Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Marc-Andre]

On 2016-07-06 04:49 PM, Pine W wrote:
If I'm understanding right, it appears that the pre-conference will be 
Wednesday and Thursday, since the main conference starts on Friday 
(August 11). Is that right?


That is correct.

I'd be willing to help with organizing pre-conference sessions and 
events. The conference committee is welcome to contact me off-list to 
discuss this further. (:


Wikimedia France has agreed to coordinate the programme construction, 
I'm certain they would welcome help!  (Though it may be premature, I 
don't yet know exactly how they will structure their work, you may want 
to make your interest in helping known).


-- Coren / Marc


___
Wikimania-l mailing list
Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Pine W]

If I'm understanding right, it appears that the pre-conference will be
Wednesday and Thursday, since the main conference starts on Friday (August
11). Is that right?

I'd be willing to help with organizing pre-conference sessions and events.
The conference committee is welcome to contact me off-list to discuss this
further. (:

Pine

On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 11:59 AM, Pharos 
wrote:

> The focus is much more on (inter)regional collaboration than on additional
> formal presentations, in any case.
>
> It sounds like logistically this may be easier during a preconference than
> postconference, but either would be suitable.
>
> Thanks,
> Pharos
>
> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 2:53 PM, Marc-Andre  wrote:
>
>> On 2016-07-06 02:35 PM, Lodewijk wrote:
>>
>>> Thinking out loud: what about doing it post-conference instead of
>>> pre-conference?
>>>
>>
>> There are unsurmountable issues with this, unless it takes place at some
>> other venue (mostly, that while it should be easy to add more space for use
>> during the allocated timerframe, extending the timeframe would be - at best
>> - expensive and more likely impossible).
>>
>> No doubt this should be considered before planning the next event though.
>>
>>
>> -- Coren / Marc
>>
>>
>> ___
>> Wikimania-l mailing list
>> Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
>>
>
>
> ___
> Wikimania-l mailing list
> Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
>
>
___
Wikimania-l mailing list
Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Pharos]

The focus is much more on (inter)regional collaboration than on additional
formal presentations, in any case.

It sounds like logistically this may be easier during a preconference than
postconference, but either would be suitable.

Thanks,
Pharos

On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 2:53 PM, Marc-Andre  wrote:

> On 2016-07-06 02:35 PM, Lodewijk wrote:
>
>> Thinking out loud: what about doing it post-conference instead of
>> pre-conference?
>>
>
> There are unsurmountable issues with this, unless it takes place at some
> other venue (mostly, that while it should be easy to add more space for use
> during the allocated timerframe, extending the timeframe would be - at best
> - expensive and more likely impossible).
>
> No doubt this should be considered before planning the next event though.
>
>
> -- Coren / Marc
>
>
> ___
> Wikimania-l mailing list
> Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
>
___
Wikimania-l mailing list
Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Marc-Andre]

Hey Pine,

On 2016-07-06 01:44 AM, Pine W wrote:
Those of us in the US have expressed a hope that WikiConference North 
America 2017 can be united with Wikimania 2017 in Montreal.


Like many others on the list, I'm not entirely clear on what you'd like 
to achieve?


Certainly, any topics that would have been welcome and appropriate at a 
the WikiConference would be welcome at Wikimania, with no need of 
distinct tracks?


Certainly, some meetings will have discussion topic that would be 
generally less interesting to an international audience; but then remain 
suitable for meetups.  (Speaking of which, there will be a lot of 
available space and time for both organized and impromptu meetings in 
Montreal that are self-organized by the participants; both BoF sessions 
that are organized in advance with scheduled time and places as well as 
space set aside for unconferency impromptu meetings).


That said, if you feel the need to avoid division of audience, we do 
have two full days of preconference during which it may be possible to 
make additional meeting space avaliable for a more "distinct" 
WikiConference?


-- Coren / Marc


___
Wikimania-l mailing list
Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Lodewijk]

Nathan, I don't object at all to any wikiconference. I just miss the point
of having North Americans present their projects away from the
international crowd, to only their fellow-north americans. If there is
something very particular that makes these talks unsuitable for people from
other continents, I'd really like to understand that better.

Like I said, I'm not aware of any such track or preconference in other
countries, with a few exceptions where language played a major role (I
think there was a Spanish track in both Buenos Aires and Mexico, and a
Hebrew (education?) track in Haifa). Also in an Asian context I'd have a
hard time imagining why you would make that so specific to that region -
except if it is really tied to language.

Best,
Lodewijk

2016-07-06 19:33 GMT+02:00 Nathan :

>
>
> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:30 PM, Lodewijk 
> wrote:
>
>> Still I wonder: what would be the kind of topics you'd like to schedule
>> there that you would /not/ want non-North Americans to participate in?
>>
>> Lodewijk
>>
>
> Lodewijk, would you object to an Asian or Indian Subcontinent
> Wikiconference that allowed people in similar geographic and cultural
> milieus to cooperate, share experiences and challenges and strengthen
> relationships? I doubt it, I'm not sure why a NA Wikiconference would be
> different.
>
> ___
> Wikimania-l mailing list
> Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
>
>
___
Wikimania-l mailing list
Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Pine W]

I think there could be at least a few sessions in French, during the North
American sessions and/or if there is a Francophone language track during
the pre-conference.

Similarly, there could be sessions in Spanish during North American and/or
Iberocoop pre-conference sessions.

Pine

On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 10:37 AM, Béria Lima  wrote:

> *Lodewijk said: Now I *do* see an added value for a French language
>> track... *
>>
>
> ​About that: There will be tracks in French? Quebec being a French
> speaking province and all... ​
>
>
> _
> *​Béria L​. de Rodríguez*
>
> *Imagine um mundo onde é dada a qualquer pessoa a possibilidade de ter
> livre acesso ao somatório de todo o conhecimento humano. Ajude-nos a
> construir esse sonho.*
>
> 2016-07-06 14:33 GMT-03:00 Pharos :
>
>> None! We'd want as many Europeans, Asians, Africans, and South Americans
>> as are interested to join the North American regional planning meetups.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Pharos
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:30 PM, Lodewijk 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Still I wonder: what would be the kind of topics you'd like to schedule
>>> there that you would /not/ want non-North Americans to participate in?
>>>
>>> Lodewijk
>>>
>>> 2016-07-06 19:28 GMT+02:00 Sydney Poore :
>>>
 As Pharos says, my understanding also from discussions was that North
 Americans were planning to have a pre-conference or post conference at
 Wikimanina 2017.

 Sydney

 Sydney Poore
 User:FloNight
 Wiki Project Med Foundation
 WikiWomen's User Group
 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sydney.e.poore


 On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:15 PM, Pharos 
 wrote:

> Yes, we were thinking more along the lines of an expanded
> preconference with greater regional opportunities, rather than a separate
> track during the actual Wikimania.
>
> Thanks,
> Pharos
>
> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:11 PM, phoebe ayers 
> wrote:
>
>> Or -- my favorite solution -- leaving LOTS of time in the schedule
>> for meetups and discussion tracks, so that all kinds of groups -- 
>> including
>> those interested specifically in North America-related issues (like
>> building a coalition of NA usergroups, planning future conferences, doing
>> NA-specific outreach or lobbying) can meet to discuss such things.
>>
>> We've had discussion time historically at most Wikimanias but I think
>> we can always leave more time in the schedule for this kind of meetup.
>> Additionally a preconference day could work too, when multiple thematic
>> tracks could be scheduled (lots of people have historically asked for
>> preconferences, not just the hackers -- everyone from researchers to
>> librarians to glam outreach coordinators to affiliates have considered it
>> in the past).
>>
>> (Of course, if I was in charge of the schedule I would probably get
>> rid of individual presentations altogether during Wikimania, and just 
>> have
>> panels/lightning talks/discussions. Best not to put me in charge of the
>> schedule! :)
>>
>> -- Phoebe
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:00 PM, Leila Zia 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Pine,
>>>
>>> Co-located events in conferences work well if the event that is
>>> co-located with the main conference attracts a new audience that the 
>>> main
>>> conference doesn't usually get by default. In the case of Wikimania and
>>> WikiConference North America, I can see a lot of overlap based on the 
>>> last
>>> couple of years' schedules. This will result in what Lodewijk is 
>>> concerned
>>> about: splitting the potential audience in smaller groups while they can
>>> benefit from getting in one room. Also, an already hard task of 
>>> scheduling
>>> events will become even harder: For example, we need to worry about not
>>> scheduling two GLAM events at the same time, one focusing on North 
>>> America
>>> and the other a general/global event.
>>>
>>> This being said, I understand that you want to be mindful of the
>>> cost and time spent for these conferences. My suggestion would be for 
>>> you
>>> to consider a 1-2 day event pre/post Wikimania focused on North America.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Leila
>>>
>>> Leila Zia
>>> Research Scientist
>>> Wikimedia Foundation
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:43 AM, Lodewijk <
>>> lodew...@effeietsanders.org> wrote:
>>>
 Hi Pine,

 Thanks for sharing your thought process. I can see why you identify
 a topical overlap between Wikimania in North America and the North 
 American
 WikiConference. I also see why those topics should be part 

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Béria Lima]

>
> *Lodewijk said: Now I *do* see an added value for a French language
> track... *
>

​About that: There will be tracks in French? Quebec being a French speaking
province and all... ​


_
*​Béria L​. de Rodríguez*

*Imagine um mundo onde é dada a qualquer pessoa a possibilidade de ter
livre acesso ao somatório de todo o conhecimento humano. Ajude-nos a
construir esse sonho.*

2016-07-06 14:33 GMT-03:00 Pharos :

> None! We'd want as many Europeans, Asians, Africans, and South Americans
> as are interested to join the North American regional planning meetups.
>
> Thanks,
> Pharos
>
> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:30 PM, Lodewijk 
> wrote:
>
>> Still I wonder: what would be the kind of topics you'd like to schedule
>> there that you would /not/ want non-North Americans to participate in?
>>
>> Lodewijk
>>
>> 2016-07-06 19:28 GMT+02:00 Sydney Poore :
>>
>>> As Pharos says, my understanding also from discussions was that North
>>> Americans were planning to have a pre-conference or post conference at
>>> Wikimanina 2017.
>>>
>>> Sydney
>>>
>>> Sydney Poore
>>> User:FloNight
>>> Wiki Project Med Foundation
>>> WikiWomen's User Group
>>> Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sydney.e.poore
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:15 PM, Pharos 
>>> wrote:
>>>
 Yes, we were thinking more along the lines of an expanded preconference
 with greater regional opportunities, rather than a separate track during
 the actual Wikimania.

 Thanks,
 Pharos

 On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:11 PM, phoebe ayers 
 wrote:

> Or -- my favorite solution -- leaving LOTS of time in the schedule for
> meetups and discussion tracks, so that all kinds of groups -- including
> those interested specifically in North America-related issues (like
> building a coalition of NA usergroups, planning future conferences, doing
> NA-specific outreach or lobbying) can meet to discuss such things.
>
> We've had discussion time historically at most Wikimanias but I think
> we can always leave more time in the schedule for this kind of meetup.
> Additionally a preconference day could work too, when multiple thematic
> tracks could be scheduled (lots of people have historically asked for
> preconferences, not just the hackers -- everyone from researchers to
> librarians to glam outreach coordinators to affiliates have considered it
> in the past).
>
> (Of course, if I was in charge of the schedule I would probably get
> rid of individual presentations altogether during Wikimania, and just have
> panels/lightning talks/discussions. Best not to put me in charge of the
> schedule! :)
>
> -- Phoebe
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:00 PM, Leila Zia  wrote:
>
>> Hi Pine,
>>
>> Co-located events in conferences work well if the event that is
>> co-located with the main conference attracts a new audience that the main
>> conference doesn't usually get by default. In the case of Wikimania and
>> WikiConference North America, I can see a lot of overlap based on the 
>> last
>> couple of years' schedules. This will result in what Lodewijk is 
>> concerned
>> about: splitting the potential audience in smaller groups while they can
>> benefit from getting in one room. Also, an already hard task of 
>> scheduling
>> events will become even harder: For example, we need to worry about not
>> scheduling two GLAM events at the same time, one focusing on North 
>> America
>> and the other a general/global event.
>>
>> This being said, I understand that you want to be mindful of the cost
>> and time spent for these conferences. My suggestion would be for you to
>> consider a 1-2 day event pre/post Wikimania focused on North America.
>>
>> Best,
>> Leila
>>
>> Leila Zia
>> Research Scientist
>> Wikimedia Foundation
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:43 AM, Lodewijk > > wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Pine,
>>>
>>> Thanks for sharing your thought process. I can see why you identify
>>> a topical overlap between Wikimania in North America and the North 
>>> American
>>> WikiConference. I also see why those topics should be part of the 
>>> programme
>>> at Wikimania - I don't expect much disagreement in that field. And 
>>> whatever
>>> you do, it will be.
>>>
>>> The question is, why would you want to organise it in a special
>>> 'track' beyond a grouping of similar topics - which seems overly formal 
>>> and
>>> separatist. There's an overlap between all topics that you mention, and 
>>> I
>>> wouldn't see either why there should be a 'legal track', 'glam track' 
>>> etc.
>>> Every 'regional 

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Nathan]

On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:30 PM, Lodewijk 
wrote:

> Still I wonder: what would be the kind of topics you'd like to schedule
> there that you would /not/ want non-North Americans to participate in?
>
> Lodewijk
>

Lodewijk, would you object to an Asian or Indian Subcontinent
Wikiconference that allowed people in similar geographic and cultural
milieus to cooperate, share experiences and challenges and strengthen
relationships? I doubt it, I'm not sure why a NA Wikiconference would be
different.
___
Wikimania-l mailing list
Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Pharos]

None! We'd want as many Europeans, Asians, Africans, and South Americans as
are interested to join the North American regional planning meetups.

Thanks,
Pharos

On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:30 PM, Lodewijk 
wrote:

> Still I wonder: what would be the kind of topics you'd like to schedule
> there that you would /not/ want non-North Americans to participate in?
>
> Lodewijk
>
> 2016-07-06 19:28 GMT+02:00 Sydney Poore :
>
>> As Pharos says, my understanding also from discussions was that North
>> Americans were planning to have a pre-conference or post conference at
>> Wikimanina 2017.
>>
>> Sydney
>>
>> Sydney Poore
>> User:FloNight
>> Wiki Project Med Foundation
>> WikiWomen's User Group
>> Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sydney.e.poore
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:15 PM, Pharos 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Yes, we were thinking more along the lines of an expanded preconference
>>> with greater regional opportunities, rather than a separate track during
>>> the actual Wikimania.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Pharos
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:11 PM, phoebe ayers 
>>> wrote:
>>>
 Or -- my favorite solution -- leaving LOTS of time in the schedule for
 meetups and discussion tracks, so that all kinds of groups -- including
 those interested specifically in North America-related issues (like
 building a coalition of NA usergroups, planning future conferences, doing
 NA-specific outreach or lobbying) can meet to discuss such things.

 We've had discussion time historically at most Wikimanias but I think
 we can always leave more time in the schedule for this kind of meetup.
 Additionally a preconference day could work too, when multiple thematic
 tracks could be scheduled (lots of people have historically asked for
 preconferences, not just the hackers -- everyone from researchers to
 librarians to glam outreach coordinators to affiliates have considered it
 in the past).

 (Of course, if I was in charge of the schedule I would probably get rid
 of individual presentations altogether during Wikimania, and just have
 panels/lightning talks/discussions. Best not to put me in charge of the
 schedule! :)

 -- Phoebe


 On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:00 PM, Leila Zia  wrote:

> Hi Pine,
>
> Co-located events in conferences work well if the event that is
> co-located with the main conference attracts a new audience that the main
> conference doesn't usually get by default. In the case of Wikimania and
> WikiConference North America, I can see a lot of overlap based on the last
> couple of years' schedules. This will result in what Lodewijk is concerned
> about: splitting the potential audience in smaller groups while they can
> benefit from getting in one room. Also, an already hard task of scheduling
> events will become even harder: For example, we need to worry about not
> scheduling two GLAM events at the same time, one focusing on North America
> and the other a general/global event.
>
> This being said, I understand that you want to be mindful of the cost
> and time spent for these conferences. My suggestion would be for you to
> consider a 1-2 day event pre/post Wikimania focused on North America.
>
> Best,
> Leila
>
> Leila Zia
> Research Scientist
> Wikimedia Foundation
>
> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:43 AM, Lodewijk 
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Pine,
>>
>> Thanks for sharing your thought process. I can see why you identify a
>> topical overlap between Wikimania in North America and the North American
>> WikiConference. I also see why those topics should be part of the 
>> programme
>> at Wikimania - I don't expect much disagreement in that field. And 
>> whatever
>> you do, it will be.
>>
>> The question is, why would you want to organise it in a special
>> 'track' beyond a grouping of similar topics - which seems overly formal 
>> and
>> separatist. There's an overlap between all topics that you mention, and I
>> wouldn't see either why there should be a 'legal track', 'glam track' 
>> etc.
>> Every 'regional topic' will likely also fall under Nature, Glam,
>> Technology, Law, Education or one of the other topical groupings.
>>
>> Having a 'track' in a formal way, is much more heavy than grouping
>> topics that are related, together. To me it would suggest that 1) North
>> Americans can't learn from projects from elsewhere (I think the opposite 
>> is
>> true) and 2) Non-North Americans should not attend those presentations
>> (which I also think would be quite untrue).
>>
>> The question is what you're trying to accomplish. I would be a fan of
>> rather mingling 

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Lodewijk]

Still I wonder: what would be the kind of topics you'd like to schedule
there that you would /not/ want non-North Americans to participate in?

Lodewijk

2016-07-06 19:28 GMT+02:00 Sydney Poore :

> As Pharos says, my understanding also from discussions was that North
> Americans were planning to have a pre-conference or post conference at
> Wikimanina 2017.
>
> Sydney
>
> Sydney Poore
> User:FloNight
> Wiki Project Med Foundation
> WikiWomen's User Group
> Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sydney.e.poore
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:15 PM, Pharos 
> wrote:
>
>> Yes, we were thinking more along the lines of an expanded preconference
>> with greater regional opportunities, rather than a separate track during
>> the actual Wikimania.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Pharos
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:11 PM, phoebe ayers 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Or -- my favorite solution -- leaving LOTS of time in the schedule for
>>> meetups and discussion tracks, so that all kinds of groups -- including
>>> those interested specifically in North America-related issues (like
>>> building a coalition of NA usergroups, planning future conferences, doing
>>> NA-specific outreach or lobbying) can meet to discuss such things.
>>>
>>> We've had discussion time historically at most Wikimanias but I think we
>>> can always leave more time in the schedule for this kind of meetup.
>>> Additionally a preconference day could work too, when multiple thematic
>>> tracks could be scheduled (lots of people have historically asked for
>>> preconferences, not just the hackers -- everyone from researchers to
>>> librarians to glam outreach coordinators to affiliates have considered it
>>> in the past).
>>>
>>> (Of course, if I was in charge of the schedule I would probably get rid
>>> of individual presentations altogether during Wikimania, and just have
>>> panels/lightning talks/discussions. Best not to put me in charge of the
>>> schedule! :)
>>>
>>> -- Phoebe
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:00 PM, Leila Zia  wrote:
>>>
 Hi Pine,

 Co-located events in conferences work well if the event that is
 co-located with the main conference attracts a new audience that the main
 conference doesn't usually get by default. In the case of Wikimania and
 WikiConference North America, I can see a lot of overlap based on the last
 couple of years' schedules. This will result in what Lodewijk is concerned
 about: splitting the potential audience in smaller groups while they can
 benefit from getting in one room. Also, an already hard task of scheduling
 events will become even harder: For example, we need to worry about not
 scheduling two GLAM events at the same time, one focusing on North America
 and the other a general/global event.

 This being said, I understand that you want to be mindful of the cost
 and time spent for these conferences. My suggestion would be for you to
 consider a 1-2 day event pre/post Wikimania focused on North America.

 Best,
 Leila

 Leila Zia
 Research Scientist
 Wikimedia Foundation

 On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:43 AM, Lodewijk 
 wrote:

> Hi Pine,
>
> Thanks for sharing your thought process. I can see why you identify a
> topical overlap between Wikimania in North America and the North American
> WikiConference. I also see why those topics should be part of the 
> programme
> at Wikimania - I don't expect much disagreement in that field. And 
> whatever
> you do, it will be.
>
> The question is, why would you want to organise it in a special
> 'track' beyond a grouping of similar topics - which seems overly formal 
> and
> separatist. There's an overlap between all topics that you mention, and I
> wouldn't see either why there should be a 'legal track', 'glam track' etc.
> Every 'regional topic' will likely also fall under Nature, Glam,
> Technology, Law, Education or one of the other topical groupings.
>
> Having a 'track' in a formal way, is much more heavy than grouping
> topics that are related, together. To me it would suggest that 1) North
> Americans can't learn from projects from elsewhere (I think the opposite 
> is
> true) and 2) Non-North Americans should not attend those presentations
> (which I also think would be quite untrue).
>
> The question is what you're trying to accomplish. I would be a fan of
> rather mingling geographies, rather than separating them out, unless you
> have a strong reason to do otherwise. It makes more sense to me to have
> three presentations about education grouped together where they come from
> different regions, with different approaches than to have three
> presentations about North America on a variety of topics grouped together.
> I 

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Sydney Poore]

As Pharos says, my understanding also from discussions was that North
Americans were planning to have a pre-conference or post conference at
Wikimanina 2017.

Sydney

Sydney Poore
User:FloNight
Wiki Project Med Foundation
WikiWomen's User Group
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sydney.e.poore


On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:15 PM, Pharos  wrote:

> Yes, we were thinking more along the lines of an expanded preconference
> with greater regional opportunities, rather than a separate track during
> the actual Wikimania.
>
> Thanks,
> Pharos
>
> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:11 PM, phoebe ayers 
> wrote:
>
>> Or -- my favorite solution -- leaving LOTS of time in the schedule for
>> meetups and discussion tracks, so that all kinds of groups -- including
>> those interested specifically in North America-related issues (like
>> building a coalition of NA usergroups, planning future conferences, doing
>> NA-specific outreach or lobbying) can meet to discuss such things.
>>
>> We've had discussion time historically at most Wikimanias but I think we
>> can always leave more time in the schedule for this kind of meetup.
>> Additionally a preconference day could work too, when multiple thematic
>> tracks could be scheduled (lots of people have historically asked for
>> preconferences, not just the hackers -- everyone from researchers to
>> librarians to glam outreach coordinators to affiliates have considered it
>> in the past).
>>
>> (Of course, if I was in charge of the schedule I would probably get rid
>> of individual presentations altogether during Wikimania, and just have
>> panels/lightning talks/discussions. Best not to put me in charge of the
>> schedule! :)
>>
>> -- Phoebe
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:00 PM, Leila Zia  wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Pine,
>>>
>>> Co-located events in conferences work well if the event that is
>>> co-located with the main conference attracts a new audience that the main
>>> conference doesn't usually get by default. In the case of Wikimania and
>>> WikiConference North America, I can see a lot of overlap based on the last
>>> couple of years' schedules. This will result in what Lodewijk is concerned
>>> about: splitting the potential audience in smaller groups while they can
>>> benefit from getting in one room. Also, an already hard task of scheduling
>>> events will become even harder: For example, we need to worry about not
>>> scheduling two GLAM events at the same time, one focusing on North America
>>> and the other a general/global event.
>>>
>>> This being said, I understand that you want to be mindful of the cost
>>> and time spent for these conferences. My suggestion would be for you to
>>> consider a 1-2 day event pre/post Wikimania focused on North America.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Leila
>>>
>>> Leila Zia
>>> Research Scientist
>>> Wikimedia Foundation
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:43 AM, Lodewijk 
>>> wrote:
>>>
 Hi Pine,

 Thanks for sharing your thought process. I can see why you identify a
 topical overlap between Wikimania in North America and the North American
 WikiConference. I also see why those topics should be part of the programme
 at Wikimania - I don't expect much disagreement in that field. And whatever
 you do, it will be.

 The question is, why would you want to organise it in a special 'track'
 beyond a grouping of similar topics - which seems overly formal and
 separatist. There's an overlap between all topics that you mention, and I
 wouldn't see either why there should be a 'legal track', 'glam track' etc.
 Every 'regional topic' will likely also fall under Nature, Glam,
 Technology, Law, Education or one of the other topical groupings.

 Having a 'track' in a formal way, is much more heavy than grouping
 topics that are related, together. To me it would suggest that 1) North
 Americans can't learn from projects from elsewhere (I think the opposite is
 true) and 2) Non-North Americans should not attend those presentations
 (which I also think would be quite untrue).

 The question is what you're trying to accomplish. I would be a fan of
 rather mingling geographies, rather than separating them out, unless you
 have a strong reason to do otherwise. It makes more sense to me to have
 three presentations about education grouped together where they come from
 different regions, with different approaches than to have three
 presentations about North America on a variety of topics grouped together.
 I would find it even more odd to have a whole track dedicated to a region -
 and it would be without precedent (I think).

 Best,
 Lodewijk

 2016-07-06 9:06 GMT+02:00 Pine W :

> I'm fine with multiple language tracks (most likely including French
> and Spanish).
>
> The reason for a geographic track 

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Pine W]

I like the preconference idea. If there's enough space in the venue (and I
imagine that there will be), there could also be time and space set aside
for other regions/language groups to have tracks during the preconference
as well. I have the impression that regional/language meetups are a subject
of considerable interest from many Wikimedians.

Pine

On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 10:15 AM, Pharos 
wrote:

> Yes, we were thinking more along the lines of an expanded preconference
> with greater regional opportunities, rather than a separate track during
> the actual Wikimania.
>
> Thanks,
> Pharos
>
> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:11 PM, phoebe ayers 
> wrote:
>
>> Or -- my favorite solution -- leaving LOTS of time in the schedule for
>> meetups and discussion tracks, so that all kinds of groups -- including
>> those interested specifically in North America-related issues (like
>> building a coalition of NA usergroups, planning future conferences, doing
>> NA-specific outreach or lobbying) can meet to discuss such things.
>>
>> We've had discussion time historically at most Wikimanias but I think we
>> can always leave more time in the schedule for this kind of meetup.
>> Additionally a preconference day could work too, when multiple thematic
>> tracks could be scheduled (lots of people have historically asked for
>> preconferences, not just the hackers -- everyone from researchers to
>> librarians to glam outreach coordinators to affiliates have considered it
>> in the past).
>>
>> (Of course, if I was in charge of the schedule I would probably get rid
>> of individual presentations altogether during Wikimania, and just have
>> panels/lightning talks/discussions. Best not to put me in charge of the
>> schedule! :)
>>
>> -- Phoebe
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:00 PM, Leila Zia  wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Pine,
>>>
>>> Co-located events in conferences work well if the event that is
>>> co-located with the main conference attracts a new audience that the main
>>> conference doesn't usually get by default. In the case of Wikimania and
>>> WikiConference North America, I can see a lot of overlap based on the last
>>> couple of years' schedules. This will result in what Lodewijk is concerned
>>> about: splitting the potential audience in smaller groups while they can
>>> benefit from getting in one room. Also, an already hard task of scheduling
>>> events will become even harder: For example, we need to worry about not
>>> scheduling two GLAM events at the same time, one focusing on North America
>>> and the other a general/global event.
>>>
>>> This being said, I understand that you want to be mindful of the cost
>>> and time spent for these conferences. My suggestion would be for you to
>>> consider a 1-2 day event pre/post Wikimania focused on North America.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Leila
>>>
>>> Leila Zia
>>> Research Scientist
>>> Wikimedia Foundation
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:43 AM, Lodewijk 
>>> wrote:
>>>
 Hi Pine,

 Thanks for sharing your thought process. I can see why you identify a
 topical overlap between Wikimania in North America and the North American
 WikiConference. I also see why those topics should be part of the programme
 at Wikimania - I don't expect much disagreement in that field. And whatever
 you do, it will be.

 The question is, why would you want to organise it in a special 'track'
 beyond a grouping of similar topics - which seems overly formal and
 separatist. There's an overlap between all topics that you mention, and I
 wouldn't see either why there should be a 'legal track', 'glam track' etc.
 Every 'regional topic' will likely also fall under Nature, Glam,
 Technology, Law, Education or one of the other topical groupings.

 Having a 'track' in a formal way, is much more heavy than grouping
 topics that are related, together. To me it would suggest that 1) North
 Americans can't learn from projects from elsewhere (I think the opposite is
 true) and 2) Non-North Americans should not attend those presentations
 (which I also think would be quite untrue).

 The question is what you're trying to accomplish. I would be a fan of
 rather mingling geographies, rather than separating them out, unless you
 have a strong reason to do otherwise. It makes more sense to me to have
 three presentations about education grouped together where they come from
 different regions, with different approaches than to have three
 presentations about North America on a variety of topics grouped together.
 I would find it even more odd to have a whole track dedicated to a region -
 and it would be without precedent (I think).

 Best,
 Lodewijk

 2016-07-06 9:06 GMT+02:00 Pine W :

> I'm fine with multiple language tracks (most likely including French
> 

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Pharos]

Yes, we were thinking more along the lines of an expanded preconference
with greater regional opportunities, rather than a separate track during
the actual Wikimania.

Thanks,
Pharos

On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:11 PM, phoebe ayers  wrote:

> Or -- my favorite solution -- leaving LOTS of time in the schedule for
> meetups and discussion tracks, so that all kinds of groups -- including
> those interested specifically in North America-related issues (like
> building a coalition of NA usergroups, planning future conferences, doing
> NA-specific outreach or lobbying) can meet to discuss such things.
>
> We've had discussion time historically at most Wikimanias but I think we
> can always leave more time in the schedule for this kind of meetup.
> Additionally a preconference day could work too, when multiple thematic
> tracks could be scheduled (lots of people have historically asked for
> preconferences, not just the hackers -- everyone from researchers to
> librarians to glam outreach coordinators to affiliates have considered it
> in the past).
>
> (Of course, if I was in charge of the schedule I would probably get rid of
> individual presentations altogether during Wikimania, and just have
> panels/lightning talks/discussions. Best not to put me in charge of the
> schedule! :)
>
> -- Phoebe
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:00 PM, Leila Zia  wrote:
>
>> Hi Pine,
>>
>> Co-located events in conferences work well if the event that is
>> co-located with the main conference attracts a new audience that the main
>> conference doesn't usually get by default. In the case of Wikimania and
>> WikiConference North America, I can see a lot of overlap based on the last
>> couple of years' schedules. This will result in what Lodewijk is concerned
>> about: splitting the potential audience in smaller groups while they can
>> benefit from getting in one room. Also, an already hard task of scheduling
>> events will become even harder: For example, we need to worry about not
>> scheduling two GLAM events at the same time, one focusing on North America
>> and the other a general/global event.
>>
>> This being said, I understand that you want to be mindful of the cost and
>> time spent for these conferences. My suggestion would be for you to
>> consider a 1-2 day event pre/post Wikimania focused on North America.
>>
>> Best,
>> Leila
>>
>> Leila Zia
>> Research Scientist
>> Wikimedia Foundation
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:43 AM, Lodewijk 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Pine,
>>>
>>> Thanks for sharing your thought process. I can see why you identify a
>>> topical overlap between Wikimania in North America and the North American
>>> WikiConference. I also see why those topics should be part of the programme
>>> at Wikimania - I don't expect much disagreement in that field. And whatever
>>> you do, it will be.
>>>
>>> The question is, why would you want to organise it in a special 'track'
>>> beyond a grouping of similar topics - which seems overly formal and
>>> separatist. There's an overlap between all topics that you mention, and I
>>> wouldn't see either why there should be a 'legal track', 'glam track' etc.
>>> Every 'regional topic' will likely also fall under Nature, Glam,
>>> Technology, Law, Education or one of the other topical groupings.
>>>
>>> Having a 'track' in a formal way, is much more heavy than grouping
>>> topics that are related, together. To me it would suggest that 1) North
>>> Americans can't learn from projects from elsewhere (I think the opposite is
>>> true) and 2) Non-North Americans should not attend those presentations
>>> (which I also think would be quite untrue).
>>>
>>> The question is what you're trying to accomplish. I would be a fan of
>>> rather mingling geographies, rather than separating them out, unless you
>>> have a strong reason to do otherwise. It makes more sense to me to have
>>> three presentations about education grouped together where they come from
>>> different regions, with different approaches than to have three
>>> presentations about North America on a variety of topics grouped together.
>>> I would find it even more odd to have a whole track dedicated to a region -
>>> and it would be without precedent (I think).
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Lodewijk
>>>
>>> 2016-07-06 9:06 GMT+02:00 Pine W :
>>>
 I'm fine with multiple language tracks (most likely including French
 and Spanish).

 The reason for a geographic track (in this case, North America) is that
 otherwise we'd be having a separate conference that served this purpose.
 I'm sure that many of us in North America will want to attend tracks on
 subjects other than geographic interest (technology, research, GLAM, STEM,
 law, education, outreach, community health, and governance come to mind),
 so there will be substantial benefit in effectively co-locating the
 conferences. My guess is that this can be done in 

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[phoebe ayers]

Or -- my favorite solution -- leaving LOTS of time in the schedule for
meetups and discussion tracks, so that all kinds of groups -- including
those interested specifically in North America-related issues (like
building a coalition of NA usergroups, planning future conferences, doing
NA-specific outreach or lobbying) can meet to discuss such things.

We've had discussion time historically at most Wikimanias but I think we
can always leave more time in the schedule for this kind of meetup.
Additionally a preconference day could work too, when multiple thematic
tracks could be scheduled (lots of people have historically asked for
preconferences, not just the hackers -- everyone from researchers to
librarians to glam outreach coordinators to affiliates have considered it
in the past).

(Of course, if I was in charge of the schedule I would probably get rid of
individual presentations altogether during Wikimania, and just have
panels/lightning talks/discussions. Best not to put me in charge of the
schedule! :)

-- Phoebe


On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:00 PM, Leila Zia  wrote:

> Hi Pine,
>
> Co-located events in conferences work well if the event that is co-located
> with the main conference attracts a new audience that the main conference
> doesn't usually get by default. In the case of Wikimania and WikiConference
> North America, I can see a lot of overlap based on the last couple of
> years' schedules. This will result in what Lodewijk is concerned about:
> splitting the potential audience in smaller groups while they can benefit
> from getting in one room. Also, an already hard task of scheduling events
> will become even harder: For example, we need to worry about not scheduling
> two GLAM events at the same time, one focusing on North America and the
> other a general/global event.
>
> This being said, I understand that you want to be mindful of the cost and
> time spent for these conferences. My suggestion would be for you to
> consider a 1-2 day event pre/post Wikimania focused on North America.
>
> Best,
> Leila
>
> Leila Zia
> Research Scientist
> Wikimedia Foundation
>
> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 1:43 AM, Lodewijk 
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Pine,
>>
>> Thanks for sharing your thought process. I can see why you identify a
>> topical overlap between Wikimania in North America and the North American
>> WikiConference. I also see why those topics should be part of the programme
>> at Wikimania - I don't expect much disagreement in that field. And whatever
>> you do, it will be.
>>
>> The question is, why would you want to organise it in a special 'track'
>> beyond a grouping of similar topics - which seems overly formal and
>> separatist. There's an overlap between all topics that you mention, and I
>> wouldn't see either why there should be a 'legal track', 'glam track' etc.
>> Every 'regional topic' will likely also fall under Nature, Glam,
>> Technology, Law, Education or one of the other topical groupings.
>>
>> Having a 'track' in a formal way, is much more heavy than grouping topics
>> that are related, together. To me it would suggest that 1) North Americans
>> can't learn from projects from elsewhere (I think the opposite is true) and
>> 2) Non-North Americans should not attend those presentations (which I also
>> think would be quite untrue).
>>
>> The question is what you're trying to accomplish. I would be a fan of
>> rather mingling geographies, rather than separating them out, unless you
>> have a strong reason to do otherwise. It makes more sense to me to have
>> three presentations about education grouped together where they come from
>> different regions, with different approaches than to have three
>> presentations about North America on a variety of topics grouped together.
>> I would find it even more odd to have a whole track dedicated to a region -
>> and it would be without precedent (I think).
>>
>> Best,
>> Lodewijk
>>
>> 2016-07-06 9:06 GMT+02:00 Pine W :
>>
>>> I'm fine with multiple language tracks (most likely including French and
>>> Spanish).
>>>
>>> The reason for a geographic track (in this case, North America) is that
>>> otherwise we'd be having a separate conference that served this purpose.
>>> I'm sure that many of us in North America will want to attend tracks on
>>> subjects other than geographic interest (technology, research, GLAM, STEM,
>>> law, education, outreach, community health, and governance come to mind),
>>> so there will be substantial benefit in effectively co-locating the
>>> conferences. My guess is that this can be done in a way that is a net
>>> positive for all. For example, the scholarship budget that would otherwise
>>> be requested for a separate WikiConference North America 2017 could instead
>>> be used to facilitate increased attendance by North Americans in Montreal,
>>> which I think would have the benefit of increasing attendance at Wikimania,
>>> and at the same time we would 

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Lodewijk]

Hi Pine,

Thanks for sharing your thought process. I can see why you identify a
topical overlap between Wikimania in North America and the North American
WikiConference. I also see why those topics should be part of the programme
at Wikimania - I don't expect much disagreement in that field. And whatever
you do, it will be.

The question is, why would you want to organise it in a special 'track'
beyond a grouping of similar topics - which seems overly formal and
separatist. There's an overlap between all topics that you mention, and I
wouldn't see either why there should be a 'legal track', 'glam track' etc.
Every 'regional topic' will likely also fall under Nature, Glam,
Technology, Law, Education or one of the other topical groupings.

Having a 'track' in a formal way, is much more heavy than grouping topics
that are related, together. To me it would suggest that 1) North Americans
can't learn from projects from elsewhere (I think the opposite is true) and
2) Non-North Americans should not attend those presentations (which I also
think would be quite untrue).

The question is what you're trying to accomplish. I would be a fan of
rather mingling geographies, rather than separating them out, unless you
have a strong reason to do otherwise. It makes more sense to me to have
three presentations about education grouped together where they come from
different regions, with different approaches than to have three
presentations about North America on a variety of topics grouped together.
I would find it even more odd to have a whole track dedicated to a region -
and it would be without precedent (I think).

Best,
Lodewijk

2016-07-06 9:06 GMT+02:00 Pine W :

> I'm fine with multiple language tracks (most likely including French and
> Spanish).
>
> The reason for a geographic track (in this case, North America) is that
> otherwise we'd be having a separate conference that served this purpose.
> I'm sure that many of us in North America will want to attend tracks on
> subjects other than geographic interest (technology, research, GLAM, STEM,
> law, education, outreach, community health, and governance come to mind),
> so there will be substantial benefit in effectively co-locating the
> conferences. My guess is that this can be done in a way that is a net
> positive for all. For example, the scholarship budget that would otherwise
> be requested for a separate WikiConference North America 2017 could instead
> be used to facilitate increased attendance by North Americans in Montreal,
> which I think would have the benefit of increasing attendance at Wikimania,
> and at the same time we would eliminate the need to find a time and venue
> for a separate conference with separate expenses.
>
> Pine
> On Jul 5, 2016 23:36, "Lodewijk"  wrote:
>
>> Hey pine,
>>
>> As most people will be able to confirm, having a bigger presence of
>> regional topics is likely to happen anyway in any Wikimania. When Wikimania
>> is in Asia, you'll see more Asian speakers, and when it's in Europe, more
>> Europeans.
>>
>> Separate and successful tracks have been organised before, to the best of
>> my knowledge, in three ways: 1) language tracks - which were separate for
>> very practical reasons (translations). 2) type-of-session tracks - which
>> again are very practical (different needs for a discussion than for a
>> presentation) and 3) A thematic track - but that was often organised like a
>> type of side conference (with the US govt in 2012, with WikiSym and the
>> hackathon).
>>
>> To be honest, I don't see right away why 'North American regional and
>> local subjects' would require such track and even more why it would require
>> a special committee. It will find its way in the programme, and it's not
>> like non-Americans won't enjoy those topics per se. Why try to separate it
>> from the rest of the programme? In general I'm no big fan of splitting up
>> the programme into smaller pieces too much - it leaves too much opportunity
>> for good proposals to fall between the cracks and get lost. And it gets
>> confusing easily to the participants.
>>
>> Now I *do* see an added value for a French language track... but I guess
>> that'll be of little use to you.
>>
>> Best,
>> Lodewijk
>>
>> 2016-07-06 7:44 GMT+02:00 Pine W :
>>
>>> Hi Wikimania folks (Ellie and the Montreal organizers in particular),
>>>
>>> Those of us in the US have expressed a hope that WikiConference North
>>> America 2017 can be united with Wikimania 2017 in Montreal. This would
>>> likely lead to economies of scale and reduced total cost, in terms of both
>>> time and money, for what would otherwise be separate conferences.
>>>
>>> I would like to ask if WMF and the Montreal organizers would be willing
>>> and able to have some tracks at that conference dedicated to North American
>>> regional and local subjects, perhaps coordinated by a dedicated North
>>> America program committee. I foresee 

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Pine W]

I'm fine with multiple language tracks (most likely including French and
Spanish).

The reason for a geographic track (in this case, North America) is that
otherwise we'd be having a separate conference that served this purpose.
I'm sure that many of us in North America will want to attend tracks on
subjects other than geographic interest (technology, research, GLAM, STEM,
law, education, outreach, community health, and governance come to mind),
so there will be substantial benefit in effectively co-locating the
conferences. My guess is that this can be done in a way that is a net
positive for all. For example, the scholarship budget that would otherwise
be requested for a separate WikiConference North America 2017 could instead
be used to facilitate increased attendance by North Americans in Montreal,
which I think would have the benefit of increasing attendance at Wikimania,
and at the same time we would eliminate the need to find a time and venue
for a separate conference with separate expenses.

Pine
On Jul 5, 2016 23:36, "Lodewijk"  wrote:

> Hey pine,
>
> As most people will be able to confirm, having a bigger presence of
> regional topics is likely to happen anyway in any Wikimania. When Wikimania
> is in Asia, you'll see more Asian speakers, and when it's in Europe, more
> Europeans.
>
> Separate and successful tracks have been organised before, to the best of
> my knowledge, in three ways: 1) language tracks - which were separate for
> very practical reasons (translations). 2) type-of-session tracks - which
> again are very practical (different needs for a discussion than for a
> presentation) and 3) A thematic track - but that was often organised like a
> type of side conference (with the US govt in 2012, with WikiSym and the
> hackathon).
>
> To be honest, I don't see right away why 'North American regional and
> local subjects' would require such track and even more why it would require
> a special committee. It will find its way in the programme, and it's not
> like non-Americans won't enjoy those topics per se. Why try to separate it
> from the rest of the programme? In general I'm no big fan of splitting up
> the programme into smaller pieces too much - it leaves too much opportunity
> for good proposals to fall between the cracks and get lost. And it gets
> confusing easily to the participants.
>
> Now I *do* see an added value for a French language track... but I guess
> that'll be of little use to you.
>
> Best,
> Lodewijk
>
> 2016-07-06 7:44 GMT+02:00 Pine W :
>
>> Hi Wikimania folks (Ellie and the Montreal organizers in particular),
>>
>> Those of us in the US have expressed a hope that WikiConference North
>> America 2017 can be united with Wikimania 2017 in Montreal. This would
>> likely lead to economies of scale and reduced total cost, in terms of both
>> time and money, for what would otherwise be separate conferences.
>>
>> I would like to ask if WMF and the Montreal organizers would be willing
>> and able to have some tracks at that conference dedicated to North American
>> regional and local subjects, perhaps coordinated by a dedicated North
>> America program committee. I foresee a modest increase in attendance at
>> Wikimania 2017, and decreases in personal and WMF costs, if we can make
>> what would otherwise be separate conferences happen harmoniously.
>>
>> Thanks, and I hope to see you in Montreal next year.
>>
>> Pine
>>
>> ___
>> Wikimania-l mailing list
>> Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
>>
>>
>
> ___
> Wikimania-l mailing list
> Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
>
>
___
Wikimania-l mailing list
Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l

Re: [Wikimania-l] Planning for North America track at Wikimania 2017

[Lodewijk]

Hey pine,

As most people will be able to confirm, having a bigger presence of
regional topics is likely to happen anyway in any Wikimania. When Wikimania
is in Asia, you'll see more Asian speakers, and when it's in Europe, more
Europeans.

Separate and successful tracks have been organised before, to the best of
my knowledge, in three ways: 1) language tracks - which were separate for
very practical reasons (translations). 2) type-of-session tracks - which
again are very practical (different needs for a discussion than for a
presentation) and 3) A thematic track - but that was often organised like a
type of side conference (with the US govt in 2012, with WikiSym and the
hackathon).

To be honest, I don't see right away why 'North American regional and local
subjects' would require such track and even more why it would require a
special committee. It will find its way in the programme, and it's not like
non-Americans won't enjoy those topics per se. Why try to separate it from
the rest of the programme? In general I'm no big fan of splitting up the
programme into smaller pieces too much - it leaves too much opportunity for
good proposals to fall between the cracks and get lost. And it gets
confusing easily to the participants.

Now I *do* see an added value for a French language track... but I guess
that'll be of little use to you.

Best,
Lodewijk

2016-07-06 7:44 GMT+02:00 Pine W :

> Hi Wikimania folks (Ellie and the Montreal organizers in particular),
>
> Those of us in the US have expressed a hope that WikiConference North
> America 2017 can be united with Wikimania 2017 in Montreal. This would
> likely lead to economies of scale and reduced total cost, in terms of both
> time and money, for what would otherwise be separate conferences.
>
> I would like to ask if WMF and the Montreal organizers would be willing
> and able to have some tracks at that conference dedicated to North American
> regional and local subjects, perhaps coordinated by a dedicated North
> America program committee. I foresee a modest increase in attendance at
> Wikimania 2017, and decreases in personal and WMF costs, if we can make
> what would otherwise be separate conferences happen harmoniously.
>
> Thanks, and I hope to see you in Montreal next year.
>
> Pine
>
> ___
> Wikimania-l mailing list
> Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
>
>
___
Wikimania-l mailing list
Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l