Difference between revisions of "Annual report (2011–2012)"

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{{color bar header|title=Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2011-12|toc=yes}}
== Key activities and events ==
 
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== Key events ==
   
 
=== Wikimania 2012 ===
 
=== Wikimania 2012 ===
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[[File:Wikimania 2012 banner.svg|right|200px]]
Along with other Wikimedia institutions the chapter hosted the 8th annual Wikimedia conference, Wikimania, at George Washington University in Washington, DC, on July 12–15, 2012. There were over 1400 attendees from 87 countries.<ref>Nicholas Bashour, [http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/07/17/wikimania-2012-swan-song/ Wikimania 2012 swan song], Wikimedia website, July 17, 2012.</ref> The U.S. Department of State hosted one of its regular Tech@State conference jointly, calling it Tech@State:Wiki.Gov and focusing on "Collaborative knowledge and the use of wikis in the public sector".<ref>[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/07/194740.htm U.S. Department of State Hosts Tech@State:Wiki.Gov Conference], press release issued by U.S. Department of State on July 9, 2012.</ref>
 
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Along with other Wikimedia institutions the chapter hosted the 8th annual Wikimedia conference, Wikimania, at George Washington University in Washington, DC, on July 12–15, 2012.
  +
has now concluded. Following a week of pure exhilaration that drew to a close on the afternoon of July 15, the 1,400 attendees from 87 countries turned off their laptops and exited the George Washington University Marvin Center one last time.
  +
  +
The theme for Wikimania 2012 was “Explore. Engage. Empower.” It was borne out of the organizers’ hope that those coming to Wikimania, whether from close or far away, used this great opportunity to explore new and exciting possibilities, engaged in active discussions and dialogue, and took what was learned here back with them in order to continue to empower people around the world through free access to global knowledge.
  +
  +
With support from sponsors and partners, over 700 people attended the Google Opening Reception at the Library of Congress, where the newest Wikipedian in Residence position was announced; more than 1,200 participated in the opening ceremony, which featured keynote speeches from the Ada Initiative co-founder Mary Gardiner and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales; and our community heard over 275 speakers, many of whom are already active contributors to Wikimedia projects, including the Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, Sue Gardner, and the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. In addition, we met and talked with the more than 200 participants at Tech@State: Wiki.Gov, and Richard Boly of the State Department’s Office of eDiplomacy shared a letter from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton congratulating attendees on the opening of Wikimania 2012 and Tech@State.
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Over the course of 5 days, our 1,400 attendees consumed 3,791 lunches, enjoyed 5,424 cups of coffee, and visited nearly every museum and monument in the Washington metropolitan area (although a citation might be needed). On these explorations, our local Washington, DC, highlights were photographed and many are newly included in Wikimedia Commons, a database of freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute.
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One person in our community who is a great supporter of Wikipedia, to the surprise of some of our guests, is David Ferriero, the Archivist of the United States. In his remarks at the closing ceremony on Saturday, Ferriero discussed the important role that Wikipedia and Wikimedia Projects have for preserving history and documenting cultural heritage. After reminding the audience that the National Archives has contributed more than 120,000 digital files and pictures to Wikimedia Commons, he told the crowd, “if Wikipedia is good enough for the Archivist of the United States, then it’s good enough for you.”
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“David Ferriero’s closing plenary illustrated just how inspiring the Wikipedia community can be for institutions and governments looking to become more open and transparent,” said Lori Byrd Phillips, US Cultural Partnerships Coordinator for the Wikimedia Foundation. “What was the most inspirational for me was the respect and appreciation shown by the Wikipedia community during the standing ovation for Mr. Ferriero. I’ve known that the Archivist of the United States loves Wikipedia, but last week I was reminded that the Wikipedia community returns that love to those who advocate for the movement.”
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Kat Walsh, the newly elected Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, returned the love to the organizers and volunteers of Wikimania 2012, recognizing the contributions they made to the overall experience.
  +
“The organizing team did an amazing job putting on the largest Wikimania ever,” Walsh said, “bringing together people from all of the various parts of our movement around the globe and presenting a full program of talks, tours, and workshops. My congratulations and thanks for the great work they’ve done.”
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The Wikimania 2012 organizing committee would also like to thank our amazing volunteers. Wikimedia DC, the organizer of the conference, has no paid staff, except for an amazing intern, and the Wikimania organizing staff included only one paid event planner, Julie Perlmutter, who did an excellent job handling all of the conference logistics. Everything else was planned by a group of dedicated international volunteers who donated their time and skills to ensure that all attendees had a wonderful and enriching experience. Wikimania would not have happened without the work of this amazing group of people
   
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<gallery>
=== Wiki Loves Monuments 2012 ===
 
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File:HareOpeningCeremony201203.JPG|James Hare, Wikimania 2012 Coordinator, delivers the opening remarks at the opening ceremony of Wikimania 2012
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File:Richard Boly; Department of State Greeting; Wikimania 2012.JPG|Richard Boly, Director of the Office of eDiplomacy, delivers an official greeting from the Department of State during the opening ceremony of Wikimania 2012
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File:MaryGardinerWikimania201202.JPG|Mary Gardiner, co-founder of the Ada Initiative, speaks at the opening ceremony of Wikimania 2012
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File:Wikimania Opening Ceremony Adam Novak-0028.jpg|Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, speaks at the opening ceremony of Wikimania 2012
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File:OpeningReceptionWikimania201218.JPG|Roberta Shaffer, Associate Librarian of Congress for Library Services, welcomes guests to the Google Opening Reception at Wikimania 2012
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File:Nicholas Bashour at LOC Google Opening Ceremony 4.jpg|Nicholas Bashour, President of Wikimedia DC, speaks at the Google Opening Reception at Wikimania 2012
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File:Google Reception, Wikimania 2012 08.JPG|A crowd of Wikimedians at the Google Opening Reception at Wikimania 2012
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File:Wikimania 2012 Hackathon P1160476.JPG|MediaWiki developers at the pre-conference Wikimania 2012 Hack-a-Thon
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File:Attendees of 'The purpose-driven social network - Supporting WikiProjects with technology' presentation; Wikimania 2012.JPG|Wikimedians attend a presentation at Wikimania 2012
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File:Wikimania 2012 Sue Gardner-0001 05.jpg|Sue Gardner, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, speaks at Wikimania 2012
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File:Wikimania 2012 2226.JPG|David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, speaks at the closing ceremony of Wikimania 2012
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File:Group Photo Wikimania 2012.jpg|Wikimania 2012 attendees gather for a group photo
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</gallery>
   
== Ongoing programs ==
+
== Program areas ==
   
 
=== Academic and educational outreach ===
 
=== Academic and educational outreach ===
 
2012 was an active year for editathons, workshops, and hackathons:
 
2012 was an active year for editathons, workshops, and hackathons:
  +
 
=== Cultural outreach ===
   
 
March:
 
March:
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August:
 
August:
 
* [http://wikimediadc.org/wiki/Masterpiece_Museum Masterpiece Museum Editathon]
 
* [http://wikimediadc.org/wiki/Masterpiece_Museum Masterpiece Museum Editathon]
October:
 
* Wikipedia Loves Libraries: Backstage at the Smithsonian Libraries 2012
 
* Wikipedia Loves Libraries: George Washington University, Global Resources Center
 
* Wikipedia Loves Libraries: George Washington University Labor History Research Center
 
* Remote participation in the Ada Lovelace Day Editathon
 
December:
 
* 2 Wikipedia Workshops at the Baltimore Free School
 
 
[Some may move into other sections ... missing U. MD event]
 
 
=== Cultural outreach ===
 
Attendees at GLAMCamp 2012 in February at the National Archives were Sarah Stierch, Katie Filbert, Dominic McDevitt-Parks, User:Slowking4, User:Jarekt, User:jeremyb, and Kristin Anderson, and local guest Jefferson Bailey.
 
 
GLAMCamp participants rewrote the GLAM documentation, and assisted with the Walters Museum upload.
 
   
 
=== Government outreach and engagement ===
 
=== Government outreach and engagement ===
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=== International and diplomatic outreach ===
 
=== International and diplomatic outreach ===
Nicholas Bashour, Wikimedia DC President, and Board member Kristin Anderson attended the Wikimedia Conference – Chapters' Meeting 2012 in Berlin, Germany.
 
 
Katie Filbert stepped down as President of Wikimedia DC, to accept a position with WikiData, in Berlin, Germany.
 
 
Kristin Anderson attended Choctaw Days at the National Museum of the American Indian to confer with tribal members about the current state of the Choctaw Language Wikipedia, and started a Mohegan Language Wikipedia in consultation with a Mohegan speaker at Wikimania 2012. She has also received e-mails from linguists expressing interest in the Shoshoni and Pipil language Wikipedias, and discovered a Cheyenne language translation of Martin Luther's Small Catechism for Wikimedia Commons. The Library of Congress "Native by Native" events, which showcased rare books and Native American flutes in honor of Native American Month, provided several uploads for Commons. Kristin thanks WLL staffer Amir Ahironi, LC staffer Bodhan Kantor, Amqui of Wikimedia Canada, and Paulette of the Missoula Public Library for their assistance with Native American fonts, especially Cheyenne and Salish. And a big shoutout to Dthomsen8, a new friend from Wikimania, who pitched in to help clear the 1800 article assessment backlog at WikiProject Indigenous peoples of North America! Now all those little kids in Kenya reading the Kiwix offline Wikipedia will get to read about the Native Americans.
 
 
Also, a shoutout to the manager of the World Bank Infoshop for her help in assembling materials for the InfoShop article. The Infoshop is a wonderful place to sit and edit, if you're downtown on a weekday, and has plenty of material about the Global South!
 
   
 
The Estonian Embassy event was a great success ...
 
The Estonian Embassy event was a great success ...
   
 
[And, The concert at the Austrian Embassy ...]
 
[And, The concert at the Austrian Embassy ...]
 
An outreach tip for Wikipedians in large US cities: Cab drivers who come from countries you don't know much about are sometimes quite knowledgeable about Wikipedia's coverage of their hometowns. Some are pleasantly surprised to discover that they can read about the US on Wikipedia in their native language. Striking up conversations about Wikipedia with these folks can be very interesting. If you ask questions about whether they're satisfied with the accuracy and quality of coverage about their country/culture on the Wikipedia, and about how they use the Internet and mobile phones, you may well learn some new things.
 
   
 
=== Public outreach and education ===
 
=== Public outreach and education ===
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The Great American Wicknic met at Dupont Circle in Washington, DC, and in Frederick, Maryland.
 
The Great American Wicknic met at Dupont Circle in Washington, DC, and in Frederick, Maryland.
 
Our December reception at the National Press Club has given us a head start on our January 2013 Professional Outreach and Retention Initiative goal of reaching out to professionals involved in Public Policy, Public Affairs, and Political Science. We showcased the winning photos from Wiki Loves Monuments, and discovered that Wikipedians and the young journalists group have a great time together, with many complimentary skills and interests to share. During this event, we also had productive discussions with a fellow who is working towards development of a local wiki for Washington DC, to serve as a clearinghouse for information about social services.
 
 
[this needs expansion]
 
   
 
== Organizational development ==
 
== Organizational development ==

Revision as of 13:08, 9 February 2013


Key events

Wikimania 2012

Wikimania 2012 banner.svg

Along with other Wikimedia institutions the chapter hosted the 8th annual Wikimedia conference, Wikimania, at George Washington University in Washington, DC, on July 12–15, 2012. has now concluded. Following a week of pure exhilaration that drew to a close on the afternoon of July 15, the 1,400 attendees from 87 countries turned off their laptops and exited the George Washington University Marvin Center one last time.

The theme for Wikimania 2012 was “Explore. Engage. Empower.” It was borne out of the organizers’ hope that those coming to Wikimania, whether from close or far away, used this great opportunity to explore new and exciting possibilities, engaged in active discussions and dialogue, and took what was learned here back with them in order to continue to empower people around the world through free access to global knowledge.

With support from sponsors and partners, over 700 people attended the Google Opening Reception at the Library of Congress, where the newest Wikipedian in Residence position was announced; more than 1,200 participated in the opening ceremony, which featured keynote speeches from the Ada Initiative co-founder Mary Gardiner and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales; and our community heard over 275 speakers, many of whom are already active contributors to Wikimedia projects, including the Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, Sue Gardner, and the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. In addition, we met and talked with the more than 200 participants at Tech@State: Wiki.Gov, and Richard Boly of the State Department’s Office of eDiplomacy shared a letter from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton congratulating attendees on the opening of Wikimania 2012 and Tech@State. Over the course of 5 days, our 1,400 attendees consumed 3,791 lunches, enjoyed 5,424 cups of coffee, and visited nearly every museum and monument in the Washington metropolitan area (although a citation might be needed). On these explorations, our local Washington, DC, highlights were photographed and many are newly included in Wikimedia Commons, a database of freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute.

One person in our community who is a great supporter of Wikipedia, to the surprise of some of our guests, is David Ferriero, the Archivist of the United States. In his remarks at the closing ceremony on Saturday, Ferriero discussed the important role that Wikipedia and Wikimedia Projects have for preserving history and documenting cultural heritage. After reminding the audience that the National Archives has contributed more than 120,000 digital files and pictures to Wikimedia Commons, he told the crowd, “if Wikipedia is good enough for the Archivist of the United States, then it’s good enough for you.”

“David Ferriero’s closing plenary illustrated just how inspiring the Wikipedia community can be for institutions and governments looking to become more open and transparent,” said Lori Byrd Phillips, US Cultural Partnerships Coordinator for the Wikimedia Foundation. “What was the most inspirational for me was the respect and appreciation shown by the Wikipedia community during the standing ovation for Mr. Ferriero. I’ve known that the Archivist of the United States loves Wikipedia, but last week I was reminded that the Wikipedia community returns that love to those who advocate for the movement.”

Kat Walsh, the newly elected Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, returned the love to the organizers and volunteers of Wikimania 2012, recognizing the contributions they made to the overall experience. “The organizing team did an amazing job putting on the largest Wikimania ever,” Walsh said, “bringing together people from all of the various parts of our movement around the globe and presenting a full program of talks, tours, and workshops. My congratulations and thanks for the great work they’ve done.”

The Wikimania 2012 organizing committee would also like to thank our amazing volunteers. Wikimedia DC, the organizer of the conference, has no paid staff, except for an amazing intern, and the Wikimania organizing staff included only one paid event planner, Julie Perlmutter, who did an excellent job handling all of the conference logistics. Everything else was planned by a group of dedicated international volunteers who donated their time and skills to ensure that all attendees had a wonderful and enriching experience. Wikimania would not have happened without the work of this amazing group of people

Program areas

Academic and educational outreach

2012 was an active year for editathons, workshops, and hackathons:

Cultural outreach

March:

  • She Blinded Me with Science: Smithsonian Women in Science Edit-a-Thon

May:

  • The second Smithsonian Institution Archives Edit-a-thon

July:

  • ArtBytes hackathon at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore

August:

Government outreach and engagement

An informal "Wikipedia Lunch Group" has begun meeting at the Library of Congress, consisting of staff and other visitors.

Three Wikipedians at the Library of Congress participated in the OCLC "Linking Library Data to Wikipedia" webcasts by Max Klein.

Wikipedian-in-Residence Dominic McDevitt-Parks gave a one-hour talk at the Library of Congress on Wikipedia and the National Archives. He was introduced by Kristin Anderson, of the Wikimedia DC Board of Directors.

International and diplomatic outreach

The Estonian Embassy event was a great success ...

[And, The concert at the Austrian Embassy ...]

Public outreach and education

Editing for the Blind, three events at the DC Martin Luther King Public Library Adaptive Services Division. Using the JAWS screenreader, a group of blind library patrons learning computer skills created book reviews for three titles, including Hard Revolution and Fallen Grace.

The Great American Wicknic met at Dupont Circle in Washington, DC, and in Frederick, Maryland.

Organizational development

Membership

Governance

Finances

References