Argentina - Wikimania 2009 in Argentina

In August 2009 the San Martin Cultural Centre in Buenos Aires will have the honor of welcoming the entire world community of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia made by Internet users with more than 10 million entries on line.

The event attracts many users from all over the world that participate in this great encyclopedia´s projects, as well as renowned activists, bloggers, and specialists in wiki technology, open source software, free culture and Internet-culture related social organizations.

Just returning from the last Wikimania in Egypt, where he presented Buenos Aires as the next venue, head of Wikimedia Patricio Lorente talks about the importance of choosing Argentina, the particular significance of the country as an encyclopedia contents producer and some tips about the Buenos Aires program.

What are the characteristics of the Wikimania world meetings?
They are three to five day-long meetings to discuss growth strategies, technical issues, education-and development-related experiences, and to develop social and personal relationships between members of the project´s community.

Why was Argentina chosen as the next venue?
Wikimedia Argentina made a proposal to organize Wikimania 2009 in Buenos Aires, and competed with other cities from different parts of the world. The final round included Brisbane (Australia), Kalsruhe (Germany) and Toronto (Canada).

The reasons behind this choice are basically the features of the place where the activities would be held (the San Martin Cultural Centre), the local group´s level of organization, and the city´s hallmarks. The selection was also influenced -although it probably wasn’t so decisive – by the fact that Wikimania had never been held in the southern hemisphere, and that this is a Spanish-speaking country: the Spanish Wikipedia is the second largest one in terms of visits, and it keeps growing.

How is it important for the country?
For a few days, the country will be on the spotlight for the people that build the world’s most visited contents site. This means that both the traditional press and the new media (blogs, social networks, etc) will be watching what happens in Buenos Aires.

We also hope there will be a positive impact in the growth of users of our collaborative projects, Wikipedia being the more known one.

How was the confirmation of Buenos Aires being the 2009 venue received in Alexandria?
The confirmation of Buenos Aires being the host of Wikimania 2009 was issued in March this year. In Alexandria (host of the last Wikimania) we took the opportunity to make a small presentation and invitation for next year. It was received with great enthusiasm.

What will be the event´s characteristics in Argentina?
For Wikimania 2009, we have anticipated a special programming for those wanting to participate but who are not experienced users, for whom some debates may seem rather difficult. We´re also thinking that the more outstanding speakers could give an open public conference, apart from their specific contribution in Wikimania. We´re also interested in addressing more general topics, such as Free Culture, and with that in mind we will most likely organize some activities together with Creative Commons.

What are the estimated number of visitors and their countries of origin?
In Alexandria there were about 600 people from more than 50 countries. We expect a similar number.

Which personalities will be attending?
The creator of Wikipedia, Jmmy Wales, will attend, but we haven´t solved the personalities list yet. There´s still more than a year to go.

How was the local version´s high organization level achieved?
The Argentine community participating in these projects has been organizing meetings and joint activities for several years, so taking a step forward towards a greater institutionalization in the form of the Local Chapter felt very natural. This is the only chapter in the Spanish-speaking world that has been recognized by the Wikimedia Foundation, although there are many organization efforts in different countries. There is a good deal of Argentine collaborators in comparative terms, but there could be more: spreading the word about these projects is a part of our job as a Chapter.

Apart from Wikimania, and among other projects, we´re working on smaller events called “Wikipedia Academies”, and also editing promotion and help material. We have also made an agreement with the INADI (National Institute against Discrimination, Xenofobia, and Racism) towards elaborating activities that stimulate the development of native tongues in Wikipedia and facilitating Internet access and involvement.