Hi all,

The program committee has been working busily to review and sort all of the Wikimania submissions so far, and I thought you might like an update:

This year we got: * 208 lecture submissions * 37 panels * 51 roundtables & birds-of-a-feather * 19 lightning talks, 11 posters (submission for these categories is still open!!) * and a record *54 workshops & tutorials*!

I am blown away by the quality of all of the submissions this year - the program is going to be wonderful. Our community is extraordinary! Check it out, indicate your interest & leave comments at https://wikimania2017.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Submissions

*A few notes & reminders: * * *You can still submit*: submission for lightning talks (5 min talks), birds-of-a-feather discussions, & posters is still open. Also, those who submitted longer lectures who aren't selected are welcome to resubmit for a lightning talk or poster. See https://wikimania2017.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions

* *Can't make it?:* If you submitted a talk but know now that you DEFINITELY CANNOT attend Wikimania, due to scholarship or other reasons, PLEASE let us know at wikimania-program@wikimedia.org, before we start trying to make the final program. I would really appreciate it :)

* *When will I hear back?:* We originally targeted May 1st as our deadline to send presentation acceptances ... then we extended the submission deadline 2 weeks and got a record number of submissions. So we likely won't make the May 1st date, but we will do our best to be as timely as possible in program notifications. We know that everyone has to make travel plans, etc.

* *I can't get an answer!:* Not unrelated: I'm behind on email - so if you've sent a program question and haven't gotten an answer please resend :)

* *Ideas? Able to help?:* And last... We would love to hear your ideas for how to make this a great Wikimania. What kind of hacking space do you want? Can you think of exhibits, interactive installations, ways to involve remote participants?? What kind of program do *you* want? We want to hear your ideas at wikimania-program@wikimedia.org. And we WILL need your help on-site and ahead of time in making sure the program runs smoothly... I'll send more details and a call for volunteers as soon as we get done with this phase.

cheers, Phoebe Wikimania '17 program co-chair