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Press conference introduces annual Wikipedia conference Wikimania in Mexico City

Announcements include a partnership between Wikimedia México and the National Council for Culture and the Arts of Mexico (Conaculta) and the launch of the Wikimedia Foundation’s latest Transparency Report

Wikimania, the annual conference celebrating Wikipedia and its sister free knowledge projects, was introduced with a press conference held today at the Hilton Mexico City Reforma. Wikimanía 2015 marks the conference’s 11th year and is co-organized by the Wikimedia México chapter and the Wikimedia Foundation.

Wikimedia México and the National Council for Culture and the Arts of México, or Conaculta, announced an inaugural partnership for the purpose of increasing open and freely reusable content about Mexico’s history, culture, and art on the Wikimedia. This partnership will engage Conaculta’s national network of museums, cultural centers, libraries, art galleries. Daniel Goldin, Director of Biblioteca Vasconcelos, was present as representative of Conaculta for the announcement.

“Collaboration with cultural and artistic institutions is essential for the dissemination of free information,” said Iván Martínez, President of Wikimedia México. “When libraries, archives, and museums open their institutions, they enrich not merely the Wikimedia projects but the world. They break down the barriers to free knowledge for everyone.”

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, opened the press conference with a welcome to all and an overview of the event. “Wikimania is a time for the community of volunteers who build Wikipedia and its sister projects to share experiences and celebrate free knowledge. We are thrilled to be in Mexico City this year and recognize and celebrate Latin America’s contributions to the Wikimedia free knowledge movement,” said Wales. Wales highlighted that Mexicans visit Spanish Wikipedia more than any other country in the world.

Geoff Brigham, General Counsel of the Wikimedia Foundation, introduced the Wikimedia Foundation’s latest Transparency Report. This biannual report, now in its third installment, details the number of requests received to disclose user data or alter or remove content from the Wikimedia projects. According to the report, the Wikimedia Foundation reviewed 23 requests for user data, including informal government and non-government requests, one criminal subpoena, and one court order. None resulted in the disclosure of nonpublic user information. Of the 234 requests to remove or alter general content, none were granted.

Lila Tretikov, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, said: “Free knowledge does not come for free; it comes from people like you and me. Our speech must be protected and our personal information must be secure. Wikimedia defends user privacy and fights censorship so that every human can safely share knowledge critical to all.”

Luis von Ahn, Guatemalan entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Duolingo, closed the event. He addressed the importance of free education and language activities and described recent initiatives of Duolingo, a free language-learning application.

The press conference opened what will be several days of Wikimania activities held at the Hilton Mexico City Reforma, from July 17 - July 19. This year’s event is co-organized by Wikimedia México and the Wikimedia Foundation.

The Wikimania 2015 programme includes an array of meetings, workshops and activities focused on themes such as the state of free knowledge, the role of Wikipedia in education, privacy and digital rights, using technology to grow participation, and more. The conference will be opened by Miguel Ángel Mancera, mayor of Mexico City.

This year’s conference will also feature a special focus on efforts in Latin America and other countries including Brazil, Spain, and Portugal to grow the quality and amount of knowledge on Wikipedia and the other projects. The programme also has a large list of featured speakers including:

  • Jimmy Wales, Founder, Wikipedia (USA/UK)
  • Lila Tretikov, Executive Director, Wikimedia Foundation (USA)
  • Luis von Ahn, entrepreneur and academic, founder of reCAPTCHA, and co-founder and CEO of Duolingo (Guatemala)
  • César Renduele, sociologist and researcher (Spain)
  • Carlos A. Scolari, renowned digital media researcher (Argentina)
  • Katitza Rodríguez, director, Electronic Frontier Foundation (Peru)
  • Carlos Brito, coordinator, Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales (Mexico)
  • Renata Ávila, coordinator, Web We Want (Guatemala)
  • Paz Peña, advocate, Derechos Digitales (Chile)

To see the full programme, please visit: https://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org/wiki/Programme

Follow Wikimania 2015 on social:

Follow Wikimedia México on social:

About the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia consists of more than 34 million articles in 288 languages. Every month, tens of thousands of active volunteers contribute to Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. With nearly half a billion monthly users, projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation are one of the most popular web properties in the world. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants.

About Wikimedia México

Wikimedia México A.C. (WMMX) is a local chapter of the Wikimedia movement and one of the most active in the Spanish speaking countries. Since its recognition in 2011, it has been involved in almost 300 events, including workshops, conferences and more. WMMX has strong ties with the culture, education, TI companies, government sectors, as well as other volunteer organizations that actively support the chapter’s work in the Mexico. Among the institutions that WMMX have worked with are: Fine Arts Palace Museum (Museo Palacio de Bellas Artes), Center for Digital Culture (Centro de Cultura Digital), Chopo University Museum (Museo Universitario del Chopo), and Soumaya Museum (Museo Soumaya) to name just a few. WMMX is working on a wide variety of projects this year including their current support of the Wikipedistas en Puebla initiative to form a future Wikimedia User Group in that state.

About Conaculta (the National Council for Culture and the Arts)

Conaculta mission is to promote Mexico’s diverse, artistic, historic, and cultural traditions. The Council has oversight for the nation’s museums, monuments, and national archives, and coordinates policies governing cultural organizations and institutions. Conaculta promotes, supports, and sponsors various cultural events and cultural institutions throughout Mexico, and defends the tradition of full creative freedom in the arts. Conaculta is a body of Mexico’s Secretariat of Public Education.

About Wikimania

Wikimania is an annual conference centered on the Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia and its sister projects) and the Wikimedia community of volunteers. It features presentations on Wikimedia projects, other wikis, free and open source software, free knowledge and free content, and the social and technical aspects which relate to these topics. Wikimania 2015 marks the 11th year of the conference.

About Wikipedia

Wikipedia is the world’s free knowledge resource. It is a collaborative creation that has been added to and edited by millions of people from around the globe since it was created in 2001: anyone can edit it, at any time. Wikipedia is offered in 288 languages containing a total of more than 34 million articles, and visited by nearly half a billion people every month. It is the largest collection of free knowledge in human history, and today its content is contributed and edited by the community of more than 75,000 volunteer editors each month.

Press Contacts

Martha Oliver
Another Company – Mexico City
(55) 6392 1100 ext. 2416
55-28800940
moliver@anothercompany.com.mx

Katherine Maher
The Wikimedia Foundation
+1 415-839-6885 ext 6633
press@wikimedia.org

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