Hi all,
the new bulletin from Wikimedia Italia (#54) is available. This time
we write about Wiki Loves Monza e Brianza, Elitre and Visual Editor,
Elections for Funds Dissemination Committee and Board of Trustees
(bravo, Cristian!), #nuovoSBN and our next appointments.
As usual a link has been added to meta, at
Wikimedia_chapters/Reports/Wikimedia_Italia ; more-or-less raw text of
the bulletin follows below.
ciao, .mau.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
== Wiki Loves Monza e Brianza ==
In 2013 edition, [http://www.wikilovesmonuments.it Wiki Loves
Monuments] also promotes '''local sections''' of the competition
dedicated to monuments in a small zone. Wednesday, June 26th, the
first local section was presented with a press conference at the
"Binario 7" in Monza: [http://monzaebrianza.wikilovesmonuments.it''
'Wiki Loves Monza and Brianza''']. During the conference,
[[w:it:Utente:Caramellamenta|Emma Tracanella]] (''Project
Coordinator'') and [[[w:it:Utente:Frieda|Frieda Brioschi]]
(''President of Wikimedia Italia'') were joined by distinguished
speakers: '''Enrico Elli''', Councillor for Culture for the Province
of Monza and Brianza; '''Angelo Scarano''', Representative from the
Bar Association of Monza; '''Maria Pia Marini''', Marketing Contact of
the Chamber of Commerce of Monza and Brianza. In addition to the
contest, the initiative provides for the organization of
'''Wikigite''' on the territory of the Province, of '''''upload
party''''' at the headquarters of Wikimedia Italy (Monza) and the
establishment of an exhibition dedicated to the contest after it will
be completed. We remind you that everyone can participate to and help
Wiki Loves Monza and Brianza: you can signal a monument, ask
[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U1XaBiKFYCWirKFlWgvyi0Yx4G3xVUHNF_hIpbu…
permission] to a handler or owner of property for taking photos, or
explain to your local municipality or a private entity the
[http://www.wikilovesmonuments.it/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Vademecum-e-aut…
few simple steps] necessary to take part to the initiative. For any
information the reference address is contatti(a)wikilovesmonuments.it.
== Elitre and Visual Editor ==
Some weeks ago we reported that Wikimedia Foundation was searching for
local Wikimedians who supported
[http://article.gmane.org/gmane.org.wikimedia.foundation/66337
Engineering and Product Developement] when they were rolling in new
extensions. For Italy the choice fell to
'''[[:w:it:Utente:Elitre_%28WMF%29|Elitre]''': compliments! Here there
is the translation of her presentation letter written for Wikimedia
Italia.
''Hello all.''
''I am not a member of Wikimedia Italia, but I feel obliged to
introduce myself here as well, as several members of the association
are involved in the dissmemination of WMF projects and often also
teach its operations.''
''I'm Elitre, I am part of the Wikimedia movement since 2005 and a few
days ago I was hired by the Wikimedia Foundation to support in every
way the Italian-speaking community (mainly) in the transition to
VisualEditor. Here there is a summary the news for those of you not
editing frequently and who do not follow other places of community
discussion, apologizing to who is already aware of the theme. In
short, VisualEditor will change the way you edit Wikipedia (and later
also the other projects), making it easier and "retiring" the wiki
syntax. Not only the system is already active, but the beta version,
which will become the default, will arrive in July, and it is good to
become familiar with it, and help us in discovering any malfunctions
well before that date! If you do not know how to activate it or would
like more details, see
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:VisualEditor.''
'' The answers to the most frequent questions have been collected
[http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:VisualEditor/FAQ here], and a
[http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:VisualEditor/Manual manual]
was also sketched. Several users are already reporting their
experiences and communicating their observations: we therefore expect
many of you [http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:VisualEditor/Commenti
on this page]. For any communication, use my user page
[http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discussioni_utente:Elitre_(WMF) Elitre
(WMF)] or the email elitrenta at wikimedia.org.''
''Thank you and have a nice day!''
''Erica''
== Elections for Funds Dissemination Committee and Board of Trustees ==
>From June 8 to 22, the Wikimedia community has been called to vote to
elect three new members of the
[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/Board_electi…
Board of Trustees] of the Wikimedia Foundation; concurrently, for the
first time, they voted for the
[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/FDC_election…
Funds Dissemination Committee] (FDC) and the FDC Ombudsperson.
According to the organizers, the management of elections at the same
time made the voting process more complex, but Monday, June 24
[http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/06/24/wikimedia-movement-election-results-an…
the official results] were regularly announced: valid votes were in
total '''1809'''.
We are proud to announce that
'''[[:w:it:Utente:CristianCantoro|Cristian Consonni]]''', vice
president of Wikimedia Italia, was elected among the members of FDC.
Waiting for more detailed statistics, here there are the names and
nicknames of the elected:
;BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Samuel Klein (Sj); Phoebe Ayers (phoebe); María
Sefidari (Raystorm)
;FUNDS DISSEMINATION COMMITTEE: notafish (Delphine Ménard);
CristianCantoro (Cristian Consonni)
;FDC Ombudsperson: Lusitana (Susana Morais)
Wikimedia Foundation invites everyone (candidates, voters, members of
the Board and staff of Wikimedia Foundation) to participate in the
[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_2013/Post_mo…
'''''Post-Mortem''' discussion''] about the elections.
== #nuovoSBN: an opportunity not to be missed ==
Thursday, June 20 the meeting
[http://www.aib.it/struttura/sezioni/lazio/2013/35059-aib-rilanciare-sbn/
Reviving the National Library Service] (SBN, "Servizio Bibliotecario
Nazionale") took place. The appointment was promoted by the
[http://www.aib.it/ Italian Library Association (AIB, "Associazione
Italiana Biblioteche")], Lazio AIB Section and the Goethe-Institut in
Rome to discuss the future of '''national library services'''; high
institutional officers were present.
For the occasion, some members of the
[http://mailman.wikimedia.it/listinfo/bibliotecari discussion list for
librarians and Wikipedians] have written a joint letter in which they
advance some proposals and ideas with the hope that they were dealt
with in the Rome conference. Title of the letter was:
[http://bit.ly/128AXbe Reviving SBN: an opportunity not to be missed].
One of the objectives of the appeal was to bring together the two
souls of the library world, the one tied to the more traditional
concept of "library as a physical place" and the one more interested
in sharing data, their quality and the free re-use. Thanks to the
initiative of the '''librarians-Wikipedians''', the day was followed
by an intense and animated live tweet: by consulting the hashtag page
[https://twitter.com/search?q=%23nuovosbn&src=hash #nuovoSBN] you can
get a general idea of what has been the spirit of the meeting of 20
June. The discussion list for librarians and Wikipedians contributes
with its work to a wider debate on the library world ,and will
continue to monitor the situation and take action to listen to their
ideas: you are all welcome!
== Past and future appointments ==
* June 24: [[:w:it:Utente:Frieda|Frieda Brioschi]] (''President of
Wikimedia Italia'') participated in the webcast
[http://penelope.blog.rai.it/ #Penelope Live] dedicated to the theme
''#VitainCo, our shared existence.'' Frieda told about the Wikimedia
movement, the situation of open culture in Italy and... made a leap
in his past as a Wikipedian.
* June 28, Bologna: [[:w:it:Utente:Atropine|Atropine]] and
[[w:it:Utente:Virginia_Gentilini|Virginia Gentilini]] hold a meeting
of introduction to Wikipedia at the Arcigay club
[http://www.cassero.it/ Il Cassero], to show the projects relevant for
the LGBT world present on Wikipedia.
Hi All,
I am very happy to announce a favorable decision we have recently received
in an Italian defamation case brought against the Wikimedia Foundation by
former Italian Minister of Defense and Berlusconi advisor, Mr. Cesare
Previti.
You can read more about it in our latest blog
post<http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/06/26/wikimedia-foundation-legal-victory-ita…>(available
in English and Italian).
Best,
Michelle
--
Michelle Paulson
Legal Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation
149 New Montgomery Street, 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
mpaulson(a)wikimedia.org
415.839.6885 ext. 6608 (Office)
415.882.0495 (Fax)
NOTICE: *This message might have confidential or legally privileged
information in it. If you have received this message by accident, please
delete it and let us know about the mistake. For legal reasons, I may only
serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation. This means I may not
give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer for community members,
volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.*
Hi folks,
I'm forwarding this message, written by Risker, for the election committee.
~Philippe
___________________
The 2013 Wikimedia Board Election Committee has announced the results of
the 2013 Board Elections today for the three elected Wikimedia Foundation
Board of Trustees positions. For the first time, the election also included
seats for the Funds Dissemination Committee and for the FDC Ombudperson.
These results were certified by the Board of Trustees.
The successful candidates are:
*For the Board of Trustees:*
Samuel Klein (Sj)
Phoebe Ayers (phoebe)
María Sefidari (Raystorm)
*For the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC):*
Delphine Ménard (notafish)
Cristian Consonni (CristianCantoro)
*For the FDC Ombudperson:*
Susana Morais (Lusitana)
The Election Committee certifies that the election was fairly executed and
there is no reason to doubt the results. There were 1927 entries into the
voter log. Of these, there were 13 struck votes (all of which were test
votes); 105 “greyed-out” or cancelled votes resulting from users submitting
a subsequent ballot; and 1809 valid votes. Additional, more detailed
statistical analysis will be available in the coming days and weeks.
The addition of the FDC and FDC Ombudperson has added several layers of
complexity to the election process for candidates, voters, Engineering
staff and the Election Committee. Several issues relating to the use of the
SecurePoll extension were identified, although none related to the security
of votes or reliability of results. The start of the voting period was
delayed by one week as the Committee could not verify that voter lists and
voting software were ready and functional on the scheduled starting date.
All levels of the community, including the Board, the candidates, the
voters, WMF staff and the Election Committee, are encouraged to participate
in thepost mortem discussion of the election process (at
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_2013/Post_mo…).
The Election Committee extends its thanks to Sam Reed, Philippe Beaudette,
and James Alexander for their invaluable contributions and assistance.
*Risker, 2013 Wikimedia Board Election Committee*
The chapters report for Wikimedia Sverige May 2013 is now available on:
http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Chapters_reports/2013-05
*HIGHLIGHTS:*
- The Wiki Loves Public Art competition, a sister to Wiki Loves
Monuments, where conducted for the first time. Over 9,000 images on more
than 2,000 objects from over 200 participants of which more than 100 were
new users.
- Press accreditation at the Eurovision song contest that resulted in
lots of images and videos of the artists.
*Best regards,
Jan Ainali*
CEO, Wikimedia Sverige <http://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Huvudsida>
+46 729 67 29 48
Hi All,
I would like to direct your attention to a new blog post (available on
Meta<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Privacy_policy/Call_for_input_%282013%29>and
the Wikimedia
blog<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/06/18/input-on-wikimedia-foundation-privacy…>)
about updating our current privacy policy. Our privacy policy has not been
updated since 2008, and we believe it is time to revisit the policy to
ensure that it reflects where the Projects are today and where they have
the potential to go in the future.
It is important to us that the new policy reflects community values, so we
are asking for Wikimedia community input throughout this process. We would
like to hear from
you<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Call_for_input_on_WMF_privacy_policy>over
the next month about the privacy issues that matter to you. Once we
have completed a draft of the new privacy policy (with the input we receive
from you over the next month in mind), we will then open a lengthier
community consultation period so that you have the opportunity to review
the draft and provide more detailed feedback.
We ask you to read the blog post for more details and encourage you to
participate in this important process. We request that you leave your
input on the Meta discussion
page<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Privacy_policy/Call_for_input_%282013%…>only,
so that everyone is equally aware of the topics being discussed and
has the opportunity to participate fully in the discussions that interest
them.
Many thanks,
Michelle Paulson
Legal Counsel
Note: We expect to have translations of this announcement in the next
couple of days. We would like to ask the international Wikimedia community
to help translate the blog posting and feedback page (which are almost the
same) as well as people’s feedback given throughout the course of this
consultation period.
--
Michelle Paulson
Legal Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation
149 New Montgomery Street, 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
mpaulson(a)wikimedia.org
415.839.6885 ext. 6608 (Office)
415.882.0495 (Fax)
NOTICE: *This message might have confidential or legally privileged
information in it. If you have received this message by accident, please
delete it and let us know about the mistake. For legal reasons, I may only
serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation. This means I may not
give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer for community members,
volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.*
Dear friends,
I have the awesome pleasure of notifying everyone today of a special
anniversary. Ten years ago today, Jimmy Wales announced the creation
of the Wikimedia Foundation on the still pretty new Wikipedia-l
mailing list.
Today you'll find a blog post (also posted below) that looks back on
an extraordinary 10 years of growth for the Foundation, our projects,
our movement organizations, and our volunteer community.
https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/06/20/ten-years-of-supporting-free-knowledge
Birthdays are often one-day-focused things, but like our recent ten
year anniversary of Wikipedia, I know we'll be thinking about this
incredible milestone over the entire coming year. We look forward to
hearing your reflections and thoughts about the Foundation - whether
your contact with the org started ten days ago or ten years.
Thank you for being a part of the Foundation and part of the Wikimedia
movement. Here's to another huge ten years!
---
Ten years of supporting free knowledge
Posted by Jay Walsh on June 20, 2013
Ten years ago today, on June 20, 2003, Jimmy Wales announced the
founding of the Wikimedia Foundation. He entrusted the new nonprofit
with the operation of Wikipedia, launched two and a half years prior.
Wales recalled the early days of Wikipedia and marveled that it has
grown to be such an important and ubiquitous source of free
information for the world. “It is hard to imagine that in 2003,
Wikipedia was still running on just two servers – which I used to
administer myself in the beginning,” said Wales, who noted that he
founded the Wikimedia Foundation because he believed Wikipedia would
need the support of a stable and trusted institutional base for years
to come.
The Wikimedia Foundation’s second Board of Trustees (photo taken at
Wikimania 2006). From left to right: Tim Shell, Florence
Nibart-Devouard, Jimmy “Jimbo” Wales, Michael Davis, Angela Beesley
“Ten years later, the Foundation continues to fulfill that role,
thanks to the trust of our millions of donors, the hard work of its
staff, the thoughtful oversight enacted by my fellow Board of Trustees
members and last but not least the many thousands of volunteers who
not only manage and build our projects, but also take an active part
in the governance of the Foundation,” Wales said.
Those two early servers, which belonged to Jimmy Wales’ company at the
time, have now grown to more than 800 servers operated by the
Wikimedia Foundation. They are the backbone of the free knowledge
projects that serve over half a billion readers each month, with 21
billion monthly pageviews. The Foundation also provides the legal
basis for projects, defending them against legal threats and
protecting the trademarks that have come to represent the global
community’s work.
The name “Wikimedia” had been suggested earlier in 2003 by Wikipedia
editor Sheldon Rampton for an endeavour that would “use Wiki-style
rules to enable public participation in the creation and editing of
all kinds of media: encyclopedias and other reference works, current
news, books, fiction, music, video etc.”
During the following decade, Wikipedia was joined by several sister
projects to realize parts of the vision of a world in which every
single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. The
Foundation continues to work on creating a richer Wikimedia experience
beyond text, making use of the web’s expanding possibilities. It has
also taken on the challenge of sustaining and increasing editor
participation, with projects such as the VisualEditor, the most
complex software development project undertaken by the Foundation so
far, which is already being live-tested on numerous language versions
of Wikipedia, and slated for a full rollout next month.
As part of its commitment to increase access to free knowledge, the
Wikimedia Foundation has launched Wikipedia Zero, a program to
convince telecommunications operators to waive data charges to
Wikipedia for the billions of people around the world whose primary
opportunity to access the internet is via a mobile device. Keeping up
with the mobile revolution on the internet, the Foundation has
upgraded Wikipedia’s interface for mobile users, including introducing
a “Nearby” feature and starting to enable contributions from mobile
devices.
Wikimedia Foundation staff (September 2012)
Erik Möller, a volunteer Wikipedian in Germany in 2003, and today the
Deputy Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, highlighted the
importance of this programmatic work. “Today, the Wikimedia Foundation
is well positioned to modernize the user experience and the
infrastructure supporting our projects, while dedicating all its
efforts to the public, working transparently, and releasing code as
open source,” said Möller. “This wouldn’t be possible if Jimmy hadn’t
laid the foundation 10 years ago to dedicate the operation of
Wikipedia and our other projects to a non-profit organization,
supported by a community of donors.”
The Foundation works with a global network of chapters, affiliates and
volunteers in achieving its mission. Several grants programs exist to
support smaller projects by individuals and groups. Last year saw the
launch of the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC), entrusted with
reviewing larger funding requests from movement organizations and
giving recommendations on the most effective use of donation money to
achieve the movement’s goals. The FDC is volunteer-driven, and two of
its seats are currently up for election by the community, as are three
seats of the Board of Trustees. If you are an eligible Wikimedian,
don’t forget to cast your vote until June 22!
As for Wales, who could have made Wikipedia a commercial venture and
monetized the site’s content with advertising, the decision to
safeguard the future of the Wikimedia projects with a non-profit
couldn’t have been a wiser. “Wikipedia is something special. I like to
compare it to a temple for the mind: A place we can all go to think,
to learn, to share our knowledge with others,” he said.
“The Wikimedia Foundation is here to preserve and nurture that place,
and make sure that Wikipedia remains a shining example of openness and
freedom, a public good that is part of many people’s daily life around
the globe.”
Jay Walsh
Senior Director, Communications
--
Jay Walsh
Senior Director, Communications
WikimediaFoundation.orgblog.wikimedia.org
+1 (415) 839 6885 x 6609, @jansonw
Forwarding an important message from WMF legal counsel Michelle Paulson.
___________________
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michelle Paulson <mpaulson(a)wikimedia.org>
Date: Wed, Jun 19, 2013 at 12:50 PM
Subject: [Wikimedia-l] New Privacy Policy - Call for Community Input
To: wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Hi All,
I would like to direct your attention to a new blog post (available on
Meta<
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Privacy_policy/Call_for_input_%282013%29>and
the Wikimedia
blog<
https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/06/18/input-on-wikimedia-foundation-privacy…
>)
about updating our current privacy policy. Our privacy policy has not been
updated since 2008, and we believe it is time to revisit the policy to
ensure that it reflects where the Projects are today and where they have
the potential to go in the future.
It is important to us that the new policy reflects community values, so we
are asking for Wikimedia community input throughout this process. We would
like to hear from
you<
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Call_for_input_on_WMF_privacy_policy
>over
the next month about the privacy issues that matter to you. Once we
have completed a draft of the new privacy policy (with the input we receive
from you over the next month in mind), we will then open a lengthier
community consultation period so that you have the opportunity to review
the draft and provide more detailed feedback.
We ask you to read the blog post for more details and encourage you to
participate in this important process. We request that you leave your
input on the Meta discussion
page<
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Privacy_policy/Call_for_input_%282013%…
>only,
so that everyone is equally aware of the topics being discussed and
has the opportunity to participate fully in the discussions that interest
them.
Many thanks,
Michelle Paulson
Legal Counsel
Note: We expect to have translations of this announcement in the next
couple of days. We would like to ask the international Wikimedia community
to help translate the blog posting and feedback page (which are almost the
same) as well as people’s feedback given throughout the course of this
consultation period.
--
Michelle Paulson
Legal Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation
149 New Montgomery Street, 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
mpaulson(a)wikimedia.org
415.839.6885 ext. 6608 (Office)
415.882.0495 (Fax)
NOTICE: *This message might have confidential or legally privileged
information in it. If you have received this message by accident, please
delete it and let us know about the mistake. For legal reasons, I may only
serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation. This means I may not
give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer for community members,
volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.*
_______________________________________________
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