Wikimedia-l March 2017

wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org

140 participants
85 discussions

March 2: Update on Wikimedia movement strategy process (#9)
by Katherine Maher 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

Hi all! Happy March! This week I was in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress conference to support the efforts of the Iraqi Wikimedians User Group. The community, led by Sarmad Saeed Yaseen and Ravan Jafaar al-Taie, led the development of a partnership with a local mobile network operator to bring Wikipedia to 12 million people for free. This is significant for a nation where mobile penetration is near-universal, but internet penetration is around 17%. [0] Congratulations to our Iraq Wikimedians for their efforts! *Feedback requested* There are two items in particular on Meta-Wiki ready for your feedback: - The briefing document has been expanded; it contains an overview of the information that every participant in the strategy discussion should know. Please help us improve it or share your thoughts on the talk page. - https://meta.wikimedia.org/?curid=10184031 - Please also review the basic premises that should be mutually agreed upon by all participants and used as the basis of arguments. Once the discussions start, the premises will be fixed. - https://meta.wikimedia.org/?curid=10191140 *Track A (Organized groups) and Track B (Individual contributors)* - The Core Team and Track Leads have posted the draft of the toolkit for coordinating community discussions on Meta-Wiki.[1] They will be finalizing it with the Community Process Steering Committee this week. - The Core Team is developing some basic terminology and simple examples for a shared understanding of our intended outcome from the first phase of the strategy process. This will be shared with the Community Process Steering Committee before posting to Meta-Wiki for feedback. - Zack McCune and Blanca Flores from the Communications Department are working with the Core Team on a final graphic image of the process model that will be posted on Meta-Wiki next week. - Victor Grigas from Communications Department created a short video to inspire participants to get engaged and contribute; the final version should be available next week and utilized in subsequent announcements. - The Core Team researched movement strategy terminology, components, examples, and theories, and they continue to work with experts in and outside the Foundation to further develop content for the briefing document.[2] We expect this work to be complete by the end of this week. - The Core Team and Track Leads reviewed the initial plan for Wikimedia Conference Strategy track with the facilitators. They are working on a detailed agenda, which will be posted on Meta-Wiki in the next two weeks.[3] - Nicole and the Core Team are finalizing the materials which will be used to facilitate the first Track A discussions being held 10 March to 10 April. - The Core Team and Track Leads are reviewing options for collecting research for Tracks A & B. - Community Engagement is completing the hiring of language liaisons/specialists, and will begin training and onboarding next week. *Track C (Partners and readers in high-reach markets) and Track D (Partners and readers in low reach markets)* - The Core Team met with John Holcombe (Wellspring Insights) and discussed the objectives and best methodologies for quick, inexpensive, generative research in high-reach markets. His recommendation is an online survey that explores awareness, attitudes and usage. - The Core Team and Track C Leads spoke with Celinda Lake (President, Lake Research Partners) to get her insights on the proposed market research and recommendations on firms or contractors (including Lake) who could conduct desk and/or generative research. - The Core Team and Track C Leads spoke with Wikimedia Deutschland about a Track C strategy salon around Wikimedia Conference in Berlin. We will be working with them to find local contacts to invite. The date will be Wednesday, March 29. - Track C Leads are starting a job description and recruiting for a project assistant. - Track C Leads are working with Nick Wilson of the Technical Collaboration team to publish the Track C proposal on Meta-Wiki by mid-next week. - The Core Team and Track D Leads reviewed a preliminary list of experts and brainstormed additional types of people and organizations we should consult. They also began reaching back out to our networks to help fill some of the identified gaps. *Next steps* - Develop training sessions for newly hired language liaisons/specialists and discussion coordinators. - Send launch email to Track A organized groups, so that they can prepare for and schedule their in-person and virtual discussions, which will begin 10 March. - Prepare for Track B discussions, which will start by 14 March. - Develop content for discussion prompts, facilitator guides, and summary templates for reporting back results from discussions. - Finalize content for Meta-Wiki and local project wikis to help promote discussions. - Finalize Tracks C & D budget and identify research firms/consultants. - Build out list of experts and develop expert interview guide for Tracks C & D. Thanks for reading through, and happy weekend! Cheers, Katherine PS. A version of this message is available for translation on Meta-Wiki.[4] [0] http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.P2 [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Toolkit [2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Process/Fr… [3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Conference_2017/Program_Design_Pr… [4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Updates/2_… -- Katherine Maher Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street San Francisco, CA 94105 +1 (415) 839-6885 ext. 6635 +1 (415) 712 4873 kmaher(a)wikimedia.org

9 10

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Recognition of the Wikimaps User Group
by Stryn 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

Congrats! Stryn Sent from 📱 7.3.2017 18.38 "Kirill Lokshin" <kirill.lokshin(a)gmail.com> kirjoitti: Hi everyone! I'm very happy to announce that the Affiliations Committee has recognized the Wikimaps User Group [1] as a Wikimedia User Group. The group aims to gather Wikimedia users engaged in a variety of activities related to geographic information from across the movement, so that people with different ideas for using geographic components in their projects are able to come together, share their expertise, and help each other. Please join me in congratulating the members of this new user group! Regards, Kirill Lokshin Affiliations Committee [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimaps_User_Group _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>

1 0

Re: [Wikimedia-l] a second commons, prevent cease and desist business
by Jonatan Svensson Glad 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

Also, the MediaViewer offers HTML and plain text attribution, if you press the right icons. Jonatan Svensson Glad Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons > On 7 Mar 2017, at 13:01, "wikimedia-l-request(a)lists.wikimedia.org" <wikimedia-l-request(a)lists.wikimedia.org> wrote: > > Re: a second commons, prevent cease and desist business

3 3

Is the Code of Conduct in force?
by Rogol Domedonfors 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

Matt Flaschen has declared the final amendment to the code of conduct for Wikimedia technical spaces approved and although he has not said so explicitly, I assume that his current position is that it is now in force. Even asuming that is correct, and previous consensus was against that, andI there is still signficiant disagreement on this list, it can hardly have any practical effect until it is published. But first -- Does the Community accept that this Code of Conduct is now in force? "Rogol"

9 18

One week left to submit a Project Grant Proposal
by Alex Wang 07 Mar '17

07 Mar '17

Hello! *There is just over a week left to submit a Project Grant proposal* < https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project> by the March 14 deadline. If you have ideas about how you could enhance the work of Wikimedia volunteers, start your proposal today! Please encourage others to apply as well. Support is available if you want help turning your idea into a grant request. - Submit a grant request < https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/Apply> - Learn from examples of approved projects in Project Grants < https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/Browse_applications>, Individual Engagement Grants < https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG#ieg-engaging> or Project and Event Grants < https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:PEG/Requests#Grants_funded_by_the_WMF > Please feel free to get in touch with me (awang(a)wikimedia.org) with questions about getting started with your idea. Warm regards, Alex -- Alexandra Wang Program Officer Community Resources Wikimedia Foundation <http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Home> +1 415-839-6885 Skype: alexvwang

1 0

Moderation notice
by Asaf Bartov 06 Mar '17

06 Mar '17

Hello, everyone. I share the opinion that moderation actions should be transparent. So: I have now placed Gerard Meijssen on moderation. He has been posting very frequently to the list, far exceeding the requested "soft limit" of 30 posts per month, and has exhibited disrespectful discourse. I encourage Gerard to revise his approach to communicating on this list. He will be unmoderated next month. A.

13 17

Re: [Wikimedia-l] More politics: "WMF Annual Report"
by WereSpielChequers 06 Mar '17

06 Mar '17

Like SJ I love the imagery and and style. As for the rest, I come here to get away from politics, so it is a little unsettling to see the WMF get so overtly political even though part of me revels in the sentiments. I too worry how unsettling that would be for those who don't share the politics presented. I care about visa and migration rules, I cared about the subject before I wound up with an 18 month delay from my wedding to when I was able to get my wife a visa to join me in London, but that's irrelevant to this movement. The concern about the Trump travel ban is a stark contrast to the level of fuss the WMF has made in the past about the many people who have been unable to get visas to attend Wikimania. I don't know how many WMF staff were caught by the travel ban, but several dozen Wikimedians have been unable to attend Wikimanias in the last few years due to visa restrictions. It wouldn't surprise me if more Wikimedians were refused visas to attend Wikimania in DC whilst Obama was President than are known to have been caught by the Trump ban. If so it either looks like the WMF is being political, or that it cares more about staff than volunteers; neither would be a good message. One of the good things about South Africa as the 2018 venue is that it is possibly our most visa friendly venue since Buenos Aires. If as a movement we are going to make a fuss about travel, I would like to see that lead by a commitment to at least host every other Wikimania in countries where almost any Wikimedian could get a visa. Otherwise, I haven't fact checked the whole thing, but one problem with the second sentence: *Across the world, mobile pageviews to our free knowledge websites increased by 170 million <http://reportcard.wmflabs.org/>.* This needs a time element, otherwise it comes across as not really in the same league as most stats about Wikipedia. The previous sentence was about a whole year's activity and the following one about monthly activity. So it reads like an annual figure or an increase on an annual figure. But the stats it links to imply something closer to a weekly figure. From my knowledge of the stats I suspect it could be an increase in raw downloads of 170m a day or week or unique downloaders of 170m a week. Any of those would actually be rather impressive. Can I suggest that for next year there be a more community based process to write the next version of this. WereSpielChequers > > > Message: 3 > Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2017 00:51:04 -0500 > From: Risker <risker.wp(a)gmail.com> > To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org> > Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] More politics: "WMF Annual Report" > Message-ID: > <CAPXs8yQdJ+X+QwE3LB2XRuuKerSgMD5OKKhJJn1opLA9yyFj+w@mail. > gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > Okay, so I'll say what Sam said, except in stronger language, and with some > additional emphasis. > > This is a very obviously liberally biased document -- and I say that as > someone who lives in a country so liberal that it makes Californians look > like they're still back in the early 1960s. Maybe it takes an outsider to > see this. > > If you're going to try to play the "facts" game, you have to have your > facts bang on - and you have to admit that there is more than one side to > the story. This "report" reads as though the authors chose their favourite > advocacy positions and then twisted and turned and did some more > contortions to make it look as though it had something to do with the > Wikimedia family of projects. (Seriously. Refugees and global warming don't > have anything to do with the WMF.) It is so biased that most of those > "fact" pages would have to be massively rewritten in order to meet the > neutrality expectations of just about every Wikipedia regardless of the > language. > > And that is my biggest concern. It is not neutral by any stretch of the > imagination. And if the WMF can't write neutrally about these topics in its > annual report, there is no reason for the average reader to think that > Wikipedia and other projects will be written neutrally, fairly, based on > references, and including the significant other opinions. This document is > a weapon that can be used against Wikimedia projects by any tinpot dictator > or other suppressive government because it "proves" that WMF projects are > biased. It gives ammunition to the very movements that create "alternative > facts" - it sure doesn't help when the WMF is coming up with a few of its > own. > > That does a huge disservice to the hundreds of thousands of editors who > have worked for years to create accurate, neutral, well-referenced > educational material and information. It doesn't do any good to those > editors contributing from countries where participation in an international > web-based information project is already viewed with a jaundiced eye. And > for those editors who don't adhere to the political advocacy positions > being put forward in this "annual report", or simply believe that the WMF > should not be producing political advocacy documents, it may well cause > them to reflect whether or not they want to keep contributing. > > I really hope that Craig is wrong, that this can be pulled back and edited > properly, preferably by a bunch of actual Wikipedia editors who know how to > write neutrally on controversial topics. I've volunteered in the Wikimedia > movement for more than a decade at least in part because it was not a > political advocacy organization, so I find this annual report to be very > disturbing. > > Risker/Anne >

14 15

Re: [Wikimedia-l] a second commons, prevent cease and desist business
by WereSpielChequers 06 Mar '17

06 Mar '17

Different people are going to have very different views as to how diplomatic we should be when we find people who are using our work but not complying with the license. As long as the movement doesn't invest in enforcing the relatively minor conditions involved in CC-BY-SA and we leave enforcement to the individual, we can expect that responses to people who don't respect our copyrights will range from very diplomatic to the reverse. With those of us like myself who never write to people who use my work without attribution being at least partially protected by those who take a much stricter view of copyright breaches. If we want more consistency in the way we deal with people who breach our copyrights, one possible solution is to get the WMF to employ some people to defend our Intellectual Property rights. It would be difficult to insist that people who want stricter enforcement leave the issue to WMF IP enforcement, though I suspect some would. But unless we start insisting that all contributions are dual licensed CC0 as well as any other license we shouldn't complain about people who don't consider that their contributions were dual licensed CC0. I suspect the main effect of the WMF writing to organisations that use our work without attribution would be for more attribution and more links back to Commons. Sometimes there may be an offer to pay what a stock photo site would charge, I suspect that many of us would be happy to donate such fees to the WMF. I can understand reluctance on the part of the WMF and some of its detractors to set up a new department and take on a new role. But getting more attribution to our sites and our contributors isn't just an opportunity to get some money and encourage more traffic to our sites. Many of us are at least partly motivated by seeing our work in use and attributed to us. Investing in encouraging more organisations to comply with CC-BY-SA when reusing our contributions may be better thought of as an editor retention program not an IP defence program. In the spirit of being bold I have started a submission on this for a roundtable discussion at Montreal. I hope that others on this list will be equally bold and put themselves down as speakers. https://wikimania2017.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/How_do_we_encourage_re… WSC > > > Message: 4 > Date: Sun, 5 Mar 2017 07:06:35 -0700 > From: Todd Allen <toddmallen(a)gmail.com> > To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org> > Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] a second commons, prevent cease and desist > business > Message-ID: > <CAGToUqz+JUKQ_NDGpkbaRYjaKhMYZAW6_gF5ekJihKBBXRSPVA(a)mail.gmail. > com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > Thanks for the specific examples. > > I'm not a German speaker, and I know context and nuance can be lost in > machine translation. That being said, the one about someone who was > offering attribution and then got slapped with a bill for a simple > technical error is very disturbing. Especially since as brought up before, > a direct link would always lack the attribution contained on an > accompanying page. > > The simple fact that it's legal doesn't change anything. It would be legal > for me to create a website that doxxes editors. But I still would likely be > banned if I did that. If the best defense you can offer for your actions is > "It's not actually illegal!", that's a pretty lame defense. > > I don't know if either de.wp or Commons have the idea of "bringing the > project into disrepute" being a reason to exclude someone from the project. > But if they do, using legal demands rather than polite requests as a first > resort and a trap to make a buck seem to qualify. > > I have no issue with editors asserting their legal rights if someone fails > or refuses to accede to a request to bring material into license > compliance, or if someone is acting in bad faith and their noncompliance is > clearly deliberate. But the request should always be the first step, and if > they do what was asked, that should be the end of it. That's especially > true for those who made a good faith effort to comply and simply made a > mistake in doing so. > > Todd > > >

1 0

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Blocks of new accounts in Angola?
by Olatunde Isaac 05 Mar '17

05 Mar '17

In addition to that thread, see also "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Teles/Angola_Facebook_Case" Best, Isaac Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile. -----Original Message----- From: "Olatunde Isaac" <reachout2isaac(a)gmail.com> Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2017 15:30:06 To: Wikimedia Mailing List<wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org> Reply-To: reachout2isaac(a)gmail.com Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Blocks of new accounts in Angola? Yes, there are some mass vandalism from Angola last year. Yaroslav, I think you may be looking for this thread, "https://www.mail-archive.com/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/msg23413.html" Best, Isaac Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile. -----Original Message----- From: Yaroslav Blanter <ymbalt(a)gmail.com> Sender: "Wikimedia-l" <wikimedia-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org>Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2017 16:17:32 To: Wikimedia Mailing List<wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org> Reply-To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org> Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Blocks of new accounts in Angola? Did not we have some mass vandalism from Angola some time ago, and then measures had to be taken? I do not remember the details. Cheers Yaroslav On Wed, Feb 22, 2017 at 8:57 AM, George William Herbert < george.herbert(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Have them hit whatismyip.org and tell us what shows up.., > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Feb 21, 2017, at 5:58 PM, Rodrigo Tetsuo Argenton < > rodrigo.argenton(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > > I've been receiving complains via Facebook from people of Angola about > not > > being able to create new accounts, some know something about it? They > > receive the as if the IP was blocked, however we receive more then 5 > > complains just in the Commons FB page. > > > > Any ideas? > > > > -- > > Rodrigo Tetsuo Argenton > > rodrigo.argenton(a)gmail.com > > +55 11 979 718 884 > > _______________________________________________ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > wiki/Wikimedia-l > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > wiki/Wikimedia-l > New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>

4 3

Fwd: [Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Wikimedia community in Iraq partners with Asiacell to bring Wikipedia to nearly 12 million subscribers free of mobile data charges
by Pine W 05 Mar '17

05 Mar '17

Forwarding. Pine ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Samantha Lien <slien(a)wikimedia.org> Date: Tue, Feb 28, 2017 at 3:28 AM Subject: [Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Wikimedia community in Iraq partners with Asiacell to bring Wikipedia to nearly 12 million subscribers free of mobile data charges To: press-release(a)lists.wikimedia.org This press release is also available online here: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/ Wikimedia_community_in_Iraq_partners_with_Asiacell_to_ bring_Wikipedia_to_nearly_12_million_subscribers_free_of_mobile_data_charges *Wikimedia community in Iraq partners with Asiacell to bring Wikipedia to nearly 12 million subscribers free of mobile data charges* *Mobile data fees waived for Asiacell customers in Iraq to access Wikipedia, a free collection of knowledge available in nearly 300 languages* (Barcelona, Spain) February 28th, 2017 -- Today, Wikimedia community members in Iraq, the Wikimedia Foundation, and Asiacell, one of Iraq’s largest mobile operators, announced a new partnership to provide access to Wikipedia free of mobile data charges to Asiacell’s nearly 12 million subscribers in Iraq. The partnership was announced today at a press event hosted by Ooredoo during Mobile World Congress 2017. The partnership, developed in large part by Iraqi volunteer editor and Asiacell employee, Sarmad Saeed Yaseen, marks the first Wikipedia Zero program in Iraq. The program, overseen by the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, addresses one of the greatest barriers to internet access globally: affordability. In a recent phone survey in Iraq led by the Wikimedia Foundation, roughly 80% of surveyed participants reported that mobile data costs limited their use of the internet. About 33% of participants also reported rarely or never being able to find online content in their preferred language. Through the Wikipedia Zero <https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Zero> program, mobile data fees are waived for subscribers of participating mobile operators so that they may read and edit Wikipedia without using any of their mobile data. Sarmad, who is part of a community of local volunteer Wikipedia editors in Iraq, started the partnership to extend access to knowledge in his home country of Iraq. Together, he and his wife, Ravan Jaafar Altaie, have been active editors (or Wikipedians) since 2008. “I've always believed that it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness, so I decided to volunteer in Wikipedia to provide knowledge for free to my people in their own language,” said Sarmad Saeed Yaseen. “When I was first introduced to Wikipedia Zero, I felt right away that this could be the best thing ever to share free knowledge in my country and encourage the people of Iraq to contribute knowledge and share this with the world on Wikipedia.” Wikipedia is an online collection of knowledge written by volunteer editors from every corner of the globe. Available in nearly 300 languages, Wikipedia is a place to learn about virtually any topic -- from ancient history to science to the arts -- in your local language, for free, and without advertising. Wikipedia editors use reliable sources to support information that is included in Wikipedia articles, so readers can explore the sources that verify the facts. Wikipedia is completely non-profit, independent, and maintained by everyday people around the world. Wikipedia in Iraq is supported by a local community of volunteer editors in almost every major city of the country. In 2015, Sarmad and Ravan organized the first series of workshops in Erbil to teach Iraqi people how to edit Wikipedia. The workshops led to 600 new articles and more than 12,000 edits primarily to Arabic and Kurdish Wikipedia. In October 2015, this community launched the first formalized Wikimedia group from Iraq, the Iraqi Wikimedians user group <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Wikimedians> (a formalized Wikimedia affiliate group that has been recognized by the global Wikimedia community of editors). Today, the majority of unique device visits to Wikipedia in Iraq come from mobile devices. Worldwide, Wikipedia is recognized as an important learning resource, but it also offers a platform to share knowledge with the world. Edits from any country contribute to the world’s common knowledge repository, seen by hundreds of millions of people every month. This allows many to learn from what just a few people might otherwise know. As more voices contribute to Wikipedia, it becomes a better representation of the diverse cultures, history, people, viewpoints, and perspectives of our world. “Asiacell believes that sharing knowledge is a way to enforce the interaction among human beings. We strongly believe in contributing in the global project of Wikipedia. Beside all the modern technologies that we offer, this partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation is one of the achievements that we are proud of. We will enable our 12 million subscriber base to have free access to Wikipedia, this will enable them to widen the scale of their knowledge and thus direct them towards a brighter future for themselves and for humanity,” said Zring Faruk, Chief Commercial Officer at Asiacell. With this partnership, Asiacell customers will be able to edit Wikipedia without mobile data charges -- adding to and improving articles in their preferred language and sharing knowledge of Iraq’s rich cultural history, heritage, and its people with the rest of the world. “Wikipedia is guided by a powerful vision: that every single person should be able to share in all of the world’s knowledge, for free and without restriction,” said Katherine Maher, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. “Sarmad, Ravan, and the Iraqi Wikimedians User Group have been passionate advocates of this vision in Iraq. They've nurtured the growth of Arabic and Kurdish Wikipedia for nearly a decade, and have built a vibrant community committed to sharing knowledge of Iraq and its heritage, people, and culture with the world. We are thrilled to have Asiacell join us as a partner in this journey.” The Wikipedia Zero program is overseen by the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that supports Wikipedia and a number of other Wikimedia free knowledge websites. Since the program first began in 2012, Wikipedia Zero partnerships have taken place with 68 mobile operators in 52 countries. *# # #* *About Asiacell* Asiacell is a leading provider of quality mobile telecommunications and data services in Iraq with a subscriber base of nearly 12 million customers as of December 1st 2016. Asiacell was the first mobile telecommunications provider in Iraq to achieve nationwide coverage, offering its services across all of Iraq’s 19 governorates including the national capital Baghdad and all other major Iraqi cities. Asiacell’s network covers 99.06% of the Iraqi population which makes its national coverage the widest among the mobile operators in Iraq. *About Wikipedia* Wikipedia is the world’s free knowledge resource. It is a collaborative creation that has been added to and edited by millions of people from around the globe since it was created in 2001: anyone can edit it, at any time. Wikipedia is offered in hundreds of languages containing more than 40 million articles. Wikipedia and its sister projects are collectively visited by more than a billion unique devices each month. *About the Wikimedia Foundation* The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that supports and operates Wikipedia and its sister projects. More than a billion unique devices access the Wikimedia sites each month. Roughly 70,000 people edit Wikipedia and its sister projects every month, collectively creating and improving its more than 40 million articles across hundreds of languages – this all makes Wikipedia one of the most popular web properties in the world. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants. *Press contact* *Asiacell* public.relations(a)asiacell.com *Wikimedia Foundation* Juliet Barbara press(a)wikimedia.org -- *Samantha Lien* Communications Manager Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street San Francisco, CA 94105 (To be unsubscribed from this press release distribution list, please reply to communications(a)wikimedia.org with 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in the subject line) _______________________________________________ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l _______________________________________________ WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list WikimediaAnnounce-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l

2 1

← Newer
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Older →

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Wikimedia-l March 2017