Hello,
I am happy to say that we now have published our activity report for the
third quarter of 2012. It has been a fun quarter where our projects really
are picking up the pace. And what's even more fun, Q4 is well on its way to
be even better!
http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_reports/2012-09
--
*Best regards,
Jan Ainali*
Chairman, Wikimedia Sverige <http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Huvudsida>
076-2122776
Hello everyone,
Please find below Wikimedia UK's report for September 2012. The text of the
whole report is posted in the email due to numerous requests for this. You
can also view the report on the WMUK wiki at
https://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Reports/2012/September - and this wiki
version includes all hyperlinks and images (which aren't included below).
If you have any comments or questions please do let me know.
Thanks and regards,
Stevie
Below is the Wikimedia UK monthly report for the period 1 to 31 September
2012. If you want to keep up with the chapter's activities as they happen,
please subscribe to our blog, join our mailing list, and/or follow us on
Twitter. If you have any questions or comments, please drop us a line on
this report's talk page.
*Community*
*Editor decline*
Wikipedia reaches a turning point: it's losing administrators faster than
it can appoint them, Telegraph Blogs, 5 September
*Jimmy Wales*
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales attacks government's 'snooper's charter',
Guardian, 5 September
Jimmy Wales: Wikipedia will use encryption to beat snooper's charter,
Telegraph, 6 September
Also see WMUK's Submission on Communications Data Bill on the UK wiki.
*Philip Roth*
Philip Roth 'not a credible source to edit his own novel's Wikipedia page',
Telegraph, 7 September
How Philip Roth Outfoxed Wikipedia’s Idiotic Rules, Gizmodo, 8 September
Author Roth rebukes Wikipedia over Human Stain edit, BBC News, 8 September
Boot up: Bezos on profit, Pirates' German problems, Windows Phone's lost
SDK and more (includes Roth on Wikipedia), Guardian blog, 10 September
Philip Roth's complaint to Wikipedia, Guardian, 11 September
Philip Roth knows his own book but let's not judge Wikipedia harshly,
Independent, 12 September
*Political edits*
Grant Shapps 'edited Wikipedia page to remove school records', Telegraph, 9
September
Top Tory 'airbrushed his Wikipedia page', new chairman 'deleted political
gaffes and altered exam details', Daily Mail, 9 September
Tory MPs fiddling with their Wikipedia entries: Grant Shapps is just the
tip of the iceberg, Telegraph blogs, 10 September
Grant Shapps's Wikipedia page was edited to remove byelection gaffe,
Guardian, 11 September
*Gender bias*
Wikipedia editors' gender visualised, Guardian, 11 September
*Wikitravel*
Wikitravel versus Wikimedia: something is going badly wrong with the free
content movement, Telegraph, 11 September
*GLAM activities*
See also the This Month in GLAM UK report for this month.
*Wikipedia Takes Coventry*
Wikipedia Takes Coventry was the first Wikipedia Takes... event in the UK
Interview with Erin Hollis and Harry Mitchell on Wikipedia Takes Coventry
BBC Coventry and Warwickshire (1 September 2012)
Clock is ticking for scavengers to capture Coventry Leamington Courier (1
September 2012)
Also: Kenilworth Weekly and Warwick Courier
*Other activities*
Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon at the library of the Royal Society, BoingBoung, 5
September
*Expert outreach*
Delete the Wiki worries and get close to the edit Times Higher Education,
20 September
*Microgrants approved this month include ...*
An extension to the Operation Barras and Operation Flavius microgrant for
source material for getting w:en:Operation Flavius and w:en:Operation
Barras to featured article status. Operation Barras is now going through
A-class review, and is expected to reach FA status without too many
problems. Our thanks go to HJ Mitchell for his valuable work putting time
into these articles!
*UK press coverage (and coverage of UK projects & activities)*
There has been a substantial amount of media coverage during over the last
couple of months. The online coverage has been aggregated into a PDF file
that includes links to the articles. Topics include Ada Lovelace Day,
Monmouthpedia and Gibraltarpedia, Mentions of Wikipedia articles, Wikipedia
Zero, Jimmy Wales, GLAM Camp London, EduWiki, our relationship with the PR
industry and a collaboration with Know How Non-Profit. You can see the full
list on the UK wiki.
We also published the following blog posts in September:
Three months as a Wikipedian in Residence, by Andrew Gray
EduWiki kicks off amid great anticipation by Stevie Benton
Board update (notification that Joscelyn Upendran had stood down from the
Board)
Wikipedia Takes Coventry - the winners! by User:Rock drum
EduWiki 2012 - a review by Martin Poulter
Wikimedia UK appoints Saad Choudri to its Board by Chris Keating
Board update (notification that Roger Bamkin had stood down from the Board)
Gibraltarpedia: WMUK press release (with clarifications about the project)
First ever Wikimedia UK intern waves goodbye by Isabelle Yates
Joint statement from Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia UK (announcing the
independent review into WMUK governance)
*Activities in October*
01 - Wikipedia and images workshop/October 2012
01 - Board meeting (TBC) - call
01 - Conference Committee meeting (postponed from 24 September)
02 - Imperial College Wikipedia Society Freshers' Fair
02 - 03 - Cambridge University Wikipedia Society launch at the Freshers'
Fair
04 - Robin Owain meeting Dr. Ted Jones, Digitisation on Demand from the
National Library of Wales about work with Wikimedia UK
08 - Wikipedia talk and training workshop at the University of Oxford
08 - JISC Digital Infrastructure Team workshop, London
11 - Parkinson's UK Wikipedia training
12 - AHRC Wikipedia training workshop at the British Library
13 - 14 - Fæ and Andy Mabbett separately addressing the Central and Eastern
Europe Wikimedia conference.
14 - London meetup
15 - Roger Bamkin speaking at the Oxford Internet Institute
16 - Roger Bamkin speaking at De Montfort University
19 - Ada Lovelace Day event
21 - Coventry meetup
23-26 - Dunhuang Project editathon, British Library
26 - Black History Month event
26 - Women in Science editathon, Oxford
27 - 28 - Train the trainer workshop, October 2012
28 - Cambridge meetup
For events in November and onwards, please see Events.
*Finances*
The current state of each of our budgets is outlined in a Google
Spreadsheet at
https://docs.google.com/a/wikimedia.org.uk/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkP38YPQ7Tg….
This details spend to date, and a rough estimate of future spending. This
spreadsheet is too complex to be placed directly on a wiki. Our yearly
spend is heavily 'end-loaded', partially due to the rapid growth of
Wikimedia UK.
Although we may underspend in one or two budgets, the next few weeks will
see a refocussed effort, led by a committee of editors, to work out how
they would best like to spend this underspend.
We also expect to be moving money between some budgets in the not too
distant future.
*News from the Chief Exec*
For information on Jon's activities this month, see News from the Office.
The updates about the Wikimedia UK Interns can be found there too, together
with here.
*Communications*
There were some notable communications successes this month. Both the
EduWiki conference and our work around Ada Lovelace Day attracted a good
deal of positive media attention. You can see the full breakdown of press
coverage in the report linked to in the UK press coverage section above. In
other ways this has been a challenging month in terms of communications and
it was unfortunate timing that our Communications Organiser was on annual
leave for the second half of the month. There have been appointments and
departures on our Board of Trustees and the announcement of an independent
review into Wikimedia UK's governance. There has been much conflation and
presumption at the heart of much of the media coverage, both in terms of
Roger's resignation and the announcement of the review, that it has been
difficult to be clear and factual about what has actually taken place. In
many ways September was something of a gift to our critics because of the
perception of events - regardless of what those events actually were.
Moving forward, we need to be more secure in making our own voice heard in
amongst the media hubbub.
*Fundraising and Membership*
*Fundraising*
This month, we received £1,258.35 in one-off donations, with 68 individual
donations. The average donation amount was £18.50 - 63% of these donors
have had Gift Aid Declarations made and matched with their records. If
anyone would like a full (but anonymised) csv file with more information,
please get in touch with katherine.bavagewikimedia.org.uk and let her know
your requirements.
As for direct debit donations, there were 6026 successful direct debits
this month, bringing in a total of £24,765.
*Membership*
Up to 30th September 2012:
214 new (membership commenced in preceding three months) and current members
41 'grace' members (membership within six months after date membership
should be renewed)
This adds up to 255 members who are eligible to vote
152 Expired members
Katherine is developing HTML templates for welcome emails for new and
renewing members to sign-post them to resources and information and will be
scheduling a regular job to email members who have renewed (monthly) and
newly approved (post-board meetings).
--
Stevie Benton
Communications Organiser
Wikimedia UK
+44 (0) 20 7065 0993 / +44 (0) 7803 505 173
@StevieBenton
Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England
and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513.
Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street,
London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a
global Wikimedia movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the
Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects).
*Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal
control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.*
This is the Chapters report for Wikimedia Sweden September 2012.
Hiring an Education program manager
Sophie Österberg, who worked as an intern this summer, was hired as
Education Program Manager. The contract is for three months and she started
on October 1. The aim is to be ready to start with the Wikipedia Education
Program early next year.
Wiki Loves Monuments
<http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil:Wikimedia_Loves_Monuments_-_Internationell…>
<http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil:Wikimedia_Loves_Monuments_-_Internationell…>
Introduction to the competion during a day photo hunt in the Old town in
Stockholm.
For Sweden 3351 images was uploaded not as high numbers as last year and
not what we expected. However this year 243 photographers participated
compared to 165 last year. During the competition we made outreach to
schools, and other organisations. The upcoming evaluation will show the
reason for the drop and lessons to learn for next year and the upcoming
Wiki Loves Public Art. Our jury has started their work and the price
ceremony will be at FSCONS in Gothenburg in November.
Wiki Skills
Anna and Leo working with Wiki Skills have jointly with an intern at
Wikimedia Sverige developed a broschure with information concerning wikis
in education to be handed out to teachers and others working within the
educational sector.
Europeana Awareness
Two representatives from Wikimedia Sweden participated at GLAMcamp in
London on the 15-16 September. John Andersson participated there as part of
the Europeana Awareness project and joined the task force that will be
working with the organization of the GLAM-WIKI 2013 conference. John will
work on finding content (i.e. people to give presentations and workshops)
and external communication (promoting the conference to both speakers and
attendees).
Wikimedia Sweden and the Nordic
Museum<http://se.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Nordic_Museum> had
a first meeting about a coming editathon, that will have *fashion* as its
theme. The editathon will take place in March 2013 in cooperation with
other actors such as Europeana Fashion and Stockholm University.
Wiki Loves Public Art (WLPA)
Beppo Stuhl from Austria became the first volunteer to take on the role as
a National Coordinator<http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Projekt:Europeana_Awareness/Wiki_Loves_Public_…>
for
the Wiki Loves Public
Art<http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Projekt:Europeana_Awareness/Wiki_Loves_Public_…>
(WLPA)
photo contest.
Technology pool
<http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil:Ut%C3%B6_kyrka_september_2012_06.jpg>
<http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil:Ut%C3%B6_kyrka_september_2012_06.jpg>
The church of Utö, photographed with the Nikon D7000.
The equipment were borrowed eight times: for the Book fair in Gothenburg
(two equipments), air photography, photography of members of the Swedish
parliament, video at a nerd café, two edit-a-thons and for a weekend photo
session.
Air photography
<http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil:Bell_206_JetRanger_-_Heliair.JPG>
<http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil:Bell_206_JetRanger_-_Heliair.JPG>
The helicopter used for the air photography.
One flight with a helicopter over Stockholm was made. Over 100 images are
going to be submitted to the Swedish Armed Forces for approval before being
uploaded.
Book fair in Gothenburg
<http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil:Intervju_Dag_Sebastian_Ahlander_02.JPG>
<http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil:Intervju_Dag_Sebastian_Ahlander_02.JPG>
Interviews at the book fair.
Six Wikipedians participated in the Gothenburg book fair. In total, they
interviewed about 80 authors and politicians in all languages they spoke,
and took pictures of more than hundred other relevant persons. Images and
videos are being uploaded to
commons<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:G%C3%B6teborg_Book_Fair_2012>
.
Program planning
We had a planning
meeting<http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Medlemsm%C3%B6te_2012-09-22> with
the members with the purpose to get a programme plan ready for an
application for grants to the Funds Dissemination Committe.
Seminars and Lectures
As part of our organisational development, board members have been to
seminars, one about board responsibility and one about successful board
work.
Swedish Wikipedia reaches 500,000 articles
On September 27, Swedish Wikipedia reached 500,000 articles.
Board meeting
We had one board meeting,
minutes<http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6tesprotokoll/Protokoll_2012-09-23>
available
in Swedish.
Presentations
<http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil:Jan_Ainali_20120919_01.JPG>
<http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil:Jan_Ainali_20120919_01.JPG>
The presentation at the nerd café.
- Presentation about Creative Commons for photographers at a
photograpers conference
- Breakfast seminar for teachers, slides <http://aina.li/webbstjarnan>,
Video <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZznILMCMi3I>
- Nerd café at the Museum of Technology, slides <http://aina.li/nerd>,
Video <http://bambuser.com/v/2994117>
- Presentation about Wikipedia and the collaboration between Wikimedia
Sweden and the Council of the Central Museums at the National Maritime
Museums staff meeting,
slides<http://www.slideshare.net/axelpettersson/smm-stormte>
Upcoming
- October 15, Editing contest about Nobel Leauraets
- October 16, Ada day Edit-a-thon
- October 20, Wikimedia Sverige turns five years old
- October 20-21, Participating in Hembygdsdagarna
- October 22, Participaing in Internet days with focus on schools
- October 25, Inspirational seminar at the Swedish National Heritage
Board
- October 29-30, Participating in Mötesplats skola (Meeting place school)
- October 29-31, Participating in Skolforum (Forum for schools)
--
*Med vänliga hälsningar,
Jan Ainali*
Ordförande, Wikimedia Sverige <http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Huvudsida>
076-2122776
Hi all,
a new version of the bulletin from Wikimedia Italia (the second one this
month! Unbelievable!) is available.
This time we write about our coming Assembly in Pisa, the new project
Archeowiki we just started, the final Italian data for Wiki Loves Monuments
2012, and the start of our internal fundraising campaign.
As usual a link has been added to meta, under
Wikimedia_chapters/Reports/Wikimedia_Italia ; raw text of the bulletin
follows below.
Ciao, .mau.
=== Assembly and Wikimeeting ===
On October 20 the Association will meet in Pisa for [
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Raduni/Pisa_ottobre_2012_Assemblea_W…
Assembly].
As usual, the Assembly is a public and open time for for discussion and
planning: everyone is welcome! We will have a report with the projects
implemented in 2012, and then discuss the activities for 2013. The next day
(Sunday, October 21) there will be the traditional meeting with city
sightseeing.
=== ArcheoWiki ===
ArcheoWiki is a new project of Wikimedia Italy, in collaboration with Milan
Museum Sector, Mimondo association, the Ambrosiano Archaeological Group and
the Passaré Foundation, co-financed by the Cariplo Foundation, to promote
and disseminate the historical and cultural treasures of the archaeological
heritage in Lombardy. We want to photograph archaeological heritage present
in the museumsof Lombardy and publish the photos on Wikipedia. ArcheoWiki
means also involve schools, by training volunteers, teachers and students
in the art of Wikipedia, through targeted interventions and Wikigite
(Wikitrips).
=== Wiki Loves Monuments ===
Wiki Loves Monuments 2012 was held during the month of September. Thanks to
all the participants, about 8000 photographs depicting the artistic and
architectural Italian heritage have been added to Wikimedia Commons, the
repository of more than 14 million free media files. The jury is working to
define who will be the winners. In the meantime, Wiki Loves Monuments 2011
made it to the [
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-6000/largest-photography-compet…
World Records Book] as the largest photographic contest in the
world. We hope that, also thanks to the Italian contributors, next year we
are able to beat owr own record!
The award ceremony will be held in Rome, at the Galleria Alberto Sordi, on
October 31.
=== Support us! ===
The fundraising campaign of 2012 Wikimedia Italy has started. Its purpose
is to finance the activities for next year, including Wiki Loves Monuments,
ArcheoWiki, projects in schools, and other projects that will be explained
in the next issue of the newsletter. If you want to support us too, go to
the site http://sostienilacultura.it (remember that donations are
tax-deductible).
*Next week, we’re saying goodbye to our long-term Head of Communications,
Jay Walsh. He will be starting shortly a new adventure working at a San
Francisco based start-up in corporate communications. His last day at the
Foundation will be Tuesday, October 23. The Foundation will be kicking off
a search process for a new head of communications, and in the interim we’ll
also be receiving communications strategy from our advisers at Minassian
Media, a consultancy that helped us manage communications around
Wikipedia’s tenth anniversary.
Since Jay started at the Foundation in January 2008 he’s taken a lead role
in shaping both the voice and identity of the Wikimedia Foundation, and has
played a critical function in supporting our projects. He’s been our
spokesperson on hundreds of media inquiries, helping to shape a positive
and enlightened perspective on our projects in some of the biggest media
outlets in the world. Jay has provided communications counsel on major
initiatives to almost everyone at the Foundation, and I’m sure to many of
you throughout our community.
Since starting at WMF Jay has grown the communications team, which now
includes roles supporting movement communications, global media outreach,
and merchandise. Under his leadership we created and grew a blog which now
sees up to 40 posts a month, a social media presence with over a million
followers, and content published in many localized languages. Jay helped us
bring the Foundation’s first four annual reports to the world, and he gave
us a voice and open identity for great events like Wikipedia 10.
We’ve been fortunate to have strong communications leadership for a period
of rapid growth for our projects and our movement. Please join me in
wishing Jay well on his next steps. We will miss him.*
(This press release is also posted on the WMF wiki at
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/WMF_and_STC_partner_on_…)
'''The Wikimedia Foundation and Saudi Telecom (STC) partner to provide
access to Wikipedia free of mobile data charges in the Middle East'''
''Service available immediately to STC customers in Saudi Arabia''
San Francisco, California and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- October 14, 2012
-- Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and the Wikimedia Foundation announced
a new partnership today to offer Wikipedia free of data charges on
mobile devices to STC customers in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait.
By making Wikipedia available to its 25 million mobile customers, STC
and the Wikimedia Foundation commit to increasing access to the free
and open knowledge available on Wikipedia. Wikipedia Zero enables
customers to browse the website for free and with high flexibility on
all mobile phones.
This partnership is part of the Wikimedia Foundation's mobile
strategy, which focuses on reaching billions of people around the
world whose primary opportunity to access the Internet is via a mobile
device. This initiative is particularly important, given that the
Foundation has made Arabic language countries a special priority in
its strategic planning.
“We are thrilled that STC has joined us in removing a major barrier to
accessing Wikipedia on mobile phones. Improving access to the
Wikimedia projects in the Arabic speaking world is a strategic
priority for the Foundation, and this partnership is a step forward in
our mission to enable everyone on the planet to access free
knowledge,” said Kul Takanao Wadhwa, Head of Mobile, Wikimedia
Foundation. “With Wikipedia Zero, the Wikimedia Foundation is able to
provide free Wikipedia access to almost 230 million mobile users
around the world. We’re very excited that STC is joining us in this
mission.”
In collaboration with “Intigral”, a company specialized in providing
digital media solutions to telecom operators, STC subscribers can now
access the free service in both Arabic and English by pointing their
mobile browser to m.wikipedia.org. A lightweight, text-only version
optimized for slower connections is also available at
zero.wikipedia.org. The move comes as STC continues to consolidate its
leadership in various fields, especially in social awareness and the
fostering of a knowledge-sharing culture. Wikipedia Zero will also be
available through the mobile browser, and features high browsing
speeds despite being a free service.
Eng. Ibrahim Al Omar, Vice President for Personal Services, said “One
of the principles that STC adheres to is the commitment to spreading
social awareness and the fostering of a knowledge-sharing culture that
accomplishes the aspirations of all segments of our customer-base.” He
then added, “Wikipedia Zero is considered an additional cornerstone
that supports the continuous efforts of STC in the field of social
awareness.”
The launch of Wikipedia Zero comes in line with STC’s strategy to
prioritize customer needs, and is an affirmation of the company’s
commitment to fulfilling customer expectations while meeting their
demands, and to continuously develop its services to satisfy their
aspirations and give them a variety of unrestricted options and
alternatives.
For more information, please refer to the partnership Q&A at:
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mobile_partnerships#STC
'''About Saudi Telecom'''
www.stc.com.sa
Saudi Telecom Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides
telecommunications services to individuals and businesses primarily in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its GSM segment primarily offers mobile,
prepaid cards, international roaming, and messaging services. The
company’s Landline segment principally provides fixed line, card
telephones, interconnect, and international call services. Its DATA
segment primarily offers leased data transmission circuits, DSL, and
Internet services. The company also engages in the operation of
communications projects; transmission and processing of information;
wholesale and retail trade of recharge card services,
telecommunication equipment and devices, and computer services; sale
and re-sale of various landlines and mobiles telecommunication
services; and maintenance and operation of commercial centers. In
addition, it provides mobile services, international
telecommunications, broad band, and other related services in Bahrain;
and operates third generation mobile network in Indonesia. The company
was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
'''About 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 456 million unique visitors per month, making them
the fifth-most popular web property world-wide (comScore, August
2012). Available in 285 languages, Wikipedia contains more than 22
million articles contributed by a global volunteer community of
roughly 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.
(This press release is also posted on the WMF wiki at
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/WMF_and_STC_partner_on_…)
'''The Wikimedia Foundation and Saudi Telecom (STC) partner to provide
access to Wikipedia free of mobile data charges in the Middle East'''
''Service available immediately to STC customers in Saudi Arabia''
San Francisco, California and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- October 14, 2012
-- Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and the Wikimedia Foundation announced
a new partnership today to offer Wikipedia free of data charges on
mobile devices to STC customers in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait.
By making Wikipedia available to its 25 million mobile customers, STC
and the Wikimedia Foundation commit to increasing access to the free
and open knowledge available on Wikipedia. Wikipedia Zero enables
customers to browse the website for free and with high flexibility on
all mobile phones.
This partnership is part of the Wikimedia Foundation's mobile
strategy, which focuses on reaching billions of people around the
world whose primary opportunity to access the Internet is via a mobile
device. This initiative is particularly important, given that the
Foundation has made Arabic language countries a special priority in
its strategic planning.
“We are thrilled that STC has joined us in removing a major barrier to
accessing Wikipedia on mobile phones. Improving access to the
Wikimedia projects in the Arabic speaking world is a strategic
priority for the Foundation, and this partnership is a step forward in
our mission to enable everyone on the planet to access free
knowledge,” said Kul Takanao Wadhwa, Head of Mobile, Wikimedia
Foundation. “With Wikipedia Zero, the Wikimedia Foundation is able to
provide free Wikipedia access to almost 230 million mobile users
around the world. We’re very excited that STC is joining us in this
mission.”
In collaboration with “Intigral”, a company specialized in providing
digital media solutions to telecom operators, STC subscribers can now
access the free service in both Arabic and English by pointing their
mobile browser to m.wikipedia.org. A lightweight, text-only version
optimized for slower connections is also available at
zero.wikipedia.org. The move comes as STC continues to consolidate its
leadership in various fields, especially in social awareness and the
fostering of a knowledge-sharing culture. Wikipedia Zero will also be
available through the mobile browser, and features high browsing
speeds despite being a free service.
Eng. Ibrahim Al Omar, Vice President for Personal Services, said “One
of the principles that STC adheres to is the commitment to spreading
social awareness and the fostering of a knowledge-sharing culture that
accomplishes the aspirations of all segments of our customer-base.” He
then added, “Wikipedia Zero is considered an additional cornerstone
that supports the continuous efforts of STC in the field of social
awareness.”
The launch of Wikipedia Zero comes in line with STC’s strategy to
prioritize customer needs, and is an affirmation of the company’s
commitment to fulfilling customer expectations while meeting their
demands, and to continuously develop its services to satisfy their
aspirations and give them a variety of unrestricted options and
alternatives.
For more information, please refer to the partnership Q&A at:
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mobile_partnerships#STC
'''About Saudi Telecom'''
www.stc.com.sa
Saudi Telecom Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides
telecommunications services to individuals and businesses primarily in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its GSM segment primarily offers mobile,
prepaid cards, international roaming, and messaging services. The
company’s Landline segment principally provides fixed line, card
telephones, interconnect, and international call services. Its DATA
segment primarily offers leased data transmission circuits, DSL, and
Internet services. The company also engages in the operation of
communications projects; transmission and processing of information;
wholesale and retail trade of recharge card services,
telecommunication equipment and devices, and computer services; sale
and re-sale of various landlines and mobiles telecommunication
services; and maintenance and operation of commercial centers. In
addition, it provides mobile services, international
telecommunications, broad band, and other related services in Bahrain;
and operates third generation mobile network in Indonesia. The company
was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
'''About 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 456 million unique visitors per month, making them
the fifth-most popular web property world-wide (comScore, August
2012). Available in 285 languages, Wikipedia contains more than 22
million articles contributed by a global volunteer community of
roughly 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'''
For the Wikimedia Foundation
Jay Walsh, Head of Communications
jwalsh(a)wikimedia.org
+1 415 839 6885, x 6609
(To be removed from this mailing list please reply with 'UNSUBSCRIBE'
in the subject line)