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Hi everyone,
Since joining the Foundation I have tried to regularly write to you
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chi…>
here and elsewhere, and I wanted to share a few updates since my last
letter. In October 2023
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Com…>,
I reflected that we were in a period of compounded challenges across the
world with escalating wars, conflict, and climate reminding us each week
that global volatility and uncertainty was on the rise. That feels even
more true now. My instinct then was to ask us to make more time to talk to
each other and to try and pull closer together. This feels even more needed
now.
I noted that the return of in-person gatherings has been essential for a
subset of our volunteers, providing spaces for reconnecting, recharging and
working through difficult issues together in the same room. Foundation
leadership has also been working harder to share organizational news and
have individualized conversations on-wiki and in other digital forums. Our
goal has been to put more effort and intentionality into communicating the
right information, at the right time, and in the right way, even knowing
that we can never meet everyone's expectations.
Most importantly, we had to keep talking to each other – formally and
informally – throughout the year. This was the basis of an open invitation
to Talking: 2024
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Com…>,
an effort designed to listen intently to what is on your minds now, to
share progress at the Foundation, and to also reflect on the needs for
multi-year strategic plans. (A reminder that our priorities for long-range
planning
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…...>,
informed by movement strategy, are Wikimedia’s financial model,
product/technology needs, and roles/responsibilities.)
So far, Wikimedia Foundation Trustees, executives, and staff have hosted
130 conversations
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…>
on-wiki, with individuals, and in small groups. These conversations have
stretched across all regions of the world. We have learned from
prolific community
members to recent newcomers, from technical volunteers to stewards, event
organizers, and affiliate leaders. Since these discussions were intended to
improve deliberations at the Board’s strategic planning retreat next week,
here is a summary of some of the feedback I've heard so far!
Continue focusing the Foundation on supporting product/technology needs. As
early as my first letter to you in January 2022,
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chi…>
I understood that the central role of the Wikimedia Foundation is in
enabling our projects, which is core to every aspect of our movement's
mission. This was reinforced in most of the Talking:2024 conversations that
we hosted over the last five months – from the need for the Foundation to
remain focused on upgrading technical infrastructure to supporting
volunteer needs for tool maintenance and metrics. Our annual planning
continues to center the Foundation’s product and technology priorities. More
deliberate conversations are taking place at the Foundation about what a
multi-generational view of Wikimedia projects requires of us all. For me,
this remains perhaps the most critical topic for our strategic efforts as
we make tangible and practical a mission
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Mission> that calls for
our work to continue in perpetuity.
Recent discussions on this mailing list remind me that we can’t get to
everything fast enough, but we continue to move more in the right
direction. Chief Product & Technology Officer Selena Deckelmann recently
shared
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2024/02/20/thinking-about-annual-planning-in-the…>
that: “In the last couple of months, we shipped changes that enabled a
better backbone for PageTriage
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:PageTriage>, and worked closely
with volunteer developers to ensure future sustainability. Going forward,
we have a number of initiatives ranging from projects like Edit Check
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Edit_check>, Discussion Tools
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:DiscussionTools>, Dark mode
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/11/24/dark-mode-is-coming/>, Patrolling on
Android <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Apps/Team/Android>, Watchlist
on iOS <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Apps/Team/iOS>,
Automoderator <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Moderator_Tools/Automoderator>,
Community Configuration
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Growth/Community_configuration>, the Wikimedia
Commons Upload Wizard
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Upload_Wizard>, and others.
We've resolved over 600 volunteer-reported issues in Phabricator in the
last 6 months, and we're using research methods that solicit prototypes
directly from volunteers
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Reading/Web/Accessibility_for_reading/Commun…>
for informing typography decision making. And we're learning not just the
basics of font size and spacing, we're also getting important information
about context, devices and cultural aspects of the use of Wikipedia which
are vital for helping make our software easier to use as how people use and
access it changes (and it has changed a lot over 20 years!).” She has
also already
published draft objectives for the product and tech teams, and your input
and on-wiki comments are always welcome
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Ann…>
.
‘Human-led, tech-enabled’ means that the humans still lead. While tech
featured prominently in most of these conversations, there remains no doubt
that Wikimedia is a human-led movement (“It’s all about people.”). This led
to exploring even more solutions that can address a familiar dilemma about
how to balance the needs of existing editors with initiatives to welcome
newcomers (“It’s always the war between ‘we need to protect the existing
content’ and ‘do we care about new users with a tolerance for errors.’”).
While some shared wonderful stories of their own journeys (“I wanna say
that the Newcomer tools have been a really great project and very glad to
see that energy was expensed there”), there was vocal urgency about the
sustainability of the projects for generations to come (“We are sending
away people who could be helpful to the projects”). In this regard, several
discussions highlighted the value of the Universal Code of Conduct
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct>
as a “game changer” in signaling to all communities that they are actively
invited and welcomed to safely contribute to the mission of free knowledge,
while still acknowledging there is more to do (“It’s probably a good thing,
but I don’t know if it will solve what I have faced.”). I learned in my
initial listening tour that we have to make all contributions count
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chief_Executive_Office…>,
and all contributors feel welcomed. I found that the Talking:2024
conversations deepened my own understanding of the peer support and
mentorship needed for volunteers to thrive as active community members.
(One example are these reflections
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss/Editor_reflections> where
140 other editors participated).
Finally, our human-led values came up in several conversations about
Wikimedia’s role in shaping the next generation of artificial intelligence,
a topic of ongoing discussion in the world
<https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/18/magazine/wikipedia-ai-chatgpt.html?unloc…>,
in our communities <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Future_Audiences>,
and at the Foundation. This is complemented by ongoing discussions about
the role of AI-generated content on our platform by various project
communities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Large_language_model_policy)>
A recent effort to contribute to a shared research agenda on AI
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Artificial_intelligence/…>can
be found here – including the need for more research to understand human
motivation to contribute to the knowledge commons – it was created by a
small group working in the open who rushed to publish a ‘bad first draft’
that will benefit from more input.
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Artificial_intellig…>
Can our financial model provide more certainty, and also force difficult
trade-offs? In my last letter,
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Com…>
I shared that future projections indicate that, for a range of reasons,
fundraising online and through banners may not continue to grow at the same
rate as in past years. We have several long-term initiatives underway to
help mitigate this risk and also diversify our revenue streams, including
the Wikimedia Endowment
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Endowment>
and Wikimedia Enterprise
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Enterprise>.
Over the past two years, we have slowed the rate of growth
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Ann…>
for the Foundation itself, while increasing financial resources
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Ann…>
that support other movement entities. The Talking:2024 conversations
provided a space for movement entities to share a need for multi-year
financial certainty in their support from the Foundation, which we will
take into our planning for next year. Other conversations highlighted the
need to continue prioritizing limited resources and being more explicit
about trade-offs (“[We must] use the money we have as wisely as we can”).
These discussions have already improved the thinking for the Foundation’s
current and upcoming planning cycles.
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2024/01/31/progress-on-the-plan-how-the-wikimedi…>
Movement roles need more clarity. The task of defining a Movement Charter
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Movement_Charter> came
up in several conversations with contributors of all kinds. These ranged
from reflections about movement strategy recommendations and principles
(“Will it always be first come, first served in this movement?”) to
questions about the purpose of different structures (“What decisions do we
need the global council to make? Why are decisions moving from one center
to another?” “We are taking a hammer to solve this issue when they are
simple screws.”). Unsurprisingly, there were varying perspectives (“The
editing community in many regions doesn’t see an immediate benefit in
affiliates, hubs, or other governance structures.” “The community still
feels unheard by the Foundation.” “The good work that affiliates do in
certain regions is commendable, especially where those affiliates are
deeply engaged with the community.”)
And a deep recognition of the complex task at hand (“The community is so
huge and it’s hard to tie everyone together.” “How do we make change in the
movement in a way that is understandable and doesn’t scare people.” “There
has to be control and risk management with empowering the community,
inviting everyone, and trying to grow while protecting what we have
meticulously built over the past 23 years.”).
Considering the investment of time and resources going into the charter, we
need to make sure that this effort will provide us all with clearer
strategic direction on what is needed to serve the future needs of our
movement, and meet the expectations of a rapidly changing world around us.
The Wikimedia Foundation recently shared these questions
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Movement_Charter#Wikimedia_Foundation_…>
with the Movement Charter Drafting Committee to identify areas of key focus
and concern. We will continue to review and comment on new drafts as they
are produced in the weeks and months ahead. The Board of Trustees will
dedicate time at its next Open Conversation with Trustees on March 21
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…>
to talk more about this process and the Foundation’s hopes for a Movement
Charter.
+++
Talking: 2024 kicked off a useful check-in to hear how we are collectively
doing, and it continues. Your voice and contributions would help add to the
feedback we have already received—whether that is on-wiki, in 1:1
conversations, in small groups, in person. What we learn will continue to
inform the Foundation's long-term planning. Please consider joining a
conversation
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Com…'s_talk>
.
For me, each conversation has been a reminder that what drives this
movement is the people. We remain at a pivotal moment, where the world
needs Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects more than ever. As one of you
shared, “I feel like there is a way because we have made a way, an
experience of community that connects people across the world.”
As always, I welcome your feedback either on my talk page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/User_talk:MIskander-WMF>
or emailing me directly at miskander(a)wikimedia.org.
Maryana
Maryana Iskander, Wikimedia Foundation CEO
*Registration for the 2025 Wikimedia Hackathon is now open! *
*(with apologies for cross-posting)*
The annual Wikimedia Hackathon
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Hackathon_2025> is organized by
the Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/> in
collaboration with Wikimedia User Group Turkey (WMTR)
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Community_User_Group_Turkey> and
will be taking place in Istanbul, Turkey, from May 2nd through May 4th,
2025 at the Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel
<https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/istrn-renaissance-polat-istanbul-hote…>
.
The Hackathon is an on-site, in-person event. Those people who cannot
attend the Hackathon in-person will be able to follow some of the program
content online, but should not register using the link provided below. More
information will be provided closer to the event on how to participate
remotely. Registration will be open until mid April 2025, or until we reach
event capacity.
The Hackathon event is free for all* to attend *and each person that
attends the Hackathon is required to register.
- Catering (lunch, dinner, snacks, and drinks) will be provided during the
event.
- Covid-related equipment will also be available upon request (e.g. self
test kits and masks).
- We’ll have discounted room codes for those that want to stay at the hotel
venue, to be announced in the coming weeks.
- Check if your passport is up to date and if you will need a visa (or an
e-visa) to travel to Turkey, citizens of most countries can apply for an e-visa
online <https://www.mfa.gov.tr/visa-information-for-foreigners.en.mfa>.
Participants are expected to book their own travel arrangements and
accommodation. However, the Wikimedia Foundation is offering to take care
of travel and accommodation for a limited number of scholars and you will
be able to apply for a scholarship during the registration process.
Scholarship applicants - please note:
-
*Scholarship application and Wikimedia Foundation staff sponsorship will
only be available to request until December 10th, 2024. *
-
Priority will be given to scholars who can mentor or support in areas
of high demand and staff with ambitious or impactful projects.
-
Those that have requested a scholarship or sponsorship will be notified
by mid to late December 2024 about the status of their application.
-
All scholarships provided will adhere to the WMF travel policy
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Scholarship_travel_policy>
guidelines.
*Scholarship to this event will cover:*
-
Roundtrip airfare between your city of residence and Istanbul, Turkey -
arriving on May 1, 2025 and departing on May 5, 2025.
-
Private accommodation at the conference hotel for up to 4 nights
-
Medical Insurance Coverage for any scholars traveling outside of their
home country. (Scholars local to Turkey will need to use their regular
insurance coverage.).
-
Airport transfers between the Istanbul Airport (IST) and the conference
hotel.
-
All meals will be provided for the duration of the event (lunch, drinks,
snacks, and dinner will be provided on event days; breakfast will be
provided by the hotel for guests staying there). In addition, dinner will
be provided on Thursday before the Hackathon officially kicks off.
-
Fees associated with obtaining a visa to travel to Turkey (visa
application fees, and travel to in-person travel visa appointment (if
needed)).
-
Citizens of most countries can apply for an e-visa online
<https://www.mfa.gov.tr/visa-information-for-foreigners.en.mfa>.
*Scholarship to this event will not cover:*
-
Per diem costs on travel days.
-
Ground transportation costs between your residence and home airport.
-
Insurance for your personal possessions.
The Hackathon registration form runs on Pretix (a free, open-sourced
third-party platform that helps organize and manage events) which may
subject your data to additional terms <https://pretix.eu/about/en/privacy>.
For more information on WMF’s privacy and data-handling for the Hackathon,
please read the privacy statement
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal:Wikimedia_Hackathon_Privacy_Sta…>
.
<https://pretix.eu/wikimedia/hackathon2025>
If you encounter any issues while registering, or have questions about the
registration process, feel free to contact the coordination team at
hackathon(a)wikimedia.org.
Cheers,
Deb
--
deb tankersley (she/her)
developer outreach program management
Wikimedia Foundation
Dear wikimedians,
Nearly one year ago, the Graphs extension was disabled from all wikis, because there was a security issue that should be solved (https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T334940). A wide team from the WMF worked on a solution for some weeks, but after Northern Hemisphere spring ended, summer came, then the monsoon season, and now it is again summer in the Southern Hemisphere... and Graphs are still disabled. All the solutions proposed have been dismissed, but every two months there's a proposal to make a new roadmap to solve the issue. We have plenty of roadmaps, but no vehicle to reach our destination.
Seven years ago, we were discussing our Strategy for 2030. We used thousands of volunteer hours, thousands of staff hours and millions of dollars to build a really well-balanced strategy. There we concluded that "By 2030, Wikimedia will become the essential infrastructure of the ecosystem of free knowledge". We also made some recommendations to improve the User Experience (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_Strategy/Recommendations/Improve_U…) and claimed that we wanted to Innovate in Free Knowledge (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_Strategy/Recommendations/Innovate_…). Well, the situation is now worse than it was seven years ago, let me give some examples:
* Graph extension is used in thousands of pages, some of them highly relevant, as COVID or Climate Change information. There are thousands of graphs broken now, and the only partial solution give is loading these graphs as images, instead of promoting an interactive solution.
*
Meanwhile, a place like Our World in Data has been publishing data and interactive content with a compatible license for years. (Remember, "By 2030, Wikimedia will become the essential infrastructure of the ecosystem of free knowledge"). Trying to add this data and graphs to Wikimedia projects has been done by WikiMed, and it is technically possible, but still blocked to deploy (https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T303853).
* Wolfram Alpha is like a light year ahead us on giving interactive solutions to knowledge questions, even the silliest ones (https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=how+many+oranges+fit+in+the+Earth%3F). We have good technical articles about a lot of things, but sometimes "becoming the essential infrastructure of the ecosystem of free knowledge" needs to provide solutions to exact problems, like the answer to an equation, and how to solve it. That's also "free knowledge".
*
Brilliant (https://brilliant.org/) is brilliant if you want to learn lots of things, like geometry or programming. Way better than Wikipedia. But... you need to pay for it. How could we even try if we can't add anything interactive to our platforms?
* We can build interactive timelines using Wikidata, but we can't embed them at Wikipedia. Weird, because I can do it in any external page. Hopefully, Histropedia will do it better. http://histropedia.com/<http://histropedia.com/>
* We could have something very special: inline links in video and audio subtitles. We used to have them, but the new video infrastructure doesn't allow it. Imagine a world where you can watch a video and link a link in the subtitles just to know more about that.
* ...
The list can go on an on ("which phase the moon is today?"), but I think that the idea is clear. We could have interactive content, but we are going in the opposite direction, and every year we are further from our goal, because other platforms are doing it better, way better. And this seems like some wild ideas, but then I read the 2023-2024 annual plan section called "Wiki Experiences" (https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2023-2024/…) and it looks like we should be going there. But we aren't.
I'm sorry if this e-mail feels bitter. My experience in the last years is that we are now further of what we need that we were before, even if many chapters and volunteers are trying to overturn it.
Thank to everyone who have been trying.
Galder
/You can find translations of this message or help translate this
message on Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2024/Announc…>./
Hello all,
Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2024 Wikimedia Foundation
Board of Trustees election
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_ele…>.
6000 community members from more than 180 wiki projects have voted.
The following four candidates were the most voted:
* Christel Steigenberger
* Maciej Artur Nadzikiewicz
* Victoria Doronina
* Lorenzo Losa
While these candidates have been ranked through the vote, they still
need to be appointed to the Board of Trustees. They need to pass a
successful background check and meet the qualifications outlined in the
Bylaws. New trustees will be appointed at the next Board meeting in
December 2024.
Read the full announcement on Meta-Wiki
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_ele…>
Best regards,
The Elections Committee and Board Selection Working Group
--
Katie Chan
Any views or opinions presented in this e-mail are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the view of any organisation the author is associated with or employed by.
Experience is a good school but the fees are high.
- Heinrich Heine
Hello everyone,
The next language community meeting is scheduled for a few weeks from
now—on November 29th at 16:00 UTC (Zonestamp! For your timezone <
https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1732896000>). If you're interested in
joining, you can sign up on this wiki page: <
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Language_and_Product_Localization/…
>.
This participant-driven meeting will be organized by the Wikimedia
Foundation’s Language Product Localization team and the Language Diversity
Hub. There will be presentations on topics like developing language
keyboards, the creation of the Moore Wikipedia, and the language support
track at Wiki Indaba. We will also have members from the Wayuunaiki
community joining us to share their experiences with the Incubator and as a
new community within our movement. This meeting will have a Spanish
interpretation.
Additionally, we wanted to highlight that the fifth edition of the Language
& Internationalization newsletter (October 2024) is available here: <
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Language_and_Product_Localization/…>.
This newsletter provides updates from the July–September 2024 quarter on
new feature development, improvements in various language-related technical
projects and support efforts, details about community meetings, and ideas
for contributing to projects. To stay updated, you can subscribe to the
newsletter on its wiki page: <
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Language_and_Product_Localization/…
>.
Looking forward to seeing you at the language community meeting!
Cheers,
Srishti & Oscar
*Srishti Sethi*
Senior Developer Advocate
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
Hi everyone,
We're excited to announce the release of the *November 2024 issue of
the CEE Newsletter*! This edition is particularly special, with *23
updates* from
affiliates and communities in the CEE region — a record high for this
newsletter!
Read the Newsletter here
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CEE/Newsletter/November_2024>
*In This Issue:*
- *International Updates:* Stay informed with the "Wikimedia
International Update Corner", covering key developments, events and
initiatives in the international Wikimedia space for 2024 and 2025.
- *CEE in the News:* Discover notable mentions of CEE region activities
in "This month in Education" and "This month in GLAM" newsletters.
- *Reader's Digest:* Catch up on the latest insights and stories from
around the globe with the "Reader’s Digest".
- *Open calls and consultations: *Voice your opinion! These topics are
open to discussion. Also, please take a look at the open calls and apply!
- *Updates from Communities:* Here are just a few of the highlights:
- *Milestones Achieved*: Big congratulations to the *Albanian*,
*Romanian*, and *Czech* Wikipedias for reaching significant
milestones! These achievements reflect the dedication of their
communities,
and we commend all the editors involved in helping to bring
these projects
to new heights.
- *Wiki Loves Monuments*: *Moldova* has set new records this year and
continues to host its unique *bike quest* as part of the contest. We
also highlight the efforts in *Albania* and *Kosovo*, where the
communities made impressive contributions. A special mention goes to
*Cyprus*, the newest community from our region to join Wiki Loves
Monuments, with an organized *photowalk* in Nicosia. And you can find
also about *Czechoslovakia contest*, a similar photographic contest
held in Czechia.
- *Wikidata*: We're proud to see *Wikidata* celebrated across the
region, with special articles from *Albania* and *Romania*.
- *Strategic Planning*: In this edition, we also explore the
strategic plans of two affiliates — *Wikimedia Czech Republic*
and *Wikimedia
Ukraine* — who are shaping their future goals and initiatives.
We hope you enjoy this issue and find inspiration in the diverse stories
and impactful work being done by our CEE communities. Thank you for being a
part of our journey toward promoting free knowledge and collaboration.
You can read the full newsletter here
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CEE/Newsletter/November_2024>. We hope you
enjoy the inspiring stories and achievements showcased by our
vibrant CEE communities.
Happy reading!
Toni Ristovski | Тони Ристовски
*CEE HUB | Program Officer*
Tel. +389 72 565 409
Web. www.wmceehub.org
Dear Wikimedians,
We hope this email finds you well. We invite you to join the next episode
of WikiAfrica Hour "Wiki Conferences behind the scenes”
We are very excited to discuss this topic with the episode guests and your
joining is very valuable.
What can you expect from the episode?
Conferences have a pivotal role in the Wikimedia movement as gatherings of
people to share, discuss and celebrate!
This episode will shed light on conferences in the wikimedia community
behind the scenes. We will discuss with guests different teams who are in
charge of the approval of conferences and preparation of the resources and
settings.
Points which will be discussed:
-
The importance of conferences and their themes
-
The logistics needed to organise the conference (the start, the team,
the budget, responsibilities)
-
How we prepare for a safe & constructive environment before the
conference starts.
Who are the guest speakers?
-
Reda Kerbouche <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Reda_Kerbouche>: He
organized several Wiki-events such as WikiArabia 2022 in Dubai (UAE) and
2024 in Muscat (Oman) and several non wiki related conferences like "Rêvons
l'Algérie".
-
Geoffrey Kateregga <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Kateregga1>:
Member of Communications Committee of WikiIndaba 2024. With experience in
organising many events and conferences
-
Cornelius Kibelka <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:CKibelka_(WMF)>:
For several years, he has worked at Wikimedia Deutschland, where he was
responsible for organizing the Wikimedia Conference/Wikimedia Summit.
2020-2022 Cornelius worked at the Wikimedia Foundation, as part of the
Movement Strategy team, mainly organizing virtual events and processes,
before he joined WMF again in 2024 as a Conference Fund Program Officer.
-
Vanj Padilla <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Lady01v>: Member
of Conference
Support Committee
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Conference_Grants/Committee>,
Wikimania 2021, Core Organizing Team Member, Wikimania 2023, Co-Organizer,
Wikiwomen Summit @Wikimania 2023.
-
Dumisani Ndubane <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Thuvack>:
Organised the 1st Wiki Indaba in 2014. He is currently board chair of
WhoseKnowledge, as well as advisor to WMZA and WISCOM.
Hosting them Lodewijk <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Effeietsanders>:
he has edited the Dutch Wikipedia since 2005, organized Wiki Loves
Monuments for many years and organized both national and international
Wikimedia events. He currently serves in the Wikimania Committee.
When and where will the episode take place?
Data: Friday 29th November
Time: 16:00 UTC
Join us LIVE on Youtube <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6cEk6XZR58>.
You can also register in the event tool here
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:WAH_Episode_40_-_Wiki_Conferences_beh…>
Looking forward to seeing you!
--
*Donia*
WikiAfrica Hour Production Coordinator
& Wiki In Africa Tools Community Facilitator
Hi everyone,
For the past 2 weeks, Wikimania 2025 Core Organising Team have opened the
application for scholarships and we are receiving lots of amazing
applications. If you haven’t got a chance to apply, want to know more about
the process, or have further questions about Wikimania, don’t worry, we got
you covered!
We will be facilitating an orientation session to discuss the scholarships
application and answer your questions. In the first Wikimania 2025
Scholarship Orientation: Road to Nairobi, we will be providing prospective
scholars and attendees the information they will need for the event.
There will be 3 options for the scholarship orientation sessions to choose
from. Feel free to click one of them to add it to your Google Calendar
(meeting link included).
Option 1 – Tuesday, 26 November 2024, 17:00:00 UTC- HERE
<https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/r/eventedit/copy/MzYzZ2doYjUzdjA2M…>
Option 2 – Thursday, 28 November 2024, 09:00:00 UTC - HERE
<https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?action=TEMPLATE&tmeid=MGw4dGk0cH…>
Option 3 – Friday, 29 November 2024, 13:00:00 UTC - HERE
<https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?action=TEMPLATE&tmeid=MGw4dGk0cH…>
You may also find the meeting link on the calendar or Wikimania Wiki
<https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/2025:Scholarships>. The sessions will
be recorded and published on Wikimania Wiki for those who cannot attend.
The agenda of the sessions will include:
- General update about Wikimania 2025
- Information about the Wikimania scholarship application and selection
process.
- Q&A
Don’t miss out the chance to get exciting updates during the session!
Regards,
Terry Boke, Communications Lead - Wikimania 2025
On behalf of Wikimania 2025 Core Organizing Team
Hello! *(with apologies for cross-posting)*
The annual Wikimedia Hackathon
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Hackathon_2025> is organized by
the Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/> in
collaboration with Wikimedia User Group Turkey (WMTR)
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Community_User_Group_Turkey> and
will be taking place in Istanbul, Turkey, from May 2nd through May 4th,
2025.
Collaboration will happen - in person!
The Hackathon is an on-site, in-person event. Be sure to confirm if your
passport is up to date and has validity at least up to 6 months after the
event. Check to see if you can apply for an e-visa online
<https://www.mfa.gov.tr/visa-information-for-foreigners.en.mfa>, otherwise,
you’ll need a visa to be issued by your country to travel into Turkey.
Those people who cannot attend the Hackathon in-person will be able to
follow some of the program content online, but should not register using
the link provided below. More information will be provided closer to the
event on how to participate remotely.
Participants are expected to book their own travel arrangements and
accommodation. However, the Wikimedia Foundation is offering to take care
of travel and accommodation for a limited number of scholars.
Scholarship / sponsorship applicants - please note:
-
Scholarship application and Wikimedia Foundation staff sponsorship will
only be available to request through December 10th, 2024.
-
Priority will be given to those scholars who can mentor and/or
support in areas of high demand and those WMF staff with ambitious or
impactful projects.
-
All scholarships provided will adhere to the WMF travel policy
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Scholarship_travel_policy>
guidelines.
-
As a reminder, "no shows” may permanently impact a scholarship
recipients' eligibility to receive a future travel scholarship from the
Wikimedia Foundation.
-
More detailed information on what is covered by a scholarship / staff
sponsorship is available online
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Hackathon_2025/Participants#Welcom…!>.
Those that have requested a scholarship or WMF sponsorship will be notified
by mid to late December 2024 about the status of their application.
Let us know if you’ll be attending by registering now
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Hackathon_2025/Participants#Regist…>
!
The Hackathon registration form runs on Pretix (a free, open-sourced
third-party platform that helps organize and manage events) which may
subject your data to additional terms <https://pretix.eu/about/en/privacy>.
For more information on WMF’s privacy and data-handling for the Hackathon,
please read the privacy statement
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal:Wikimedia_Hackathon_Privacy_Sta…>
.
If you encounter any issues while registering, or have questions about the
registration process, feel free to contact the coordination team at
hackathon(a)wikimedia.org.
Cheers,
Deb
--
deb tankersley (she/her)
developer outreach program management
Wikimedia Foundation
Hi everyone,
You're invited to join the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees at the
next Conversation with the Trustees
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…>
on Wednesday 27 November at 12:00 UTC (check your local time
<https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1732708800>).
The 90-minute call will consist of updates and a short agenda, followed by
open Q&A. Please bring your questions and join on Zoom–the trustees would
love to chat with you face to face. You can request the Zoom link by
emailing askcac(a)wikimedia.org. You can also request live interpretation on
Zoom by emailing askcac(a)wikimedia.org.
For those that can’t join in Zoom, the call will be streamed to YouTube
<https://www.youtube.com/live/Qrw1oprgjyU> and available on Commons
immediately after.
The full agenda will be posted on Meta in the coming days.
See you soon,
Elena
Elena Lappen (she/her/hers)
Movement Communications Manager
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>