2018/Main Page

#WikiConferenceNA

What is WikiConference North America?
WikiConference North America is the annual conference of Wikimedia enthusiasts and volunteers in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The 2018 conference will take place in Columbus, Ohio on October 18-21. Our main host is the Ohio State University Libraries, and planning is underway by the WikiConference North America User Group and partners.

WikiConference North America User Group
WikiConference North America User Group was formed in 2016 after that year's conference. It is a recognized Affiliate by the Wikimedia Foundation. The purpose of the User Group is to assure that the experiences gained at one conference are shared with future year conference organizers. The mission of the User Group includes coordinating the planning and hosting of events under our purview. Additionally, the User Group documents best practices and shares lessons learned with other Wikimedia communities planning and hosting conferences and similar events.

Activities
Participation in WikiConference North America activities includes compliance with our Safe Space Policy. Detailed schedules for each day will be posted by around mid-September.

October 18 and 19
The first two days, Thursday and Friday, will include our pre-conference activities. This year, we are offering a hackathon, tech demos, and our annual Culture Crawl, a day-long event where we collaborate with local museums, libraries, cultural, and metropolitan institutions to host free backstage tours, edit-a-thons, and more. These crawls are a fantastic opportunity for conference attendees to experience the local culture, as well as collaborate with local institutions to improve Wikipedia's coverage of local topics, and to upload new images to Commons.

October 20 and 21
Saturday and Sunday will be our main conference, which includes keynotes, community presentations, round-table discussions, panels, and lightning talk sessions.

Submissions
Submissions for WikiConference North America 2018 closed on August 22nd and are currently under review by the Programs Committee.

Main proposal themes include:
 * Academia
 * Editor Recruitment & Retention
 * Harassment, Civility, & Safety
 * Inclusion & Diversity
 * Relationship Building & Support
 * Sister projects (WikiCite, WikiCommons, WikiData, WikiSource)
 * Tech & Tools

Registration
Registration is now open. Registration will remain open until early October, or until we run out of allocated space - register soon!

Travel and lodging
We've created a travel and lodging guide; if you find things to add in your own research, feel free to contribute as well.

Scholarships
The scholarship application period for WikiConference North American 2018 closed on August 22nd and are currently under review by the Scholarship Committee.