[Foundation-l] Partecipation in Wikimania 2011

[Nathan]

On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 9:18 PM, Osama Khalid <osamak at gnu.org> wrote:
> My opinion is simple. Israel is not a good place to have such an
> international event as Wikimania. I wouldn't vote for Israel, Saudi
> Arabia, Iran, UAE and other countries that are hard for many people to
> get into. Having such a conversation isn't the point of Wikimania. The
> fact that a team is amazingly active shouldn't be a reason to make
> this annual, exciting and useful meeting so complicated and dangerous
> for so many people.
>

Several countries have had successful Wikimanias despite fraught
circumstances, like travel restrictions or geopolitical controversies.
Countries like Egypt, Taiwan, the United States, Israel, etc.
shouldn't be banned from hosting the Wikimedia movement because it may
be difficult for some Wikimedians to attend. No matter where it goes,
some people will have a hard time getting there. It's just an
inescapable fact. We shouldn't let "social considerations" (i.e. the
decision to not recognize Israel as a nation) prevent us from locating
Wikimania in the country of an active chapter with committed
organizers.

Nathan