Talk:WikiConference North America
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Nominating cities for future WikiConferences?
[edit]Is there a process for nominating a city to host a future WikiConference North America? Is there a set of criteria used when considering which city to go to next? 23:30, 4 February 2026 (UTC) BillBasirLeslie (talk) 23:30, 4 February 2026 (UTC)
- @BillBasirLeslie: Coincidentally, only today I just started a bids page, and presented two bids for cities where I have Wikimedia projects.
- First, let me say that these bids I am presenting are not solid ideas and I have no invitation to bid, and am not part of the decision-making team. I am a past WikiConference organizer and volunteer every year. The bids I made are fine, but they have shortcomings, and more bids anywhere are very welcome.
- There is no existing template or questions because WikiConference, although it gets ~300 attendees typically, it is still a community volunteer run event and it has not happened that multiple community groups have competed to host in the past.
- If you have questions or want to make a bid, then I can talk that through with you.
- The major resource that WikiConference North America can provide to an organizing group is the promise of sponsoring travel scholarships to bring ~50 people to the conference location, including travel and hotel. There is also a budget for other conference support. The local team needs to come up with resources somehow. Depending on the city, the local fundraising / resourcing raising may not need to be much, but there needs to be a non-zero amount of local resource input into the conference, so getting some mix of in-kind venue donations, a local organizing team donation, or actual sponsors from the city is necessary. This is a conversation and not a defined process. Typically the next venue is announced at the prior WikiConference, so selecting a 2027 host should happen by October 2026. Bluerasberry (talk) 21:04, 5 February 2026 (UTC)
- Thank you for launching this easy early process, User:Bluerasberry. Getting these things written up helps organizers plan and figure out what to do. -- econterms (talk) 16:13, 20 February 2026 (UTC)
Guns in Virginia
[edit]@OhanaUnited: "Gun violence continues to pose safety concern, in light of recent event" For the Americans, can you please clarify which one?
"Virginia is an open carry state. Some attendees will not feel comfortable when walking around with people carrying legal firearm in public spaces" I have been here since 2018 and have never seen anyone carry a gun. The police do have guns, but fortunately / unfortunately I am not sure I have seen a cop here except as security inside government buildings. As with lots of places in the United States, open carry or not, lots of people are walking around, carrying guns, but having them well concealed on their bodies in a discreet way.
Can you say more about the fear? Is this a "guns in America" thing or really a Virginia thing? If it makes a difference, then I can defend Virginia's gun policy as compared to elsewhere in the United States, which is shaping up to be among the strictest in the country. Open carry is not the only factor. My view is that general access to guns is not particularly an issue here, but gun attacks by people who specifically want to travel to a Wikipedia event for an attack is an issue.
Overall, if your concerns is someone coming to shoot people, then yes you should be scared of that, and I have nothing to say. But if you are concerned about the nearby shooting yesterday or open carry generally in a typical American city, then I think there might be a Canadian / American misunderstanding because this place is lower risk and not much different than past American city hosts. Bluerasberry (talk) 18:36, 13 March 2026 (UTC)
- I was in Norfolk, Virgina in 2016. It happened to be the launch of Pokemon Go and I went to a local park where crowds gathered. Someone carried an automatic rifle in their shoulder sling to the park and I felt very uncomfortable in that situation. I left the park right away. It's not a Canadian vs. American thing. Attendees are not in a bubble between the hotel and conference venue. They will be participating in cultural crawl, meals and other activities which will be in public space. I don't think you can carry a gun like this even in New York. I am commenting from my personal experience because the view of a gun may trigger some attendees' PTSD or trauma from last year. OhanaUnitedTalk page 19:51, 13 March 2026 (UTC)
- That sounds really crazy to see that in a park. Like I said, I have never experienced that. If I did, then I would call the police, because that is not normal anywhere. Undoubtedly there are many dangers, and many gun dangers, in the United States. Although I have never experienced seeing a person carry a gun like that, it is easy for me to recognize that this is immeasurably more likely to happen in the United States than any other North American country. Bluerasberry (talk) 21:06, 13 March 2026 (UTC)
Affiliations Committee News (January-March 2026)
[edit]You can find this newsletter translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki. Please help translate to your language
Quarterly newsletter sharing news and events about the work of Wikimedia's Affiliations Committee.
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Affiliate Recognition and Derecognition: This past quarter, AffCom recognized no new Affiliates due to the pause in recognizing new affiliates.
AffCom Conflict Intervention: AffCom is currently addressing eight ongoing affiliate conflict cases received in previous quarters.
Affiliate Recognition Pause Extension: The Wikimedia Foundation, together with the AffCom, has extended the pause on new affiliate recognition until September 1, 2026.
New Affiliate Model Development Efforts: The Affiliations Committee held collaborative meetings with the Global Resource Distribution Committee (GRDC) to explore the development of a new affiliations model.
Towards a Healthy Ecosystem of Wikimedia Organizations: Two major pilot initiatives were launched to address long-standing questions about the roles of movement organizations and the future of resource allocation.