The following information on the Wikimania 2012 program and schedule is currently in draft.

The Wikimania 2007 schedule. Credit: Kat Walsh

Overview

Wikimania conferences provide unique opportunities for the Wikimedia community and its projects (including Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Wikinews, Wiktionary, Wikispecies, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikimedia) to come together, share their common goals, and develop better ways to work together on an international level. The Wikimania 2012 program structure is designed to create multiple opportunities for conference participants to actively engage with the subject matter, the environment, and, most importantly, each other. Washington, D.C, can play an important role in Wikimania 2012 as a locale that gathers interest in government, culture, media, and academia around the general goals of the Wikimania conference series.

In accordance with these goals and themes, the program will include traditional conference offerings such as paper presentations, tutorials, panels, and poster sessions; provide lounge space and breaks throughout for participants to gather; and innovate with an unconference day for attendees to design their own schedule and participation around common interests. Submissions will be reviewed and selected in advance by the program committee. Attendees are welcome to present in the open space track of the conference, regardless of whether their submitted presentations were accepted.

The eighth annual Wikimania will be held between 12th and 14th July, 2012 in Washington D.C. For more information, please visit the main site.

Presentation length

Due to the extensive amount of program submissions received in the previous years, we request your presentation be a maximum of 25 minutes, including time for questions. You may request more time, though shorter individual presentations are more likely to be accepted.

This does not apply for keynote speakers, panels, or workshops. 70 minute presentations must be submitted either as panel presentations to include at least three presenters or as workshops with a clear lesson plan.

Tracks

Tracks are used by Wikimania to organize submissions and diversify audiences so that presentations of competing interest do not have time conflicts. Five tracks are proposed:

Wikis and the Public Sector

The Washington, DC, location for Wikimania 2012 provides a special opportunity for those working in the social good, policy, government, nonprofit, and disaster response arenas to share their experience with collaboration on a local, national, or international level. Wikis and complementary technologies are proving to be critical in times of crisis and in ongoing work with citizen participation in government, as well as in long-term goals for education, public policy, social entrepreneurship, and development in the global south and throughout the world. This track will explore the ways that Wikimedia projects and related activities can be used to support citizens worldwide.

GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums) & cultural outreach

This track aims to support current outreach to Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums and build enthusiasm for continued work in this area. Presentations and panels will demonstrate effective outreach techniques and results from ongoing activities as well as envision the future path for these efforts. Topics of particular interest to this track may include: wiki technology as a tool for cultural preservation; use of wikis by museums and libraries for information management for the public good; legal and copyright issues; use of content in GLAM projects, education, journalism and research; conflicts between different laws that apply to the same wiki system simultaneously. This track may also incorporate “field trips” before, after, or during the evenings of the conference to visit Washington, D.C., organizations.

WikiCulture and Community

Why do people contribute to Wikimedia projects? How might the community grow and expand while retaining its inherent cultural ethos? This track will explore the sociology of wiki culture and community and provide a forum for practitioners and researchers to share insights and best practices for community management, engagement, participation, and conflict resolution. The assessment of different wiki cultures and demonstration of clashes and effects of those interactions between wiki communities and chapters is relevant to this track. A special focus will be a discussion of gaps between different community groups, most notably related to gender and age; within this context, submissions related to female and teenage participation, representative roles within the community, and the use of wikis as a tool for different gender and age group dialogues, are strongly encouraged.

Research, Analysis, and Education

The scope of research and analysis on wikis has grown significantly in recent years, and wikis are rapidly being introduced to educational institutions in the course of teaching and more formally through the Campus Ambassador Program. The scholarly atmosphere of the selected venue creates a special opportunity for researchers working in this area to present papers and panels to a well-informed audience. Subjects associated with the research component of this track can include a diverse range of topics including: technical development, philosophy and the humanities, communications, community management and collaboration, information science, and a broad range of other areas. The practitioner side of this track can include: expert participation and inviting expert contributions; Wikiversity and other higher education wikis; wiki sources deployed and implemented in academia and research practice; approaches to the improvement of collaboration in research institutions and universities; and contribution to content quality, among other areas.

Technology and Infrastructure

Technology and infrastructure play essential roles in the success of Wikimedia projects and other uses of wiki technology. This track will incorporate research and practice to showcase technology applications and theories, demonstrate new uses of existing and evolving technologies, and focus on applying technologies to meet user needs and improve the overall user experience. Issues and areas particularly of note in this track include: OTRS, MediaWiki development, semantic wikis, wiki-based Augmented Reality (AR), the use of QR codes, Wikipedia on mobile devices, User Interface Design, WikiLove, Liquid Threads and related technical focus points.

Schedule Information

  • The Pre-Conference hacking days and Unconference are open to all attendees. The program for these days will be primarily informal.

Pre-Conference Schedule

New York City Weekend, July 6-9

Tuesday, July 10

Time Topic Location Group
9:00 – 17:00 Hackathon TBA Optional Participation
Morning Coffee Break and Snacks TBA Optional Participation
Lunch TBA Optional Participation
Afternoon Coffee Break and Snacks TBA Optional Participation
17:00 – 19:00 Group hackers dinner TBA Optional Participation
19:00+ Hackathon continues TBA Optional Participation

Wednesday, July 11

Time Topic Location Group
9:00 – 17:00 Hackathon TBA Optional Participation
9:00 – 17:00 Board meeting TBA Board
Morning coffee break and snacks TBA Optional Participation
Lunch TBA Optional Participation
Afternoon coffee break and snacks TBA Optional Participation
13:00 – 17:00 OpenStreetMap mapping party Washington, DC OpenStreetMap participants
Group tours and dinner led by volunteers Washington, DC Breakout groups

Conference Schedule

Thursday, July 12

Time Topic Location Group
7:00 – 9:00 Registration1 TBA All Attendees
9:00 – 10:20 Opening Keynote and Welcome Plenary TBA All Attendees
10:20 – 10:40 Morning break and snacks TBA All Attendees
10:40 – 12:00 Featured Conference Session: Wikis in the Public Sector TBA Breakout Groups
10:40 – 12:00 Conference Sessions TBA Breakout Groups
12:00 – 14:00 Outdoor BBQ Lunch! TBA All Attendees
14:00 – 15:20 Featured Conference Session: GLAM & Outreach TBA Breakout Groups
14:00 – 15:20 Conference Sessions TBA Breakout Groups
15:20 – 15:40 Afternoon break and snacks TBA All Attendees
15:40 – 17:00 Conference Sessions TBA Breakout Groups
Evening VIP Party TBA Participation by Invitation
Evening Group tours and dinner led by volunteers Washington, DC Volunteer Groups

1 Registration will remain available throughout the conference, but will be most heavily staffed in the two hours preceding the opening session.

Friday, July 13

Time Topic Location Group
8:45 – 9:00 Opening Talks TBA All Attendees
9:00 – 10:20 Featured Conference Session: Research and Analysis TBA Breakout Groups
9:00 – 10:20 Conference Sessions TBA Breakout Groups
10:20 – 10:40 Morning break and snacks TBA All Attendees
10:40 – 12:00 Featured Conference Session: Development, Infrastructure, and Design TBA Breakout Groups
10:40 – 12:00 Conference Sessions TBA All Attendees
12:00 – 14:20 Keynote Lunch and Poster Sessions TBA All Attendees
14:30 – 15:50 Featured Conference Session: Culture and Community TBA Breakout Groups
14:30 – 15:50 Conference Sessions TBA Breakout Groups
15:50 – 16:10 Afternoon break and snacks TBA All Attendees
16:10 – 17:30 Conference Sessions TBA Breakout Groups
Evening Attendee Party Artisphere All Attendees

Saturday, July 14

Time Topic Location Group
9:15 – 9:30 Opening Talks TBA All Attendees
9:30 – 10:00 Morning break and snacks TBA All Attendees
10:00 – 11:20 Conference Sessions TBA Breakout Groups
11:30 – 12:50 Conference Sessions TBA Breakout Groups
12:50 – 14:00 Lunch (Posters remain) TBA All Attendees
14:00 – 15:20 Conference Sessions TBA Breakout Groups
15:30 – 16:50 Conference Sessions TBA Breakout Groups
15:50 – 16:10 Afternoon break and Wikimania cupcakes! TBA All Attendees
16:10 – 17:30 Closing Keynote, Plenary, and Presentation of 2013 Conference TBA All Attendees
Evening Group tours and dinner led by volunteers Washington, DC Volunteer Groups

Unconference

Sunday, July 15

Time Topic Location Group
10:00 – 17:00 Wiki Unconference! (optional) TBA Optional Participation
Morning break and snacks TBA Optional Participation
Lunch TBA Optional Participation
Afternoon Coffee Break and Snacks TBA Optional Participation
11:00 – WikiExpedition! Washington, DC Optional Participation