On Friday, July 13, at a Wikiculture and Community presentation, the presenter included two sexual images in his talk in violation of our Friendly Space Policy.

When we became aware of the incident, we asked for feedback in a session in the Grand Ballroom at 5:00 PM following the presentation. Many Wikimania attendees participated and expressed reactions ranging from deep personal shock at encountering this content without their consent to concern about censorship.  During this discussion, the presenter apologized for showing the images that violated the Friendly Space Policy and expressed sincere regret for the harm he caused.

The Wikimania 2012 Organizing Committee also apologizes for the harm this caused some of our attendees.  Wikimania 2012 will not post the video of the talk because it violates our Friendly Space Policy.  The presenter fully agrees with this decision.

The theme of Wikimania 2012 is “Explore, Engage, Empower.”  Wikimania aspires to bring together and empower everyone in our community to build the best possible Wikimedia projects.  Providing an inclusive, diverse, and friendly environment in which all attendees feel safe and welcomed is one of our central goals for Wikimania 2012.  We have been thrilled with the friendly atmosphere and engaging discussion of the conference so far, which would not be possible without you, our presenters and attendees.

If you have any concerns or feedback for the conference organizers, please email one or more of us at our email addresses below. Your emails will remain confidential.

Thank you,

Wikimania 2012 Organizing Committee

James Hare, Coordinator, <james.hare@wikimediadc.org>
Nicholas Michael Bashour, Deputy Coordinator <nicholas.bashour@wikimediadc.org>
Tiffany Smith, Program Chair <tiffany.smith@wikimediadc.org>