[Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Wikipedia celebrates 15 years of free knowledge
Wikimedia Commons <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/>, with more than 30 million freely licensed images, as well as Wiktionary <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/>, Wikisource <https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Main_Page>, Wikivoyage <https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Main_Page>, and more. - The Wikimedia community supports global projects that spread the joy of knowledge. Wiki Loves Monuments <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_Monuments>, a global photo competition, launched in 2010 to document images of cultural heritage. In 2011, the contest was named the largest photo competition in the world. Companion projects like Wiki Loves Earth <http://wikilovesearth.org/>, Wiki Loves Africa <http://wikilovesafrica.org/>, and even Wiki Loves Cheese <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Essen_und_Trinken/Wiki_Loves_Cheese> document more knowledge from around the globe. - Volunteers around the world have built hundreds of partnerships with galleries, libraries, museums to make institutional collections more broadly available. These partnerships have contributed to more than 1.5 million images of cultural works on the Wikimedia projects. If you’d like to help celebrate Wikipedia’s 15th anniversary, you can share on social media what Wikipedia means to you by tagging @Wikipedia <https://twitter.com/Wikipedia> and using the hashtag #wikipedia15. To learn more about Wikipedia and the joy it inspires, visit 15.wikipedia.org. About Wikipedia Wikipedia is the world’s free knowledge resource. It is a collaborative creation that has been added to and edited by millions of people from around the globe since it was created in 2001: anyone can edit it, at any time. Wikipedia is offered in hundreds of languages containing a total of more than 36 million articles, and visited by nearly half a billion people every month. Wikimedia and its sister projects are the largest collection of free knowledge in human history. About the Wikimedia Foundation The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that supports and operates Wikipedia and its sister projects. Wikipedia attracts more than 15 billion page views each month. Every month roughly 80,000 people edit Wikipedia and its sister projects, collectively creating, improving, and maintaining its more than 35 million articles across hundreds of languages -- this all makes Wikipedia one of the most popular web properties in the world. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants. About the Wikimedia Endowment The purpose of the Wikimedia Endowment is to serve as a perpetual source of support for the operation and activities of Wikipedia and its sister projects. It will empower people around the world to create and contribute free knowledge, and share that knowledge with every single human being. The Endowment has been established, with an initial contribution by Wikimedia Foundation, as a Collective Action Fund at Tides Foundation. Tides is a public charity with a 40-year track record of holding and managing charitable funds for nonprofit organizations. An Advisory Board, nominated by the Wikimedia Foundation and appointed by Tides, will make recommendations to Tides related to the Endowment. Tides or the Wikimedia Foundation may choose to transfer the Endowment from Tides to the Wikimedia Foundation, or other charities identified by the Wikimedia Foundation. At that point, the Endowment would continue to be a permanent, income-generating fund to support the Wikimedia projects. Wikimedia Foundation Press Contact Katherine Maher +1 415-839-6885 ext 6633 pr...@wikimedia.org -- *Juliet Barbara* Senior Communications Manager I Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street I San Francisco, CA 94105 jbarb...@wikimedia.org I +1 (512) 750-5677 (To be unsubscribed from this press release distribution list, please reply to communicati...@wikimedia.org with 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in the subject line)___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list WikimediaAnnounce-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l
[Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Wikimedia Foundation to explore new ways to search and discover reliable, relevant, free information with $250, 000 from Knight Foundation
This press release is also available online here: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikimedia_Foundation_to_explore_new_ways_to_search_and_discover_reliable,_relevant,_free_information_with_$250,000_from_Knight_Foundation And as a blog post here: https://blog.wikimedia.org/2016/01/06/explore-new-ways-to-search-and-discover/ Wikimedia Foundation to explore new ways to search and discover reliable, relevant, free information with $250,000 from Knight Foundation *Funds support research and testing to improve how people find information on Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects* SAN FRANCISCO—Jan. 6, 2015— The Wikimedia Foundation will launch a new project to explore ways to make the search and discovery of high quality, trustworthy information on Wikipedia more accessible and open with $250,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Funding will support an investigation of search and browsing on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, with the goal of improving how people explore and acquire information. Wikipedia includes more than 35 million articles across hundreds of languages. Its standards for neutral, fact-based and relevant information have made it a reliable resource for nearly half a billion people every month. With more than 7,000 articles created every day and 250 edits made per minute, Wikipedia is constantly growing and improving. Its open, nonprofit model, allows anyone to participate and contribute. This project will help improve discoverability of this vast resource of community-created content. Over the last decade, the world has seen a surge in digital information. People today can access vast amounts of information online, mostly through a small number of closed technologies. Through this project, the Wikimedia Foundation will test ways to make relevant information more accessible and investigate transparent methods for collecting, connecting, and retrieving this information consistent with the values of Wikipedia and the open web. With Knight support, the Wikimedia Foundation has begun six months of deep research, testing, and prototyping on user search habits and practices on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. Using these platforms as testing grounds, the organization will examine questions around content preferences, queries, the quality and relevance of results, and what information people consume and why. It will conduct open discussions with the Wikimedia community to help inform the project. A public-facing dashboard will display results and metrics from this discovery and lessons will be shared widely. “Finding an article on Wikipedia is like opening the first page in the book of knowledge. We have an obligation to our communities to make this first experience captivating for every user. We share Knight Foundation’s belief in the power of open information in building engaged, strong communities. We are excited for the potential of this project to bring free, relevant, trustworthy knowledge to every person,” said Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Lila Tretikov. “As the amount of digital content continues to grow, helping people search for and discover relevant information so they can make decisions important to their lives is becoming increasingly essential,” said John Bracken, Knight Foundation vice president for media innovation. “This project will help uncover more effective, transparent ways to do just that, drawing on the Wikimedia Foundation’s commitment to an open and free Internet.” For more information visit: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Discovery/KnightFAQ. About the Wikimedia Foundation The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that supports and operates Wikipedia. Wikipedia attracts more than 15 billion page views each month. Every month roughly 75,000 people edit Wikipedia, collectively creating, improving, and maintaining its more than 35 million articles across hundreds of languages -- this all makes Wikipedia one of the most popular web properties in the world. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants. About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. www.knightfoundation.org <http://www.knightfoundation.org/> Wikimedia Foundation Press Contact Katherine Maher +1 415-839-6885 ext 6633 pr...@wikimedia.org John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Press Contact Anusha Alikhan 305-908-2646 me...@knightfoundation.org -- *Juliet Barbara* Senior Communications Manager I Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street I San Francisco, CA 94105 jbarb...@wikimedia.org I +1 (512) 750-5677 (To be unsubscribed from this press release distribution list, please
[Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Wikimedia Foundation to explore new ways to search and discover reliable, relevant, free information with $250, 000 from Knight Foundation
This press release is also available online here: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikimedia_Foundation_to_explore_new_ways_to_search_and_discover_reliable,_relevant,_free_information_with_$250,000_from_Knight_Foundation And as a blog post here: https://blog.wikimedia.org/2016/01/06/explore-new-ways-to-search-and-discover/ Wikimedia Foundation to explore new ways to search and discover reliable, relevant, free information with $250,000 from Knight Foundation *Funds support research and testing to improve how people find information on Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects* SAN FRANCISCO—Jan. 6, 2015— The Wikimedia Foundation will launch a new project to explore ways to make the search and discovery of high quality, trustworthy information on Wikipedia more accessible and open with $250,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Funding will support an investigation of search and browsing on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, with the goal of improving how people explore and acquire information. Wikipedia includes more than 35 million articles across hundreds of languages. Its standards for neutral, fact-based and relevant information have made it a reliable resource for nearly half a billion people every month. With more than 7,000 articles created every day and 250 edits made per minute, Wikipedia is constantly growing and improving. Its open, nonprofit model, allows anyone to participate and contribute. This project will help improve discoverability of this vast resource of community-created content. Over the last decade, the world has seen a surge in digital information. People today can access vast amounts of information online, mostly through a small number of closed technologies. Through this project, the Wikimedia Foundation will test ways to make relevant information more accessible and investigate transparent methods for collecting, connecting, and retrieving this information consistent with the values of Wikipedia and the open web. With Knight support, the Wikimedia Foundation has begun six months of deep research, testing, and prototyping on user search habits and practices on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. Using these platforms as testing grounds, the organization will examine questions around content preferences, queries, the quality and relevance of results, and what information people consume and why. It will conduct open discussions with the Wikimedia community to help inform the project. A public-facing dashboard will display results and metrics from this discovery and lessons will be shared widely. “Finding an article on Wikipedia is like opening the first page in the book of knowledge. We have an obligation to our communities to make this first experience captivating for every user. We share Knight Foundation’s belief in the power of open information in building engaged, strong communities. We are excited for the potential of this project to bring free, relevant, trustworthy knowledge to every person,” said Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Lila Tretikov. “As the amount of digital content continues to grow, helping people search for and discover relevant information so they can make decisions important to their lives is becoming increasingly essential,” said John Bracken, Knight Foundation vice president for media innovation. “This project will help uncover more effective, transparent ways to do just that, drawing on the Wikimedia Foundation’s commitment to an open and free Internet.” For more information visit: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Discovery/KnightFAQ. About the Wikimedia Foundation The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that supports and operates Wikipedia. Wikipedia attracts more than 15 billion page views each month. Every month roughly 75,000 people edit Wikipedia, collectively creating, improving, and maintaining its more than 35 million articles across hundreds of languages -- this all makes Wikipedia one of the most popular web properties in the world. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants. About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. www.knightfoundation.org <http://www.knightfoundation.org> Wikimedia Foundation Press Contact Katherine Maher +1 415-839-6885 ext 6633 pr...@wikimedia.org John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Press Contact Anusha Alikhan 305-908-2646 me...@knightfoundation.org -- *Juliet Barbara* Senior Communications Manager I Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street I San Francisco, CA 94105 jbarb...@wikimedia.org I +1 (512) 750-5677 (To be unsubscribed from this press release distribution list, please
[Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Wikimedia Foundation welcomes Boryana Dineva as Vice President of Human Resources
This press release is also available online here: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikimedia_Foundation_welcomes_Boryana_Dineva_as_Vice_President_of_Human_Resources And as a blog post here: https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/10/02/new-vp-of-human-resources-boryana-dineva/ Wikimedia Foundation welcomes Boryana Dineva as Vice President of Human Resources *Experienced tech executive steps into newly created role* The Wikimedia Foundation is pleased to announce that Boryana Dineva has joined the organization as Vice President of Human Resources. In this role, Boryana will lead development, recruiting, and support for Wikimedia Foundation staff in support of the Wikimedia mission. As of 2015, the Wikimedia Foundation has grown to around 200 employees, supporting a community of around 80,000 active Wikipedia and Wikimedia contributors and a global readership of nearly 500 million people per month. Every Foundation employee currently supports nearly 2.5 million Wikimedia users, and with a mission to engage every single human on the planet in the sum of all knowledge we have billions more people to reach. Human Resources is a critical partner in building a team of talented, passionate people to support this ambitious mission. Boryana joins the Wikimedia Foundation from Tesla Motors, where she led the Human Resources Analytics, Information Systems, and Operation groups. At Tesla, Boryana worked in close partnership with staff and management to design and develop programs to advance strategy and achieve organizational goals. She was instrumental in building the company’s people analytics capacity and developing a data-driven organizational design to support growth. Boryana believes that a strong and purposeful culture is essential for an organization to be truly transformative, particularly for mission-driven organizations such as the Wikimedia Foundation. “Culture is the sum of the actions of each individual,” Boryana said. “Each employee can be a partner in creating a fulfilling and inspiring work environment. I’m thrilled to be joining the Wikimedia Foundation for the opportunity to advance an organizational culture rooted in the Wikimedia values of transparency, stewardship, and openness.” As Vice President of Human Resources, Boryana will oversee the Wikimedia Foundation’s talent and culture function, including talent acquisition, organizational training and development, and talent management and people analytics. She will design and drive initiatives around workplace culture and well-being, including diversity, respect, and implement new processes and tools to support Foundation staff and stewardship. Boryana will report to Wikimedia Foundation Chief Operating Officer Terence Gilbey. “Boryana has the right combination of experience and sensibility to help the organization do what we do best: support the Wikimedia free knowledge mission,” said Gilbey. “I look forward to working with her as she gets to know the Wikimedia world and starts to build creative, mission-aligned strategies to help us achieve our goals.” Boryana has a degree in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Outside of work, she has been described as a global nomad. She was born and lived in Bulgaria, and has lived and studied in Russia, Austria, Germany, and the United States. She is a student of people and cultures, an area she relies on when defining organizational strategy. About the Wikimedia Foundation The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia consists of more than 35 million articles in 291 languages. Every month, tens of thousands of active volunteers contribute to Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. With nearly half a billion monthly users, projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation are one of the most popular web properties in the world. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants. Press Contacts Katherine Maher The Wikimedia Foundation +1 415-839-6885 ext 6633 press[image: @]wikimedia.org -- *Juliet Barbara* Senior Communications Manager I Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street I San Francisco, CA 94105 jbarb...@wikimedia.org I +1 (512) 750-5677 (To be unsubscribed from this press release distribution list, please reply to communicati...@wikimedia.org with 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in the subject line)___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list WikimediaAnnounce-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l
[Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Press conference introduces annual Wikpedia conference Wikimania in Mexico City
Rendueles,* sociologist and researcher (Spain) · *Carlos A. Scolari,* renowned digital media researcher (Argentina) · *Katitza Rodríguez,* director, Electronic Frontier Foundation https://www.eff.org/ (Peru) · *Carlos Brito,* coordinator, Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales (Mexico) http://r3d.mx/ · *Renata Ávila,* coordinator, Web We Want (Guatemala) · *Paz Peña, *advocate, Derechos Digitales (Chile) https://www.derechosdigitales.org/ To see the full programme, please visit: https://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org/wiki/Programme *Follow Wikimania 2015 on social:* Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wikimania2015 Twitter https://twitter.com/Wikimania2015 *Follow Wikimedia México on social:* Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wikimediamx Twitter https://twitter.com/Wikimedia_mx GNU Social https://social.mayfirst.org/wikimediamx Diaspora Wikimedia México https://diasp.net/u/wikimedia_mx Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv614ar6uOFcbpI1ocCbgfw *# # #* *About the Wikimedia Foundation* The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia consists of more than 34 million articles in 288 languages. Every month, tens of thousands of active volunteers contribute to Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. With nearly half a billion monthly users, projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation are one of the most popular web properties in the world. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants. *About Wikimedia México* Wikimedia México A.C. (WMMX) is a local chapter of the Wikimedia movement and one of the most active in the Spanish speaking countries. Since its recognition in 2011, it has been involved in almost 300 events, including workshops, conferences and more. WMMX has strong ties with the culture, education, TI companies, government sectors, as well as other volunteer organizations that actively support the chapter’s work in the Mexico. Among the institutions that WMMX have worked with are: Fine Arts Palace Museum (Museo Palacio de Bellas Artes), Center for Digital Culture (Centro de Cultura Digital), Chopo University Museum (Museo Universitario del Chopo), and Soumaya Museum (Museo Soumaya) to name just a few. WMMX is working on a wide variety of projects this year including their current support of the *Wikipedistas en Puebla* initiative to form a future Wikimedia User Group in that state. *About Conaculta (the National Council for Culture and the Arts)* Conaculta mission is to promote Mexico’s diverse, artistic, historic, and cultural traditions. The Council has oversight for the nation’s museums, monuments, and national archives, and coordinates policies governing cultural organizations and institutions. Conaculta promotes, supports, and sponsors various cultural events and cultural institutions throughout Mexico, and defends the tradition of full creative freedom in the arts. Conaculta is a body of Mexico’s Secretariat of Public Education https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretar%C3%ADa_de_Educaci%C3%B3n_P%C3%BAblica_(M%C3%A9xico) . *About Wikimania* Wikimania is an annual conference centered on the Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia and its sister projects) and the Wikimedia community of volunteers. It features presentations on Wikimedia projects, other wikis, free and open source software, free knowledge and free content, and the social and technical aspects which relate to these topics. Wikimania 2015 marks the 11th year of the conference. *About Wikipedia* Wikipedia is the world’s free knowledge resource. It is a collaborative creation that has been added to and edited by millions of people from around the globe since it was created in 2001: anyone can edit it, at any time. Wikipedia is offered in 288 languages containing a total of more than 34 million articles, and visited by nearly half a billion people every month. It is the largest collection of free knowledge in human history, and today its content is contributed and edited by the community of more than 75,000 volunteer editors each month. *Press Contacts* Martha Oliver Another Company – Mexico City (55) 6392 1100 ext. 2416 55-28800940 moli...@anothercompany.com.mx Katherine Maher The Wikimedia Foundation +1 415-839-6885 ext 6633 pr...@wikimedia.org -- *Juliet Barbara* Senior Communications Manager I Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street I San Francisco, CA 94105 jbarb...@wikimedia.org I +1 (512) 750-5677 ___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list WikimediaAnnounce-l
[Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Wikipedia receives Spain’s Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation
This press release is also available online here: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikipedia_receives_Spains_Princess_of_Asturias_Award_for_International_Cooperation And as a blog post here: https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/06/17/princess-of-asturias-award/ Wikipedia receives Spain’s Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation - Prestigious award recognizes contributions to universal human heritage The Princess of Asturias Foundation has announced that it is awarding Wikipedia the 2015 Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation http://www.fpa.es/en/princess-of-asturias-awards/laureates/2015-wikipedia.html?especifica=0. The Princess of Asturias Awards (English https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_of_Asturias_Awards, Spanish https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premios_Princesa_de_Asturias), previously known as Prince of Asturias Awards, recognize scientific, cultural and social achievements that form part of the universal heritage of humanity. “On behalf of our global community of Wikimedians, we are deeply honored to accept this prestigious award,” said Jan-Bart de Vreede, Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation’s Board of Trustees. “The Princess of Asturias Awards recognize achievements and organizations that celebrate and advance our shared human heritage. As a collective project of shared human knowledge, we are honored Wikipedia has been recognized today.” Presented in eight different categories ranging from Arts to International Cooperation, the Princess of Asturias Awards are considered to be amongst the most important honors in the world, especially in the Spanish-speaking world. These awards are intended to acknowledge exemplary and internationally recognized cultural, scientific and social achievements. “Wikipedia is an incredible project that has been created by millions of people from around the world. We are honored to be recognized in the category of international cooperation, which is at the heart of our mission,” said Lila Tretikov, executive director at the Wikimedia Foundation. “This award honors those volunteers—the editors, photographers, writers, and developers—who make Wikipedia possible.” Wikipedia is one of the most popular knowledge resources in the world and is read by nearly half a billion people every month. Today, it offers more than 35 million articles in 288 languages, including a number of indigenous languages, all written by volunteers around the world. It represents nearly fifteen years of cooperation, more than by millions of people around the world, According to the jury http://www.fpa.es/en/princess-of-asturias-awards/laureates/2015-wikipedia.html?texto=actaespecifica=0 of the Princess of Asturias Awards, Wikipedia is an “important example of international, democratic, open and participatory cooperation—to which thousands of people of all nationalities contribute selflessly—that has managed to make universal knowledge available to everyone along similar lines to those achieved by the encyclopedic spirit of the 18th century.” Cooperation is what Wikipedia is all about, and it is a tremendous honor to be recognized by the Princess of Asturias Awards,” said Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia. “I hope this inspires more people to become involved in the mission to share in the sum of all knowledge with the world. Previous recipients of the Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation include the Fulbright Program, the International Red Cross, the World Health Organization, Al Gore, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and others. The ceremony of the Princess of Asturias Awards will take place in Oviedo, Spain, on the 23rd of October, under the presidency of H.M. King Felipe VI of Spain. The Prize comprises a Joan Miro sculpture symbolizing the award and a cash prize of 50,000 euros. About the Wikimedia Foundation - https://wikimediafoundation.org - https://blog.wikimedia.org/ The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia consists of more than 34 million articles in 288 languages. Every month, tens of thousands of active volunteers contribute to Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. With nearly half a billion monthly users, projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation are one of the most popular web properties in the world. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants. Wikimedia Foundation Press Contact Katherine Maher - +1 415-839-6885 ext 6633 - press[image: @]wikimedia.org -- *Juliet Barbara* Senior Communications Manager I Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street I San Francisco, CA 94105 jbarb...@wikimedia.org I +1 (512) 750-5677 ___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l
[Wikimedia Announcements] Securing access to Wikimedia sites with HTTPS
optimized the experience as much as possible with this challenge in mind, this change could affect access for some Wikimedia traffic in certain parts of the world. In the last year leading up to this roll-out, we’ve ramped up our testing and optimization efforts to make sure our sites and infrastructure can support this migration. Our focus is now on completing the implementation of HTTPS and HSTS for all Wikimedia sites. We look forward to sharing a more detailed account of this unique engineering accomplishment once we’re through the full transition. Today, we are happy to start the final steps of this transition, and we expect completion within a couple of weeks. Yana Welinder https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/User:YWelinder_(WMF), Senior Legal Counsel, Wikimedia Foundation Victoria Baranetsky https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/User:VBaranetsky_(WMF), Legal Counsel, Wikimedia Foundation Brandon Black https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:BBlack_(WMF), Operations Engineer, Wikimedia Foundation -- *Juliet Barbara* Senior Communications Manager I Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street I San Francisco, CA 94105 jbarb...@wikimedia.org I +1 (512) 750-5677 ___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list WikimediaAnnounce-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l
[Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Wikimedia Foundation welcomes Kourosh Karimkhany as VP of Strategic Partnerships
This press release is also available online here: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikimedia_Foundation_welcomes_Kourosh_Karimkhany_as_VP_of_Strategic_Partnerships A version of this as a blog post is available here: https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/03/27/wmf-welcomes-vp-partnerships/ Wikimedia Foundation welcomes Kourosh Karimkhany as VP of Strategic Partnerships - *New position to advance knowledge and mission through strategic collaboration * The Wikimedia Foundation is pleased to welcome Kourosh Karimkhany as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships on March 30, 2015. In this newly created role, Kourosh will initiate, maintain, and grow strategic relationships and partnerships that advance the Wikimedia mission, support the community, and increase access to knowledge globally. Today, Wikipedia attracts nearly half a billion visitors and more than 20 billion page views each month. At the same time, hundreds of millions of people interact with data and content from the Wikimedia projects on third party platforms and properties. Our mission is to make the sum of all human knowledge freely available to the world, and content distribution and sharing play a key role in that process. The Wikimedia Foundation has created this new strategic role to identify and manage these opportunities, and convert some of them into sharing and distribution partnerships in order to advance our mission. Kourosh joins us in this senior leadership role to craft a partnership strategy and create long-term value for Wikimedia projects through partnerships, projects, and relationships. “Our aim is to empower people around the world with knowledge,” said Lila Tretikov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lila_Tretikov, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation. “To fulfill that goal, we need to think creatively about opportunities to work with like-minded organizations. Kourosh will help us focus on our continued service to our community and users, and progress toward our mission.” As Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Kourosh will oversee the Wikimedia Foundation’s partnership strategy, including Wikipedia Zero, a partnership-based project. Wikipedia Zero is designed to increase access to knowledge for people around the world. Applying additional focus to that work and orienting it within a larger partnerships strategy will help us work more effectively to achieve our mission. The many fruitful and creative partnerships the Wikimedia community has already built to support knowledge creation and sharing around the world will be better supported as a result of this change. The partnerships group will help us identify the strategic initiatives we must take on at the WMF and increase our ability to support the movement and mission. Kourosh is an experienced digital media executive. He started his career as a technology journalist covering Silicon Valley for Bloomberg, Reuters and Wired. He switched to the business side of media when he joined Yahoo as senior producer of Yahoo News. Later, he was the head of corporate development at Conde Nast where he spearheaded the acquisition of Wired.com, Ars Technica and Reddit. He also cofounded Food Republic in 2009, which was acquired in 2013. He is an active angel investor and startup advisor. Kourosh will report to Chief Advancement Officer Lisa Gruwell under the newly created Advancement Department. To learn more about these changes, please see our FAQ https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WMF_Partnerships_FAQ. About the Wikimedia Foundation - https://wikimediafoundation.org - https://blog.wikimedia.org/ The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia consists of more than 34 million articles in 288 languages. Every month, tens of thousands of active volunteers contribute to Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. With nearly half a billion monthly users, projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation are one of the most popular web properties in the world. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants. Wikimedia Foundation Press Contact Katherine Maher - +1 415-839-6885 ext. 6633 - pr...@wikimedia.org -- *Juliet Barbara* Senior Communications Manager I Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street I San Francisco, CA 94105 jbarb...@wikimedia.org I +1 (512) 750-5677 (To be unsubscribed from this press release distribution list, please reply to communicati...@wikimedia.org with 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in the subject line)___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
[Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Guy Kawasaki joins Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
This press release is also available online here: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Guy_Kawasaki_joins_Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees A version of this as a blog post is available here: https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/03/24/guy-kawasaki-joins-wikimedia-board/ *Guy Kawasaki joins Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees* - *Author, entrepreneur to bring unique experience to the Wikimedia movement * Today, the Wikimedia Foundation announced the newest member of its Board of Trustees, Guy Kawasaki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Kawasaki. Guy is a noted entrepreneur, writer, and speaker. He currently serves as chief evangelist of Canva, an online, graphic-design service, and as an executive fellow of Haas Business School at the University of California, Berkeley. “There are few projects in the history of the world that can have the long-term impact of Wikimedia.” said Guy. “The democratization of knowledge that Wikimedia stands for has been a long time in the coming, and I relish applying my passion and experience to this amazing mission.” “Guy joins the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees at an exciting time,” said Jan-Bart de Vreede, Wikimedia Foundation board chair. “We have great opportunities ahead, and Guy brings a wealth of experience and perspective as we look to that future.” Prior to joining Canva, Guy served as special advisor to the CEO of the Motorola business unit of Google. He is perhaps most widely known for his time at Apple, where he developed and popularized the concept of “secular evangelism” for Apple’s brand, culture, and products as the firm’s chief evangelist. Guy will continue in his full-time role as chief evangelist of Canva. Guy is a *New York Times* bestselling author of books such as *The Art of the Start 2.0*, *The Art of Social Media*, *Enchantment*, and ten other books about change, innovation, marketing, and disruption. He gives more than fifty keynote speeches a year and is a frequent public commentator on subjects such as innovation, enchantment, social media, evangelism, and entrepreneurship. Guy grasps what really moves people, said Lila Tretikov, Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director. His passion for extraordinary experiences is a perfect fit for Wikipedia's remarkable mission. I am confident this will be an incredible collaboration. Guy holds an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a BA from Stanford University. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Guy is an American who resides with his family in the San Francisco Bay Area. Please see the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Board_of_Trustees#Guy_Kawasaki for a complete biography of Guy Kawasaki. *About the Wikimedia Foundation* - https://wikimediafoundation.org - https://blog.wikimedia.org The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia consists of more than 34 million articles in 288 languages. Every month, tens of thousands of active volunteers contribute to Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. With nearly half a billion monthly users, projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation are one of the most popular web properties in the world. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants. *Wikimedia Foundation Press Contact* Katherine Maher - +1 415-839-6885 ext 6633 - pr...@wikimedia.org -- *Juliet Barbara* Senior Communications Manager I Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street I San Francisco, CA 94105 jbarb...@wikimedia.org I +1 (512) 750-5677 (To be unsubscribed from this press release distribution list, please reply to communicati...@wikimedia.org with 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in the subject line)___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list WikimediaAnnounce-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l
[Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Wikimedia Foundation adopts Open Access Policy to support free knowledge
of the author’s accepted manuscript will be submitted to a public and permanently archived repository by the official date of publication, without any embargo period, and released under a Free License. 2. Limited waiver Specific waivers from the expectations above may be applied in limited circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Researchers wanting a waiver are required to submit to the Wikimedia Foundation, in writing, a detailed explanation of why they require the waiver. The Wikimedia Foundation will publicly post a summary of the request and its response. The WMF Open Access Policy is effective as of March 18, 2015 for all new research agreements. For more information, see the Frequently Asked Questions https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Open_access_policy/FAQ on this policy. About the Wikimedia Foundation - https://wikimediafoundation.org - https://blog.wikimedia.org/ The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia consists of more than 34 million articles in 288 languages. Every month, tens of thousands of active volunteers contribute to Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. With nearly half a billion monthly users, projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation are one of the most popular web properties in the world. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants. Wikimedia Foundation Press Contact Katherine Maher - +1 415-839-6885 ext. 6633 - pr...@wikimedia.org *Juliet Barbara* Senior Communications Manager I Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street I San Francisco, CA 94105 jbarb...@wikimedia.org I +1 (512) 750-5677 (To be unsubscribed from this press release distribution list, please reply to communicati...@wikimedia.org with 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in the subject line)___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list WikimediaAnnounce-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l
[Wikimedia Announcements] Wikipedia’s first-ever annual video reflects contributions from people around the world
This announcement is also available online here: https://blog.wikimedia.org/2014/12/17/wikipedias-first-ever-annual-video-reflects-contributions-from-people-around-the-world/ Wikipedia: #Edit2014 is available online here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_Edit_2014.webm and http://youtu.be/ci0Pihl2zXY *Wikipedia’s first-ever annual video reflects contributions from people around the world* Today, the Wikimedia Foundation released its first ever year in review video, chronicling the celebration, pain, fear, resilience, and discovery that came to characterize 2014. More than anything, it celebrates those who come to Wikipedia to learn and understand the complexity of our world, and those who edit and contribute information so that others might do the same. In watching the video, you embark on a journey through the world and Wikipedia, revisiting what you read and edited this year. From the FIFA World Cup to the Indian general elections, and the Ice Bucket Challenge to Ebola in West Africa, we follow threads of discovery through Wikipedia’s vast constellation of knowledge, finding opportunities to contribute along the way. We venture from Sochi to outer space in less than three minutes. Wikipedia is among the most popular sites in the world, but the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) is a small non-profit. The video was put together on a shoestring budget, and in less than two months, through the generous collaboration and contributions of Wikimedians and Wikipedia supporters. The Wikimedia Foundation’s storyteller and video producer, Victor Grigas said, “We had to get creative to make this happen, we couldn’t just throw money at it. This video was made with everyday tools: a computer, an internet connection, lots of deep, patient thinking, research and collaboration, and the free content that ordinary people uploaded to Wikipedia.” Every piece of imagery and video we use was uploaded by you. Wikimedia’s commitment to open access and free information meant we could only use freely licensed photos and videos when producing this video. While the Foundation may have edited the video, contributions came from users around the world. You will see many amazing freely licensed images in the video — beautiful photographs of monuments, recordings of major world events from citizen journalists. At the same time, you will also see some grainy and dated images — such as those used to illustrate West Africa’s struggle with the deadly Ebola outbreak. The images used to illustrate that segment date back to 1976, from an outbreak in Zaire. Although other, more recent freely licensed images are available, most addressed things such as proper use of personal protective equipment or laboratory facilities, rather than the immediate impact on human lives. With hundreds of millions of people relying on Wikipedia to learn and understand more about the world around them, the instance of Ebola highlights the immense need for freely licensed images of important world events. We encourage people everywhere to freely license and share images and photographs of the notable people, places, or historic events — and in doing so, help make the sum of all knowledge available to everyone. You can upload your pictures Wikimedia Commons (Wikipedia’s central media repository) under a free license. While Ebola’s treatment in this video underscores the continuing need for people to contribute freely licensed images, it is also an inspiring true story about collaboration. As the Ebola outbreak raged, devastating the lives of people in numerous countries, Wikimedians looked for ways to contribute. Together with Translators Without Borders and the medical professionals at the WikiProject Med Foundation, volunteers translated the article on Ebola into more than fifty languages, including numerous African languages. In October, The New York Times reported that Wikipedia had emerged as a trusted internet source for Ebola information. Wikipedia reflects the world around us. With each new event, it changes and grows, accommodating our human triumphs and losses. It is the largest collaborative knowledge project in human history, and it is made possible by even the tiniest of contributions from people around the world. Join us in rediscovering 2014, and consider contributing to Wikipedia’s boundless knowledge. Together, we edit our common history. Katherine Maher Chief Communications Officer Wikimedia Foundation -- Juliet Barbara Senior Communications Manager I Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street I San Francisco, CA 94105 jbarb...@wikimedia.org I +1 (512) 750-5677 ___ Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ WikimediaAnnounce-l
[Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Wikimedia Foundation launches year-end contribution campaign
This press release is also available online here: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikimedia_Foundation_launches_year-end_contribution_campaign *Wikimedia Foundation launches year-end contribution campaign* - *Wikipedia appeals to readers to support the world’s largest free knowledge resource* On December 2, 2014, Giving Tuesday, the Wikimedia Foundation kicked off its year-end contribution campaign on English Wikipedia, requesting donations to support the operating expenses of the Wikimedia sites and global outreach programs. Wikipedia is overwhelmingly supported by small individual donations averaging $15. It is a unique campaign that relies on the power of individuals to keep knowledge free and accessible for the world. Wikipedia is written entirely by a community of volunteers who have a passion for sharing and expanding the world’s knowledge. The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that supports Wikipedia, its sister free knowledge projects, and that community of volunteers. Every year, we ask those who value the site to make a contribution to ensure Wikimedia projects are freely available to everyone around the world, in their own language. Wikipedia attracts nearly half a billion unique visitors and more than 20 billion monthly page views each month. Every month roughly 70,000 people edit Wikipedia, collectively creating, improving, and maintaining its more than 33.5 million articles in 287 languages. From articles on national revolutions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Ukrainian_revolution to feathered dinosaurs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathered_dinosaur and comet landers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philae_(spacecraft) to football tournaments http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_FIFA_World_Cup, the world trusts Wikipedia. Together with its sister free knowledge projects such as Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia is one of the most popular websites in the world. This year, hundreds of millions of people turned to Wikipedia to not just understand but also shape the world around them. Here are just a few ways people used Wikipedia: - This year the article on the Ebola virus disease http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease on the English-language version of Wikipedia received 17 million visits in one month alone, and remained among the most visited articles on Wikipedia throughout the year. Wikipedians at the WikiProject Med Foundation worked with volunteer translators to make the article on Ebola available in more than 50 languages. - This summer more than 2,000 of the volunteer writers, readers, and users of Wikipedia met in London at Wikimania http://wikimania2014.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania, to share and discuss the future of knowledge. Among them was 17 year old Jack Andraka http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka who, as a high school student, used knowledge found on Wikipedia to develop a new test for pancreatic cancer. - This autumn, a group of Wikipedia’s volunteer editors were recognized by *Foreign Policy* magazine as among the world’s 100 top leading global thinkers http://globalthinkers.foreignpolicy.com/#chroniclers/detail/evans-mabey-mandiberg-ptak-howard-knipel for their project, Art+Feminism, designed to advance understanding of the contributions of the world’s female artists and innovators. Small donations allow the Wikimedia Foundation to cover the costs of operating Wikipedia, including electricity, servers, and staff. These contributions also allow us to invest in improvements to the technology behind Wikipedia, such as this year’s introduction of a free, fast, native Wikipedia app for iOS and Android, and ongoing improvements to Wikipedia’s search functions and speed. Donations also support Foundation initiatives to bring knowledge to people around the world, such as Wikipedia Zero. Wikipedia Zero is a program that enables people who can’t afford mobile data charges to access or contribute to all knowledge on Wikipedia for free on their mobile phone. An estimated 400 million people now have free access to Wikipedia, thanks to 40 operators in 34 countries. This includes users of MTN in South Africa, which introduced Wikipedia Zero after receiving an open letter from grade 12 students at Sinenjongo High School, in the township of Joe Slovo Park, as featured in this short film https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Zero. As with previous campaigns, this year the Wikimedia Foundation will use a variety of banner formats to reach the movement’s diverse global audience. “We are always looking for new ways to reach our readers while minimizing interruption of their experience on Wikipedia,” said Megan Hernandez, Director of Online Fundraising at the Wikimedia Foundation. “This year, our goal is to reach our target more quickly, in order to limit the total number of banners each reader sees. We thank all our contributors for their support and our volunteers
