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Wikimedia Foundation/Annual Report/2010-2011/Wikimania

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Gdańsk welcomes Wikimania

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Wikimedians converge in the birthplace of Solidarność

Wikimania provides an annual venue for community leaders, tech enthusiasts, and free-knowledge supporters to celebrate and deepen their collaborative spirit.

The sixth annual Wikimania, the global conference of Wikimedians, took place in the Baltic Philharmonic in Gdańsk. Poland succeeded Argentina and Egypt, the hosting countries in the previous two years. During three days, Wikimedians got together to celebrate the free knowledge movement, to meet their collaborators in their year-round online work on Wikipedia and its sister projects, and to share insights informing the continuing evolution of the projects. Foundation travel scholarships enabled Wikimedians from 39 countries to participate.

On the conference T-shirts, the motto “Free Knowledge in the City of Freedom” tied Wikimedia values to the history of Gdańsk, where the Solidarność movement had defied communist rulers in the 1980s — led by Lech Wałęsa, who sent his greetings to Wikimania attendees, noting that he was a frequent user of Wikipedia.

The Polish Baltic F. Chopin Philharmonic in Gdańsk was founded in 1945 as the Gdańsk Symphony Orchestra. Its building on the Ołowianka island hosted Wikimania 2010.