Wikimania 2012 has come to an end. A week of pure exhilaration, excitement, energy, and elation drew to a close on the afternoon of July 15, as the remaining attendees turned off their laptops and exited the George Washington University Marvin Center one last time. For some, this had been a chance to see old friends. For all, it was an opportunity to meet new ones.

Being at Wikimania, and particularly being here in Washington, DC, provided a great opportunity for open culture and free knowledge enthusiasts to share their passion with the world. For Wikimedia District of Columbia, Wikimania had been about exploring new and exciting possibilities, engaging in active discussions and dialogue, and taking what was learned here back so that we can continue the work to empower people around the world through free access to global knowledge. That is why we chose “Explore. Engage. Empower.” as the theme for Wikimania 2012. And over the course of the past week, the more than 1,400 people from 87 countries who had participated in Wikimania 2012 and its associated events did just that.

Roberta Shaffer, Associate Librarian of Congress for Library Services, welcomes guests to the Google Opening Reception (Alejandro Linares Garcia, CC BY-SA 3.0)

With support from our sponsors and partners, over 700 people attended our opening reception at the Library of Congress, where the newest Wikipedian in Residence position was announced; more than 1200 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.

Mary Gardiner speaking at the Wikimania 2012 Opening Ceremony (Helpameout, CC BY-SA 3.0)

One person in our community, 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.”

Lori Byrd Phillips, US Cultural Partnerships Coordinator for the Wikimedia Foundation, reflected on the event, stating that “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. Though, 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.”

David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, speaks at the Wikimania 2012 Closing Ceremony (Sebastian Wallroth, CC BY-SA 3.0)

We at Wikimedia DC would like to also return the love and thank our wonderful partners, collaborators, sponsors, and, especially, volunteers. Wikimania is an event that is put on largely by a group of dedicated international volunteers who donate their time and skills to ensure that all attendees have a wonderful and enriching experience. Wikimania would not have happened without the remarkable work of this amazing group of people. Kat Walsh, the newly elected Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, recognized the contributions that the conference organizers and volunteers made to the overall experience, stating that “The organizing team did an amazing job putting on the largest Wikimania ever, 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.”

We’re grateful to Kat for her leadership, and we also appreciate our participants’ leadership going forward to make the great ideas shared a reality.  We, as diverse individuals and as a community, had the chance over this past week to explore many ideas and engage in lots of discussions during our conference.  We have aspirational goals, and we know that will see many positive outcomes from Wikimania 2012 in the months and years ahead.

Wikimania 2012 attendees at a Teahouse Meetup (Doctree, CC0 1.0)

Wikimedia DC strives to put on events in support of free global knowledge, and our journey has only begun with Wikimania. If you live in the District, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, or Delaware, we invite you to become a member and join our Meetup group. Even if you’re outside our area, you can still donate to help support Wikimedia DC’s various programs, such as the Embassy Outreach Initiative, the upcoming Wiki Loves Monuments US, or our other various events and programs, such as edit-a-thons, LibraryLab, or the Wikipedia Campus Ambassador program.

In closing, we’d like to thank our amazing volunteers one more time. We really could not have done this without the help, advise, and support of many people. Although not everyone on our great team is listed below, you can identify and applaud volunteers on Wikipedia through the Wikimania Barnstar. We encourage you to award one to those people who did something special, whether or not they formally volunteered!

Thanks for visiting us in Washington, DC.  We hope to see you next year in Hong Kong for Wikimania 2013!

With sincere gratitude,

James Hare and Nicholas Michael Bashour

The Wikimania 2012 Organizing Committee

James Hare – Wikimania Coordinator
Nicholas Michael Bashour – Wikimania Deputy Coordinator
Katie Filbert – Technical Coordinator
Tiffany Smith – Program Chair
Orsolya Virág – Deputy Program Chair
Deror Lin – Deputy Program Chair
Sage Ross and Jessie Wild – Scholarships Coordinators
Chad Horohoe – Registration Coordinator
Danny B. – Volunteers Coordinator
Lisa Marrs – Information Desk Maven

Copyright notice: images are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license or the  Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication, as noted.

"Woman and Man" by Irene Lynch / oil stick on rubbed oil on prepared canvas" / approximately 8 feet x 6 feet / hangs unframed / c. 1983

Meet Irene.

Irene contributed $5,000 to Wikimania 2012, joining the likes of Google and WikiHow in sponsoring the international gathering of individuals who work in support of free global access to the sum of human knowledge. But unlike other Wikimania sponsors, Irene is not an internet company, non-profit organization, or philanthropic foundation. Irene is a 78-year-old private individual from New Jersey who describes herself as a “peace seeker, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.”

“My donation to Wikimedia Foundation was inspired by the very mission it espouses,” Irene says. “Without responsible freedom to learn and act, we cannot heal, we cannot grow in a truly healthful fashion.”

Irene is more than just a great grandmother who loves Wikipedia. She also describes herself as a storyteller and an artist.

Poem by Irene Lynch

“My life is my story,” she says. “There are times when I’ve speculated that I could have been born either in one of the Kansas City, MO public libraries, or the Nelson Art Gallery.  My mother spent so much time in them that I learned to read about four, and the arts became my passion.”

Irene cultivated her passion for culture and art through painting (see left), as well as through reading and writing poetry (she says her favorite poem is Ulysses by Tennyson). But it was her continuous pursuit of knowledge that she channeled into her love of the world’s largest encyclopedia.

“I so deeply appreciate what you’ve done for so many over the years!” Irene says of Wikipedia. “As a non-academic scholar and artist, you have sent in wonderful directions in my search for truth & justice, and human compassion.”

Irene will be attending Wikimania 2012 this July, joining an estimated 1000 domestic and international attendees. While on Wikipedia, she’s just one of over 450 million unique visitors, in Wikimania, she’s truly one in a million.

“It is an imperfect humanity we all share, and it is my hope to share conversations with like folks at this conference in DC,” she says. At 78, Irene is further proof that you’re truly never too old to keep learning and to fall in love with Wikipedia.

Everyone at Wikimedia DC thanks Irene for her gracious contribution and we all look forward to welcoming her to Washington, DC, this July.

Nicholas Michael Bashour, President, Wikimedia District of Columbia

Note: if you would like to leave a note for Irene, leave a comment, and Wikimedia DC will forward it to her.

Wikimania 2012 will take place in Washington, DC, July 10-15

Wikimedia District of Columbia is pleased to announce that we have obtained a travel discount on Amtrak for travel to Wikimania 2012 in Washington, DC, this July. Amtrak offers a 10% discount off the lowest available rail fare to Washington, DC between July 07, 2012 – July 18, 2012. This offer is not valid on the Auto Train and Acela service. Offer valid with Sleepers, Business Class or First Class seats with payment of the full applicable accommodation charges. Fare is valid on Amtrak Regional all departures seven days a week, except for holiday blackouts, which do not affect Wikimania dates.

Amtrak joins United Airlines and SkyTeam Global Meetings in offering travel discounts to Wikimania attendees. A discount of up to 13% is available for travel to and from Washington, DC-area airport between July 9, 2012 and July 18, 2012 on United Airlines, Continental Airlines or and flights operated by other airlines and branded United Express and Continental Express, and United codeshare flights operated by Lufthansa and All Nippon Airways. A discount of up to 10% is provided off published airfare for travel to and from Washington, DC-area airports between Monday, July 2, 2012 and Saturday, July 21, 2012 by Delta Airlines, Air France, Aeroloft, KLM, Alitalia, and Korean Air.

To obtain travel discount codes, please contact WikimaniaTravel[at]wikidc.org.

More than three months after the SOPA/PIPA protests, a big question still remains for the global Internet community: where do we go from here? The Wikimedia/Wikipedia community, which was divided over the decision to black out the English Wikipedia globally in January, faces a different but related question: have we done enough, and should we remain neutral moving forward? To help answer at least the first question, last week Wikimedia District of Columbia (Wikimedia DC), in partnership with the Washington European Society and the Estonian Embassy in Washington, hosted the inaugural event of the Embassy Outreach Initiative, “Internet Freedom & Open Government: an International Conversation.”

The event, hosted at the Estonian Embassy, featured a discussion with Danny Weitzner, Deputy CTO for Internet Policy at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy; Chairman Marko Mihkelson, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament; Ian Schuler, Senior Manager for Internet Freedom Programs at the US State Department; and Rebecca MacKinnon, Bernard L. Schwartz senior fellow at the New America Foundation and a member of the Wikimedia Foundation Advisory Board. Adam Kushner, Deputy Editor of the National Journal, moderated the discussion.

The conversation on Internet freedom highlighted several global issues and programs, such as the State Department’s $76 million effort to support worldwide Internet freedom programs, but two significant points emerged that have a particular significance to the Wikimedia community’s goal of global free access to knowledge. The first was an assertion by both Weitzner and MacKinnon that what we can do on the internet today is not a product of random forces or serendipitous actions, but was the result of hard work, of conscious domestic and international policy decisions, and of global efforts by public and private groups to create the environment in which the current Internet culture exists. This is the same assertion that was at the heart of Sue Gardner’s statement on the eve of the January 18 Wikipedia blackout: that “although Wikipedia’s articles are neutral, its existence is not.”

The global dialogue on Internet freedom did not start on January 18, and it’s far from being over. There is no doubt that Internet freedom will always be a central component to the mission of providing free access to global knowledge. One has to only look toward the Uzbek Wikipedia, which was blocked in Uzbekistan for no good reason, to see an example of how attacking Internet freedom can impede our global vision and goals.

The second significant point from the discussion at the embassy was the perhaps deserved criticism that the Internet community has been largely reactive when it comes to Internet freedom, and it needs alternatively become more proactive and use its power constructively to influence or advocate for suitable alternatives. Stopping SOPA/PIPA and hindering the progress of ACTA did not solve the problems that they were designed to address, and there are already talks of what needs to be done next. The Internet community as a whole, and the Wikimedia community in particular, needs to figure out how it wants to shape the global conversation. We need to, as a movement, decide what role want to play in this dialogue or we run the risk of possibly facing another SOPA not too far down the road. But we also need to be careful to avoid sidelining or disenfranchising those in the movement who are not comfortable with (or legally restricted from) advocacy.

One thing to keep in mind is that promoting advocacy and facilitating dialogue are two different things. We don’t need to advocate for a particular viewpoint or policy to facilitate constructive dialogue about the issue as a whole, if that’s the role we want to play. Sometimes simply being present and making the decision makers aware of our existence and our needs makes a significant difference. SOPA, and particularly ACTA burst onto the scene after years of closed-door negotiations, and that’s part of the reason why the response to them was so intense. Many of the policymakers drafting them had no idea what the needs of the Internet community was, or even how the Internet works, because the Internet community was never a part of that conversation and these policymakers did not even think that the community’s opinion mattered. These policies, and way they developed, would have been radically different had we made our presence, needs, and significance known earlier.

Initiatives at Wikimedia DC, like the upcoming Open Government Project, are designed to do just that— to facilitate dialogue and allow the community to be an active participant, both online and offline, so that our needs are not ignored or misrepresented in the future. We at Wikimedia DC will always work toward the goal of empowering individuals across the globe through access to knowledge, and Washington, DC, is a great place for us to make an impact. After all, it was here where President James Madison wrote that “a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

Nicholas Michael Bashour, President, Wikimedia District of Columbia

Note: The statements in this post are simply my own and do not represent the opinions of the Board of Directors as a whole

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 30, 2012:  Wikimedia, District of Columbia (Wikimedia DC) is pleased to announce that WikiHow has joined Wikimania 2012 as a Bronze Level sponsor.

“Wikimania is the preeminent gathering of the world’s knowledge philanthropists,” says Jack Herrick, founder of WikiHow. “Every year, people from all over the world convene to share ideas on how to accelerate the spread of free knowledge around the world. wikiHow.com has sent attendees to Wikimania since 2005. We are proud to support it again.

“The support of the great donors, sponsors, and volunteers, is what makes it possible for us to bring people from all over the globe to Washington, DC in support of global knowledge” says James Hare, coordinator of Wikimania 2012. “WikiHow has been a consistent supporter of Wikimania and of global collaboration, and we welcome their participation in Wikimania 2012.

WikiHow is a collaborative effort to build and share the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Like Wikipedia, wikiHow is a wiki, in that anyone can write or edit a page on the site. Thousands of people from all over the world have collaboratively written 135,446 how-to articles. Over 35 million people a month read wikiHow according to Google Analytics and Quantcast ranks WikiHow as the 150th most popular website. For more information, please visit www.wikihow.com

WIKIMANIA has been, since 2005, the premier annual international gathering of experts, academics, and enthusiasts whose vision is to empower people around the world through free access to global knowledge. Wikipedia and Wikimedia Projects are the principal tools of the Wikimedia movement, encompassing resources that span more than 280 languages and include, aside from Wikipedia, a repository of more than 12 million free-use media files (Wikimedia Commons), a library of free and open source educational textbooks (WikiBooks), and a vast library of online library of free content publications (WikiSource), amongst others. It has been previously held in Frankfurt, Germany; Boston, Mass.; Taipei, Taiwan; Alexandria, Egypt; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Gdańsk, Poland; and Haifa, Israel. For more information and to join Wikimania 2012’ www.wikimania2012.org

WIKIMEDIA DC is the official regional chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation in the District, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware. A non-profit educational organization, Wikimedia DC is dedicated to the advancement of general knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content under a free license or in the public domain.

Contact: Nicholas Michael Bashour, Wikimedia DC President and Wikimania 2012 General Manager

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 30, 2012:  Wikimedia District of Columbia (Wikimedia DC) is pleased to announce that the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) has joined Wikimania 2012 as a Copper-Level sponsor.

“The success of Wikimania depends on the kind support of donors, sponsors, and volunteers, and we’re extremely grateful for Encyclopedia of Life’s support,” says Nicholas Michael Bashour, Wikimedia DC President and General Manager of Wikimania 2012. “EOL is an invaluable resource that contributors across Wikimedia Projects can use to expand and enhance content on Wikimedia Projects that are accessible to millions of users around the globe. We are certain that the global Wikimedia community will benefit from EOL’s presence at Wikimania and we invite attendees to connect with EOL’s staff during the conference to learn more about this wonderful resource.”

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LIFE (EOL) aggregates data on living organisms stored in databases around the world into an open, freely-accessible and trusted resource.   On EOL species pages – one for every form of life known to science – users will find text, maps, videos, sound and literature references, as well as active communities of volunteer scientists, educators, students and nature enthusiasts who work together to review, organize and extend EOL content. Organized as a consortium of leading research institutions and museums from across the world, EOL is pleased to collaborate with the Wikipedia community to provide global access to knowledge about life on Earth.  To learn more and get involved, please visit eol.org

WIKIMANIA has been, since 2005, the premier annual international gathering of experts, academics, and enthusiasts whose vision is to empower people around the world through free access to global knowledge. Wikipedia and Wikimedia Projects are the principal tools of the Wikimedia movement, encompassing resources that span more than 280 languages and include, aside from Wikipedia, a repository of more than 12 million free-use media files (Wikimedia Commons), a library of free and open source educational textbooks (WikiBooks), and a vast library of online library of free content publications (WikiSource), amongst others. It has been previously held in Frankfurt, Germany; Boston, Mass.; Taipei, Taiwan; Alexandria, Egypt; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Gdańsk, Poland; and Haifa, Israel. For more information and to join Wikimania 2012’s list of elite sponsors, visit www.wikimania2012.org

WIKIMEDIA DC is the official regional chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation in the District, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware. A non-profit educational organization, Wikimedia DC is dedicated to the advancement of general knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content under a free license or in the public domain.

Contact: Nicholas Michael Bashour, Wikimedia DC President and Wikimania 2012 General Manager

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 30, 2012: Wikimedia District of Columbia (Wikimedia DC) is pleased to announce that Google has joined Wikimania 2012 as a Diamond Level sponsor. Google’s support of Wikimania helps bring hundreds of people around the world who support open source, open culture, and free access to global knowledge.

“Google has been a strong advocate of open source, and we welcome their support of Wikimania 2012,” says Nicholas Michael Bashour, President of Wikimedia DC. “Through their Open Source Programs Office, Google has supported open source organizations and developers through such programs as Google Summer of Code and Google Code-in. Their support of Wikimania 2012, an international conference attended by hundreds of open source developers and advocates, shows a continued commitment to help expand and maintain an active, vibrant, and global open source community.”

WIKIMANIA has been, since 2005, the premier annual international gathering of experts, academics, and enthusiasts whose vision is to empower people around the world through free access to global knowledge. Wikipedia and Wikimedia Projects are the principal tools of the Wikimedia movement, encompassing resources that span more than 280 languages and include, aside from Wikipedia, a repository of more than 12 million free-use media files (Wikimedia Commons), a library of free and open source educational textbooks (WikiBooks), and a vast library of online library of free content publications (WikiSource), amongst others. It has been previously held in Frankfurt, Germany; Boston, Mass.; Taipei, Taiwan; Alexandria, Egypt; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Gdańsk, Poland; and Haifa, Israel. For more information and to join Wikimania 2012’s list of elite sponsors, visit www.wikimania2012.org

WIKIMEDIA DC is the official regional chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation in the District, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware. A non-profit educational organization, Wikimedia DC is dedicated to the advancement of general knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content under a free license or in the public domain.

Contact: Nicholas Michael Bashour, Wikimedia DC President and Wikimania 2012 General Manager

Mary Gardiner, Co-founder & Director of Operations and Research at the Ada Initiative, to keynote Wikimania 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 23, 2011:  Wikimedia, District of Columbia (Wikimedia DC) is pleased to announce Mary Gardiner as the keynote speaker for Wikimania 2012, the international Wikimedia conference. Mary will be speaking at the opening session of the conference on Thursday, July 12, 2012.

“We’re very excited to have Mary Gardiner open the conference this year,” says James Hare, coordinator of Wikimania 2012. “Mary has been a strong advocate for open source and has worked extensively to elevate the role of women and increase their participation in open source and open culture. Her work fits perfectly within our vision of empowering individuals around the world through free and open access to the sum of human knowledge. We look forward to welcoming her to Washington, DC.”

MARY GARDINER is co-founder and Director of Operations and Research at the Ada Initiative and founder of the first and largest women in open source organization in Australia, AussieChix, which she subsequently expanded into Oceania as Oceania Women of Open Technology. Mary has served as a council member for Linux Australia, the largest non-profit funder of open source projects in Australia and as program chair for linux.conf.au, the largest Linux conference in the southern hemisphere.

THE ADA INITIATIVE is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing participation of women in open technology and culture, which includes open source software, Wikipedia and other open data, and open social media. Co-founders Mary Gardiner and Valerie Aurora each have ten years of experience in open source software, open culture communities, and women in computing activism. The Ada Initiative is named for Countess Ada Lovelace, widely acknowledged as the world’s first computer programmer. She is also the world’s first open source programmer. For more information, visit adainitiative.org

WIKIMANIA has been, since 2005, the premier annual international gathering of experts, academics, and enthusiasts whose vision is to empower people around the world through free access to global knowledge. It has been previously held in Frankfurt, Germany; Boston, Mass.; Taipei, Taiwan; Alexandria, Egypt; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Gdańsk, Poland; and Haifa, Israel. Additional information on the conference can be found at www.wikimania2012.org

WIKIMEDIA DC is the official regional chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation in the District, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware. A non-profit educational organization, Wikimedia DC is dedicated to the advancement of general knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content under a free license or in the public domain.

Contact: Nicholas Michael Bashour, Vice-President

Phone: (313) 377-4589, E-Mail: Press@wikidc.org

Contact for Ada Initiative: press@adainitiative.org