Hi everyone,
Please see below for the announcement of Wikimania 2021 being a virtual
event.
Best regards,
Joël L.
*Jo**ël Letang* (he/him)
Events | Strategy
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Janeen Uzzell <juzzell@wikimedia.org>
Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 3:02 PM
Subject: Moving Wikimania 20201 to a Virtual Event
To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org>, <
wikimedia-announce@lists.wikimedia.org>, <wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org>
Cc: Joël Letang <jletang@wikimedia.org>
Hi all,
Earlier this year when we decided to cancel Wikimania 2020, many of us were
hopeful that we would be able to postpone it a year to 2021. I was looking
forward to connecting with all of you in Bangkok in August for our first
ever Wikimania in Southeast Asia.
However, as we look forward, in spite of promising developments in vaccine
research it seems unlikely that we will all be able to travel freely and
convene together by August 2021. Over the past several months, the
Wikimedia Foundation Events team has been meeting with the Wikimania
Steering Committee[1] and the ESEAP Core Organizing Team (East, South East
Asia and Pacific regions)[2] to discuss how we can move forward with
Wikimania in 2021. Together, these stakeholders have decided that next
year’s Wikimania will be a virtual event. Instead of being hosted by the
ESEAP Core Organizing Team, this virtual Wikimania will be hosted by a
wider group of community members. Since there still is a strong wish to
host Wikimania in the future from the ESEAP team, they will remain the
hosts for the next in-person edition of Wikimania.
For many of us, hearing that we won’t be gathering in person at Wikimania
in 2021 is disappointing news. But I am encouraged by the success and
creativity of all of the recent virtual movement events, from regional
events like itWikiCon to the Wiki 20 event in Asia Pacific event to
celebrate Wikipedia’s 20th birthday and the Movement Strategy Global
Conversations held in December. I have gotten to hear from more of you over
the past months than I could have imagined at the beginning of this
pandemic. As always, Wikimedians have adapted and found new ways to connect
with each other.
We believe that this new virtual format will create opportunities for more
people within our movement to be involved in putting together a movement
event than ever before. We will further build on the collaborative, open
process for creating a Wikimania program that we started during Wikimania
in Sweden last year. Since this is our first virtual Wikimania, we will
also be able to learn from this experience and hopefully include options
for virtual participation in future in-person Wikimanias as well. Wikimania
2021 may not happen as any of us initially imagined, but it will still be
an opportunity for celebration, especially as Wikimania 2021 will happen
during Wikipedia’s 20th birthday year.
We welcome ideas for this virtual Wikimania and in January, we plan to
share more information about how you can get involved in the planning
process. We will also be able to share more information in the coming
months about what this means in terms of invitations, submitting sessions
and scholarships. In the meantime, please share your thoughts, ideas and
suggestions with the Wikimania Steering Committee on Meta[3].
As a movement, we value those opportunities to connect together in person,
and look forward to when we can all gather in person again. Until then,
stay safe and take care!
Janeen Uzzell, on behalf of the
- ESEAP Core Organizing Team
- Wikimania Steering Committee
- Wikimedia Foundation Events Team
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_Committee
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/ESEAP_Hub
[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimania_2021
--
------------------------------
*Jáneen Uzzell*
Chief Operating Officer
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
@janeenuzzell
Please see below for the announcement of Wikimania 2021 being a virtual
event.
Best regards,
Joël L.
*Jo**ël Letang* (he/him)
Events | Strategy
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Janeen Uzzell <juzzell@wikimedia.org>
Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 3:02 PM
Subject: Moving Wikimania 20201 to a Virtual Event
To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org>, <
wikimedia-announce@lists.wikimedia.org>, <wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org>
Cc: Joël Letang <jletang@wikimedia.org>
Hi all,
Earlier this year when we decided to cancel Wikimania 2020, many of us were
hopeful that we would be able to postpone it a year to 2021. I was looking
forward to connecting with all of you in Bangkok in August for our first
ever Wikimania in Southeast Asia.
However, as we look forward, in spite of promising developments in vaccine
research it seems unlikely that we will all be able to travel freely and
convene together by August 2021. Over the past several months, the
Wikimedia Foundation Events team has been meeting with the Wikimania
Steering Committee[1] and the ESEAP Core Organizing Team (East, South East
Asia and Pacific regions)[2] to discuss how we can move forward with
Wikimania in 2021. Together, these stakeholders have decided that next
year’s Wikimania will be a virtual event. Instead of being hosted by the
ESEAP Core Organizing Team, this virtual Wikimania will be hosted by a
wider group of community members. Since there still is a strong wish to
host Wikimania in the future from the ESEAP team, they will remain the
hosts for the next in-person edition of Wikimania.
For many of us, hearing that we won’t be gathering in person at Wikimania
in 2021 is disappointing news. But I am encouraged by the success and
creativity of all of the recent virtual movement events, from regional
events like itWikiCon to the Wiki 20 event in Asia Pacific event to
celebrate Wikipedia’s 20th birthday and the Movement Strategy Global
Conversations held in December. I have gotten to hear from more of you over
the past months than I could have imagined at the beginning of this
pandemic. As always, Wikimedians have adapted and found new ways to connect
with each other.
We believe that this new virtual format will create opportunities for more
people within our movement to be involved in putting together a movement
event than ever before. We will further build on the collaborative, open
process for creating a Wikimania program that we started during Wikimania
in Sweden last year. Since this is our first virtual Wikimania, we will
also be able to learn from this experience and hopefully include options
for virtual participation in future in-person Wikimanias as well. Wikimania
2021 may not happen as any of us initially imagined, but it will still be
an opportunity for celebration, especially as Wikimania 2021 will happen
during Wikipedia’s 20th birthday year.
We welcome ideas for this virtual Wikimania and in January, we plan to
share more information about how you can get involved in the planning
process. We will also be able to share more information in the coming
months about what this means in terms of invitations, submitting sessions
and scholarships. In the meantime, please share your thoughts, ideas and
suggestions with the Wikimania Steering Committee on Meta[3].
As a movement, we value those opportunities to connect together in person,
and look forward to when we can all gather in person again. Until then,
stay safe and take care!
Janeen Uzzell, on behalf of the
- ESEAP Core Organizing Team
- Wikimania Steering Committee
- Wikimedia Foundation Events Team
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_Committee
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/ESEAP_Hub
[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimania_2021
--
------------------------------
*Jáneen Uzzell*
Chief Operating Officer
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
@janeenuzzell