Hi Itzik/Muzammil/Joseph,

Some people won't need to but I can introduce myself if it saves time.

I was the "Wikimania Liaison" for Wikimania 2014 here in London. I worked on the conference for 11 months, covering logistical aspects and working closely with the London bid team to make sure that they had the facilities they needed to deliver the programme.
From this quite intense experience, I have a good understanding of the mistakes that can be made in a bid process, the practical considerations of hosting an international conference, and the types of things the community wants out of a Wikimania.

I have a professional background in finance, project-management and conferences, and I currently work in a fundraising capacity for Wikimedia UK.
I started editing when I started working for Wikimedia in 2013 (user: battleofalma) , so I'm not an experienced Wikipedian, but I'm slowly getting there.

Speaking slightly on Richard Symond's behalf, his inclusion is based more on his jury experience and community involvement more so than his Wikimania experience, as he wasn't part of the organising team for Wikimania 2014 (though in its execution he did work incredibly hard as did most of the Wikimedia UK staff).

Best

S



On 29 September 2014 11:21, Muzammil Wikipedian <muzammil.wikipedian@asia.com> wrote:

Hi,

Like Itzik I too would like to know how the jury was selected. Also, it will be great if someone could shed light on the profiles of the members.

Regards,

Muzammil (User:Hindustanilanguage)



At 29 Sep 2014 08:17:50 +0000 (UTC) from Itzik - Wikimedia Israel <itzik@wikimedia.org.il>:

Hey Manuel,
Can you elaborate more on how the current jury was elected and by who?
Correct me, but beside Richard Sydmonds - all the members of this year jury are new? there is not continuity in the jury?
Itzik

Regards,
Itzik Edri
Chairperson, Wikimedia Israel
+972-(0)-54-5878078 | http://www.wikimedia.org.il
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment!

On Sat, Sep 20, 2014 at 11:34 AM, Manuel Schneider <manuel.schneider@wikimedia.ch> wrote:
Dear Wikimedians,

Wikimania is the global, annual conference of the Wikimedia movement,
organised by the Wikimedia community. Organizing team and location are
chosen by a jury in a public bidding process.

Due to the growing requirements and complexity for this growing
conference the Wikimania Committee decided to revise the bidding
timeline to give more time to prepare the conference.

Here it is:
* https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2016_bid_selection_timeline

== Jury ==
The Wikimania Committee is pleased to announce the jury for Wikimania 2016:

Richard Symonds
Stuart Prior
Claudia Garad
Esteban Zarate
Daniel Bryant
Finne Boonen
Ellie Young

== Accepting Bids ==
We invite anyone in our community to  submit a proposal for Wikimania
2016 on Meta Wiki:
* https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2016_bids

Please consult the timeline and Judging Criteria that are posted at:
* https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2016_bids

The deadline for bids is November 15, 23:59 UTC. You should setup a
bidding page and contact Ellie Young, WMF Conference Coordinator before
the deadline. She will help you prepare your bid. All bids which have
been confirmed until November 15 will be considered by the jury, others
will be dismissed.

Subsequently there will be a two week period where the community can
comment and offer feedback on the proposal.

In December your team must be available for conference calls with the
jury, after deliberations the host for Wikimania 2016 will be announced
by the end of 2014.

On behalf of the Wikimania Committee with regards,


Manuel
--
Manuel Schneider - Chief Information Officer
Wikimedia CH - Verein zur Förderung Freien Wissens
Lausanne, +41 (21) 340 66 22 - www.wikimedia.ch

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--
Stuart Prior
Wikimania Liaison
Wikimedia UK
+44 20 7065 0990

Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects).

Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.