It was hard work, protracted work, not seldom very frustrating work. I am very happy that the event was such a satisfying success and it was a salvation to see how happy the people were during the Wikimania despite the problems we had (you can have a view on http://wikimania2010.wikimedia.org/wiki/Monsters_and_critics for details). We can really be proud about this what we created, but to organize a event with this complexity under the permises we had brought some of us to the border of bearableness and is under the same prerequisites not recommendable.
99% of the problems came from lack of communication. The work on this organization showed how important it is to work together as a closed team, share informations with each others, be transparent, be trustful, work disciplined, bank on collective decided agreements, care about the others health - in social, physical and mental regards!
Volunteers are no slaves and no idiots who say still thank you after you kick them into ass and you can throw them away like trash after usage respectivly blight. The whole Wikip/media world lives from the engagement of people who want to share there passions and engagement together. We should learn from this event, how important it is to give still more respect for people who work hard with no or low fee to support free knowledge on the whole world.
Thank you for your kind appreciation and your attendance on Wikimania 2010.
Best
Juliana
2010/7/14 Erik Moeller erik@wikimedia.org:
Thank you all for your hard work and dedication -- it was a terrific experience, and I'm glad that most things came together in spite of the various difficulties in the process. It was great to have a concert and a movie premiere at a Wikimania, the program was intense and chock full of great sessions, there was WiFi, streaming video, and most importantly, an amazing community with lots of first time attendees!
In addition to the Polish team, huge thanks are due to Juliana, Austin, Manuel, Ralf, Sj, Phoebe and many others, without whose tireless dedication this event wouldn't have been possible. There surely will be lots to learn from this year, but the one thing I've been reminded of once again is how amazingly resourceful our community can be in creating a conference unlike any other.
All best, Erik
-- Erik Möller Deputy Director, Wikimedia Foundation
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