FYI - posted today at
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Orange_and_WMF_partner_o…
Orange and the Wikimedia Foundation partner to offer Wikipedia in Africa
and the Middle East at no extra cost
-
In the first partnership of its kind, Orange and the Wikimedia
Foundation will provide more than 70 million Orange customers in Africa and
the Middle East (AMEA) with mobile access to Wikipedia - without incurring
data usage charges
San Francisco, CA, and Paris, France -- January 24, 2012 -- Orange and the
Wikimedia Foundation today announced a major partnership designed to make
knowledge more easily available to Orange mobile customers throughout
Africa and the Middle East. In the first partnership of its kind for
Wikipedia, Orange and the Wikimedia Foundation will provide customers in
both remote and urban areas of AMEA with access to Wikipedia.
In 2009, Orange and the Wikimedia Foundation formed the world’s first
mobile and Internet partnership to expand the reach of Wikimedia’s projects
through channels on Orange mobile and web portals in Europe. This new
partnership will be gradually launched throughout 2012 across 20 African
and Middle Eastern countries where Orange operates, with the first markets
launching early in the year. The initiative is part of the Wikimedia
Foundation's mobile strategy that aims to reach the billions of people
around the world who access the Internet solely through mobile devices.
Any customer with an Orange SIM and mobile internet enabled phone will be
able to access the Wikipedia site either through their browser or an Orange
widget. They can access the Wikipedia encyclopedia services for as many
times as they like at no extra charge as long as they stay within
Wikipedia’s pages.
"Wikipedia is an important service, a public good -- and so we want people
to be able to access it for free, regardless of what device they're using,"
said Sue Gardner, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. "This
partnership with Orange will enable millions of people to read Wikipedia,
who previously couldn't. We're thrilled to be Orange's partner in this
important endeavour."
Marc Rennard, Group Executive Vice President, Africa, Middle-East and Asia
at Orange, commented, “In countries where access to information is not
always readily available, we are making it simple and easy for our
customers to use the world’s most comprehensive online encyclopaedia. It is
the first partnership of this kind in the world where we are enabling
customers to access Wikipedia without incurring any data charges; and shows
Orange’s ability, once again, to innovate in Africa and the Middle East,
and bring more value to our customers.”
Stephanie Hospital, Executive Vice President, Orange Audience & Advertising
division, commented, "Since we first partnered with the Wikimedia
Foundation two years ago, we have remained committed to helping them spread
knowledge to as many people in the world as possible. We're proud to once
again be the Wikimedia Foundation's first partner in Africa and the Middle
East."
**
About Orange
France Telecom-Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications
operators with 170,000 employees worldwide, including 102,000 employees in
France, and sales of 33.8 billion euros in the first nine months of 2011.
Present in 35 countries, the Group had a customer base of 221 million
customers at 30 September 2011, including 145 million customers under the
Orange brand, the Group's single brand for internet, television and mobile
services in the majority of countries where the company operates. At 30
September 2011, the Group had 162 million mobile customers and 14 million
broadband internet (ADSL, fibre) customers worldwide. Orange is one of the
main European operators for mobile and broadband Internet services and,
under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in
providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.
Conquests 2015 is Orange’s new corporate initiative to simultaneously
addressing its employees, customers and shareholders, as well as the
society in which the company operates, through a concrete set of action
plans. These commitments are expressed through a new vision of human
resources for employees; through the deployment of a network infrastructure
upon which the Group will build its future growth; through the Group's
ambition to offer a superior customer experience thanks in particular to
improved quality of service; and through the acceleration of international
development
France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and
on the New York Stock Exchange. For more information (on the Internet and
on your mobile): http://www.orange.com, http://www.orange-business.com,
http://www.orange-innovation.tv Orange and any other Orange product or
service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Brand
Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.
**
About the Wikimedia Foundation
http://wikimediafoundation.orghttp://blog.wikimedia.org
The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. According to comScore Media Metrix,
Wikipedia and the other projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation
receive more than 457 million unique visitors per month, making them the
fifth-most popular web property world-wide (comScore, December 2011).
Available in 282 languages, Wikipedia contains more than 20 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.
Press Contacts:
**
Orange
US/UK – Vanessa Clarke / Jeff Sharpe
+44 7891 056 593 / +44 7887 620 901
vanessa.clarke(a)orange.com / jeff.sharpe(a)orange.com
France – Héloïse Rothenbühler
+33 1 44 44 93 93
heloise.rothenbuhler(a)orange.com
**
Wikimedia Foundation
Jay Walsh
Head of Communications
Wikimedia Foundation
+1 415-839-6885, ext 6609
jwalsh(a)wikimedia.org
--
Jay Walsh
Head of Communications
WikimediaFoundation.orgblog.wikimedia.org
+1 (415) 839 6885 x 6609, @jansonw
Today we were pleased to be notified that the Wikimedia Foundation was
chosen #1 among a list of 100 global NGOs.
http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/01/23/wikimedia-foundation-voted-1-global-ng…
>From their press release on the announcement: "Recognizing the significant
role of NGOs as influential agents of change on a global scale, The Global
Journal has sought to move beyond outdated clichés and narrow conceptions
about what an NGO is and does. From humanitarian relief to the environment,
public health to education, microfinance to intellectual property, NGOs are
increasingly at the forefront of developments shaping the lives of millions
of people around the world."
The top 100 list can be found here:
http://theglobaljournal.net/top100NGOs/
And the entry on the Wikimedia Foundation here:
http://theglobaljournal.net/article/view/476/
Our thanks to the Global Journal for recognizing Wikimedia, our global
community, and our mission.
--
Jay Walsh
Head of Communications
WikimediaFoundation.orgblog.wikimedia.org
+1 (415) 839 6885 x 6609, @jansonw
Hello everyone!
After much delay, I am pleased to announce that Wikimania 2012, the
eighth annual Wikimedia conference, has opened registration! Wikimania
2012 will be held in Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United
States. We will announce the specific venue shortly.
To register, please read
<http://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Registration> and then
proceed to the linked registration form. Until April 23, the
registration fee is $55; Wikimedia students and volunteers can
register at the discounted $35 rate. This does not cover
accommodations, which will be handled by a separate process. If you
need financial aid to attend, consider applying for a scholarship:
<http://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Scholarships>.
Wikimania is made possible by the excellent presentations delivered by
enthusiastic Wikimedia volunteers. If you are interested in presenting
at Wikimania, please read our Call for Participation:
<http://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions>.
If you have any issues during the registration process, do not
hesitate to email wikimania-registration(a)wikimedia.org. For other
inquiries, see our Contact page:
<http://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Contact>.
Thank you for your patience, and we hope to see you in Washington!
Sincerely,
James Hare
Wikimania 2012 Coordinator
Ah - things happen. Thanks for the note.
Ziko
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_chapters/Reports/Wikimedia_Nederla…
This is the chapter report for Wikimedia Nederland for December 2011.
== Cultural heritage ==
The Tropical Museum has put out a call for volunteers and will also be
interested in appointing a Wikipedian in Residence. This will be the
first such position in the Netherlands.
== Conferences etc. ==
A barcamp is selforganizing at the day
GLAMcamp Amsterdam (GLAmsterdam for short) was held December 2-4 and
hosted several presentations on Friday to a mixed public of
Wikipedians and representatives from various cultural institutions.
Europeana presented the GLAM statistics project which should make it
easier for outside parties to track usage of Wikimedia Commons
donations. The Amsterdam Stedelijk museum presented their efforst to
keep a dialog alive with the public even though the museum has been
under renovation for several years. One of the most interesting
challenges for a modern art collection is the copyright status of
photographic images of works of art. Even though the Museum is the
owner of the works, they cannot publish photographs of the works
without the permission of the artists. They have done pioneering work
in engaging artists and their heirs to grant such permissions. The
Tropical Museum gave a repeat performance of the presentation that
Frank Meijer gave at the WCN in November.
One of the presentations given was on the results of the Wiki Loves
Monuments contest, and included an announcement to go ahead with a
world-wide WLM photo contest in September 2012.
The WLM organizers had held a small evaluation on December 1st, the
day before the GLAMcamp began. Though not all of the conclusions have
been drawn up, there are two main areas of concern; for a larger
number of countries there will need to be a better task management
system in place and better documentation such as clearer instructions
(in more languages) for uploaders, organizers, and "Wiki Takes"
volunteers. Not to mention coordinating partnerships with cultural
heritage organizations.
== Press and outreach ==
Annual report 2010 printed.
Discussions on a new Wikipedia flyer began.
== Upcoming ==
January: Nieuwjaarsborrel
February: Strategy weekend
April: General Assembly
-----------------------------------------------------------
Vereniging Wikimedia Nederland
dr. Ziko van Dijk, voorzitter
http://wmnederland.nl/
-----------------------------------------------------------
Hello,
Wikimedia Nederland is reporting monthly on its activities. We just
completed December, and for convenience I send you here the link to
the whole list of reports.
Kind regards
Ziko van Dijk
president
--
-----------------------------------------------------------
Vereniging Wikimedia Nederland
dr. Ziko van Dijk, voorzitter
http://wmnederland.nl/
-----------------------------------------------------------
Dear all,
The Chapters Committee[1], the committee that is mainly responsible
for the preparation of approval of new chapters is looking for five
new members, and we are looking for candidates.
The main focus of Chapcom is to guide groups of volunteers in forming
chapters. We make sure that the group is large enough (and advise them
on how to get bigger), review their bylaws for compliance with the
requirements for chapters and advise the Board of the Wikimedia
Foundation on chapter approvals.
This requires communication with chapter candidates all over the
World, negotiating skills and cultural sensitivity and the ability to
understand legal texts.
Key skills/experience that we are looking for in new members are typically:
* willingness to work in a sometimes bureaucratic process
(reviewing bylaws can be somewhat boring)
* 1-2 hours per week availability
* international orientation
* good communication skills in English
* ability to work and communicate with other cultures
* a strong understanding of the structure and work of both chapters
and the WMF
* experience with or in an active chapter
* an active position in a chapter is a plus
* communication skills in other major world languages are a plus
The number of chapter applications is increasing and help is wanted!
You can send your applications with your name, contact data,
experience and motivation to the ChapCom email address,
chaptercommittee-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org by February 15. The
applications will be considered by the current members.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me
privately. I am also happy to chat with anyone about our work, if this
helps them decide to apply.
Please distribute this call widely among your networks, and do apply
if you are interested.
Best regards,
Bence Damokos
chair,
Chapters Committee
[1]: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Chapters_committee
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Statement_on_Jan_20_even…
*Statement from the Wikimedia Foundation regarding developments in
Washington on SOPA and PIPA*
San Francisco, CA -- January 20, 2012 -- On January 18, millions of people
called their Congressional representatives to denounce SOPA and PIPA as
attacks on the free and open Internet. This morning, leaders in the House
and Senate announced consideration of the bills would be indefinitely
postponed, after many members of Congress, including some supporters of the
bills, issued statements disassociating themselves from the legislation
over the past two days.
Sue Gardner, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, said:
The Wikimedia Foundation welcomes these developments. This is another step
towards the ultimate destruction of these two pieces of proposed
legislation. But let’s be clear, these bills are not dead. They will
return, and when they do, they must not harm the interests of the hundreds
of millions of people who contribute to the free and open Internet.
The blackout was led by millions of ordinary Internet users, and the people
who make projects like Wikipedia possible - writers, photographers, editors
and illustrators. They sent a clear message to Congress: don’t mess with
free expression, don’t destroy the free and open Internet, don’t do the
bidding of traditional corporate interests. This is a moment in history
when the people who create and share works on the Internet as part of the
free knowledge movement, and the people who depend on access to those
works, are asking to be heard and to have their freedom of speech protected.
*About the Wikimedia Foundation*
http://wikimediafoundation.orghttp://blog.wikimedia.org
The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. According to comScore Media Metrix,
Wikipedia and the other projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation
receive more than 474 million unique visitors per month, making them the
fifth-most popular web property world-wide (comScore, November 2011).
Available in 282 languages, Wikipedia contains more than 20 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.
Media Contact:
Jay Walsh
Head of Communications
Wikimedia Foundation
Tel. +1 415 839 6885 x 6609
jwalsh(a)wikimedia.org
(to be unsubscribed from this list, please reply with "unsubscribe" in the
subject line")
(Also posted at
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikipedia_blackout_suppo…
)
*Wikipedia blackout affirms overwhelming support for free and open Internet
*Millions “Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge” and act to oppose
SOPA/PIPA
San Francisco, CA - January 19, 2012 -- Over the course of 24 hours on
Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 162 million people experienced the Wikipedia
blackout landing page -- an unprecedented, historic shuttering of the
largest repository of free knowledge in the world. More than 8 million U.S.
readers looked up their Congressional representatives through Wikipedia to
protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) --
proposed U.S. legislation that, if passed, will harm the free and open
Internet.
The protest drew worldwide attention to SOPA and PIPA, legislation that had
previously been cast as a battle between powerful corporate interests.
Before the blackout, the bills were poised to sail through Congress with
bi-partisan support. But after the public joined the debate on Wednesday,
members of Congress on both sides of the aisle declared their opposition
and made passage of the current bills much less likely.
“The Wikipedia blackout is over and the public has spoken,” said Sue
Gardner, Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director. “162 million of you saw
our blackout page asking if you could imagine a world without free
knowledge. You said no. You shut down the Congressional switchboards, and
you melted their servers. Your voice was loud and strong.”
Immediately after the blackout started, #factswithoutwikipedia,
#sopastrike, and “Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge” trended worldwide
on Twitter. In the first hour of the blackout, #wikipediablackout
constituted 1% of all tweets. More than 12,000 people posted comments of
support on the Wikimedia Foundation’s blog post announcing the blackout.
For Wikipedia, this fight has never been about money, but about knowledge.
As a community of authors, editors, photographers, and programmers,
Wikipedians invite everyone to share and build upon the work already begun.
In a little over a decade, Wikipedians have built the largest encyclopedia
in human history. Wikipedia’s mission is to empower and engage people to
document the sum of all human knowledge, and to make it available to all
humanity, in perpetuity.
The Internet has enabled creativity, knowledge, and innovation to shine. As
Wikipedia and other websites went dark, readers directed their energy to
protecting the free and open Internet.
We thank our readers for their support.
*About the Wikimedia Foundation
*http://wikimediafoundation.org
http://blog.wikimedia.org
The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. According to comScore Media Metrix,
Wikipedia and the other projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation
receive more than 474 million unique visitors per month, making them the
fifth-most popular web property world-wide (comScore, November 2011).
Available in 282 languages, Wikipedia contains more than 20 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.
Media Contact:
Jay Walsh
Head of Communications
Wikimedia Foundation
Tel. +1 415 839 6885 x 6609
jwalsh(a)wikimedia.org
(To be unsubscribed from this list please reply with 'unsubscribe' in the
subject line)
(Also posted at
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikipedia_blackout_suppo…
)
*Wikipedia blackout affirms overwhelming support for free and open Internet
*Millions “Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge” and act to oppose
SOPA/PIPA
San Francisco, CA - January 19, 2012 -- Over the course of 24 hours on
Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 162 million people experienced the Wikipedia
blackout landing page -- an unprecedented, historic shuttering of the
largest repository of free knowledge in the world. More than 8 million U.S.
readers looked up their Congressional representatives through Wikipedia to
protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) --
proposed U.S. legislation that, if passed, will harm the free and open
Internet.
The protest drew worldwide attention to SOPA and PIPA, legislation that had
previously been cast as a battle between powerful corporate interests.
Before the blackout, the bills were poised to sail through Congress with
bi-partisan support. But after the public joined the debate on Wednesday,
members of Congress on both sides of the aisle declared their opposition
and made passage of the current bills much less likely.
“The Wikipedia blackout is over and the public has spoken,” said Sue
Gardner, Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director. “162 million of you saw
our blackout page asking if you could imagine a world without free
knowledge. You said no. You shut down the Congressional switchboards, and
you melted their servers. Your voice was loud and strong.”
Immediately after the blackout started, #factswithoutwikipedia,
#sopastrike, and “Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge” trended worldwide
on Twitter. In the first hour of the blackout, #wikipediablackout
constituted 1% of all tweets. More than 12,000 people posted comments of
support on the Wikimedia Foundation’s blog post announcing the blackout.
For Wikipedia, this fight has never been about money, but about knowledge.
As a community of authors, editors, photographers, and programmers,
Wikipedians invite everyone to share and build upon the work already begun.
In a little over a decade, Wikipedians have built the largest encyclopedia
in human history. Wikipedia’s mission is to empower and engage people to
document the sum of all human knowledge, and to make it available to all
humanity, in perpetuity.
The Internet has enabled creativity, knowledge, and innovation to shine. As
Wikipedia and other websites went dark, readers directed their energy to
protecting the free and open Internet.
We thank our readers for their support.
*About the Wikimedia Foundation*
http://wikimediafoundation.orghttp://blog.wikimedia.org
The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. According to comScore Media Metrix,
Wikipedia and the other projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation
receive more than 474 million unique visitors per month, making them the
fifth-most popular web property world-wide (comScore, November 2011).
Available in 282 languages, Wikipedia contains more than 20 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.
Media Contact:
Jay Walsh
Head of Communications
Wikimedia Foundation
Tel. +1 415 839 6885 x 6609
jwalsh(a)wikimedia.org
This is to draw attention to the translations that have been made
available for the December 2011 "Wikimedia Highlights" - combining
some of the most relevant information from the Wikimedia Foundation
Report and the Wikimedia engineering report for December 2011 with a
selection of other important events from the Wikimedia movement. Help
is welcome in spreading the translated versions among the project
communities for these languages, where this has not already been
done. Many thanks to all translators!
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Highlights,_December_2011/da
Hovedpunkter fra Wikimedia Foundations månedsrapport og Wikimedias
tekniske rapport for december 2011 med et udvalg af andre
betydningsfulde hændelser i Wikimedia-bevægelsen
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Highlights,_December_2011/de
Highlights aus dem Wikimedia Foundation Report und dem Wikimedia
engineering report für Dezember 2011, mit einer Auswahl anderer
wichtiger Ereignisse aus der Wikimedia-Bewegung
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Highlights,_December_2011/fi
Kohokohdat Wikimedia Foundationin raportista ja Wikimedian
ohjelmistotuotantoraportista joulukuussa 2011 sekä kuukauden muut
tärkeät tapahtumut Wikimedia-liikkeessä
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Highlights,_December_2011/it
Punti salienti dal rapporto della Wikimedia Foundation e dal rapporto
ingegneristico Wikimedia di dicembre 2011, con una selezione di altre
importanti iniziative dagli eventi di Wikimedia
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Highlights,_December_2011/ja
2011年12月のウィキメディア財団報告書及びウィキメディア技報の抄録ほかウィキメディア運動の重要行事について
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Highlights,_December_2011/nb
Høydepunkter fra Wikimedia Foundations rapport og Wikimedias tekniske
avdelings rapport for desember 2011, med et utvalg av andre viktige
hendelser fra Wikimedia-bevegelsen
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Highlights,_December_2011/nl
Hoogtepunten uit de Wikimedia Foundationrapportage en de Wikimedia
technische rapportage voor december 2011, aangevuld met een selectie
van andere belangrijke gebeurtenissen binnen de Wikimediabeweging.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Highlights,_December_2011/vi
Những điểm nổi bật từ Bản báo cáo Wikimedia Foundation và phản hồi kỹ
thuật Wikimedia vào tháng 12 năm 2011, bao gồm các sự kiện quan trọng
khác của phong trào Wikimedia
You will also find partial translations into French and Polish linked
at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Highlights,_December_2011.
Suggestions for notable items to cover in the short selection of the
most important movement news in the upcoming Highlights issue are
welcome until the beginning of January, see
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Highlights .
Also a quick note that on the suggestion of users Timeshifter and
Buster Keaton, we have started a (still experimental) global
subscription service for the "Wikimedia Highlights", similar to that
of the Signpost. If you would like to receive a summary message
delivered to your user talk page on any Wikimedia project right after
each issue is published, add yourself to
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Global_message_delivery/Targets/Wikimedia_H…
(at the moment this is for the English original, but eventually
subscription should become available for the translated versions as
well).
--
Tilman Bayer
Movement Communications
Wikimedia Foundation
IRC (Freenode): HaeB