Library of Alexandria to Host Wikipedia’s Annual Conference in 2008

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

How appropriate! The Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was once the largest library in the world. In the summer of 2008 it will play host to the Wikimania conference.

The 2008 Wikimania event will be the Wikimedia Foundation’s fourth annual conference. The event brings together international contributors from various Wikimedia projects, as well as people interested in learning more about the projects, wiki technology, free content, and educational and social trends online. Previously, Wikimania has been held in Frankfurt, Boston, and Taipei.

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that runs Wikipedia. In a press release they emailed to by the Wikimedia Foundation, Dr. Ismail Serageldin, the director of the Library of Alexandria said,

“We are delighted to secure the Wikimania 2008 event in Alexandria, for we believe in the wiki phenomenon. It is the harbinger of a revolution suited to the new age of the internet, and by supporting it, we are helping give birth to a new era and a new world where access to knowledge is a fundamental right and the sharing of knowledge is a fundamental duty.”

We Say: The announcement comes in the midst of the Wikimedia Foundation’s annual fund drive. Don’t forget that the drive continues to run until December 22nd.