Wikimania Committee/Charter

Wikimania overview

Organization

• Committee
• Community group
• Handbook
• Checklist

Next event

• 2025 (Nairobi, Kenya)

Future events

• 2026 (Paris, France)
• 2027 To be determined

Past years

• Details of past Wikimanias
• 2024 (Katowice, Poland)
• 2023 (Singapore)
• 2022 (Virtual event)
• 2021 (Virtual event)
• 2020 (Cancelled)
• 2019 (Stockholm, Sweden)
• 2018 (Cape Town, South Africa)
• 2017 (Montréal, Canada)
• 2016 (Esino Lario, Italy)
• 2015 (Mexico City, Mexico)
• 2014 (London, United Kingdom)
• 2013 (Hong Kong SAR, China)
• 2012 (Washington, D.C., USA)
• 2011 (Haifa, Israel)
• 2010 (Gdansk, Poland)
• 2009 (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
• 2008 (Alexandria, Egypt)
• 2007 (Taipei, Taiwan)
• 2006 (Boston, USA)
• 2005 (Frankfurt, Germany)

Scope

The Wikimedia movement has international scope and participation, and has found great expression through a series of community global conferences: Wikimania. The mission of the Wikimania Committee is to oversee and guide Wikimania from year to year, supporting each conference's individual organising team and providing them with resources, experience and advice.

Specifically, the committee shall:

• Guide the long-term development of Wikimania, its overall objectives and way it should achieve them.
• Set, enforce and commission the selection procedures for each Wikimania.
• Ensure process accountability and progress in the organisation of each Wikimania.
• Advise the WMF on the level of funds necessary for Wikimania.
• Advise and support the staff member designated by the WMF as the primary point of contact for each Wikimania.
• Develop best practices for Wikimania and other community conferences
• Ensure continuity of Wikimania documentation and advise on the evaluation of each Wikimania at its conclusion, covering the views of the committee, organisers, attendees, and others.
• Provide advice (on request) with regards to other large-scale Wikimedia events to the community and movement bodies.
• Other tasks related to Wikimania as the need arises.

Composition

The Wikimania Committee shall have at least eight members. It includes Wikimania organizers, people actively supporting Wikimania and at least one Wikimedia Foundation staff member. The committee will aim for a diversity of Wikimania experiences, community roles and perspectives, language skills, and demographics.

Members are appointed to a renewable one-year term. Every year in the first meeting after Wikimania (around September) members are asked to confirm their commitment or to step out of the committee; new members can be nominated and voted.

Members shall serve entirely as volunteers and shall not receive costs or any special entitlement to scholarships to attend any Wikimania by virtue of serving on the committee. If a member of the committee at any time whilst serving has a personal or family conflict of interest with regard to the work of the committee, they will be expected to resign.

Chair and Vice-Chair

The chair and vice-chair of the Wikimania Committee are voted by the committee and they are appointed to a one-year term.

Wikimania team liaisons

Each active Wikimania team will have one or more liaisons on the Committee. They will provide mentoring, moral support, and advice; and will help teams compare notes with past events.

Procedures

The procedures of the committee will be developed once it is formed. Over time, the procedures will include support for setting Wikimania policies, coordinating bidding, and preserving and sharing lessons learned.