Hi everybody,
I wanted to give you the heads up that the Wikimedia Foundation is planning to endorse a petition to the White House to mandate open access to taxpayer-funded research. The petition is in line with previous open access declarations that we endorsed and is supported by a large number of organizations including Creative Commons, the Public Library of Science and the Open Knowledge Foundation. The White House will give a formal response if the petition hits 25K signatures within 30 days (by June 19).
We are aiming to publish a blog post tomorrow morning PT and we put together some FAQ explaining how the decision was made and why we want to support this important initiative that is fully aligned with our mission. We'll send an announcement shortly to various other community outlets.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Blog/Drafts/Access2Researchhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Access2Research
If you want to help please head off to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Access2Research
Best,
Dario
Dear Chapter Leaders,
A quick reminder that we ask you to complete the Chapter Finances Survey (http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Chapter_Financ…) by Friday, May 25th (that's tomorrow).
This information is absolutely crucial to the recommendation for the Board of Trustees on the Funds Dissemination process. We ask that ALL chapters respond, regardless of budget.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me or to Asaf Bartov at WMF.
Many Thanks,
Divya (User:Divyanarayanan_tbg)
The Bridgespan Group
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Hi Richard and all,
I checked into the liability and benefits questions with our HR department
and WMF's Chief of Finance and Administration, and here is some more info
from them:
Individuals who have been awarded Fellowships from the Wikimedia Foundation
are covered by the insurance of the Wikimedia Foundation for work done as
part of their Fellowship agreement.
If they are in the United States, through third party service, the
Wikimedia Foundation is able to provide health insurance. If they reside
outside the United States, then the Wikimedia Foundation provides a
financial supplement to enable the Fellowship recipients to cover their own
health insurance.
If a Fellowship recipient is traveling on behalf of the Wikimedia
Foundation, outside of their home country, then they are provided with
travel accident insurance by the Wikimedia Foundation.
Hope this helps! If you're looking for more specifics on WMF's HR
practices, I might suggest we take the conversation off-list and can try to
put you in touch with someone in a relevant department to advise.
Best,
Siko
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 19:15:50 +0100
> From: Richard Symonds <richard.symonds(a)wikimedia.org.uk>
> To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Announcing 2 Community Fellow
> Message-ID:
> <CACHSVDxfojm=d56q9Z6G825Mo2JHEP83kMxZqnmTuCFgK8k-OQ(a)mail.gmail.com
> >
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> I'm asking from a purely good faith perspective, by the way: I tend to deal
> with HR here at WMUK, and I'll be dealing with it more and more in future.
> The more I know about how other Wikimedia orgs do things, Tyre better :-)
>
> Richard Symonds
> On May 21, 2012 7:09 PM, "Richard Symonds" <
> richard.symonds(a)wikimedia.org.uk>
> wrote:
>
> > I must admit to being curious, as do at least two others i've spoken to
> > about this. With no benefits and no pensions, and what seems like hazy
> > employment rights that vary from state to state (not to mention fellows
> > from overseas) and person to person, this does seem a little odd. How
> much
> > notice are they given, and what support they are entitled to from the
> WMF,
> > would be very helpful.
> >
> > I'd appreciate a more technical explanation so I can understand how the
> > WMF deals with people on these short term contracts. :-)
> >
> > Richard Symonds
>
--
Siko Bouterse
Head of Community Fellowships
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
sbouterse(a)wikimedia.org
(Appologies for cross posting)
>From 29 June until 1 July 2012 the Wikipedia Academy (#wpac2012) [1]
will take place in Berlin, under the theme “Research and Free
Knowledge”. For the first time, Wikimedia Deutschland organises this
conference in cooperation with Freie Universität Berlin [2] and the
Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society [3]. This year, we lay the
focus on research on, with and within Wikipedia and invite researchers
who scientifically deal with Free Knowledge and its implications for
research and society to participate in the conference.
The Wikipedia Academy is aimed to address an international audience.
The conference language is English.
On Friday and Saturday the conference will be set at Freie Universität
Berlin, School of Business & Economics, Garystrasse 21. The event
venue for Sunday will be announced soon.
== Registration ==
For participation you have to register for a participant pass in
advance. The online registration
(http://wikipedia-academy.de/2012/wiki/Registration) is open now. The
participation fee is 60 Euro (reduced price: 30 Euro) [4].
== Programme ==
The conference programme is yet subject to alterations. A preliminary
programme schedule can be found on the WPAC2012 website [5].
=== Friday 29 June ===
Ahead of the conference, in the morning of Friday, we offer three
workshops (tutorials) which will take place at the conference venue.
The topics are Wikipedia Data Analysis for Researchers, Toolserver and
GLAM Tools. You can register via the online registration form against
an extra participation fee of 10 Euro.
The conference will officially be launched on Friday around 01:30 PM
with a keynote speech by Benjamin Mako Hill (researcher at MIT Media
Lab and the MIT Sloan School of Management, fellow at Berkman Center
for Internet and Society, Free Culture Activist and Advisor der
Wikimedia Foundation) introducing to the conference theme Wikipedia
and Research. In the afternoon, we will provide the opportunity to get
to know a number of different research topics, projects, and ideas in
an alternative format during a so-called Speed Geeking. Then, we will
also have our first couple of Paper Sessions! Many international
researchers have followed our Call for Papers. A list of all accepted
submissions is available on our website. At the Paper Sessions the
authors will present their scientific works on Wikipedia and Free
Knowledge in 30-minute slots each. The first conference day will close
with a panel talk on Wikipedia research and the Wikipedia Community.
=== Saturday 30 June ===
On Saturday we will host paper presentations in three blocks of one
and a half hours each. Apart from that, we are planning a panel on
science communication applying Wikis and Blogs. The Lightning Talks in
the later afternoon will offer an additional opportunity to learn
about the results of recent research projects and also about proposals
for future projects.
=== Sunday 1 July ===
On Sunday the Wikipedia Academy will open up for a broader public and
invite Wikipedia researchers as well as all those who are interested
in the various facets of Wikipedia and related projects and those who
are engaged in projects in the context of free culture, free licences,
open data or free software.
Following a keynote speech by Sarah Stierch (Community Fellow of the
Wikimedia Foundation, consultant and expert for topics such as the
gender gap and GLAM) on Wikipedia and Diversity, an extended Free
Culture Brunch will allow for international and interdisciplinary
exchange and cross-linking. Later on, Jeanette Hofmann (HIIG) und
Sebastian Hauss (Universität Konstanz) will discuss topics such as the
social aspects of Free Knowledge in a panel moderated by Matthias
Spielkamp (irights.info).
Around 03:00 PM the festive presentation of the Zedler Prize for Free
Knowledge will round the Wikipedia Academy 2012 off. With this prize,
Wikimedia Deutschland awards single persons, groups or projects for
their outstanding performances in the field of Free Knowledge. All
Academy participants are cordially invited to join this event.
We look forward to our Guests with their various fields of research
and scientific interests, stimulating talks and presentations as well
as an active exchange of experiences and ideas at the Wikipedia
Academy 2012.
The WPAC2012 Team (academy(a)wikimedia.de) will be happy to answer
questions: Nicole Ebber, Angelika Adam, Maria Rößler and Denis Barthel
[1] http://wikipedia-academy.de/2012/wiki/Main_Page
[2] http://www.fu-berlin.de/
[3] http://hiig.de/
[4] http://wikipedia-academy.de/2012/wiki/Registration
[5] http://wikipedia-academy.de/2012/wiki/Schedule
--
Nicole Ebber
Projektmanagerin
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | NEU: Obentrautstr. 72 | 10963 Berlin
Tel. +49 30 219158 26-0
http://wikimedia.de
Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg
unter der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das
Finanzamt für Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
Forwarding to Wikimedia-l
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Matt Halprin <matt.halprin(a)gmail.com>
Date: Sun, May 20, 2012 at 11:45 AM
Subject: Re: [Internal-l] CSBS 2012 - Results
To: "Local Chapters, board and officers coordination (closed
subscription)" <internal-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Hi all,
I would also like to note that WMF's Board of Trustees has voted to
approve the nominations of Alice and Patricio to the WMF BoT
(effective the Wikimania Board meeting). The Board looks forward to
welcoming Alice and Patricio and expresses deep gratitude for the
diligent work of Arne and Phoebe.
Thanks,
Matt
>>
>> On 18.05.2012 05:12, Béria Lima wrote:
>>
>> Hello!
>>
>> We have a result! The polls closed a few hours ago and I've already counted the votes. The chapters have, by voting, selected the following candidates to serve on the WMF board:
>>
>> * Patricio Lorente
>> * Alice Wiegand
>>
>> Patricio Lorente (User:Patricio.lorente) is the current President of Wikimedia Argentina. He had worked as Project Manager of the Association for Social Development in Argentina. At present, he serves as General ProSecretary of the National University of La Plata.
>>
>> Alice Wiegand (User:Lyzzy) is an IT specialist for system administration in the public sector. She currently run the IT department of a German municipality with 450 PC workstations. In April she will start her Master’s studies in Public Policy and Governance.
>>
>> I also would like to thanks Arne and Phoebe for the job they did over the last two and half years, all the candidates for all the work they put into the elections and everyone who participated in the process by nominating a candidate, asking questions of candidates or taking part in your chapter's decision on who to vote for.
>>
>> I commend this result to the board and urge them to approve it.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Béria Lima
>> Moderator
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Internal-l mailing list
>> Internal-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/internal-l
>>
Hi everyone,
This Friday the Wikimedia Foundation's mobile team will be hosting an IRC
office hours to talk about the new version of the Wikipedia mobile site,
along with other upcoming updates to the way readers and contributors
experience the projects on mobile devices.
This is the first office hours with Phil Chang, the product manager for
mobile, since the Foundation has worked to release new versions of the
mobile site, iPhone app, and the Android app. If you're interested in those
projects and future work on mobile contributions, I highly encourage
attending. :)
We'll be in #wikimedia-office from 18:00-19:00 UTC, Friday the 23rd. As
usual, docs are on Meta: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC_office_hours
--
Steven Walling
https://wikimediafoundation.org/
Hi Florence,
I guess I didn't do a very good job addressing these questions in the
earlier thread, so I'll try one more time :-)
Fellowships are temporary roles, so they are not treated as full time staff
positions. They do not receive retirement benefits, and generally the
paperwork setup and associated benefits is not like staff, its more like
contractor, though again the specifics will vary according to fellowship
location, duration, and what US regulation dictates based on these
variables. I am happily ignorant of the liability/insurance side of
things, so perhaps someone from the LCA team can address this if needed.
Is there a particular issue that makes you ask about this, or just
generally curious?
Best wishes,
Siko
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 23:29:51 +0200
> From: Florence Devouard <anthere9(a)yahoo.com>
> To: wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Announcing 2
> Community Fellows
> Message-ID: <jpbnof$8vl$2(a)dough.gmane.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
>
> I can not help (I am optimistic with lot's of faith :))
>
> Does the fellowship status implies that the WMF pays for health or
> retirement benefits (as it would for a staff member) or does the fellow
> receive a lump sum and manages by himself to pay for taxes and benefits
> depending on the country he lives in (as would a contractor) ?
>
> Does the fellowship status implies that, should the fellow get in
> trouble, he would be considered "staff" (in terms of liability) or is he
> on his own ? (which in my terms would be "if as staff", he is covered by
> WMF insurance versus "if as contractor", he has to pay insurance by
> himself).
>
>
> Florence
>
> --
Siko Bouterse
Head of Community Fellowships
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
sbouterse(a)wikimedia.org
(Cross posting to wikimedia-l as suggested by MZMcBride)
Yup I'm actually talking about the project home page
(www.wikipedia.org) which some people land on from a google search.
I've been working on some adjustments to the styling of
www.wikipedia.org to make it mobile friendly for browsers that support
media queries- this could then in future be applied to other wiki*
projects (e.g. wiktionary).
I've had some very useful feedback from MZMcBride and I believe we
have now got it to a state [1] where we should consider synced to
live.
Please jump in on the discussions [2] if you have any objections or
further tweaks
[1] http://bug-attachment.wikimedia.org/attachment.cgi?id=10631
[2] https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=30389
On Fri, May 18, 2012 at 4:57 PM, Platonides <Platonides(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> On 18/05/12 17:54, Raylton P. Sousa wrote:
>> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/
>
> That's a different site. He's talking about the portal with links to the
> different editions.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Wikitech-l mailing list
> Wikitech-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikitech-l
(apologies for cross-posting)
A petition you should care about: require free access over the Internet to journal articles arising from taxpayer-funded research.
http://access2research.org/http://wh.gov/6TH
25,000 signatures in 30 days (by June 19) gets an official response from the White House.
Dario