Press
Latest news
Find the latest press releases from the Wikimania Communications team here:
- Annual Wikipedia Conference “Wikimania” to make debut in sub-Saharan Africa - released: 31 May 2018
Social media
Follow the conference on #Wikimania2018 on the following channels:
Wikimania 2018 press
Welcome to the press page for Wikimania 2018. If you are a member of the press and you're interested in covering Wikimania 2018, you can find more information here on media accreditation for the conference, registration, press materials, how to schedule media interviews with spokespeople, and more. For press enquiries, please contact: For South Africa / Africa:
- Sascha Polkey, Rabbit in a Hat Communications
sascha@rabbitinahat.co.za- tel: +27 83 414 04552 or +27 21 300 0052
For international queries:
- Kui Kinyanjui, Vice President, Communications, Wikimedia Foundation
- press@wikimedia.org
Press accreditation
Media credentials are available for Wikimania 2018. Credentials include free registration to all conference days, press room access (Friday only), interview opportunities, and access to the opening ceremony of Wikimania 2018 on Friday, 20 July 2018 (the press event for Wikimania 2018). If you're interested in getting a media credential, please contact:
For South African media accreditation:
Wikimania Cape Town:
- Sascha Polkey, Rabbit in a Hat Communications
- sascha@rabbitinahat.co.za
- Application form
Media interviews
Select spokespeople will be available for interviews leading up to and during the conference. If you're interested in arranging interviews, please 
press@wikimedia.org.
Spokespeople
- Jimmy Wales - founder of Wikipedia
- Katherine Maher - Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation
- Christophe Henner - Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
- Juliet Barbara - Communications Director of the Wikimedia Foundation
- Douglas Scott - Chairman of Wikimedia South Africa
- Felix Nartey - Wikipedian of the Year 2017
Plenary speakers
- Dr Martin Dittus - Data Scientist, Oxford Internet Institute - Knowledge Gaps in Wikipedia | content gaps based on geography and location of editors
- Joy Adowaa Buolamwini - Founder, Algorithmic Justice League - Knowledge Gaps in Technology | The Dangers of Supremely White Data and The Coded Gaze
- Prof Sean Jacobs - Editor and Founder, Africa is a Country
Brand materials
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Wikimania 2018 logo -
Banner -
Table Mountain detail
Conference logistics
Conference and press room location:
Southern Sun, Cape Sun Hotel, Strand Street
23 Strand Street,
Cape Town City Centre,
Cape Town, 8000
tel: +27 21 488 5100
Press room
* the press room is available to registered press from 8:30am - 12:30pm on Friday, 20 July 2018.
Press events:
Opening ceremony - to be announced
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Wikimania?
Wikimania is the annual conference centered on the Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia and its sister projects) and the Wikimedia community of volunteers. It features presentations on Wikimedia projects, other wikis, free and open source software, free knowledge, and and more. Wikimania 2018 marks the 14th year of the conference.
What is Wikipedia? Wikipedia is the world’s free knowledge resource. It is a collaborative creation that has been added to and edited by millions of people from around the globe since it was created in 2001: anyone can edit it, at any time. Wikipedia is offered in hundreds of languages containing a total of more than 40 million articles. Wikimedia and its sister projects are the largest collection of free knowledge in human history.
What is Wikimedia South Africa?
Wikimedia South Aftica is an independent nonprofit organization committed to the growth, development and distribution of free knowledge in South Africa, mainly by supporting the development of content on the Wikimedia projects, including Wikipedia. The organization's work focuses on supporting and engaging South African individuals and institutions to collect, develop and disseminate knowledge and other educational, cultural and historical content in all languages of South Africa under a free licence or in the public domain.
What is the Wikimedia Foundation?
The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that supports and operates Wikipedia and its sister free knowledge projects. Wikipedia is the world’s free knowledge resource, spanning more than 40 million articles across nearly 300 languages. Every month, more than 200,000 people edit Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects, collectively creating and improving knowledge that is accessed by more than 1 billion unique devices every month. This all makes Wikipedia one of the most popular web properties in the world. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants.