Wikimania 2008 Begins in Alexandria
This year Wikimania is holding it’s annual conference at the new Alexandria library. It is hoped that by holding this years gathering of the Wikipedia community in Alexandria, the Arabic version of Wikipedia will grow in size by attracting more contributors.
“A popular seaside resort for Egyptians in the summer, Alexandria has little to show of that ancient glory –- or even the glory of 100 years ago, when it was a bohemian city that drew artists, writers and had a diverse Levantine population. As guidebooks mercilessly describe the city founded by Alexander the Great, “Alexandria is the greatest historical city, but with the least to show for it.”
But the new Alexandria Library, which opened in 2002 and draws a million visitors a year, is trying to change all that. The staggering, state-of-the-art architectural landmark has reading rooms with ample computers, relics of Egypt’s recent and ancient past and a series of research institutes. Deep in its bowels, a staff of more than 100 people is scanning Arabic books using the latest character-recognition software that has been customized for 16 different Arabic fonts. After material is scanned by one of 10 machines, teams of readers search for errors and make adjustments.
Having committed to digital information -– as a way of “leapfrogging” its limited resources, in the words of the library’s director, Ismail Serageldin -– the library warmly embraced the Wikipedians who arrived on Wednesday from around the world.”
The conference runs from July 17 to July 19.
Read the full story
Visit the Wikimania 2008 website
Listen to the Wikipedia Podcast to hear Andrew Lih and Liam Wyatt give a summary of the events.
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