Press releases/Annual Wikipedia conference Wikimania comes to Montreal

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Annual Wikipedia conference "Wikimania" comes to Montreal

Featured speakers include Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales; Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Katherine Maher; and other leaders in technology, culture and social impact

Volunteers and free knowledge leaders will discuss Wikimedia and the knowledge ecosystem, education and technology, participation in the Wikimedia projects, and the future of the Wikimedia movement


(San Francisco, CA, 18 July, 2017) — Wikimania, the annual conference celebrating Wikipedia and its sister free knowledge projects, will take place for the first time in Canada, in Montreal, from 9–13 August. Roughly 1,000 volunteers and free knowledge leaders from around the world will come together to discuss issues at the heart of the Wikimedia movement, report on new projects and initiatives, and exchange ideas. The event will be held at the Centre Sheraton Montreal.

Wikimania 2017 is co-organized by Wikimedia Canada, the local Wikimedia affiliate organization of Canada, and the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit that supports the Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects. At this event, the biggest wiki gathering of the year, attendees will discuss the advancement of free knowledge, the role of academia, cultural institutions, and technology in free knowledge, privacy and digital rights, and the future of the Wikimedia movement.

“There’s something incredibly unique about Wikipedia’s model. At its heart, Wikipedia is about people coming together to connect across countries, languages and cultures to build a shared understanding of our world. Wikimania is a time when this global community can meet, share experiences and participate in conversations about subjects that matter most to us as Wikimedians,” said Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

The main conference programming will take place from 11–13 August and features more than 100 community-submitted talks, more than a dozen workshops, and five keynote sessions. At Wikimania 2017, attendees are encouraged to go further and learn more: to explore new parts of the free knowledge movement, to learn from people who have not always had a voice in our communities, to think beyond the encyclopedia, and to critically reflect on the the future of the Wikimedia movement.

This year’s conference will also present a unique opportunity for participants to engage in Wikimedia 2030: a global consultation to define Wikimedia’s future role in the world. Over the past six months, hundreds of volunteer editors, Wikimedia affiliates, experts, researchers, donors, readers, and partners have joined the conversation to consider what the world will look like in 2030, and what we want to achieve as a free knowledge movement. At Wikimania 2017, participants will be able to join in-person sessions and conversations to discuss what we’ve learned so far and where we want to go in the future.

“The world is a different place now than it was when Wikipedia was created,” Katherine Maher, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, said. “This year’s Wikimania offers a unique opportunity to think critically about the challenges we face and the role we want Wikimedia to play. As part of our Wikimedia 2030 strategic vision effort we’re inviting everyone to join us at Wikimania for a series of conversations to help shape the future of free knowledge and the future of the Wikimedia movement.”

Pre-conference programing and events will also take place from 9–10 August, including a Hackathon — where the technical community across the Wikimedia projects join together to work and contribute — Wikimedia Foundation Learning Days, Wikiconference North America, and the Wikiproject Med conference.

"Wikimedia Canada members will present inspiring projects at Wikimania 2017, the result of successful collaborations with several Canadian public and private institutions,” explains Wikimedia Canada president Benoit Rochon. “The archives of BAnQ (Bibliothèque et archives nationales du Québec) on Wikimedia Commons which have been viewed more than 30 million times, the first Aboriginal encyclopedia in Canada (Atikamekw, one of the largest and still active First Nations language) on Wikipedia and the WikiMed conference are all unique accomplishments we will proudly share with the international Wikimania participants.”


Registration is open for Wikimania 2017. To register, become a volunteer or a sponsor please visit: Wikimania 2017 registration. (To register as press, please see more information below for media accreditation).

Some French-language sessions will be simultaneously translated into English.


Programme summary

Notable sessions and workshops for Wikimania 2017 include:

  • “Community and information in a partisan world” by Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, in conversation with Gabriella Coleman, holder of the Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy at McGill University, moderated by Evan Prodromou, founder of Wikitravel.
  • “Wikimedia 2030” by Katherine Maher, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation and Christophe Henner, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation
  • “Wikidemocracy" by Susan Herman, President of the American Civil Liberties Union and Centennial Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. Her most recent book Taking Liberties: The War on Terror and the Erosion of American Democracy won the 2012 Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties
  • “Experiences from the Middle East: Overcoming Challenges and Serving Communities” by Esra’a Al-Shafei, Bahraini human rights activist, outspoken defender of free speech and founder of Majal.org, a network of online platforms that amplify under-reported and marginalized voices.
  • “Libraries, Archives and sharing knowledge” by Frédéric Giuliano, archivist coordinator, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) and Hélène Laverdure, Curator and Director general of the National Archives at BAnQ.

For more information on keynote speakers visit: Wikimania 2017 Keynotes


Other Wikimania 2017 topics include: Canadian Libraries and free knowledge, education and Wikipedia, outreach in Africa, Wikidata tools, legal threats to knowledge, Wikipedia in minority and endangered languages, Wikipedia in Iraq, medicine and emergency response, preventing online harassment, the future of Wikisource and Wikiversity, Wikidata and museums, the future of news, and collaboration under censorship.

For the full conference programme, please visit: Wikimania 2017 Programme


About Wikimedia Canada

Wikimedia Canada is an independent nonprofit organization committed to the growth, development and distribution of free knowledge in Canada, mainly by supporting the development of content on the Wikimedia projects, including Wikipedia. The organization's work focuses on supporting and engaging Canadian individuals and institutions to collect, develop and disseminate knowledge and other educational, cultural and historical content in all languages of Canada, including Aboriginal languages, under a free license or in the public domain.

About the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that supports and operates Wikipedia and its sister free knowledge projects. Wikipedia is the world’s free knowledge resource, spanning more than 40 million articles across nearly 300 languages. Every month, more than 200,000 people edit Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects, collectively creating and improving knowledge that is accessed by more than 1 billion unique devices every month. 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 Wikimania

Wikimania is the 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 and more. Wikimania 2017 marks the 13th year of the conference.

About Wikipedia

Wikipedia is the world’s free knowledge resource. It is a collaborative creation that has been 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 40 million articles, and viewed more than 15 billion times 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 70,000 active editors (5 edits or more) each month.


Media accreditation

For more information on press for Wikimania 2017, to request an interview, or to receive complimentary conference registration (including the the opening ceremony/press event on August 11), please contact:

For Canadian media

Helene Reeves
Reeves & Associés
Office (450)656-4420
Mobile (514)573-6892
helene@reevescom.ca

For all other media outside Canada

Juliet Barbara
Wikimedia Foundation
press@wikimedia.org


Follow updates for Wikimania 2017 on Facebook and Twitter @Wikimania #wikimania
Follow Wikipedia on Facebook and Twitter @Wikipedia
Follow Wikimedia Canada on Facebook and Twitter @WikimediaCAfr

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