sponsorship opportunities; though this was offset by the<br>
high travel costs for out-of-country attendees. The jury felt both<br>
bids needed more detail (including specifics about accommodation<br>
options, and more detailed budget information) to be compelling.<br>
<br>
As in previous years, the relative accessibility of locations was<br>
extensively discussed. The jury believes that it's important for<br>
Wikimania to be accessible to as wide an audience as possible,<br>
particularly to members of the Wikimedia community; the relatively<br>
high cost of travel to South America from Europe and North America was<br>
one of the most significant drawbacks we identified in the Buenos<br>
Aires bid—especially coming on the heels of Taipei and Alexandria.<br>
Having said that, the jury believes that the Buenos Aires bid overcame<br>
this drawback with its numerous advantages, among those the<br>
opportunity to hold the conference in a Spanish-speaking locale, on a<br>
new continent. We hope to receive strong bids from easily accessible<br>
locations for 2010.<br>
<br>
Congratulations to the Buenos Aires team! Wikimania 2009 promises to<br>
be an exciting and successful conference.<br>
<br>
-- Phoebe Ayers, Cary Bass, James Forrester (non-voting jury<br>
moderators), on behalf of the Wikimania 2009 Jury<br>
<a href="http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2009/Jury" target="_blank">http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2009/Jury</a><br>
<br>
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</blockquote></div><br>