---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: phoebe ayers phoebe.wiki@gmail.com Date: 2009/5/7 Subject: [Foundation-l] wikimania 2010 announcement To: wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org, Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List < foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org>

Dear Wikimedia,

The Wikimania venue selection committee is pleased to announce that we have selected Gdańsk, Poland as the location for Wikimania 2010.

The three bids this year each had strong and weak points. The jury had a very difficult time deciding among them, a testament to the quality of the bids. Any of the three would have hosted a fine conference, and we thank the bid teams for their detailed presentations. The jury narrowed the field to Gdańsk and Amsterdam before making the final decision.

The most debated criteria were:

* Conference venue details * Location accessibility, cost, and budget * Accommodation options and simplicity * Opportunities for outreach * Local teamwork and planning

We were impressed by Gdańsk's organized team, roomy venue options, low cost for attendees, creative outing plans, and outreach potential to Eastern Europe.

A summary of our bid review is included below. Putting together a great Wikimania bid is a major undertaking, and we are grateful to all the bid teams for doing so with style.

With respect and thanks, Phoebe Ayers

On behalf of the Wikimania 2010 venue selection committee

Voting members:

Ting Chen Austin Hair Mohamed Ibrahim Samuel Klein Teemu Leinonen Delphine Ménard Frank Schulenburg

Non-voting advisors:

Sue Gardner Michael Snow

==Feedback points==

* Conference venue The Oxford Town Hall seemed suited to Wikimania, with no major drawbacks. Gdańsk's venue options were flexible and varied. We also appreciated Gdańsk's plans for social space, inside and out, on the island and at the venue. We were intrigued by the Tuschinski theater venue in Amsterdam, and appreciate that the theater's staff has experience organizing conferences, but we were concerned that there were few small rooms and flexible spaces, and no social spaces on site with after-hours access.

* Overall accessibility and cost Amsterdam was the most physically accessible bidding city for international attendees, due to being a major travel hub for many airlines. Gdańsk and Oxford were a bit less accessible, Oxford because of the transfer from Heathrow. Amsterdam's budget was high, even with its confirmed sponsorship. Oxford's was lowest, thanks to venue sponsorship, but lacked detail. It also had the highest cost of living and lodging for attendees. Gdańsk's budget was in between but included various services. The extra cost for travel for an attendee to Gdańsk was partly offset by the low cost of living and lodging.

* Accommodation Amsterdam's proposal for accommodation was superior in its combination of reasonable price and close location for a single hostel that most attendees could stay in. Gdańsk's hostel options were cheap but scattered. Oxford's dorm options were potentially close but expensive.

* Outreach Oxford and Amsterdam were considered to have good inherent options for global press and publicity, but neither proposal offered related details. Gdańsk offered good outreach to and from Eastern Europe, where Wikimedia projects are well known but the communities not as well to all of us, and engaged in the most press work over the course of the bid.

* Teamwork and planning The Gdańsk bid excelled in team planning, with a clear breakdown of team member roles and responsibilities in the bid and a separate public planning wiki. Oxford added something similar at the end of the bid period, but the overall bid was a bit less detailed than the others. The Amsterdam team was particularly responsive to questions, with a strong background in planning similar events, but lacked a detailed team organization plan. All teams had fine party plans, and Gdańsk had creative plans for conference activities and environmental issues.

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