The Platform Powering Wikimania 2022

Whether you’re participating online or joining an in-person event, the Core Organizing Team wants you to get the most out of the Wikimania Festival. Building off the learnings from last year and the insights gathered in the Wikimania 2022 survey, the team set out to find a virtual event platform that better meets the diverse needs of our movement. 

We expect thousands of people to attend Wikimania from all over the world, tuning in from completely different contexts, all looking to learn, share and connect. We want to make Wikimania accessible, welcoming, and easy to navigate for as many of us as we can. As always, we look to balance this with our preference for open source software. And, regardless of the platform used, we work to protect attendee privacy. Read on to learn about the platform for Wikimania 2022.

Where is the virtual portion of Wikimania 2022 happening?

We are excited to announce that PheedLoop will be powering Wikimania 2022. We chose PheedLoop because of its:

Accessibility features: Offering multiple accessibility options for Wikimania attendees is a top priority. PheedLoop offers interfaces that are tailored to people that are seizure-prone, people with blindness or visual impairments, people with ADHD, and people with cognitive disabilities. Additionally, PheedLoop is WCAG, ADA, and AODA compliant.

Straightforward mobile experience: As we expect many community members around the world to use mobile devices to access Wikimania, we wanted to choose a platform with a good mobile experience. Participants can access the event using the PheedLoop app if desired.

Integrated registration: Last year we lost people between registration and the event itself. We wanted to both minimize the number of parties dealing with attendee data while also strengthening the participation pipeline. Attendees will register (starting soon!) directly on PheedLoop, and will be invited back for the event.

Speaker flexibility and interaction: Last year, speakers reported limitations with audience engagement and wanted more direct interaction possibilities. Using PheedLoop, speakers will be able to choose from a number of platforms to present from, including open source options such as Jitsi, all of which will be fully integrated. Speakers will be able to see the live chat, and will be able to structure their session to see and speak directly with participants if preferred.

Range of supported browsers: Community members use many different browsers, so we needed a platform that works well with major browsers. PheedLoop works well on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge. 

Networking and social spaces: Networking and social time is critical to the Wikimania experience. PheedLoop allows for 1:1 networking on the platform, and also for groups up to 25. Schedule a meetup in advance or do it impromptu. It allows participants to search to find users with similar interests, who have skills you’re looking to learn about, or who are looking to learn things you can teach, which we hope community members will use to make new connections and share skills.

Ability to build and follow your own schedule: Wikimania participants want to be able to look at the program comprehensively and select the sessions they’re most interested in attending. Directly on PheedLoop, participants will be able to review the program, RSVP to sessions and add them to their calendar to be reminded of where to go when.

How are we protecting your privacy?

We use third-party service providers and contractors to help run Wikimania and ensure the event is accessible for attendees. PheedLoop’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use are available for your review. We put additional requirements in place to help ensure that these service providers protect and handle personal information with care. For example, we have worked with PheedLoop to minimize access to participant data, and are collecting only name, username and email during registration. Participants will be informed about the information we collect upfront, and, because registration is happening on PheedLoop, your data will not move from PheedLoop before or during Wikimania. During the event, participants will be able to opt-out in multiple ways to protect their privacy: they can keep their camera off, use a display name instead of a real name when registering, and abstain from having their session recorded. Once Wikmania is over, any collected user information will be deleted as soon as possible in line with the Foundation’s data retention guidelines. 

Registration opens soon, so go check out PheedLoop registration for yourself, and keep your eyes peeled for platform walkthroughs in the coming weeks. We can’t wait to welcome you on PheedLoop to Wikimania 2022: The Festival Edition!