WikimediaAnnounce-l January 2015

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The Signpost – Volume 11, Issue 4 – 28 January 2015
by Wikipedia Signpost 29 Jan '15

29 Jan '15

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Wikimedia engineering report, November 2014
by Guillaume Paumier 28 Jan '15

28 Jan '15

Hi, The report covering Wikimedia engineering activities in November 2014 is now available: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Engineering/Report/2014/November -- Guillaume Paumier

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Announcement: Cascadia Wikimedians User Group board and officers
by Raymond Leonard 28 Jan '15

28 Jan '15

Dear Wikimedians, Cascadia Wikimedians User Group, which focuses on the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia, had our first two board meetings this month. Our initial board members are: Another Believer Brianhe Mako Peaceray Pine Ragesoss The following appointments have been made: President: Peaceray Vice President: Mako Secretary: Another Believer Treasurer: Brianhe Executive Director: Pine Thanks to everyone for their efforts at organizing the Cascadia Wikimedians User Group, with a special shout out to Pine! Yours, Peaceray President of Cascadia Wikimedians User Group Another Believer Secretary of Cascadia Wikimedians User Group

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WIkimedia Nederland report for November and December
by Sandra Rientjes Wikimedia Nederland 26 Jan '15

26 Jan '15

The Wikimedia Nederland report for November and December is available on meta: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_chapters/Reports/Wikimedia_Nederla… It is included as text in this message: *COMMUNITY: supporting and mobilising volunteers and editors* - Wikimedia Nederland Conference, Utrecht, November 1. Finding & Connecting was the theme of the annual Wikimedia Conference Netherlands on Saturday, November 1st, 2014 in Utrecht. The day was opened by Hans de Zwart (Bits of Freedom) who spoke on freedom and commercialization of the web. In total 27 speakers gave presentations during the conference on the themes 'Find', 'Connect', 'Behind the Scenes' and 'in practice'. A specially designed 'gender gap' lounge area gave more background about the lack of female contributors within Wikimedia projects. With over 100 visitors, we consider it a successful conference. · Wiki-Saturdays There were four Wiki-Saturdays in November and December. On November 8, volunteers presented a prototype of Wikiportret 2.0, which will make it much easier to contribute portraits to Commons. The final product will be available in February 2015. The last WikiSaturday of the year on December 20 attracted 18 members of the community, two of whom visited the WMNL offices for the first time. · Seminar on online communication WMNL supported a group of community members, many of them moderators, in organizing a seminar on online communication and the challenges of communicating with people with a disorder in the autism spectrum. On December 13, two experts gave presentations for a group of 15 Wikipedians. This event ended with constructive discussions on options to improve the working climate on Nl Wikipedia and avoid unnecessary conflicts. In 2015, WMNL will make available resources for further activities in this area. *WORK: content, collaboration and activity development* · GLAM Hackathon, Amsterdam, November 14 - 16. Thirty developers and programmers came together in Amsterdam to work three days on new and existing tools. The theme of the meeting was workingwith data from libraries, archives and museums. Some examples of the impressive amount of development work during those three days: - A tool that measures how long a visitor has looked at a picture in Media Viewer. - An interface for Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata and Wikipedia that can be extended with your own commands. Also you can easily run queries by using this interface to different wiki platforms. - A website where you can see the paintings have already been added to Wikidata. In addition 250 files without content were sanitized and 30,000 images of paintings added to Wikidata. In the run-up to the Hackathon we organised a workshop Wikidata for GLAMs. · Writing event on World War II at NIOD, Amsterdam, November 29. On Saturday, November 29th the research institute [www.niod.nl NIOD] opened its doors for Wikipedians. One of NIOD's researchers gave a presentation on his work and how it related to Wikipedia. Attendees were then able to work in the NIOD library. They wrote and improved articles, added information to Wikidata and made a start on improving the information on the illegal press. There was also a tour of the beautiful building where NIOD is housed. · Project Nature: content donations and a Wikipedian in Residence We received two content donations: as a pilot project for our cooperation with NGOs gathering data on wildlife, we are going to upload the data-collection on Dutch damsels and dragonflies. This is donated by Libellennet. TheKoninklijke Bibliotheek (National Library) donated the illustrations from 'De Nederlandsche Vogelen', a magnificent 18th century book on Dutch Birds. In 2015, we are going to organize events to ensure that these content donations are used in Wikipedia and other projects. The museum for natural history Naturalis has decided to appoint a Wikipedian in Residence for at least 6 months in 2015. Wikipedia course for beginners and 'intermediates'. In cooperation with the Zeeuwse Bibliotheek (library of Zeeland, which operates both as a public and an academic library) we organised two training courses on editing Wikipedia in November 11 and 25. *WMNL* · Staff Jesse de Vos joined WMNL for three months to work on content donations. He normally works for our partner Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid. Frank Meijer joined as a contractor to work on the education programme. *Money* · FDC recommendation The FDC commented positively on WMNL's plan for 2015 and recommended a grant of €304.000. Although this is slightly less than we requested, we are confident that we will be able to implement our plans. We are going to look for external funding, both in cash and inkind, and be extremely cost-conscious when planning our activities. · Donations The holiday season inspired people to give substantial donations to WMNL. In total we received €15.000 over November and December. We thank all our donors for their generosity over 2014. *GLOBAL* · European lobby group WMNL donated €4000 to support the work of the European Free Knowledge Advocacy group over 2015. Other chapters also contributed, making it possible to continue the advocacy work in 2015. WMNL will contractually 'host' Dimitar Dimitrov, our man in Brussels, in 2015. Previously, both funding and hosting were done by WMDE. · Official launch Wikimedia Belgium WMNL chairman Frans Grijzenhout, secretary André Engels and Executive Director Sandra Rientjes attended the official launch of Wikimedia Belgium in Brussels on November 19. WMNL and WMBE will be cooperating closely, both in development of activities and in providing support to the communities. *GOVERNANCE* · Board meeting The Board met on November 5. *UPCOMING EVENTS* · WMNL New Years Reception The annual WMNL New Years event will take place on January 17. This year, it is hosted by the Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid (Institute for Vision and Sound) · GLAM WIKI 2015 The international GLAM Wiki 2015 is on April 10-12. *OTHER EVENTS* Wikipedian in Residence Sandra Fauconnier organised a writing event on intercultural meetings in the framework of The Great Wikipedia Expedition on December 12. Sandra Rientjes Directeur/Executive Director Wikimedia Nederland tel. (+31) (0)30 3200238 mob. (+31) (0)6 31786379 www.wikimedia.nl *Postadres*: * Bezoekadres:* Postbus 167 Mariaplaats 3 3500 AD Utrecht Utrecht

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The Signpost -- Volume 11, Issue 3 -- 21 January 2015
by Wikipedia Signpost 22 Jan '15

22 Jan '15

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The Signpost -- Volume 11, Issue 1 -- 14 January 2015
by Wikipedia Signpost 16 Jan '15

16 Jan '15

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[PRESS RELEASE] Wikipedia receives the Erasmus Prize for collective achievement of its community
by Juliet Barbara 15 Jan '15

15 Jan '15

This press release is also available online here: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikipedia_receives_the_… *Wikipedia receives the Erasmus Prize for collective achievement of its community* - *Becomes the first collaborative community to receive the honor* The Praemium Erasmianum Foundation (Dutch <http://www.erasmusprijs.org/>, English <http://www.erasmusprijs.org/?lang=en>) in the Netherlands has announced that it will award the Erasmus Prize 2015 to Wikipedia and the Wikimedia community. The Erasmus Prize is one of Europe’s most distinguished recognitions, awarded annually to “a person or institution that has made an exceptional contribution to culture, society or social science.” “The Erasmus Prize has a wonderful history of recognizing people who contribute great things to our shared culture, and I am thrilled that Wikipedia now joins these ranks,” said Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia. “I am particularly pleased to note that this is the first time a really large community of people - and the millions of you who have built Wikipedia to date know who you are - has received this prestigious award.” The official announcement came from the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation on the same day that Wikipedia marks its 14th anniversary, today, January 15, 2015. This honor provides all the more reason to celebrate the remarkable community whose contributions have made Wikipedia the most comprehensive repository of free information in the history of humanity. “I can’t think of a better present for all of the tireless Wikipedia contributors around the world than to win the Erasmus Prize on our 14th birthday,” said Jan-Bart de Vreede, Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation’s Board of Trustees and a citizen of the Netherlands where the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation was founded. “I sincerely thank the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation for this great honor.” In presenting Wikipedia with the Erasmus Prize, the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation pointed to the massive contribution that volunteers all across the globe have made: “Wikipedia receives the prize because it has promoted the dissemination of knowledge through a comprehensive and universally accessible encyclopaedia. To achieve that, the initiators of Wikipedia have designed a new and effective democratic platform. The prize specifically recognises Wikipedia as a community — a shared project that involves tens of thousands of volunteers around the world.” “I am proud that Wikipedia is being recognized for the incredible collective impact it has had to date,” said Lila Tretikov, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. “As we look to the future of free knowledge, we will continue to be guided by the principles the Erasmus Prize today honors.” This honor is accompanied by an award of €150,000. In keeping with the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation’s intent to recognize the contributions of the Wikimedia community, the Wikimedia Foundation is redirecting these funds towards the Wikipedia community in the form of individual grants and other support for editors and contributors. *About the Wikimedia Foundation* - https://wikimediafoundation.org - https://blog.wikimedia.org/ The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia consists of more than 33.5 million articles in 287 languages. Every month, hundreds of thousands of active volunteers contribute to Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. According to comScore Media Metrix, the projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation receive 460 million unique visitors per month on desktop alone, making them one of the ten most popular web properties worldwide (October 2014). Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is an audited, 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants. *Wikimedia Foundation Press Contact* Katherine Maher - +1 415-839-6885 ext 6633 - katherine(a)wikimedia.org

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This Month in GLAM: December 2014
by The 'This Month in GLAM' team 11 Jan '15

11 Jan '15

*This Month in GLAM* is a monthly newsletter documenting recent happenings within the GLAM project, such as content donations, residencies, events and more. GLAM is an acronym of *G*alleries, *L*ibraries, *A*rchives and *M*useums. You can find more information on the project at glamwiki.org. *This Month in GLAM – Issue XII, Volume IV – December 2014* ------------------------------ Australia and New Zealand report: Trove in the encyclopedia http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter/December_2014/Contents/A… Germany report: Out now: GLAM on Tour film; Looking back: WMDE discussion rounds 2014 http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter/December_2014/Contents/G… Norway report: Seminar at the NTNU University Museum: uploading images to Wikimedia Commons http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter/December_2014/Contents/N… Spain report: Edith-a-thon about Spanish scientists in six museums http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter/December_2014/Contents/S… Sweden report: Central Museums and Glöggmingel http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter/December_2014/Contents/S… UK report: Going for Gold, map tagging and Histropedia http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter/December_2014/Contents/U… USA report: Wikipedia in New York City Update http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter/December_2014/Contents/U… Special story: Wikidata for cultural heritage http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter/December_2014/Contents/S… Open Access report: Wikidata for research; Open Access Media Importer rewritten; JATS-Con http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter/December_2014/Contents/O… Calendar: January's GLAM events http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter/December_2014/Contents/E… ------------------------------ Single page view http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter/December_2014/Single Twitter http://twitter.com/ThisMonthinGLAM Add your story / Work on the next edition http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter/Newsroom -- The *This Month in GLAM* team http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter

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Joining the WMF Communications team
by Fabrice Florin 07 Jan '15

07 Jan '15

Hi folks, I am happy to announce that I will be joining the Wikimedia Foundation's Communications team as Movement Communications Manager for a period of six months. I have really enjoyed my work as product manager at WMF in the past 3 years, leading the development of new tools like Notifications, Thanks, Beta Features, Media Viewer and other multimedia products [1]. One of the lessons I learned during that time is that 'better communications' are really important to make our movement more effective. I also think that growing a 'culture of kindness' is key if we want to engage a broader community [2]. I hope to support both of these goals in my new role. Starting this week, I will be working with the communications team on the Wikimedia blog and general WMF/movement communications. My focus for the blog will include improving contributor workflow for community members and WMF staff, and providing editorial guidance for contributors. I will also act as the main contact point for authors submitting new blog posts, and shepherd the publication process. Within movement communications, I will work to improve the availability, distribution, and timeliness of communications from the WMF to the broader community. I will also manage a range of movement communications tasks previously handled by Tilman Bayer, who is transitioning to the WMF Product team as Senior Analyst. One of my new duties is managing this WikimediaAnnounce-l list. Because this list gets so much spam, we manually review all submissions several times per day, until a reliable machine filter can be implemented. Please contact me if you have an urgent announcement that needs to go out immediately, or if you have any issues about this list. I’d like to thank all my colleagues on the multimedia and product teams -- as well as our many community champions -- for being such wonderful collaborators over the past few years. I am proud of what we accomplished together, and I hope that the features we created can help many more people share knowledge productively in years to come. Special thanks to Erik Moeller for his thoughtful guidance throughout the past three years -- and for making this transition possible. Kudos as well to Tilman for being such a wonderful coach and getting me up to speed on tasks he used to handle so efficiently. :) I'm delighted to take on this new assignment, and look forward to more collaborations with you all in the coming year. Onward! Fabrice Florin Movement Communications Manager Wikimedia Foundation [1] Fabrice's user page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Fabrice_Florin_(WMF) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Fabrice_Florin_(WMF)> [2] 'A Culture of Kindness' blog post: https://blog.wikimedia.org/2014/12/23/a-culture-of-kindness/ <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2014/12/23/a-culture-of-kindness/>

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Fwd: Tilman Bayer joins Product & Strategy Department
by Erik Moeller 07 Jan '15

07 Jan '15

FYI :) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Erik Moeller <erik(a)wikimedia.org> Date: Tue, Jan 6, 2015 at 1:50 PM Subject: Tilman Bayer joins Product & Strategy Department To: Staff All <wmfall(a)lists.wikimedia.org> Hi all, It’s my pleasure to announce that Tilman Bayer is joining the Foundation’s Product & Strategy department as Senior Analyst. I would like to thank Katherine Maher for supporting and helping to prepare this move from the Communications department. Tilman has been working with us since July 2011, and has been a Wikipedian since 2003. He is leading the development of the organization’s new quarterly report, and its integration with the quarterly review process. In his role in Communications, he has already coordinated our reports in their previous monthly format, and has kept detailed public minutes for the majority of quarterly reviews at WMF. He will continue to do so. He will ensure we not only continually refine and improve the quarterly goalsetting, review and reporting processes, but can also look for opportunities to highlight lessons learned - successes and failures - across the organization and the Wikimedia communities, so these can meaningfully inform our strategy. In addition, Tilman will bring his many years of experience as a volunteer and his insight into the many complexities and intricacies of the Wikimedia universe to bear with product-related research and analysis questions, supporting Product Managers and other team members as we dig into hard problems that benefit from his expertise, e.g. simplification of templates, translation tools, cross-wiki messaging tools, mathematics editing, etc. Tilman was previously responsible for many day-to-day communications responsibilities and supported or led key communications initiatives. These responsibilities will be transitioned to other Communications team members, including Fabrice Florin who is joining the team for 6 months (separate announcement to follow). Please join me in congratulating Tilman to this new role. Tilman - thank you for taking this on; I look forward to continuing our work together! Sincerely, Erik -- Erik Möller VP of Product & Strategy, Wikimedia Foundation -- Erik Möller VP of Product & Strategy, Wikimedia Foundation

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WikimediaAnnounce-l January 2015