I can only second what Jan-Bart has written. There
already seems to be a
change in the way people attend Wikimania. Many communities from Europe
won't send anyone to Singapore, but will probably attend Krakow.
Wouldn't it be time to acknowledge the change in format towards a regional
conference with an international focus, rather than a global event where we
fly a few hundred people in for a few days, in times where pandemics and
global climate emergencies don't seem as far off as they did even 5 years
ago?
Best regards, Philip
On Mon, 20 Mar 2023 at 18:58, Jan-Bart de Vreede <jan-bart(a)wikimedia.nl>
wrote:
Hi All
Thanks Phoebe and the Wikimania Steering Committee for organising the
selection process and of course congratulations to the team in Poland who
are going to organise a great Wikimania.
(Disclaimer: I have been privileged enough to have been able to attend
many a WIkimania, and am perhaps one of the worst people in the world to
write the text below)
Reading your comment on hopefully announcing the Wikimania hosts for 2025
and 2026 soon makes me wonder if we are not overlooking a fundamental
discussion with regards to the continued existence of Wikimania as it
currently takes place. Are we going to continue to annually organise a
global event, flying people from all over the world to a location which
limits physical participation to those that are able to do so (regardless
of the few scholarships we manage to distribute for volunteers)?
Would it not be a good idea to start with revisiting our goals (for
example: reconnecting, exchanging experiences and sharing cool projects)
and start thinking of alternatives to the current Wikimania set up? It
would also be interesting to match these goals with the increase in
regional engagement which is taking place across our movement.
I have the feeling I might have missed some earlier discusion on this,
but I am not seeing much change in the Wikimania concept in a time that
probably demands change both from a sustainability as well as an equity
perspective.
And again I am probably not the best person to point this out (coming
from an incredibly privileged position) and I love wikimania and I love
seeing all of you on a regular basis… but at the same time I have noticed
that we are all trying to adjust to a changing world…and it would seem that
a movement as unique as ours should be able to come up with a better
alternative?
I hope that people take this mail in the spirit that it is intended and
if I can contribute to facilitating this discussion I am of course more
than willing to do so!
Jan-Bart de Vreede
(Views expressed in this email are my personal views)
On 20 Mar 2023, at 16:32, phoebe ayers <phoebe.wiki(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Hello everyone,
I am very excited to share that Wikimania 2024 will be hosted in the city
of Kraków in Poland <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak%C3%B3w>! [1]
Kraków had a strong submission
<https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/2024:Expressions_of_Interest/Central_Eastern_Europe,_Poland,_Cracow>
with a collaborative design and an experienced, enthusiastic team
supporting it [2]. At the crossroads of history, culture, and technology,
we are confident that the impact of Wikimania will be great for our
projects, the movement in general, and especially, local communities in the
Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Read more on Diff
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/03/20/announcing-the-host-of-wikimania-in-2024/>
[3].
Bringing our movement’s beloved event to life is not simple and we took
many criteria into consideration. We were grateful for the expressions
of interest
<https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikimania_2024_expressions_of_interest>
received for hosting Wikimania in 2024, 2025, and beyond [4]. Announcing
host cities this far in advance is a new approach
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/10/27/wikimania-welcoming-expressions-of-interest-for-2024/>
to organizing Wikimania we are exploring [5]. In addition to the support we
provide as the stewards of Wikimania
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_Committee>, together with the
Foundation’s Movement Communications team
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications/Movement_Communications>,
we see great value in facilitating more time for organizers so they can
learn from each other in practice and strengthen their capacity [6], [7].
We hope to announce the hosts of Wikimania in 2025 and 2026 in the coming
months or at Wikimania 2023 in Singapore.
Once again, wholehearted congratulations to the 2024 Wikimania team. We
know you will do an excellent job welcoming our global family to your
timeless city. And to our global family, we hope that you are as excited as
we are returning to the vibrant CEE region after 14 years. Looking forward
to collaborating with you all on wiki and in person.
My best wishes for all,
Phoebe (Wikimania Steering Committee)
On behalf of the Wikimania Steering Committee and the Wikimedia
Foundation Movement Communications team
Translations available on Diff
[1] Kraków is a hybrid gem of history and modernity:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak%C3%B3w
[2] Kraków expression of interest:
https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/2024:Expressions_of_Interest/Central_E…
[3] Read more about this announcement on Diff:
https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/03/20/announcing-the-host-of-wikimania-in-2…
[4] 11 expressions of interest received:
https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikimania_2024_expressions_of…
[5] The call for hosting Wikimania in 2024, 2025 and beyond:
https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/10/27/wikimania-welcoming-expressions-of-in…
[6] The Wikimania Steering Committee:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_Committee
[7] The Wikimedia Foundation Movement Communications team
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications/Movement_Communications
--
* I use this address for lists; send personal messages to phoebe.ayers
<at>
gmail.com *
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