Category: Community

Farhad Fatkullin named Wikimedian of the Year for 2018

In the closing ceremony of this year’s Wikimania, held in Cape Town, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales announced Farhad Fatkullin as the Wikimedian of the year for 2018. Fatkullin was selected for his efforts in support of the minority language communities in Russia. “Farhad is energetically community organizing among Russia’s minority language communities,” said Wales, “going far and wide beyond his….

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Community digest: Virtual exhibitions help make Estonian artworks accessible to everyone; news in brief

While Estonian museums hold nearly nine million items, only 3.5% of them are displayed in exhibitions. The case isn’t significantly different in other countries: museums have a limited display space and can only open up a fraction of their collections to the public at some occasions. Much of the preserved items may even never leave….

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Wikipedia volunteers and free knowledge leaders gather in Cape Town for the first annual “Wikimania” conference in sub-Saharan Africa

More than 700 attendees from nearly 80 countries gathered today for the start of Wikimania 2018—the annual conference celebrating Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, the Wikimedia free knowledge movement, and the community of volunteers who make them possible. This marks the 14th annual Wikimania, which takes place 18–22 July at the Southern Sun Cape Sun….

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Wikimedia Foundation and Kiwix partner to grow offline access to Wikipedia

The Wikimedia Foundation has announced a partnership with Kiwix, the free and open-source software solution that enables offline access to educational content, to expand and improve access to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects globally. This partnership will include a $275,000 contribution to Kiwix to further enhance offline access to Wikipedia in parts of the world….

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Wikimedia Conference in Berlin 2018

The insights series: Coenraad Loubser

Over the last few years, the annual Wikimedia Conference has seen many more individuals in emerging communities. This year, Wikimedians from 79 countries, representing nearly one hundred movement affiliates, contributed to the event’s cultural, regional, and language diversity. Community member Rupika Sharma interviewed several of these attendees to get their thoughts on the Wikimedia movement, their own communities,….

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Meet the scientist working to increase the number of underrepresented scientists and engineers on Wikipedia

By day, Dr. Jess Wade is a physicist best known for her work on “polymer-based, circularly polarising, light-emitting diodes.” But in the evenings (and on the weekends, and as other time permits) Dr. Wade is a strong advocate for increasing diversity and inclusion in STEM subjects, speaking at conferences and starting a campaign on Wikipedia to promote more early-career women….

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Portuguese Wikipedia hits one million articles

Celebrating the fifteenth Wikipedia to cross the one million article rubicon.

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European Parliament votes against EU copyright proposal that would threaten the open web

We applaud the results of this vote by the European Parliament as it now provides an opportunity for open discussion to create a balanced, modern copyright system for Europe.

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Meet some featured Wikimedia volunteers from India

Every month, Wikimedia India selects an exceptionally performing user from the Indian community and features the user on its page. This practice has been effective in engaging dedicated editors with others in the community.

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Kusudamas and production schedules: The joy of being a Visiting Wikimedian for the Wikimedia Conference

Vira Motorko is a Project Manager at Wikimedia Ukraine. Through Wikimedia Germany’s Visiting Wikimedian program, they helped plan the 2018 Wikimedia Conference, held earlier this year in Berlin.

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