[Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Press conference introduces annual Wikpedia conference Wikimania in Mexico City
This press release is also available online here: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Press_conference_introduces_annual_Wikipedia_conference_Wikimania_in_Mexico_City *Press conference introduces annual Wikipedia conference Wikimania in Mexico City * - *Announcements include a partnership between Wikimedia México and the *National Council for Culture and the Arts of Mexico https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9xico (*Conaculta) and the launch of the Wikimedia Foundation’s latest Transparency Report* Wikimania https://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page, the annual conference celebrating Wikipedia and its sister free knowledge projects, was introduced with a press conference held today at the Hilton Mexico City Reforma. Wikimanía 2015 marks the conference’s 11th year and is co-organized by the Wikimedia México chapter and the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia México https://mx.wikimedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A1gina_principal and the National Council for Culture and the Arts of Mexico https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9xico, or Conaculta http://www.conaculta.gob.mx/*,* announced an inaugural partnership for the purpose of increasing open and freely reusable content about Mexico’s history, culture, and art on the Wikimedia. This partnership will engage Conaculta’s national network of museums, cultural centers, libraries, art galleries. Daniel Goldin, Director of Biblioteca Vasconcelos, was present as representative of Conaculta for the announcement. “Collaboration with cultural and artistic institutions is essential for the dissemination of free information,” said Iván Martínez, President of Wikimedia México. “When libraries, archives, and museums open their institutions, they enrich not merely the Wikimedia projects but the world. They break down the barriers to free knowledge for everyone.” Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, opened the press conference with a welcome to all and an overview of the event. “Wikimania is a time for the community of volunteers who build Wikipedia and its sister projects to share experiences and celebrate free knowledge. We are thrilled to be in Mexico City this year and recognize and celebrate Latin America’s contributions to the Wikimedia free knowledge movement,” said Wales. Wales highlighted that Mexicans visit Spanish Wikipedia more than any other country in the world. Geoff Brigham, General Counsel of the Wikimedia Foundation, introduced the Wikimedia Foundation’s latest Transparency Report https://transparency.wikimedia.org/. This biannual report, now in its third installment, details the number of requests received to disclose user data or alter or remove content from the Wikimedia projects. According to the report, the Wikimedia Foundation reviewed 23 requests for user data, including informal government and non-government requests, one criminal subpoena, and one court order. None resulted in the disclosure of nonpublic user information. Of the 234 requests to remove or alter general content, none were granted. Lila Tretikov, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, said: “Free knowledge does not come for free; it comes from people like you and me. Our speech must be protected and our personal information must be secure. Wikimedia defends user privacy https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_policy and fights censorship so that every human can safely share knowledge critical to all.” Luis von Ahn, Guatemalan entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Duolingo, closed the event. He addressed the importance of free education and language activities and described recent initiatives of Duolingo, a free language-learning application. The press conference opened what will be several days of Wikimania activities held at the Hilton Mexico City Reforma, from July 17 - July 19. This year’s event is co-organized by Wikimedia México https://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org/wiki/Conference_organizers and the Wikimedia Foundation https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Home. The Wikimania 2015 programme includes an array of meetings, workshops and activities focused on themes such as the state of free knowledge, the role of Wikipedia in education, privacy and digital rights, using technology to grow participation, and more. The conference will be opened by Miguel Ángel Mancera, mayor of Mexico City. This year’s conference will also feature a special focus on efforts in Latin America and other countries including Brazil, Spain, and Portugal to grow the quality and amount of knowledge on Wikipedia and the other projects. The programme also has a large list of featured speakers including: · *Jimmy Wales, *Founder, Wikipedia (USA/UK) · *Lila Tretikov, *Executive Director, Wikimedia Foundation (USA) · *Luis von Ahn,* entrepreneur and academic, founder of reCAPTCHA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReCAPTCHA, and co-founder and CEO of Duolingo (Guatemala https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duolingo) · *César
[Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Wikimedia Foundation announces new members, leadership for Board of Trustees at Wikimania in Mexico City
This press release is also available online in English here: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikimedia_Foundation_announces_new_members,_leadership_for_Board_of_Trustees_at_Wikimania_in_Mexico_City And in Spanish here: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/La_Fundacion_Wikimedia_anuncia_la_asuncion_de_nuevos_miembros_y_nueva_conduccion_de_su_Junta_Directiva English Press Release Wikimedia Foundation announces new members, leadership for Board of Trustees at Wikimania in Mexico City - Wikimedia Foundation appoints new trustees for three Board seats; Board selects new Chair and Vice Chair Today the Wikimedia Foundation announced the selection of a new Chair and Vice Chair, and the elections of three new additions to its Board of Trustees https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Board_of_Trustees. The new Trustees were elected by the international community of Wikimedia volunteers who create and support Wikipedia and its sister projects. The new Trustees are Dr. James Heilman, Dr. Dariusz Jemielniak, and Dr. Denny Vrandečić. Shortly thereafter, the Board, including the newly seated Trustees, selected Patricio Lorente as the new Chair and Alice Wiegand as the new Vice Chair. The Foundation announced these changes at Wikimania, the annual Wikimedia conference, held this year in Mexico City. The Wikimedia Foundation’s Board of Trustees oversees the Wikimedia Foundation and its work, and serves as the organization’s ultimate corporate authority https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Bylaws#Section_1._General_Powers.. Open seats this year were reserved for Wikimedia community members selected through direct elections by the Wikimedia community. Wikimedia community members voted online from May 17 - 31, 2015 for the three open Board positions, each a two-year term. The new Chair and Vice Chair will serve as officers for one year terms. Other seats on the Board include one seat for Wikipedia’s founder Jimmy Wales, two seats selected by independent Wikimedia affiliate organizations, and four seats appointed by the Board for specific expertise and other needs. The Wikimedia Foundation and Board of Trustees are pleased to announce the new Chair and Vice Chair, who bring many years of service and commitment to the Wikimedia community and mission: Patricio Lorente joined Spanish Wikipedia as an editor in 2005. He is a founding member of Wikimedia Argentina and was its President from 2007 to 2012. He was responsible for the organization of Wikimanía 2009 in Buenos Aires. He is General Prosecretary at La Plata National University, in La Plata, Argentina. He has been a member of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees since 2012. Alice Wiegand joined German Wikipedia as an editor in 2004. She joined the board of Wikimedia Deutschland in 2008, serving as secretary and vice president, focusing on strategy, organizational structure, and executive accounting and assessment. She is head of information technology and organizational development for the municipality of Meerbusch, Germany. She has been a member of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees since 2012. The Wikimedia Foundation and existing Board members are also pleased to welcome this year’s new additions to the Board of Trustees, and recognize their diversity of experience and commitment to the Wikimedia mission: Dr. James Heilman is a founding member of both Wikimedia Canada and Wiki Project Med Foundation, which promotes quality medical contributions on Wikimedia; currently, he serves as the president of the Wiki Project Med Foundation. James is on the faculty of emergency medicine at the University of British Columbia and an active contributor to WikiProject Medicine. Dr. Dariusz Jemielniak serves as the head of the Center for Research on Organizations and Workplaces and is an active contributor to Polish Wikipedia. He has conducted extensive academic research on the social and ethnographic environments of Wikipedia, in addition to holding a number of prominent positions with educational organizations in Poland. Dr. Denny Vrandečić is a Croatian computer scientist. He is co-developer of Semantic MediaWiki, founding administrator of Croatian Wikipedia, and founding project director for Wikidata. Denny has published extensively on semantic web and ontologies, serving as chair of the research track for Wikimania 2008 in Egypt. He is currently an ontologist at Google. Terms for these newly appointed roles and elected members started on July 16 and will continue for two years. The new members join the new Chair of the Board Patricio Lorente, Vice Chair Alice Wiegand, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, and Board members Frieda Brioschi, Jan-Bart de Vreede, Guy Kawasaki, and Stu West. The Wikimedia Foundation Board was formed in 2003. Today, the Board consists of up to ten Trustees https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Board_of_Trustees#Current_members. Its work is captured in part in resolutions
