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Every year Wikimedians from around the world gather in person to celebrate free knowledge and collaboration during the annual Wikimania conference, which was held in Washington, DC, in 2012. The next Wikimania will be in Hong Kong, August 2013 and the organizing committee from Wikimedia Hong Kong is very excited about it. We were also quite happy with the positive reaction from Wikipedians to our presentation in Wikimania in DC, where we showed a video about sightseeing on our tram, as well as photos of our beautiful natural environment and our impressive city, including the skyline, the Hong-Kongcrete, shopping districts, and of course our food (which we think is the most original in the world).

Wikimedia Asia Lunch at Wikimania 2012 / 2012維基媒體國際大會期間的亞洲維基人午餐

But a Wikimania in Hong Kong is not just about food and touristy things. As with every Wikimania, we have important goals we would like to achieve as we welcome the Wikimedia movement to Hong Kong. One of the biggest objectives, which we detailed in our Wikimania bid, is the development of further cooperation within Southeast Asia and beyond. There are quite successful chapters in India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and also activities and chapters in Taiwan and Macau. Beyond this work though, we see a great opportunity to organize activities and support the development of more Wikimedia communities in more countries in Asia.

During Wikimania in Washington DC, we had a Wikimedia Asia lunch, with attendance by people from Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore, who all demonstrated the desire to plan for further activities. In addition, we had Wikipedians from language communities such as Khmer , and also we have seen activities and meetups among Vietnamese Wikipedians in Vietnam.

Beyond these Wikipedia communities, we see opportunities for growth and support in Myanmar, a country with active communities of like-minded people. We have heard that 4700 people showed up in Barcamp Rangoon last year, and more than 2,000 participated the one in 2010. Imagine if we could empower a few of them to edit Wikipedia and create knowledge in their languages. It could be a huge addition to our broader community.

Coordinators General Jeromy-Yu Chan, Tango Chan
http://wikimania2013.wikimedia.org

中文

2013年香港：維基媒體國際大會重臨亞洲

全世界維基人每年都會在維基媒體國際大會(Wikimania)聚首一堂，今年在美國華府，而下一次則在2013年8月的香港舉行。相信不少人都對這次年會充滿期望，而我們在華盛頓年會上展示了本地電車旅程、風光景色和美酒佳肴，相信大家都引頸以待。

Wikimania 2013 Hong Kong team members at Wikimania 2012 / 出席Wikimania 2012的香港籌辦團隊成員

但香港年會不只是吃喝玩樂那麼沒有意義，我們也有一些目標，曾在申辦期間說明過，其中一個就是促進鄰近東南亞地區的發展。

維基媒體在東南亞的發展相當奇趣，在印度、印尼、菲律賓、台灣、香港和澳門分會之間，位於歐亞大陸上的東南亞國家幾乎沒有太多有組織的活動。

雖然在今年華府的國際年會，在我們近年都有舉行的亞洲維基人午餐，有來自泰國和斯里蘭卡的維基人參與，而且有來自星加坡和馬來西亞的維基人出席整個年會，而我們曾經見過越南維基人聚會的照片，還有相當活躍的高棉語 (柬埔寨語)維基百科。

因此我們希望能通過在香港的年會，能鼓勵這些國家的維基人和全球各地的維基人接觸，特別是有些未知的地方非常有潛力，例如緬甸。在仰光去年互聯網各界聚集的Barcamp就有4700人出現，2010年據說有2000人。試想想哪怕只有一小部份人成為我們的編者，力量已經相當大。

2013年會的香港籌辦團隊，很樂意幫助這些地區的維基人和其他網界甚至其他界別的合作修橋搭路，相信區內其他分會也樂於此舉。無論你是上述那一方面的人士，我們都很歡迎你聯絡我們，直接參與我們亞洲地方分會/社群的討論的郵件列表，或者電郵給我們香港的地方籌辦團隊。
主任統籌
Jeromy-Yu Chan, Tango Chan
http://wikimania2013.wikimedia.org

The Wikimedia Foundation is thrilled to announce the sponsorship of 77 full scholarship recipients and 52 partial scholarship recipients for the 2011 Wikimania!  Wikimania – an entirely community driven conference since 2005 – is an important annual event for the Wikimedia movement, bringing together Wikimedia advocates from all around the globe for four days. We are proud to be able to facilitate the attendance of representatives from different countries, chapters, languages and/or projects at this international conference.

Scholars were selected based on their (a) activity on Wikimedia projects, (b) activity in compatible projects outside of Wikimedia, and (c) future goals for participation in the Wikimedia movement. A group of nine volunteers formed the scholarship review committee, which pored over the more than 1100 applications in order to select a diverse pool of candidates, with the following goals in mind:

• Make Wikimania 2011 a successful and productive international conference
• Support the Wikimedia projects by encouraging participation
• Enrich the conference with attendance by a diverse group of participants in the Wikimedia movement

This year’s group of full scholars represents the most diverse we have ever had! Female scholarship recipients are up to 18% of the total full scholarships, and 53% of full scholarship recipients hail from the Global South (representing 62% of the funding). Moreover, recipients are coming from all regions of the world.

Of course, the selection of these individuals has been made possible only thanks to the dedicated scholarship review committee as well as the generosity of Wikimedia Germany, which donated directly to the funds. In addition, a variety of other chapters has generously provided self-administered scholarships, opening the opportunities for participation even more.

We are delighted to sponsor such a passionate and diverse group of individuals who not only have demonstrated commitment to our projects in the past, but who also are committed to the future of the Wikimedia movement. We anticipate great things from the conference!

Last week the organizers of Wikimania 2011 sent out an announcement encouraging all Wikimedia project enthusiasts to register and attend this year’s conference.  The conference will be held in Haifa, Israel, August 4 through 6, and is organized by members and volunteers from the very active chapter there, Wikimedia Israel.

Now in its seventh year, Wikimania is the largest gathering of Wikimedians in the world, bringing together coders/developers, editors, researchers, enthusiasts, organizers, and other project collaborators – from all corners of the globe – to learn about and share their efforts to spread free knowledge around the world.

This year’s incredible schedule of events includes 125 sessions from project participants from all over the world, as well as two days of developer meetings preceding the main events. Plenary session speakers include Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, Dr. Joseph Reagle, Prof. Yochai Benkler, and Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Sue Gardner.

Online registration continues through August 1, but register early to ensure your spot at this year’s conference. Accommodations provided by the event organizers are limited.

Hope to see you in Haifa!

Jay Walsh, Communications