Community digest: Virtual exhibitions help make Estonian artworks accessible to everyone; news in brief

While Estonian museums hold nearly nine million items, only 3.5% of them are displayed in exhibitions. The case isn’t significantly different in other countries: museums have a limited display space and can only open up a fraction of their collections to the public at some occasions. Much of the preserved items may even never leave….

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Wikimedia Foundation announces Tanya Capuano as new Trustee, alongside leadership appointments at 14th annual Wikimania

This week, the Wikimedia Foundation announced a new member and leadership appointments to its Board of Trustees. Tanya Pine Capuano, recently Chief Financial Officer of the digital marketing company G5 in Bend, Oregon, will be the newest member of the Board of Trustees. The Board also appointed María Sefidari as Chair, and Christophe Henner as….

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Wikipedia volunteers and free knowledge leaders gather in Cape Town for the first annual “Wikimania” conference in sub-Saharan Africa

More than 700 attendees from nearly 80 countries gathered today for the start of Wikimania 2018—the annual conference celebrating Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, the Wikimedia free knowledge movement, and the community of volunteers who make them possible. This marks the 14th annual Wikimania, which takes place 18–22 July at the Southern Sun Cape Sun….

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Wikimedia releases ninth transparency report

The Wikimedia Foundation has supported free access to the sum of all knowledge for fifteen years. This longstanding vision would not be possible without the dedication of community members who contribute content to the Wikimedia projects. As a global platform for free knowledge, we are sometimes approached by governments and private parties with requests to….

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Wikimedia Foundation and Kiwix partner to grow offline access to Wikipedia

The Wikimedia Foundation has announced a partnership with Kiwix, the free and open-source software solution that enables offline access to educational content, to expand and improve access to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects globally. This partnership will include a $275,000 contribution to Kiwix to further enhance offline access to Wikipedia in parts of the world….

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Offline-Pedia converts old televisions into Wikipedia readers

There are villages in the Ecuadorian Andes that are so small you cannot find them on a map. Cajas Juridica is one such place, located just 13km north of the equator. But two engineering students, Joshua Salazar and Jorge Vega, and the staff of Yachay Tech University have figured out a way to give discarded….

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Wikimedia Conference in Berlin 2018

The insights series: Coenraad Loubser

Over the last few years, the annual Wikimedia Conference has seen many more individuals in emerging communities. This year, Wikimedians from 79 countries, representing nearly one hundred movement affiliates, contributed to the event’s cultural, regional, and language diversity. Community member Rupika Sharma interviewed several of these attendees to get their thoughts on the Wikimedia movement, their own communities,….

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Wikimedia Research Newsletter, June 2018

Contents “On the Self-similarity of Wikipedia Talks: a Combined Discourse-analytical and Quantitative Approach” “How Sudden Censorship Can Increase Access to Information” Conferences and events WMF research showcase “Conversations Gone Awry: Detecting Early Signs of Conversational Failure” Case studies in the appropriation of ORES Other recent publications References “On the Self-similarity of Wikipedia Talks: a Combined….

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Meet the scientist working to increase the number of underrepresented scientists and engineers on Wikipedia

By day, Dr. Jess Wade is a physicist best known for her work on “polymer-based, circularly polarising, light-emitting diodes.” But in the evenings (and on the weekends, and as other time permits) Dr. Wade is a strong advocate for increasing diversity and inclusion in STEM subjects, speaking at conferences and starting a campaign on Wikipedia to promote more early-career women….

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New interaction timeline improves investigation of harassment cases

The new interaction timeline tool is a way to look at two contributors’ editing history—where they have interacted, when, and how often. This can help add clarity when reviewing reports of harassment and abuse, and takes some of the burden off both the people reviewing problems, and the people reporting them.

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