I personally like the tagline and look forward to Wikimania.

Timea

2013/7/19 Andrew Lih <[email protected]>

> Thanks for the great explanation Deryck. Even though I'm familiar with HK
> and Wikimania, I came out much more enlightened about this than before on
> the choice of the tagline and the capturing of the Wikimedia internal
> dynamics.
>
> Also, you did a great job in one sentence to describe "Chinese" as a more
> complex and nuanced label. Kudos.
>
>
>
> -Andrew Lih
> Associate professor of journalism
> USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism
> Email: [email protected]
> WEB: http://www.andrewlih.com
> BOOK: The Wikipedia Revolution: http:/www.wikipediarevolution.com
> PROJECT: Wiki Makes Video
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Wiki_Makes_Video
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 2:47 PM, Deryck Chan <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Last week, it emerged to the surprise of Wikimania 2013's organizing
>> committee in Hong Kong that the tagline of this year's Wikimania, "Of one
>> mind in pursuit of our dream, all discord set aside" has caused some
>> concern. Those so concerned viewed it as mockery of the FDC process which
>> apparently left WMHK with no funding to continue running itself after
>> Wikimania.
>>
>> Many of you who attended Wikimania 2012 will remember that the tagline
>> was announced at the closing ceremony of Wikimania 2012. Tom Morris even
>> joked on Twitter that "that's the new ArbCom motto".[1] We couldn't foresee
>> the future - we simply know that Wikimedia is full of imperfect people like
>> us so conflicts are abundant. However, given the concern expressed, and the
>> fact that the tagline will appear on the Wikimania 2013 T-shirts, I thought
>> I should explain the tagline fully.
>>
>> The quoted song, Under the Lion Rock, is a soap opera theme tune from the
>> 1980s. This song is often hailed as the unofficial national anthem of Hong
>> Kong. (Lion Rock is an iconic natural rock atop the hilly ridge which
>> divides Kowloon and the New Territories, so "under the Lion Rock" is a
>> metonym for all of Hong Kong.) For attendees from Hong Kong, these lyrics
>> show that this Wikimania embraces Hong Kong fully, and Wikimedians from
>> Hong Kong are just like everyone else.
>>
>> For those who have been involved with Wikimedia for a long time, it is
>> obvious that there is discord all over the place. Wikimania is often seen
>> as the "cream" of Wikimedia, the "bright side" of everything. By picking
>> these lines for our slogan, we want to make the point (which hasn't ever
>> been as prominent in any past Wikimania) that we don't shy away from
>> conflicts. The "conflict" theme runs right through the proposed agenda in
>> our bid; it was even suggested that we invite a banned editor from Hong
>> Kong as keynote speaker. (That fell through. He never felt compelled enough
>> to show up in person.) The lyrics affirm that it is our shared Wikimedia
>> vision which brings us together, in a way that urges us to live with our
>> differences.
>>
>> The outside world often thinks of Wikipedians as a homogenous bunch,
>> slaving away behind computers like robots. We want to say that we actually
>> disagree on lots of things, in ways that similar disputes would roll out in
>> real life. Hong Kong editors tend to be a bit proud of ourselves and quite
>> sceptic towards the current Chinese regime, such that we would go to any
>> length to fight against patriotic mainland Chinese editors and
>> panda-licking American editors. Although we would quickly switch sides and
>> stand with Chinese patriots when it comes to the Diaoyu/Senkaku dispute,
>> and the adamant insistence that "China"!="PRC" and "Taiwan"!="ROC". And
>> we're (surprisingly to most foreigners) rather Falun Gong sceptic too.
>>
>> If people (Wikipediocracy?) insist on thinking that the theme decided a
>> year ago is a dig at the recent FDC furore, then they can put the same into
>> the mouth of any slogan we come up with. What we want to show with these
>> lyrics is that we are connected to all of Hong Kong at heart, and we don't
>> want to shy away from the differences between us in Wikimedia.
>>
>> Full quotation of the chorus of "Under the Lion Rock", as translated by
>> the Hong Kong Government Budget 2002/03:[2]
>> *Of one mind in pursuit of our dream
>> All discord set aside
>> With one heart on the same bright quest
>> Fearless and valiant inside
>>
>> Hand in hand to the ends of the earth
>> Rough terrain no respite
>> Side by side we overcome ills
>> As the Hong Kong story we write.*
>>
>> [1] http://eventifier.co/event/wikimania2012/deryckchan
>> [2] http://www.budget.gov.hk/2002/eframe2.htm
>>
>> With Wiki-Love,
>> Deryck
>> Global Engagement Coordinator, Wikimania 2013
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>>
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