Pattav2

Wikimania

Hi there. I saw you left a message on Talk:Wikimania 2008 asking for help in setting up a bid for Melbourne for Wikimania 2009. I don't want to discourage you, but it seems to be the general feel of the Australian Wikimedians that we really wouldn't be able to set up a decent bid for any Australian city (believe me, I tried for either Sydney or Canberra), especially since the 2009 bids are going to open very soon.

However, there is some good news. We are getting very close to officially forming Wikimedia Australia as a non-profit organisation, and in fact the main contingent appears to be in Melbourne (they had a meet-up recently, and are planning another one in November to discuss some of the main issues that need to be cleared up before we can register all the paperwork). I'd like to invite you to sign yourself up on the page there, and also on the mailing list where a lot of things get discussed.

Also, it looks like there is considerable support for us to hold a local (e.g. Australasian) Wikimania in 2009, similar to the 2006 Chinese Wikimedia Conference held in Taiwan, and thanks to some work on my behalf Canberra is looking like the main candidate for that. Based on the success (or failure) of that, and the registration of Wikimedia Australia, we would be in a much better position to put forward a bid for a future Wikimania.

Still, thanks for your interest, and I hope to see you around! Confusing Manifestation 06:58, 10 October 2007 (UTC)