Wikimedia CEE Meeting

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WM:CEEM

Wikimedia CEE Meeting is an annual conference centered on the Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia and similar projects) in countries of Central and Eastern Europe. It features presentations on Wikimedia projects, other wikis, free/open source software, free knowledge and free content, and the social and technical aspects which relate to these topics.

The idea was conceived at an informal meetup that took place on 6 August 2011 at Wikimania 2011 in Haifa. Most of the attendees from the countries of the region were present, and shared their experience in the efforts to establish a more global community.

Background[edit]

Many countries of Central and Eastern Europe are not only related with their geographical proximity, but also share some traditional and historical issues. The region covers an area that has previously used to be a part of a wide cooperation among the peoples living there.

Justification/goals[edit]

a lot in common:
- shared cultural heritage from previous eras (and in many cases also from present co-operation)
- similar legal environment (many EU members or striving to be EU members)
- common copyright problems related to socialist/communist era (e. g. orphan images from dissolved organizations)
- NGO sphere underdeveloped, little willingness for donations
- many languages used only in a single country
easy & relatively cheap to travel between many of these countries
great opportunity to exchange experiences, learn best practices, create a meta community that spans country borders but has tighter connections than the global Wikimedia community
could be used for chapters to learn from each another & to coach new/planned chapters
could be used to combine national narratives into NPOV on various historical and political topics

Overview[edit]