Welcome to the first issue of Open Access, a revived Wikimedia UK newsletter reporting on the activities of the UK chapter, members and supporters and on all matters of interest to them. This month, we have a number of dates for your diary for events celebrating Wikipedia's 10th birthday; features on Yeonpyeong and Visual Arts on Wikipedia; and short summaries of the last Cambridge meet-up, a talk given to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, and our Microgrants.
Next month, we'll be doing a round-up of recent GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) activity - including the GLAM-WIKI conference that took place at the British Museum last November.
As a Chapter we want members to get involved as this is your newsletter. We want to learn about our members and what they are working on. We want to hear what you think, learn about your ideas on how to improve things for all, or otherwise listen to what you think about the topics covered here. You can leave general comments at the bottom of the wiki page, or send them to the editor (Charles Matthews, on editor(a)wikimedia.org.uk).
Follow Wikimedia UK also on http://blog.wikimedia.org.uk , and for general discussion join the mailing list athttp://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l .
... for the full newsletter, please visit:
http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Open_Access/2011/January
Thanks,
Mike Peel
on behalf of Wikimedia UK
Wikimedia Estonia report July-December 2010
==Meetings==
*July 25. Founding meeting in Tallinn with 10 Wikipedians. Our
bylaws<http://et.wikimedia.org/wiki/Bylaws>were signed and first three
board members elected.
*August 20-22 . Summer meeting in Kuigatsi library (South Estonia) with 6
Wikipedians. (page in Estonian and some
photos<http://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikipeedia:Suvep%C3%A4evad_2010>
)
*September 24. Board meeting in Tartu.
*December 18 . General meeting in Tallinn with over 20 people including
members and guests. One new board member was elected, membership fee and
board member compensation were fixed. (page in Estonian and
photos<http://et.wikimedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Cldkoosolek_2010>
)
==Other milestones==
*August 31. Wikimedia Foundation
recognized<http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Approval_of_Wikimedia_Estonia>Wikimedia
Estonia as an official Wikimedia chapter.
*October 6. Wikimedia Estonia was added to the register of non-profit
organizations in Estonia as "Mittetulundusühing Wikimedia Eesti".
==Projects==
*June 3 – October 3. HELP (Head Eesti Looduse Pildid – 'Good pictures of
Estonian nature') was a contest calling users to upload their own good
quality photos taken of Estonian nature – landscapes, plants, animals,
objects etc. 26 contestants uploaded a total of 507 photos during the
contest. Best photographers were awarded with subscription to journal "Eesti
Loodus" ('Estonian Nature') and gift coupons by Photopoint company. Also an
article appeared in "Eesti Loodus" about that contest.(contest page in
Estonian <http://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikipeedia:HELP> and gallery of
photos <http://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikipeedia:HELP/Pildid>)
*"Wikipedia in schools" is a project which started in September and is
planned to continue through the school year. Project consists of visits to
various schools in Estonia (about 35 of them in different parts of Estonia)
during which a Wikipedian is conducting a survey among students and teachers
about their knowledge of Wikipedia and also giving lectures about how to use
Wikipedia and how to contribute to it. From September to December, 14
schools were visited. (project page in
Estonian<http://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikipeedia:Vikipeedia_koolides>
)
--
Teele Vaalma
MTÜ Wikimedia Eesti
teele.vaalma(a)gmail.com
58145381
This is the chapter report for Wikimedia Nederland for November 2010
Fundraiser
In 2010/2011, Wikimedia Nederland participated in the fundraiser as a tier 1
chapter, and hired for the first time a freelancer to help out with the
communication side of the fundraiser (press, messaging, analysis, social
media). In November, we finished the set-up for the fundraiser, and went
online in time.
Wiki Loves Monuments, mini-conference
The jury wrapped up its deliberations, and came up with a long list. At a
jury retreat for one evening in Amsterdam, the jury came to its conclusions
and put together the winners list. For the Vlissingen sub contest a seperate
jury came to two winners.
The winners were announced at a prize ceremony at November 20 in Utrecht.
The ceremony was combined with a mini-conference, and lasted one afternoon.
Although all train traffic was down, the meeting was well attended with 40
attendees. Photos: [1]
<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:WCN_2010> The
results of the contest can be found on www.wikilovesmonuments.nl
As a nice detail, all volunteers and partners for this project were thanked
with a nice Wiki Loves Monuments-mug. See
[2]<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2010-11-21_wikiminiconf_24.JPG>
and [3] <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMNL2010-WLM_Mok.jpg>.
Meetings, conferences etc
Wikimedia Nederland was represented at two different conferences in
November: Economies of the Commons organized by Sound and Vision in
Hilversum/Amsterdam by Maarten Brinkerink and Maarten Dammers, and Maarten
Dammers participated and presented at GLAM-UK together with the
Tropenmuseum, Nationaal Archief and Sound and Vision.
Press
Press attention focused on the Houellebecq book which contained Wikipedia
materials, the outcomes of Wiki Loves Monuments (12.500 photos, also
reported in a major national news paper website) and the Annual Fundraiser
kicking off.
This is the chapters report from Wikimedia Nederland for October 2010.
Fundraiser preparations
In October, preperations for the fundraiser were made, including last minute
discussions with the Wikimedia Foundation about the outline of the
cooperation on this front.
General Assemblee
At October 9, a General Assemblee was held for the election of two new board
members. Hay Kranen left the board and Siebrand Mazeland and Maarten
Brinkerink joined. Preceding to that Assemblee, there was a fundraising
discussion where community input was gathered on how to fundraise and get a
better insight in which messages might work best in the Dutch situation.
Wiki Loves Monuments
The jury started deliberating the outcomes of the contest, and organization
of the prize ceremony started. This will be on November 20 in Utrecht.
Wiki Loves Bieb
A first meeting with volunteers was organized in the library of Vlissingen
(Flushing) for former and current employees of the Damen Schelde Naval
Shipbuilding, to let them get acquainted with Wikipedia and editing the
project. This in the light of the cooperation with MuZEEum, through Wiki
Loves Bieb. See also http://wikilovesbieb.nl/?p=175
Meetings, conferences etc
In October, Wikimedia Nederland representatives have attended several
meetings throughout the country, including a meeting with Europeana
representatives and Liam Wyatt, the Europeana Conference, the presentation
of Kennis Economie Monitor and the State of Social Media Summit. Another
stamtafel was organized, with increasing numbers.
Press
Aside the usual mentions in press, there was some interest around the award
of the Gottlieb Duttweilerprize to Jimmy Wales. In NRC Handelsblad,
Wikipedia was mentioned as one of the ten best books in the past decade.
Our last bulletin follows (I hope the HTML will be better than last time).
As usual, you can read the complete HTML version online at
http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php/Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en and you can
watch
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_chapters/Reports/Wikimedia_Italia
____________________________________
*
W i K i M e D i A N e W s* no. 30 - December 6, 2010
Official monthly bulletin from Wikimedia Italia Association.
Contents
- 1 Editorial<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 2 What happened during last
months<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 2.1 Members' meeting in
September<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 2.2 Mantua: Festivaletteratura and Premio Wikimedia Italia
2010<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 2.3 Panel on comics and free licenses at
Romics<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 2.4 Linux
day<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 2.5 Lucca Comics & Games
2010<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 2.6 Other
events<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 3 What will happen next
months<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 4 News from our
groups<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 4.1 Ideas from
Wiki<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 4.2 New
WikiGuide<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 4.3 News from our
groups<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 5 News from our
projects<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 5.1 News from
Biblioteca<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 5.2 News from
Musica<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 5.3 News from
wiki@home<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 6 News from WMF
projects<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
- 7 Talk with
us<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
Editorial
Autumn. Halloween is celebrated, trips outside the city are organized, maybe
people think that Christmas is approaching. This happens in the world out
there.
It's the second year that in November the most difficult period of the year
for the Board begins: the organization and the daily management of the
fundraising.
Organizing the fundraising means to shadow the Wikimedia Foundation and
their demands, to study contracts, to subscribe to new mailing lists, to
come up with slogans, to spread pages of explanations, to translate FAQs and
in the meantime to try and optimize the tools so that we may be prepared for
the wave of activity which will begin shortly.
When the fundraising actually begins and banners appear on all projects'
pagess, the first thing that happens is that we lose our treasurer and
secretary for a few months: Cotton, Aubrey and all their staff (Xaura,
Dinwath, Remulazz) are completely absorbed by subscriptions flowing in,
questions about donations, registrations of gifts, contacts with WMF which
are nevertheless required (every self-respecting fundraising gets technical
problems or changes to do on the spot!). At the time of writing, there are
170 mail in the subscription mailbox, 88 in the information mailbox and
still others in the general one.
Install OTRS, enroll people directly from the site and write scripts for
importing data are some of the little things we did to simplify the job of
secretary and treasurer, but they are only the tip of the iceberg: we were
not able to customize our CRM, it's more than six weeks since we tried to
open an account at the post office but we have not succeeded yet - despite
all our efforts - and the list of problems does not stop there.
On 11 December, when the directors shall meet *visually*, one of the topics
on the agenda will be hiring one or more persons during the next year to
help us carry out those activities for which we don't have sufficient
resources (and sometimes expertise): communication, secretariat, various
consultants (fundraising, legal, graphics, non-profit specialists).
In closing I remind you of the hot topics still open, that we're overlooking
because discussion, consensus and interests languish: the celebration for
the ten years of Wikipedia and the forthcoming Festival of Digital Freedom.
Frieda
What happened during last months
<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&action=…>Members'
meeting in September
<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php/File:WMI_Bologna_2010_9649.JPG>
On September 25 we held our yearly ordinary members'
meeting<http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/it:Wikipedia:Raduni/Bologna_2010_Assemblea_WMI>of
Wikimedia Italia, hosted by the Dipartimento di discipline della
comunicazione at the University of Bologna.
Unfortunately we could not record and transmit a real-time video of the
assembly: an audio
recording<http://www.archive.org/details/WikimediaItaliaAssembleaBolognaSettembre2010>is
available, although the presence of a single microphone at the chair
meant that the questions from the public are barely audible.
The morning began with brief presentations by our guest, Professor Lalli,
and Frieda. The presence of a large and involved audience led to an
interesting discussion: a useful opportunity for information and comparison.
Some of the topics discussed were:
- Relationships with schools, universities and cultural and heritage
institutions;
- The quality of Wikipedia articles in the medical field and other
specific areas;
- The possibility of increasing their quality through collaboration with
institutions and experts in the
category[1]<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>;
- The encouragement of participation through certificates or other
evidence that can be added to their curriculum vitae
[2]<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>;
- Statistics and attention to the confidentiality of the Wikimedia
projects;
- Accessibility ok Wikipedia content to deaf-mutes.
During the afternoon the actual Members' meeting took place. We renewed the
Board <http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php/Direttivo> and reviewed the main
events of the past year (they are discussed in more detail in our annual
report<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php/Relazione_sulle_attivit%C3%A0_2009>).
We also have the opportunity to present and discuss briefly the project
"ideas from Wiki" (see
below<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>)
and the new WikiGuide on Wikimedia Commons produced by Christian Biasco (see
below<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>
).
Notes
1. ↑<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>Compare
Wikipedia
Academy, NIH<http://meta.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Academy#Wikipedia_Academy_Bethesda…>
.
2. ↑<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&printab…>.
See also one
of the recommendations<http://meta.wikipedia.org/wiki/strategy:Task_force/Recommendations/Communit…>for
community health emerged from Wikimedia strategic planning process.
<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&action=…>Mantua:
Festivaletteratura and Premio Wikimedia Italia 2010
As usual in the last years, the Association attended
Festivaletteratura<http://festivaletteratura.it/>in Mantua (held on
September 12) together with Lettera27 association, our
partner in *WikiAfrica* project. During Festivaletteratura we awarded our
annual Premio Wikimedia
Italia<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php/Premio_Wikimedia_Italia>.
This year the winner was project "Sanbaradio - Ponte
Radio<http://www.sanbaradio.it/podcast/ponte-radio>"
by Cooperativa Mercurio «For having released with a Creative Commons license
(CC-BY-NC-ND-3.0) contents produced in project "Ponte Radio" (Radio Link),
"sound contaminations between Trentino and Mozambique" able to bring near
two worlds quite far apart».
Special mention to project
Nigrizia<http://www.nigrizia.it/sito/copertina.aspx>:
«For having released with a free Creative Commons license (CC-BY-SA-2.5) a
lot of contents about Africa».
<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&action=…>Panel
on comics and free licenses at Romics
Saturday, October 2 2010, Wikimedia Italia organized in collaboration with
Gente di Cartoonia association a panel on copyleft and the world of comics
at Romics 2010. Participants were Senpai, Mauro
Biani<http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauro_Biani>,
Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri<http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Eleuteri_Serpieri>,
Francesca Perri (of Tonucci & Partners, law firm which takes care of the
business of Disney in Italy), and some publishers and lawyers expert in
copyright and free licenses.
report by Utente:Senpai <http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php/Utente:Senpai>
I made only a presentation of our association and some background comment.
Biani had a very interesting intervention; he boasted of being one of the
first cartoonists to adopt Creative Commons licenses on the web, and
explained that his choice was dictated essentially by two reasons: one kinda
ethical, and another "practical". As regards the second reason, he said that
in more than one occasion - when he released its work with traditional
copyright - his cartoons have been grabbed from his blog and used without
permission. In an occasion a newspaper with regional circulation even
changed the dialogue before publishing the cartoon. Since adopting CC
licenses, however, he realized that the web morally condemns and prosecutes
cases of appropriation of the content released in copyleft, and when a strip
of him is stolen many people signal him the fact.
The intervention of the Serpieri showed then the "comics" side of the
matter; an established artist as he has, to date, no interest in releasing
his works on CC but ethical issues. Serpieri then talked about his battle
for recognition of the cartoonist as a professional artist, especially when
his work is commissioned. Working for the publisher, perhaps drawing a
character who is owned by the same publisher, in fact, is frankly simplistic
for the artist and distorts his role.
In conclusion, the panel was a complete success; Gente di Cartoonia is
asking us to organize another one, this time as a flagship event.
<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&action=…>Linux
day Milano, Linux day OpenLabs <http://linuxday.openlabs.it/>
CristianCantoro attended the Linux Day held at Parco Trotter in Milano. His
talk was a presentation of Wikipedia and its philosophy, followed by a *demo
* session with modification to Sandbox and practical explanation about how
Wikipedia works.
Modena, EAVIcamp <http://eavicamp.wordpress.com/>
Aubrey attended EAVIcamp, barcamp dedicated to crowdsourcing and
user-generated content, organized in conjunction with the Linux Day. His
presentation on Wikipedia and its sister projects received positive comments
and compliments: being a competent audience, he could fly over on Wikipedia
and talk about Wikimedia universe. Participants agreed that it was an
interesting event, although it was long and difficult; hopefully we would
repeat it next year.
Grosseto, Linux day held by GroLug <http://www.grolug.org/>
Senpai attended Linux Day in Grosseto. Our intervention was focused on the
issue of free licenses and copyleft in general. Public, unfortunately, was
not very numerous, but they proved interested in the subject. It persists
(even in a pseudo-specialized environment as that of linux gruop)
substantial misinformation about what "we can do and not do" under a free
license.
Grolug contacted us also for a possible intervention at coming Public domain
day <http://www.publicdomainday.org/>.
<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php?title=Wikimedia_news/numero_30/en&action=…>Lucca
Comics & Games 2010
During Lucca Comics and games <http://www.luccacomicsandgames.com/> our
Association revamped WikiWall, a project ideated for the Festival of Digital
Freedoms. This time the WikiWall had on one side the theme *"comics"*;
bystanders were urged to stop and write something (what's comics for you?)
or to make a drawing.
On the other side there were some postcards with free (as in speech) images,
which were really appreciated
Sull'altro lato erano presenti delle cartoline con immagini libere che hanno
riscosso molto entusiasmo (they were also sought from other exhibition
stands).
Even some cartoonists who caught the spirit of the project worked with us
and left a picture on the wall. Among others: Leo Ortolani, Darix, Gabriele
Dell'Otto and Marco Albiero, ullustrator of Sailor Moon.
Jaqen took photos and interviewed people for all four days, for Sanbaradio e
Wikinews.
Other events
- October 4, Modena: Aubrey gave a lecture on Wikipedia and free
knowledge at Sacred Heart High School. The lesson was two hours long, and
had been specifically requested by the professor with whom he already worked
in the past. The video of Wikiguida on Wikipedia was shown, and well
received, and has given an overview of Creative Commons licenses and
copyright in general.
- On November 26 Aubrey took part to a panel, organized by "Azioni a
catena <http://www.azioniacatena.it/>", in Verona. Title was
"Condivisione dei saperi?" (Sharing knowledges?), other participants
Officina S3 and Il Superstite.
What will happen next months
- On December 4, Aubrey will be in Paris for the second
GLAMWIKI<http://rencontres.wikimedia.fr/index.php?title=Accueil>to
talk about Wikisource in the conference session devoted to metadata.
- Monday, December 13th from 14:30 to 17:30 in Milan as part of a series
of seminars on "digital media languages and citizenship" at the headquarters
in Milan, Lombardy territorial nucleus of the National Agency for the
Development of Education (formerly IRRE Lombardia) is organizing a meeting
entitled "Education for citizenship and the development of writing skills:
the case of Wikipedia". Attending
CristianCantoro<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php/Utente:CristianCantoro>.
News from our groups Ideas from Wiki
The Association launched, at the annual meeting in September, a *call for
ideas" called "Ideas from Wiki" (ie the various wiki projects): we tried to
gather ideas on how to promote Wikipedia and its sister projects and how to
raise awareness on the issue of free licenses.*
Some ideas have been selected and who had proposed the meeting was called to
expose the Wikimedia Bologna of Italy. The next phase, not yet put into
practice, will be the development of the selected ideas.
In the (only) two weeks available for the submission of proposals we
received more than thirty ideas; we take this opportunity to thank all those
who participated.
The ideas proposed were often similar, they all echoed the proposals
discussed and brought to light very often and at length within the
association, demonstrating that the disconnect between what the members
discuss and think they shoul do and what outsiders asked to the association
does not exist; nobody has however a magic wand or easy to do recipes to
work on the ideas.
The full list of ideas submitted and evaluations can be found at Idee da
Wiki <http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php/Idee_da_Wiki>.
New WikiGuide
The new WikiGuida dedicated to Wikisource is in the workings. The
publication is scheduled for the end of January. The script, as in the
previous guides, is taking shape on the sta prendendo forma
Cantiere<http://biasco.ch/wiki/index.php5/Copione_della_WikiGuida_%22Wikisource%22>,
the site of Biasco, and is open to suggestions and comments: go
contribute!<http://biasco.ch/wiki/index.php5/Discussione:Copione_della_WikiGuida_%22Wik…>
News from our groups Regional group Lazio
by Markos90 and MM <http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php/Utente:MM>
In "Project WikiTrips" - proposed for the first time during the Assembly of
19 September 2009 - a WikiTrip was made to Sallustiano
district<http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sallustiano>in Rome. The
destination was chosen by the users Markos90 and MM: a special
page in Wikipedia rallies' section was created (Wikipedia:Raduni/Roma
WikiGita novembre
2010<http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Raduni/Roma_WikiGita_novembre_2010>),
and user of Project:Rome <http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progetto:Roma> and,
in general, all Wikipedians were advised. The trip was pleasant and useful:
information gathered will enhance the entries about Sallustiano, and
photographs will soon be uploaded to Commons. Given the relatively low
turnout of participants, a template-bulletin in the discussion pages of the
project and the portal on Roma in Wikipedia has been proposed to facilitate
the participation of other interested users.
News from our projects News from Biblioteca New Progetto fumetti on
Biblioteca
Progetto Fumetti (Project Comics) started on out site Biblioteca. Its aim
will be to collect, categorize and describe the comics free (broadly
speaking), on the Internet (and outside it, if we could find them). We
decided to be very liberal in accepting material. All Creative Commons
licenses are well accepted and, at least at the time, no foreclosure is made
for "not encyclopedic" comics' authors, if their strips meet our favor.
The project is just at its beginning: for now we just picked up some strips
without adding a lot of information, but we expect it to become a meeting
point of free comics culture, to advertise it properly and soon reach a
reasonable level of completeness. To achieve this goal a lot of work from
fans and curious people (members or non members) will help.
http://biblioteca.wikimedia.it/wiki/Progetto:Fumetti
News from Musica
We are going on with the extension of the guide on how to publish songs with
a free license, the FAQs were
updated<http://musica.wikimedia.it/wiki/Musica:Rilasciare_la_propria_musica_con_lic…>and
in the coming weeks we'll start step-by-step structuring of the guide.
News from wiki@home
Member DracoRoboter
<http://www.wikimedia.it/index.php/Utente:DracoRoboter>contacted the
journalist of
*l'Unità* Marco Salvia, after an article in which he noticed that the
Ministry for Education copied (without due credits...) from Wikipedia. The
interview was published on Wikinotizie: *Marco Salvia: chi copia
Wikipedia<http://it.wikinews.org/wiki/Marco_Salvia:_chi_copia_Wikipedia>
*.
News from WMF projects
- *Wikinews*: Two new sysops were elected,
Codicorumus<http://it.wikinews.org/wiki/Utente:Codicorumus>and
Osk <http://it.wikinews.org/wiki/utente:Osk>, while two were removed for
inactivity: Olando <http://it.wikinews.org/wiki/Utente:Olando> and
Wappi76 <http://it.wikinews.org/wiki/Utente:Wappi76> (who since 2007 was
also bureaucrat).
- *Wikiquote*: In aNobii, a profile of
Wikicitazioni<http://www.anobii.com/itwikiquote/books>and an
associated
group <http://www.anobii.com/groups/0105f4f6d9a205e8a9/> were created to
promote the project in the site of book lovers, the most known in Italy;
8000 libri have been added, all of them with their incipit or a paragraph
included in Wikiquote articles. aNobii users appreciated the initiative, and
today the group has nearly 250 members; we also made a spreadsheet with
the list<https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkbTq2pGEiCodExxRXdYdlV2bTlPRzZxdn…>of
all books added in aNobii (
discussions<http://it.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Wikiquote:Bar&oldid=366068#Siamo_…>,
technical details on how we did
it<https://docs.google.com/uc?id=0B0bTq2pGEiCoYmFlOTQ0OTctYWY0Yy00NWI5LTg3YzUt…>and
little
program<http://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Utente:Nemo_bis/Elenco_titoli/Incipit/Codice>to
export titles). We also have a
list<http://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Utente:Nemo_bis/Elenco_titoli/Registro>with
roughly 10 000 titles of works which are featured in Wikiquote
articles, excluding sections "Incipit of".
- *Wikisource*: Candalua
<http://it.wikisource.org/wiki/Utente:Candalua>studied and installed
tool
Match&Split<http://it.wikisource.org/wiki/Progetto:Trascrizioni/Match_and_split>by
ThomasV; a test on
*Storia della letteratura
italiana<http://it.wikisource.org/wiki/Storia_della_letteratura_italiana>
* gave excellent result. This means that we have much more capacity of
coupling original versions of a page with transcribed text. We
started month's
rereadings <http://it.wikisource.org/wiki/Wikisource:Rilettura_del_mese>,
advertized also in the sister projects since also novice users of Wikisource
may profitably work on them.
- *Wiktionary*: A new sysop was elected, Siciliano
Edivad<http://it.wiktionary.org/wiki/Utente:Siciliano_Edivad>.
- *Wikipedia*: Wikipedia in Italian language, like some 30 other
projects, eventually features the group of self-verified
users<http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/it:Wikipedia:Autoverificati>,
to ease fighting vandalisms: self-verification of contributes reduces the
number of potentially vandalistic updates, and people may find improper or
harmful modifications with more ease. Because of simple procedures, a week
after its inception the group already includes nearly 300 users, most of
which added the first day. As for sysops, 5 were elected (or re-elected), 4
quitted (among them, a bureucrat) and 1 was removed for inactivity.
Half a Million People Donate to Keep Wikipedia Free
$16 million raised by more than 500,000 individual donations during seventh annual giving campaign
SAN FRANCISCO, January 1, 2011 — Supported by half a million people from all over the world, the Wikimedia Foundation today announced it has exceeded its goal of $16 million USD to support Wikipedia and its sister projects for the 2010-11 fiscal year. To close the annual giving campaign, Wikipedia will transition to banners to both thank its global community of contributors and invite its 400 million readers to become volunteer editors.
In just 50 days, the shortest fundraiser in Wikimedia history, the Foundation received an average of $22 per individual donation from people living in about 140 countries, to reach its goal. This year, the Wikimedia Foundation received over 500,000 donations, more than doubling the number of individual donations in 2009, which garnered 230,000 total contributions.
"We're overwhelmed with gratitude," said Sue Gardner, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. "On behalf of all of the volunteers who make Wikipedia possible, I'd like to thank our generous donors. We're thankful to all of our supporters, from the volunteers who worked along-side Wikimedia staff to help create the campaign, to the editors who write and take care of Wikipedia to the amazing donors who make sure we have the support to continue our work. Wikipedia is the only major, top-ten site in the world that is ad-free and funded primarily by its readers and users — we're lucky to have such a dedicated community of supporters."
"This outpouring of support by hundreds of thousands of ordinary people from all walks of life is a testament to the spirit of the Wikimedia movement," said Wikipedia Founder, Jimmy Wales. "Wikipedia is a public resource created and maintained by hundreds of thousands of volunteers, relied on by over 400 million people and paid for by half a million donors. It's truly user-created, supported and maintained."
With the official close of the 2010 Fundraiser, Wikipedia will now kick-off its 10-year birthday celebration, taking place on January 15, 2011. To support celebrations, the Foundation will be offering limited edition Wikipedia t-shirts, customizable in over 200 languages. The shirts will only be available until midnight, UTC on January 15, 2011, for a minimum donation of $25, shipping included. All donations will go into the Foundation's operating fund.
Funds raised by the Foundation's annual campaign will contribute to the $20.4 million, 2010-11 operating budget. The Foundation's budget pays for technology costs to keep Wikimedia sites running and available to people throughout the world, programs to help make Wikipedia easier to use, and programs to encourage more people to participate and contribute as volunteers.
About the Wikimedia Foundation
http://wikimediafoundation.orghttp://blog.wikimedia.org
The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization which operates Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. According to comScore Media Metrix, Wikipedia and the other projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation receive 410 million unique visitors per month, making them the 5th most popular web property world-wide (Nov, 2010). Available in more than 270 languages, Wikipedia contains more than 16 million articles contributed by a global volunteer community of more than 100,000 people. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is an audited, 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants.
Contact:
Moka Pantages
WikimediaFoundation.orgblog.wikimedia.org
+1 (415) 839-6885 x 635
communicationswikimedia.org
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Dear all,
We are pleased to announce that the registration period and the scholarship
application period for Wikimania 2011, which will be held in Haifa, Israel,
on August 4th to 7th, 2011, have begun!
== Registration ==
Those who register early will enjoy considerable discounts in both
registration and accommodation fees, so be sure to register as early as
possible.
* Full information about registration, including fees and registration
periods: http://wikimania2011.wikimedia.org/wiki/Registration
* Our registration website: http://wmreg.wikimedia.org.il/
== Scholarship application ==
If you require a scholarship to attend Wikimania 2011, you can apply for one
until the end of January 2011. This year, there will be partial scholarships
to cover travel costs up to USD 300, in addition to full scholarships.
* Full information about scholarships:
http://wikimania2011.wikimedia.org/wiki/Scholarships
* Our scholarship application website: http://wmschols.wikimedia.org.il/
== Call for Papers ==
The Call for Papers for the conference has been available for a while now.
You are welcome to submit workshop, seminar, tutorial, panel, and
presentation proposals.
* The Call for Papers:
http://wikimania2011.wikimedia.org/wiki/Call_for_Papers
== Translators required ==
You are welcome to help translate as much of our conference wiki into as
many languages as possible, using the regular {{Other languages}} and
{{Translation}} templates.
If you are interested in translating the registration website into
additional languages, please contact us at
wikimania-registration(a)wikimedia.org.
== RSVP ==
If you wish, you may also RSVP your attendance on:
* Our wiki: http://wikimania2011.wikimedia.org/wiki/Attendees
* Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140718955957893<http://www.facebook.com/#%21/event.php?eid=140718955957893>
== Got any questions? ==
You can contact us in any of the ways listed on
http://wikimania2011.wikimedia.org/wiki/Contact.
If you have questions that might interest others, please post them on
http://wikimania2011.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania:Information_Desk.
Please bear with us if the registration or scholarship application websites
are temporarily unavailable due to maintenance.
Wishing you all a happy 2011 and looking forward to hosting you in Haifa,
Harel Cain
on behalf of the entire Wikimania 2011 local team
