Wikimania-l July 2018

wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org

70 participants
37 discussions

Friendly Space Policy (was: Sad news)
by Lilli Iliev 15 Aug '18

15 Aug '18

Hi all, I decided to contribute to this thread, however not in order to elaborate on my personal opinion on this specific case. This would be inappropriate, as we do not have sufficient information about it and also out of respect for the people involved. Instead, I want to comment, because I feel strongly about the consequences this discussion may have - not only on the perception of the friendly space policy and its effectiveness, but also on people who may need to refer to the policy in the future. This past Wikimania was very much about the importance of representing all people in our movement and about finding ways for them to have a voice, to be heard – and to feel safe to contribute and participate. One reliable way to silence people when they experience harassment as well as keeping others from speaking out, is to have them experience how other, non-involved people, would immediately have an opinion on what happened and judge the case or the person in question. This is what has happened here. It is furthermore, absolutely out of proportion to weigh ones personal irritation about some members being potentially more aware and sensitive of this topic, against a context in which harassment and violence is not the exception, but everyday reality. Policies and measures like codes of conduct etc. exist for a reason. Invisible to many, harassment does happen, it happens a lot, it happens also amongst communities with great, humanitarian goals. In the world most of us live in, offensive or invasive behavior has no tangible consequences for those who commit it, but severe effects on those who experience it. According to the Fundamental Rights Agency, 75% of women in qualified professions or top management jobs have been sexually harassed[1]. UN Women has confirmed that there is a big problem with underreporting when it comes to these cases. Efforts like the friendly space policies aim to contribute to establish a societal climate where people feel safe and that makes all people aware, that inappropriate behavior has consequences. Publicly judging and ridiculing efforts to find a process, suitable to make all people feel safe, heard, and, if necessary, taken seriously at events, can set back efforts of creating such a process. Measures like friendly space policies are not self-evident, they are an hard fought for achievement. Seeing, how fast those efforts are being called into question, is quite disheartening and worries me a lot. I am very grateful to work for and with a movement that has agreed on trying to make all people feel welcome and respected. I hope that we will keep fostering this together. best Lilli ------------------------------ <#_ftnref1>[1] http://www.equineteurope.org/IMG/pdf/fra_9dec2014.pdf -- Lilli Iliev Projektmanagerin Politik project manager public policy Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin Tel. (030) 219 158 26-0 http://wikimedia.de Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei! http://spenden.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207

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Re: [Wikimania-l] Friendly Space Policy (was: Sad news)
by Béria Lima 06 Aug '18

06 Aug '18

Since I didn't went to wikimania and other people were already making the points I wanted to make I tried to stay out of the conversation, but now I need to answer something. ***Men (add well-educated, straight, able-bodied, wealthy if you wish) from whatever ethnic group is most prominent in the country they live in have a different experience of life to everyone else. Harassment, bullying and various other forms of discrimination are much more frequent , even normal, for women, people from ethnic minorities, LGBT people, and others who don't match that description.*** First of all, let's not forget that the incident that started all of this happened to a white straight man from Europe, and so far the only people who were "disqualified" from the conversation for their identity (and trus suffered harassment for something they CAN'T Change) were white males. So if we are going to town identity politics into this, I would say with the basis of this conversation that they are MORE likely to suffer discrimination not less. Second, no. Every man (or woman) is an island. Each experience is different. Telling someone that all white people thinks the same is like saying <insert racist stereotype here> (I can give exemples but if I do this thread will devolve into a discussion of the stereotype and we done want that). The best thing that come up of the suffragete and civil rights movements are that we should listen to the ideas not the person who has them, and we should uphold to that if equality is what we want. PS. : Because I know people will say stuff about if, let's preempt all of it: for those who don't know, I'm Latina and a woman, but that SHOULDN'T be the reason why you listen to me. On Jul 30, 2018 3:13 PM, "Chris Keating" <chriskeatingwiki(a)gmail.com> wrote: Probably the best thing that can happen to this thread now is that it dies off, but I did just want to respond to this point by Pine, because it's really important: > 1. How, exactly, are white males unqualified to discuss the Friendly Space Policy because of their/our identity as white males? Men (add well-educated, straight, able-bodied, wealthy if you wish) from whatever ethnic group is most prominent in the country they live in have a different experience of life to everyone else. Harassment, bullying and various other forms of discrimination are much more frequent , even normal, for women, people from ethnic minorities, LGBT people, and others who don't match that description. So a conversation mainly conducted by white men about something like a Friendly Space Policy is mainly being conducted by people who do not experience the issue that the Friendly Space Policy is designed to address. Or if they do experience it, it's an unusual thing that's easy to laugh off. Therefore this kind of conversation is much more likely to conclude that there isn't a real problem, or the policy isn't working, or other things are more important (e.g. being REALLY TRANSPARENT ABOUT EVERYTHING), or whatever has happened in a particular case isn't an issue. Which, predictably enough, is *exactly* what has happened in this conversation. Regards, Chris _______________________________________________ Wikimania-l mailing list Wikimania-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l

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Non-scholarship Wikimania support by Wikimedia affiliates (was earlier posted on [Wikimediaindia-l] list)
by Subhashish Panigrahi 01 Aug '18

01 Aug '18

Though I’m not sure if it’d be right to take names here, but this is probably an opportunity to discuss about: - if there is a need for consensus when a Wikimedia affiliate provides support to one person from another affiliate - if an affiliate provides support if they share it on wiki for transparency or not - Wikimania scholarship recipients generally create Learning Patterns and write reports. These are good practices in general but making it mandatory for the scholarship recipients brings out a really valuable pool of knowledge which otherwise might not be the case because of the post-Wikimania fatigue. There is a need for more clarity if non-Wikimania participants (individual/affiliate reps) who travel because of support from another affiliate should also produce the same - If an affiliate decides to provide support, should they announce publicly (on regional mailman lists and meta/village pumps) if there is any conflict. If there was a rationale that the former used to identify certain individuals, should they share that as well? I think discussing these above would be useful in general. Bodhi, didn’t want to steal your thunder but I think some of the general points (above) can be discussed which in someway would be useful for all such future supports. Subhashish Begin forwarded message: > From: Bodhisattwa Mandal <bodhisattwa.rgkmc(a)gmail.com> > Date: July 27, 2018 at 12:32:20 PM GMT+5:30 > To: wikimediaindia-l <wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org> > Subject: [Wikimediaindia-l] Wikimania tour of Rahul Desmukh > Reply-To: Wikimedia India Community list <wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org> > > Hi, > > WMIN chapter president Rahul Deshmukh attended Wikimania 2018 in Cape Town without being selected for any type of scholarship. My question is why was he sent to the conference depriving other community members from India who were in the waiting list. > > He spoke in the informal chairpersons' meetup for few minutes. The meeting doesn't require president of the organization's presence, and already there were 2 EC member of WMIN present, who could have attended the meeting. > > To me, this is utter misuse of power and abuse of donation money. > > Thanks, > Bodhisattwa > _______________________________________________ > Wikimediaindia-l mailing list > Wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org > To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l

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Sad news
by Romaine Wiki 29 Jul '18

29 Jul '18

Dear all, Right now I am feeling much hurt after a conversation I just had. What has happened? - People say I have been talking to loud, however I do not know where that was, but for those who complained about that: I am very sorry, not my intention. Please be aware I have a hearing problem and I do hear myself much less, as well as I have periodically tinnitus <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus>. I would appreciate it very much if anyone who notices I speak to loud, to tell me, I do not want to disturb or invasive or ... - People have said that with some people I have been standing to close to them or I may have touched a shoulder. I am very very sorry if that gave anyone a bad feeling. Such is never my intention. Because of my bad hearing I might also stand closer to people. I am pretty sensitive myself to this as well, and I always try to respect the personal space of others as I would love anyone at the conference to feel well. About two years ago I was the subject of harassment myself, resulting in that I felt horrible for two weeks and couldn't do anything in the movement. Having it experienced myself, I am feeling horrible that I brought others in the situation that made them feel terrible. It feels for me really bad with helping someone that it results in the other having an uncomfortable feeling. Also during the day I walked in a room during a session to hand out, on request, something to the someone in the room, and left almost immediately. Some hours later I heard that one of the presenters in the room got stressed by my short presence in the room. I feel sorry if I may have disturbed this session in some way, and hope that the presenter will not hold a grudge. I am open for a conversation if needed. Either way, this resulted in an official complaint on my address. Because of these complaints, it was demanded to step down as a volunteer organiser for this year's Wikimania. I am very sorry that it has influence on my support of this conference, but I will be around. Kind regards, Romaine

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Celebrating Wikimania 2018 online
by Romaine Wiki 27 Jul '18

27 Jul '18

The official part of Wikimania is over, this does not prevent ourselves from celebrating Africa's first Wikimania online, in more particular: writing Wikipedia articles. Africa is under represented in Wikipedia, by writing about it we both celebrate our great conference as well as we work on solving the Africagap With some Dutchies we started the idea of having a list of like 10-20 articles of subjects from Cape Town and surrounding area. For example: Well-known park in Cape Town: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company%27s_Garden The often referred to Dassie: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q323847 Input needed! Romaine

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thank you for Wikimania
by phoebe ayers 26 Jul '18

26 Jul '18

All, A huge thanks to the Wikimedia South Africa team + the WMF logistics & travel team + all the volunteers from around the world on the program committee and assisting in other capacities + all of the enthusiastic attendees - for making this a wonderful Wikimania. We got to experience the beautiful city of Cape Town and surrounds, which was for many attendees our first time in South Africa (or anywhere in Africa). We met new friends and people in the movement doing amazing work on the continent & beyond. We talked about editing the projects, about movement strategy, about next steps. We had a fun dance party... and I know that I, and many others, are newly inspired to work with the people I met to improve and strengthen our projects in and about Africa and the African diaspora. Thanks again to the organizers (especially to Douglas Scott for hosting us & running a week-long Wikimania and THEN leading (amazing) walking tours for two days, to Liam Wyatt for running program logistics and getting everything organized so that we could have a program, and to Ellie Young & her WMF team for running things smoothly behind the scenes) -- and to everyone who participated for making this such a great time. I encourage everyone, whether you attended or not, to watch some talks, get inspired to host local events and connect with the Wikimedians who presented their projects and initiatives, and edit about South Africa! greetings and wikilove from my last (alas) day in Capetown, Phoebe -- * I use this address for lists; send personal messages to phoebe.ayers <at> gmail.com *

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Lost & Found - Wikimania 2018
by Irene Tait 22 Jul '18

22 Jul '18

Hello all, We have many lost items at the help desk that would love to find their way back home. *The help desk will be closing at 2pm today - that is in an hour*! If you are missing something, *PLEASE* come by to claim it as soon as possible. Any items not claimed by 2pm will be turned over to the hotel. Thank you! Irene Tait Wikimania '18 Conference Assistant Wikimedia Foundation itait(a)wikimedia.org

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Please give back my bracelet and i will love you forever
by Reem Al-Kashif 21 Jul '18

21 Jul '18

Hello, Hope you are all enjoying wikimania ^^ i am so far. Just a request, please give back my the blue scarab bracelet (it is very inexpensive but i cant go back to the south of egypt to get another) that was in a bag and in another bag under the egypt table in the community village. I wrapped it in two bags and put it under the table in because it is NOT up for grabs. Please give it back. I will give you a piece of candy when you do. Thank you. Best, Reem

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Event organizers meetup on Saturday, 18:00, room Montréal
by Cornelius Kibelka 21 Jul '18

21 Jul '18

Hi there, The Wikimedia movement is moving towards more and more diverse events. Some events, like regional conferences and Wikimania, are rotating and each year different (volunteer) teams organize the events. How can we make sure that knowledge is passed from one team to another? Should we create an (informal) event organizers support group? I would be glad to start the discussion to see what's possible and how can we support each other better. Any input is welcome! *We'll meet on Satuday, 18:00 in room Montréal. Add yourself to the list: * https://wikimania2018.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event_organizers_meetup Cheers Cornelius -- Cornelius Kibelka Program and Engagement Coordinator (PEC) for the Wikimedia Conference Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin Tel. (030) 219 158 26-0 http://wikimedia.de Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei! http://spenden.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207

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Meetup today: Design meetup at 7pm in room London
by Charlie Kritschmar 21 Jul '18

21 Jul '18

Hello fellow design-interested Wikimanians, tonight we'll have the *first design meetup* <https://wikimania2018.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participatory_Design_Meetup> for anyone who is interested in, or does design on their wiki, to have a space to talk to people doing similar things (differently), exchange on resources, ask questions etc. *Let's finally connect and learn from each other!* We're meeting tonight at *7pm in room London* to talk all things design and usability. Don't forget to sign up if you're interested! *About the event:* *Design happens, whether a designer is present or not.* We want to talk about how design is handled in your community, and how we can support each other to build a sustainable infrastructure to enable meaningful design contributions. The software development structures have been around for a long time and work fairly well, but there is no such thing for design and other non-code contributions. Let's explore the design needs of the communities and work towards creating a space for mutual learning as well as a shared understanding of it. Especially because everyone has their own expertise it would be beneficial for anyone, designers, editors, developers... to learn from each other in a sustainable way by documenting workflows, methodologies, sharing tools etc. This all ties in with participatory design <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_design> and it would be great to share what kinds of methods you have tried in your communities and generally exchange on our experiences and ideas. Best Charlie

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Wikimania-l July 2018