Dear Wikimedia Kenya,
The annual Wikimedia Conference (a.k.a. Chapters' Meeting) will take place this year between 25-27 March in Berlin, Germany. The conference is a good opportunity for chapters to establish links with each other, share their stories and to learn from each other. This is also an opportunity to discuss some specific issues and challenges facing different chapters and in some cases the Wikimedia movement in general. Each year, existing chapters, promising chapters in formation, and select members of the Wikimedia Foundation Board and Staff are invited to attend the discussions, working groups and workshops at the conference dealing with issues like outreach, cultural partnerships, volunteer cultivation, organizational development, and any other topic the chapters feel relevant to tackle in a given year.
I'd like to personally extend an invitation to attend the 2011 conference and to offer my contact details for any queries you may have in connection to the conference.
The Wikimedia Kenya group is invited to nominate up to two members (likely future board members) to participate in the work of the meeting. Please register your representatives on the http://de.amiando.com/wmcon11chap.htmlsite (please use the code chap2011berlin to enter the site) by the end of next week (the earlier the better, especially if you need a visa or invitation letter).
If there is a question you can't answer yet, please just leave that field blank and send the answer later by email, or clarify the situation in an "other" field. Any information is better than no information. The organizers of the meeting are happy to help organize your travel and provide help in acquiring a visa, just tick the corresponding checkboxes on the registration form and let us know the necessary details.
Finally, I would also very much welcome your input on the programme of this years' Chapters meeting and I invite you to share your ideas on the brainstorming page we have set up for this purpose at http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Chapters_meeting_2011/Brainstorming.
If you have any questions, queries or concerns, please do contact me at my bence.damokos@wikimedia.de address or on GTalk at bdamokos@gmail.com.
Best regards,
Bence Damokos
Programme Coordinator,
Wikimedia Conference 2011