CEE/Newsletter/Newsroom/Wikimania 2024 - a few words from a participant

Wojciech Pędzich

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Wikimania 2024 - some (too few?) words from a participant

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This year’s Wikimania – the first in-person global celebration of being Wikimedians – took place in Singapore, specifically at the Suntec Convention Centre, August 16-19. Almost 700 people attended in-person, while more than twice this number decided to take part online. Taking into account the time zone at which the event was taking place, this looked to be a success.

There were a number of CEE accents scattered around the corridors and rooms of Suntec. The CEE Hub was often referenced in the session on “Wikimedia 2030 Strategy - Hubs: A joint framework on working together, but apart”. I was able to showcase Pattypan, the massive Commons upload tool that was developed by Yarl in the heart of the CEE region. Antanana and Anton Protsiuk held a lecture on decolonizing knowledge that shwed the Ukrainian perspective and was an eye-opener. Ukraine was also featured in the lightning talk on the Cultura Diplomacy Month initiative. Kiril Simeonovski held a lecture on the invisible tax of free knowledge, as well as a lecture on capacity development for underrepresented communities.

The CEE representatives held a meetup during one of the local evenings – around 40 people attended in person with additional few dialing in to get together and talk over current goings-on in the CEE region and its wider context. Of special importance to the region was the Wikimedian of the Year award ceremony, where Anton Protsiuk of Wikimedia Ukraine was awarded an Honorable Mention. Once again, congratulations, Anton – this is definitely deserved. Oh, and condensed milk – the Ukrainian drink of volunteer appreciation was also mentioned on the big stage (and showcased by Anton Protsiuk in one of his sessions).

The sessions were numerous and held in multiple rooms – the richness of the programme made it difficult sometimes to choose what we wanted to see. Not to worry, though, sessions are available as long YouTube videos and will be available as individual programme items as time progresses. I would like you to go over this article without falling asleep, so I will not mention the fashion show, the karaoke, wikiraces and all the cool things that were happening during these four daus.

And as promised during the closing ceremony – we will CEE you all in Poland for Wikimania 2024 where we will celeprate the spirit of the Collaboration of the Open!

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