Congratulations to all involved, this is quite an auspicious start to a project with a really remarkable amount of promise.
Best, Kevin Gorman On Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 11:20 AM, Cornelius Kibelka <[email protected]> wrote: > Looks really nice. Could you send an update, when the files are uploaded? > And a blog post would be wonderful :) > > Best! > C. > > ---- > Cornelius Kibelka > > Twitter: @jaancornelius > Mobile:+351-91-9860232 (Vodafone PT) > German number currently offline > > > > > On 16 July 2014 18:02, Gerard Meijssen <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Hoi, > > WOW > > Gerard > > > > > > On 16 July 2014 17:31, Milos Rancic <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > I am finally able to share with you the biggest benefit of WMRS > > > Microgrants projects for this year. It's about cooperation with one > > > very old institution, and it was necessary to wait for their formal > > > letter. > > > > > > But first about the side effects of the Microgrants project... > > > > > > When you are going outside and tell people that you are willing to > > > support their projects, it could lead into interesting outcomes. It is > > > important to understand possibilities which could be opened and catch > > > them. > > > > > > We got one interesting proposal. It was about a long term project of > > > making photos of one person. The project was very interesting, but it > > > turned out that it's not suitable to be supported by Wikimedia, as > > > well as the amount of needed money is so small, that I am able to fund > > > it personally. > > > > > > However, that was not the end. That guy, an amateur photographer (with > > > professional skills) is actually the top Serbian lector. He proofread > > > the Orthography of Serbian language. > > > > > > He is also a lexicographer, working in Matica srpska [1]. > > > > > > So, we met in my office. While drinking some alcohol, besides his own > > > project, we were talking about the state of Serbian lexicography and > > > culture in general. > > > > > > We were talking about Matica srpska, as well; about present financial > > > state of the institution, which has money for salaries and the most > > > important projects, but doesn't have for a number of projects. > > > > > > I had bold ideas, of course, but I was quite skeptical about rational > > > possibility of cooperation between WMRS and Matica srpska. However, he > > > convinced me that the president of MS is likely willing to cooperate > > > and that we should talk about that. > > > > > > So he told me that he'll arrange the meeting with the president and > > > that we should talk about that. > > > > > > Few weeks later I led WMRS delegation (our ED Mile and our program > > > manager Ivana were in the delegation) to the initial talks with MS. > > > > > > I think we were talking two hours. And I am quite confident to tell > > > you that on June 20th, 2014 happened one historical event, not just > > > for Wikimedia Serbia, but also for Serbian culture and free knowledge. > > > > > > I wasn't able to talk about this till today, when we got formal letter > > > from MS, which summarize our meeting and emphases their commitment to > > > accessibility of knowledge to as much people as it's possible. > > > > > > If you are in Slavic culture in general, you should know what Matica > > > srpska is. As the most of you are not, here is the story in short... > > > > > > MS is the oldest cultural and scientific institution in Serbia. They > > > are the main lexicographical and encyclopedistic institution in > > > Serbia. It isn't easily comparable with large cultures, but, > > > basically, if we don't count independent institutions, 90% of > > > dictionaries and the most important encyclopedias have been created > > > inside of MS or with MS as the leader of the project. > > > > > > We share one important trait with the institutions like MS is. It's > > > about long term goals. We want to start cooperation and develop it. > > > So, we are starting with cooperation slowly. During the next year our > > > goal is to liberate two dictionaries. One is ornithological, the other > > > one covers dialects of Vojvodina. > > > > > > That's just the beginning, of course. Their editions are the main > > > dictionaries of Serbian language and we'll discuss the next year about > > > the steps toward liberating them. They are also in charge for creation > > > of national encyclopedia, but it has its own Board and during the next > > > months we should start talking with the Board, as well. > > > > > > The significance of this cooperation for Wikimedia is that we are at > > > the beginning of the first close relations with one main national > > > cultural institution, which focus is creating dictionaries and > > > encyclopedias. They share our goals, as well as they want to cooperate > > > with us. > > > > > > And it's not just about liberating content because we will help it > > > financially. It's their commitment, as well. They want to share their > > > content on Internet. With our (technological, licensing etc.) help, > > > they will become the institution which shares their content by > > > default, no matter if we are involved or not. > > > > > > I know that this story is not applicable in many cases. It's not > > > rational to expect that the University of Oxford would do the same. > > > However, I am sure that this story *is* applicable in many cultures of > > > the similar size, like Serbian is. > > > > > > It is also important that the visibility of Wikimedia organizations > > > all over the world is very important. You could get something very > > > valuable if you show that you are friendly. > > > > > > [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matica_srpska > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > > > [email protected] > > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > > <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe> > > _______________________________________________ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > > [email protected] > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe> > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > [email protected] > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe> > _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe>
