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Hi, I'm [[ar:مستخدم:Jak|Jak]] a [http://ar.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%B5%3AListusers&group=sysop&username= sysop] in [[ar:|arabic wikipedia]].
<div align=center style="font-size:150%">'''Wikimania 2006 : Boston bid'''</div>
<div align=center style="font-size:70%"> Wikimania 2006 cities: '''{{WM06-bids}}'''</div>


You can contact me in my [http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%86%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B4_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%AF%D9%85:Jak discussion page].
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[[Image:Bos-downtown.jpg|left|300px|Downtown Boston, from across the water]]
<br clear=left/>
==City details==
*Country: [[en:United States|USA]]
*City proposed: [[en:Boston|Boston]]
*Proposed dates: A weekend between June 21 and August 21, including the last one in June, five in July, and the first three in August. July 13-17 was picked as a sample weekend for this bid.
*Contact person(s): [[User:Sj|Sj]]

[[Image:MAMap-doton-Boston.png|100px|left|Dot map of Boston in the state of Massachusetts]]
Boston is one of the [[w:History of Boston, Massachusetts|oldest]] and largest metropolitan centers in the United States, with over 2 million people in the [[w:Greater Boston|Greater Boston]] area. It is known by many names and stories -- the ''Cradle of Liberty'' for its role in the American Revolution; the ''City on the Hill'' for its design; the ''Hub of the Solar System''; ''Beantown'' for its fondness for baked beans (leading, no doubt, to the [[w:Boston molasses disaster|Great Molasses Flood]] of 1919).

[[w:Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]] (formarly Newtowne, capital of the [[w:Massachusetts Bay Colony|Massachusetts Bay Colony]]) has been a city since 1846; even the [http://www.cambridgema.gov/~Historic/images/1635_streets.jpg streets laid out in the 1630s] when the area was first settled are still in use today. It now has around 100,000 permanent residents, and today is known for its two famous universities, [[w:Harvard University|Harvard]] and [[w:MIT|MIT]].

==Venue and overview==
[[Image:Harvard-campus-map.gif|left|200px|Harvard multi-campus map]]
The proposed congress would be a joint event with the [[w:Berkman Center for Internet & Society|Berkman Center for Internet & Society]] ("Berkman") of the [[en:Harvard University|Harvard]] [[w:Harvard Law Shool|Law School]] (HLS).

Berkman is a young addition to the law school focusing on the intersection of law and technology with society; this past spring Jimbo became a [http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/people non-resident fellow] there. Harvard (formerly "the New College"; motto: ''In Vino Veritas'') is a venerable institution in the center of [[w:Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge, Massachusetts]] (part of [[w:Greater Boston|Greater Boston]]), studded with idiosyncracies and wine cellars.

The HLS campus is just north of Harvard Yard, in Harvard Square, and west of the university's science buildings. The campus stretching north from Harvard Yard to the end of the law school, and east to Sanders Theater, containing all of the buildings mentioned below, is connected by footpaths and unbroken by streets.


[[Image:Hlsmap.gif|right|200px|Harvard Law School campus map]]
=== Rooms ===
''contact: egeorge (at) cyber.law.harvard.edu''
Unless otherwise noted, capacities below are for auditorium seating. More chairs can almost always be provided. For multipurpose rooms, receptions can generally fit 20% more people than that capacity. Distances given are from Baker House on the Law School campus ('''[http://www.law.harvard.edu/about/images/hlsmap.gif map]'''), home to the Berkman Center. This may need to be recalibrated slightly in terms of distance from the Main Hall. Note however, that no streets have to be crossed to get to any of these buildings.

==== Keynote dilemma ====
Generic space dilemma : Assuming we arrange parallel sessions as we did last year, will we want a large room for 500+ people in one place for keynotes that will also be used as a 200+ person room for parallel sessions? Will we want to have a clear "main" room separate from parallel sessions?

==== Available spaces ====
Clusters of rooms which might work well together:
# All of Austin Hall, plus one a Science-Center auditorium for keynotes (50m away). [a second room is sometimes used for overflow if one SC hall is full.] # All of Pound 1st floor, plus Ropes Gray (upstairs) for Keynotes and as a main hall.
# One of the above, but with Sanders for keynotes (and an extra 5-10min break on each end of the keynotes).
<br>
(Meals outside, in Ropes Gray, or in the cafeteria)

[[Image:Sanders-piano.jpg|right|200px|Sanders theater, lit up before a performance]]
<big>I. Ceremony space:</big>
* For opening/closing ceremonies, there are a few options.
* '''[[w:Sanders Theater|Sander]]. seats 1050 on both tiers, or 650 just on the lower level. Fabulous acoustics; two levels of seating. Pricing depends on how it is used, how the conference is classified, and how much support is needed. Hard to book for many days straight, but easier to book during the daytime.
*: Cost, variable ($1k/day for student groups). Distance : 150m. A/V support : great support for elaborate miking, staged events, drop-down stage-length screen.
* '''[[w:Annenberg Hall|Annenberg Hall]]''' offers a similarly-sized space next to Sanders, a magnificent wooden-floored apse. Suitable for a banquet (normally used as the Freshman dining hall) or large party. Room for an 800-person reception. Difficult to book, but possible for an event this size. (Distance: 150m)
* The '''Ropes Gray Room''' on the 3rd floor of '''Pound Hall''' is a two-level function room. Space for 450, with unusually-shaped balconied space well-suited to receptions and poster presentations. '''HLS'''; Distance: 25m
* '''Tented, outdoors''' - Harvard engages in extensive tented activities, and knows all about how, where, and how quickly tents can be set up and taken down for functions and events. May be slightly more expensive than the above halls for one day; but could be used creatively over multiple days. 2 suitable green fields within 2 blocks (in front of the science center, in front of the Law library. Distance: 25-100m

<big>II. Main hall:</big>
* '''Sanders Theatre''' : seats 1050; 1.5 blocks away. Easy to reserve during the day; great acoustics. Used for some of Harvard's largest classes. Distance: 150m; ''see above''.
* '''Science Center''' auditoria : two auditoria seating ~500 people. Easier to book, not very fancy.
*: Cost, variable. Distance: 100m. A/V support : good support, projection. Massive quad-blackboards.
* various '''Law School''' buildings [http://www.law.harvard.edu/administration/eventsoffice/room_capacities.php]: these are the easiest to book, and will definitely be free.
* '''Paine Hall''' - the Music Building auditorium. Seats 350+, amazing acoustics. Just opposite Austin Hall. Easy to reserve in the summer. Distance: 50m
* Austin Hall's '''Ames Courtroom''' - seats 295, A/V/VC (videoconferencing) built in... as are the shelves of law texts in the background. Distance: 50m
*: Austin hall also has 3 large classrooms seating 200/140/140; see below.
* The '''[[w:Kennedy School of Government|Kennedy School of Government]]''' has a significant forum, with floor and elevated seating; can manage 500+ people depending on the viewing setup (with video monitors on the upper floors, more), and has extensive attached space for food/drinks to be laid out on the ground floor.
*: Cost, free for suitable talks. Distance : 5 blocks. A/V support : excellent sound and videography. Multiple simultaneous-projection screens, good acoustics. Best suited to a parallel evening or lunch event touching on politics, making use of some of the speakers who have come for Wikimania.

<!--[[Image:Langdell-front.jpg|250px|right|The front of Langdell library, from the north, on a sunny day.]]-->
<big>III. Presentation and other rooms</big> (all part of HLS)
*'''Austin Hall''' : Three large classrooms, North, East and West (seating 200, 139, and 137) together seat over 400, all with A/V/VC. Distance: 100m
*: Also in Austin Hall: Morgan Courtroom (30, A/V/VC) and two seminar rooms (20, 14).
[[Image:Langdell-in-use.jpg|right|thumb|Langdell Hall in use, showing a triple-projector setup]]
* '''Pound Hall''' : Four large classrooms, 100, 101, 102, and 107 (seating 119, 114, 93, and 78) together seat over 400 (A/V)
*: Two smaller rooms, 106 and 108, seat 34 each (A/V)
*: Second floor : (Pound is full of useful rooms) four seminar rooms seat 75/65/56/30. The John Chipman room seats 120 or feeds 80. Rm 204, a small seminar room, would be perfect for isolated interviews.
*: Third floor : Two multipurpose rooms seat 80/60 or feed 72/40.
* '''Langdell Hall''' : two classrooms, North and South, each seat 160 (A/V)

<br/>
[[Image:Langdell-quad.jpg|left|thumb|The quad by HLS's Langdell Library (off-picture to the left). In the background: Maxwell-Dworkin (left) and Cruft Hall (right).]]

<big>IV. Hacking days</big>
* Requirements for a good hacking environment are slightly different; access after normal work hours, tech books and flatscreens rather than legal archives in the background, lounges and whiteboards. A vending machine full of ice cream. The CS department at Harvard has such space just abutting the Law School, in the Maxwell-Dworkin building. M-D has a few seminar rooms.
* '''Rm 132''': 2nd-floor conference room, seating 30 at around-table. A/V is easy to set up.
*: A lounge with wall-length whiteboard is outside; grad student offices make up the rest of that part of the building.

<big>V. Other rooms</big> (organisation, staff, speakers, interviews/press, storage):
* '''Baker House''' - rooms in Berkman itself will be available for some kinds of organisation, if needed. These could be used for organization before/during the Hacking Days, moving to the M-D conference room or another law building (many small rooms are suitable for quiet organization) during the main conference.
* '''Radio interview room''' - Harvard's News division oversees a soundproofed interview room that radio stations use to schedule interviews.
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===Technical facilities===
* Extremely fast wired and wireless internet connectivity will be provided
* The Berkman center and the Computer Science department have experience with broadcasting audio and video, with videoconferencing for remote participants, and with live transcriptions (which we may be able to do better ourselves --sj)
* A/V equipment for lectures is a permanent part of many targeted rooms, and available for the rest.
* All residence halls offer free wireless and wired Internet for conference attendees. There are terminals available in an adjacent building for those without their own machines.
* There are many special (and sometimes random) facilities available on campus. A technology center with varieties of scanners and readers, particularly focused on instruction for the disabled; a professional radio interview room; a printing center with good rates on posters/flyers [posters from a Spring talk by Jimbo were done by them, at rates better than Kinko's']; a free online uplink to multilingual international TV stations for anyone within the university network; ...
* There is a local uplink to the "oh so 2001" [http://www.internet2.harvard.edu/ Internet2] backbone; if you can think of a high-bandwidth high-reliability application that would make use of it, this may be of interest.

===Fees in general===
By coordinating with the local tech support and catering crews, we can provide our own volunteer support for many things. We can also pay for catering and A/V work through the Law School.

There will be some mandatory technical/catering/overtime fees depending on what we need and how late we use various facilities. For instance, union rules state that meals in the Ropes Gray room ''must'' be catered by the university; and certain tech facilities (for broadcasting audio over room speakers in certain Pound rooms, for instance) require a campus technician, not just a volunteer trained in using the existing setup.

==Transportation==
* Distance from international airport: 7 miles from [[w:Boston Logan Airport|Boston Logan Airport]]
* Distance from mainline railway terminal(s): 4 miles from [[w:Boston South Station|South Station]].
* Subway: The area is served by two subway stations on the same line. It is 300m from the Harvard Square station. Two buses stop directly outside Baker House, travelling along [[w:Massachusetts Avenue|Massachusetts Avenue]].

=== Cost of travel ===
Below are estimated round-trip travel costs from all continents, searching an american travel site (arbitrarily searching for the dates 7/12 to 7/18). Note that estimates from countries outside of North America are inflated as a result (exceptions : prices provided by locals &mdash; Warsaw)

*: Southern New Hampshire - A Tank of Gasoline
*: New York - $30-60 by bus, $130-270 by plane
*: Washington, DC - $140
*: Chicago - $230
*: Tampa - $200 (Delta)
*: San Francisco/Los Angeles - $360(United)/$300(JetBlue)
*: Toronto - $330 (US Air, Air Canada)
*: Vancouver - $500 (Air Canada)
*: Mexico City - $450 (United)

*: London - $800?
*: Paris - $880? (Northwest)
*: Berlin - $800? (Delta/AlItalia)
*: Moscow - $1000? (Swiss Int'l, BA)
*: Warsaw - $500-600 (2500-3000 PLN) (KLM)

*: Jo'berg - $1500?
*: Nairobi - $1800?
*: Alexandria - 1500? (BA+)

*: Rio de Janeiro - $1100? (Delta)
*: Buenos Aires - $950? (AA)

*: Tokyo - $1000 (NWest)
*: Beijing - $1500? (NWest)
*: Delhi - $1300? (AA)

=== Transportation to/from accomodations ===
'''Airport <==> HLS'''
* By subway, one can get from the airport to HLs in 45 minutes for $1.25.
* A local ecofriendly airport-taxi service is interested in working out a group deal; likely under $30 to/from the airport.

'''Accomodations <==> HLS'''
* HLS is less than 1 block from the dorms; less than 10 blocks from nearby hotels and B&Bs; and 1 mile / 15 minutes from the YMCA.
* Other inexpensive hostels and lodgings are 2-5 miles, or 30-45 minutes, away.

==Accommodation==
[[Image:HLS-dorm.jpg|right|200px|A typical law school dorm room]]
''contact: erica.george |at) cyber.law.harvard.edu''

'''Main accommodations''': The most convenient accomodation is in dormitories on and near the law school campus, in the middle of the university (within a stone's throw of the venues above).
* Dorm details: Around $40 per person per night at law school dorms, for singles with shared baths. Cost varies with the size of the group and timing during the summer; a few hundred beds would likely be available regardless of which weekend was chosen. Group rates are also available; we are getting specific quotes for a few weekends. We would probably take 1 or even 2 entire dorms (150 rooms). Dorms provide free broadband and wireless 'net access; also basement function rooms and lounges suitable for all sorts of things.
* Local hostels: There are a few large hostels in Boston.
*: -[http://www.angelfire.com/ma/IrishEmbassy/ The Irish Embassy] international hostel : from $20/night. 3 minutes from the North Station subway stop; 30 min from Harvard Square. ~40 beds.
*: -[[w:Hostelling International|Hostelling International]] : 1105 Commonwealth Ave; from $34/night. 30 min from Harvard Square.
*: -[[w:Prescott International Hotel And Hostel|Prescott International Hotel And Hostel]] : from $21/night. 30 min from Harvard Square.
*: -The Cambridge YMCA. They offer rooms from $25/night, are 15 min from Harvard Square.
*: -Hi-friendly Crossways, a "country hostel" 30km from Boston. Travel via communter-rail into Porter Square, and then to the law school : a 75-min commute. Piano, fireplace, and many nearby parks. $20/night. (I've always wanted to go here for a vacation but have never been -- [[User:Sj|+sj]])
* Hotels, B&Bs: Harvard is surrounded by excellent hotels and bed & breakfasts. The Charles Hotel, the Hotel @ Harvard, the University Hotel, and the Sheraton Commander are all within a few blocks of the venue. Non-group rates in summertime : around ~$120 for a double and $180 for a quad.
*: Nearby B&Bs are quite small, but might be nice to rent for clusters of special guests. (cf. Irving House, et al). $60-$150/night with quiet locations and great service; some are less than a mile away (up Oxford Street, up Garden St).

==Catering and meals==
'''Food packages''' are available through campus kitchens for $7/$12/$18 breakfast/lunch/dinner. Something would have to be arranged specially for large groups.

'''Local restaurants''' and food prices : A decent meal at local restaurants costs $8-$25. Group discounts are available through a local gourmet pizza house (~$4/person/meal). Local helpers include people in the food industry; better deals and sponsorships can definitely be arranged.

* Catered group lunches through the law school would come to around $10 per person. Other arrangements could be made with outside caterers, depending on venue.

=== Dinner parties, receptions, and events ===
''Quotes needed for all of these.''
* Dinner events on/near campus are often held at the '''Faculty Club''', 3 blocks away; cost depending on size, bar, and complexity. There is space for 100 people in an event room below ground, for 60-80 on the first floor, and smaller meeting rooms upstairs.
* Elegant events can be held in the Fogg Art Museum (warm, cultured, full of art) or in Adolphus Busch Hall (a medieval stone chapel, sobering in its beauty, extremely resonant). The former is considered one of the most elegant places in the area for private functions, charity events, or the occasional wedding reception.
* Casual and fun outdoor events can be held in public, open spaces likes the banks of the Charles River or at JFK Park, both within walking distance of the HLS (10 minutes).

==Local sponsorship potential==
''Interest expressed''
* [[w:IBM Watson Research|IBM Watson Research]] in Cambridge is interested in working with us. They have a team of 2-3 people who work on wiki ideas; including the team developing the [[History flow]] tools. [[w:Martin Wattenberg %28artist and programmer%29|Martin Wattenberg]] is keen on doing something cool with Wikimania if he doesn't have to travel too far.
* [[w:Wolfram Research|Wolfram Research]]
* The [[w:Science Commons|Science Commons]] of the Creative Commons, which has offices here. (Talked Thursday, Sept 29)
*: There is also an active ''synthetic biology'' group that is interested in promoting MediaWiki development
* The local CSS consortium; 2 designers & [[w:User:Brettstil|User:Brettstil]] have offered help with site design
* The local librarian community; we have good connections with ~4 librarians at Harvard and MIT.
** Several of the organizations jkb participates in might be very interested in helping to support this event, most likely through volunteer efforts, but perhaps with some funds. They would probably want their name used, however.
* The Museum of Science (evening event for speakers)

''The usual suspects (no positive response yet)''
* The [[w:Boston Language Institute|Boston Language Institute]] [http://www.blitranslations.com]
* MIT/CSAIL (Comp sci and AI labs), particularly their [[w:W3C|W3C]] offices
* MIT Media Lab -- involved in many massively-parallel-collaboration projects; loves good causes. The director loves Wikipedia in particular.
* The City of Cambridge - progressive, into technology, interested in getting better information from/to their citizens. City councilmen who know about wikis. (Neighboring [[w:Arlington, Massachusetts|Arlington]] recently responded favorably to the idea of having a detailed town-wide wiki.)
<!-- hmmmm
* The [[w:FSF|FSF]]? (main offices here in Boston)
* [http://www.planettran.com/mission.html PlanetTran] airport taxis
-->

== Local team ==
=== Wikipedians ===
''If you have a user account, please link to it below''
* '''[[User:Sj|Sj]]''' (Have helped organize events at the Law school before; know the campus and city inside out. Worked on last year's Wikimania. Live near campus; have space for other organizers to crash with me if necessary during planning sessions) (IRC: _sj_)
* '''[[w:User:ike|Ivan Krstic]]''', know the campus inside out, live on campus, can probably also provide some space for organizers to crash during planning and the conference
* '''[[w:User:Jessamyn|Jessamyn]]''' local-ish. Can help with crack team of local reference librarians to meet/greet/orient/assist.
* '''[[w:User:TitaniumDreads|DustinBoyer]]''' Experience organizing conferences, Friendly, Competent & 2 couches for crashing 7 minutes walking distance from the vard.
* '''[[w:User:EricaG|EricaG]]''', official Berkman contact and wikiphile; plans local and Berkman events
* '''jkb''', long involvement with local Wikimeets and Boston-area events (IRC: jkbaumga)
* '''[[w:User:Brettstil|Brettstil]]''', also help with site design (+ 2 colleagues; see CSS sponsors), Wikimania laptop stickers schwag
* '''[[w:User:Tobacman|Jeremy T]]'''
* '''[[w:User:Deborah909|Deborah Elizabeth Finn]]''', all around [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber-Yenta cyber-yenta], with nonprofit and other tech connections across the east coast
* [[wikinews:User:pingswept|Pingswept]], also with local news coverage
* [[W:User:Mysekurity|Mysekurity]] would be glad to help out with whatever he can.
* [[w:User:AlexanderWait|Alexander (Sasha) Wait]] (IRC: asw)
* [[User:DanKeshet|DanKeshet]]
* [[User:AaronSw|Aaronsw]]
* [[w:User:Paul August|PaulAugust]]
* [[w:User:TracyAdams|Tracy Adams]] - also works with dot LRN @ MIT.
* [[w:User:Dowbrigade|Dowbrigade]]

=== Other interest ===
''from local wikimeets''
* A brace of Watlingtons (Amanda: professional blog PR)
* Bill/Recafe (experience, contacts with event rentals and in the real estate industry; might help with offsite events)
* Ezra Keshet
* Zak Stone (KM hacking)
* [http://rura.org/shimon Shimon Rura]
* Josh Ain
* Patrick Ohiomoba. (Harvard stats dept, computer services)
* [http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger David] [http://www.evident.com Weinberger]

=== Local enthusiasts who could be roped in ===
* More local Wikipedians : ~40 from recent meetups/events ([[w:User:graft|Rednblack]], [[w:User:Cunctator|User:Cunctator]], ...); many locals who don't attend such things ([[w:User:Bcorr|BCorr]], [[w:User:dpbsmith|User:dpbsmith]], [[w:User:moink|User:moink]], ...)
* Berkman interest : Fellows (very partial help from 20 local fellows - mainly PR), Bob Doyle (a/v tech expert), AndyCarvin (Digital divide & UN work)
* Harvard orgs: the [http://hcs.harvard.edu harvard computer society] (x8-10 interested in a [[w:field trip|field trip]] to Wikimania wherever it is :-], Will be around for Hacking Days if it's in Boston.)
* Nearby Wikipedian clusters : 20+ from NYC and regional MA (like jessamyn above; [[w:User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]], [[w:eo:Vikipediisto:Chuck_SMITH|Chuck Smith]], &c.)
* Local talent wanting Mania updates. Henry Minsky, Karen R, PGreen, Cyberfest hackers

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Use of local support :
* Media
*: dividing up work with local papers/magazines/broadsheets
*: processing inbound media requests, preparing outgoing kits and updates
* Rooms and accomodations
*: preparing and cleaning rooms
*: providing keys, information, etc to the info desk
* Information
*: ref librarians at the welcome desk ;)
*: info about attendees and presenters, for setting up small group chats, meals, etc. Suggesting stats and info to extract from the database
*: Large poster design, printing, placement
* Sponsors, Presentation
*: Working with local sponsors on related events in the weeks leading up to the conf
*: Booth/table design and setup
*: Spotlight filters, banners, flyers
* Recording and broadcasting
*: audio, video, live transcripts; available within minutes of each event

-->

==Miscellaneous==
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===Attractions===
* [[w:Widener Library|Widener Library]], with the world's largest single-building collection; and fantastic multilingual manuscript archives. Other excellent specialized libraries on campus.
* The [[w:Boston Museum of Science|Boston Museum of Science]], which does events with local organizations to allow people entrance to a special exhibit and getting into the museum.
* 3 museums directly on campus next to the site. The Harvard Museum of Natural History (with its amazing glass flowers exhibit) and Native American culture exhibit are less than a block from the conference; suitable for a lunchtime visit. There is also a nearby botanical center.
* MIT museum, sites, and sights 2 miles away.
* Extensive theater, opera, ballet, and music
* Landmarks/sights : The walk through downtown, [[w:Freedom Trail|Freedom Trail]], Citgo :), The Prudential, [[w:Fenway Park|Fenway Park]], ice cream!
* Parallel conferences (check Jun-Aug)
* Outdoor fun: hiking, the [[w:Emerald Necklace|Emerald necklace]], beaches, waterfront, sailing, July 4th fireworks (among the biggest in the US, with over a million gathered along the river last year), free concerts at the Hatch Shell, etc.
* Chinatown, North End.
* The Old City downtown. Fanueil Hall & Quincy Market.

=== Local audience ===
One hurdle for a cheap conference with limited space to overcome, is the preponderance of locals who see it as a nice way to enrich a weekend, taking spaces that others would gladly travel thousands of miles for.
* Large community of librarians/information professionals interested in the technology/Wikimedia (we can publicize this to thousands of local l/ips; only about 100-300 may actually turn up.)
*: you expect 200 to turn up?? --sj
* Large community of university students (~150,000), many fans of wikis and the projects. A no-fee conference could probably saturate all available space with students. Perhaps >1000 with interest in attending; a handful of public lectures aside form the conference itself may help alleviate this attendee-pressure.
* A hub of Web activity for over a decade; full of post-bust dot-com geeks and the next generation of same. 500 pros who want to know about wikis, perhaps at length, and would come to a practical track.


==Self-evaluation==
*Weaknesses of the proposed location ...and how to overcome those weaknesses
# Entering the US can be difficult, or at least an annoyance, for attendees from some countries.
#: '''Solution''': Harvard deals with this constantly. Visa problems can be mitigated by preparation in advance and with help from the university. Harvard has a diplomatic office that handles visas, invitation letters, and foreign dignitaries; they can help both getting visas for attendees and properly inviting government and other officials whom we wish to attend or speak.
#: The annoyance factor is harder to overcome, but it is an annoyance, rather than a barrier. Annoyance can be minimized given proper planning.
# Driving around Boston is dangerous -- where did all those pedestrians come from??
#: '''Solution''': Bring a bike, not a car. Or [http://atabikeblog.com/blog/_WebPages/index.html rent a bike] while you are in town. Also, it's extremely easy to use only public transportation around the city. Many locals do not drive or bike, and still travel the city very well.
# Americans are rude and monolingual
#: '''Solution''': Bostonians are only rude to Yankees fans. To everyone else we are coldly indifferent. If you're feeling sensitive, leave your Yankees gear at home.
# Problems about security -- The recent events show that the security in USA is not guaranteed
#: '''Solution''':?
# ... (suggest your own :)

*Strengths of the proposed location
# Collaboration with Berkman gives us free facilities, expertise in managing large events, and links to other groups around the University (30,000 students across the various schools). We have contacts in the Law school, Medical school, the College, and the academic and research institutions interested in helping out.
# Harvard Square is in the heart of one of the greatest college towns in North America, with a huge progressive and techno-savvy community.
# Many local organizations have sponsored Wikipedia related events before and would be interested in doing so again... including IBM Watson research labs (where they developed History Flow), the Boston Cyberarts group (which hosted a Wikipedia demonstration last spring), and the Museum of Science (which is scheduling a Wikipedia-related project for one of their educational programs).
# Location : Directly on a beautiful river (now clean!) and harbor. Half an hour to the beach; 3.5 hours to New York City on a fast train that rarely derails.
# Public transportation: The [[w:MBTA|MBTA]], the public transit system around Boston, includes a subway system, buses, boats, and commuter trains. It's very easy to get around without a car.
# Walkability/Bicyclability: It's very easy to get around Cambridge and Boston because of the infrastructure and short distances between locations.
# Food: The area hosts lots of excellent restaurants representing the many cultures and ethnic identities present in the city. It's possible to find vegan restaurants, halal meat, vegan meat, etc.
# PR : Our new pro bono public relations firm has offices in Boston, making coordination of PR for the conference a snap.
# Massachusetts is the only state to vote against Nixon and Reagan.
# Gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts, so while you're here why not marry you someone you love?
# We are a WikiCrazy town.

[[category:Wikimania]]

Revision as of 19:46, 13 October 2005

Hi, I'm Jak a sysop in arabic wikipedia.

You can contact me in my discussion page.

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