I partially agree on that point. The community prefer to attend local Wikicon (there is one in German language, another in French language and the last one in Italian language) or more specific meetings like Hackathons or Eduwiki conferences or Glam conferences.
Having every three or four years a Wikimania in Europe gives the opportunity to meet a larger number of Wikipedians but it’s not the best for the community as the main language is English. It is preferred by a specific target of people but not by all people. Wikimedia CH recently has taken the direction of sustainability and climate change and every year the scholarships are assigned to travel only within a specific range. This year no scholarships for Wikimania in Singapore while more scholarships for the local Wikicon or for other events based in Europe (Hackathon will be in Athens and the Eduwiki conference in Beograd). Let’s say that a rotation is a good solution but having local Wikimanias doesn’t make sense because there are already regional conferences for that. Kind regards -- Ilario Valdelli Innovation and Education programme manager Wikimedia CH Verein zur Förderung Freien Wissens Association pour l’avancement des connaissances libre Associazione per il sostegno alla conoscenza libera Wikipedia: Ilario Skype: valdelli Tel: +41764821371 http://www.wikimedia.ch From: Philip Kopetzky <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 8:05 PM To: Wikimania general list (open subscription) <[email protected]> Subject: [Wikimania-l] Re: Wikimania 2024 will be hosted in … I can only second what Jan-Bart has written. There already seems to be a change in the way people attend Wikimania. Many communities from Europe won't send anyone to Singapore, but will probably attend Krakow. Wouldn't it be time to acknowledge the change in format towards a regional conference with an international focus, rather than a global event where we fly a few hundred people in for a few days, in times where pandemics and global climate emergencies don't seem as far off as they did even 5 years ago? Best regards, Philip On Mon, 20 Mar 2023 at 18:58, Jan-Bart de Vreede <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Hi All Thanks Phoebe and the Wikimania Steering Committee for organising the selection process and of course congratulations to the team in Poland who are going to organise a great Wikimania. (Disclaimer: I have been privileged enough to have been able to attend many a WIkimania, and am perhaps one of the worst people in the world to write the text below) Reading your comment on hopefully announcing the Wikimania hosts for 2025 and 2026 soon makes me wonder if we are not overlooking a fundamental discussion with regards to the continued existence of Wikimania as it currently takes place. Are we going to continue to annually organise a global event, flying people from all over the world to a location which limits physical participation to those that are able to do so (regardless of the few scholarships we manage to distribute for volunteers)? Would it not be a good idea to start with revisiting our goals (for example: reconnecting, exchanging experiences and sharing cool projects) and start thinking of alternatives to the current Wikimania set up? It would also be interesting to match these goals with the increase in regional engagement which is taking place across our movement. I have the feeling I might have missed some earlier discusion on this, but I am not seeing much change in the Wikimania concept in a time that probably demands change both from a sustainability as well as an equity perspective. And again I am probably not the best person to point this out (coming from an incredibly privileged position) and I love wikimania and I love seeing all of you on a regular basis… but at the same time I have noticed that we are all trying to adjust to a changing world…and it would seem that a movement as unique as ours should be able to come up with a better alternative? I hope that people take this mail in the spirit that it is intended and if I can contribute to facilitating this discussion I am of course more than willing to do so! Jan-Bart de Vreede (Views expressed in this email are my personal views) On 20 Mar 2023, at 16:32, phoebe ayers <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Hello everyone, I am very excited to share that Wikimania 2024 will be hosted in the city of Kraków in Poland<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak%C3%B3w>! [1] Kraków had a strong submission<https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/2024:Expressions_of_Interest/Central_Eastern_Europe,_Poland,_Cracow> with a collaborative design and an experienced, enthusiastic team supporting it [2]. At the crossroads of history, culture, and technology, we are confident that the impact of Wikimania will be great for our projects, the movement in general, and especially, local communities in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Read more on Diff<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/03/20/announcing-the-host-of-wikimania-in-2024/> [3]. Bringing our movement’s beloved event to life is not simple and we took many criteria into consideration. We were grateful for the expressions of interest<https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikimania_2024_expressions_of_interest> received for hosting Wikimania in 2024, 2025, and beyond [4]. Announcing host cities this far in advance is a new approach<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/10/27/wikimania-welcoming-expressions-of-interest-for-2024/> to organizing Wikimania we are exploring [5]. In addition to the support we provide as the stewards of Wikimania<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_Committee>, together with the Foundation’s Movement Communications team<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications/Movement_Communications>, we see great value in facilitating more time for organizers so they can learn from each other in practice and strengthen their capacity [6], [7]. We hope to announce the hosts of Wikimania in 2025 and 2026 in the coming months or at Wikimania 2023 in Singapore. Once again, wholehearted congratulations to the 2024 Wikimania team. We know you will do an excellent job welcoming our global family to your timeless city. And to our global family, we hope that you are as excited as we are returning to the vibrant CEE region after 14 years. Looking forward to collaborating with you all on wiki and in person. My best wishes for all, Phoebe (Wikimania Steering Committee) On behalf of the Wikimania Steering Committee and the Wikimedia Foundation Movement Communications team Translations available on Diff [1] Kraków is a hybrid gem of history and modernity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak%C3%B3w [2] Kraków expression of interest: https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/2024:Expressions_of_Interest/Central_Eastern_Europe,_Poland,_Cracow [3] Read more about this announcement on Diff: https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/03/20/announcing-the-host-of-wikimania-in-2024/ [4] 11 expressions of interest received: https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikimania_2024_expressions_of_interest [5] The call for hosting Wikimania in 2024, 2025 and beyond: https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/10/27/wikimania-welcoming-expressions-of-interest-for-2024/ [6] The Wikimania Steering Committee: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_Committee [7] The Wikimedia Foundation Movement Communications team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications/Movement_Communications -- * I use this address for lists; send personal messages to phoebe.ayers <at> gmail.com<http://gmail.com/> * _______________________________________________ Wikimania-l mailing list -- [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> _______________________________________________ Wikimania-l mailing list -- [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
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