[Wikimania-l] Wikimania 2008 will happen in Alexandria, Egypt
The Jury for Wikimania 2008 bids have met and are pleased to announce that Wikimania 2008 will be held in Alexandria, Egypt. The Bids were assessed by a Jury[0] which included community members representing various geographical areas, and organisers of the previous conferences. The Jury used 12 criteria[1] to judge the bids, which were drawn up based on the Jury's previous experiences organising the conference and with input from a wide range of community concerns. Alexandria was found to be particularly strong in the areas of reflecting the Wikimedia Foundation's roots in geo-diversity and multi-lingualism, of the very exciting nature of the proposed venue and its local facilities, and of the particularly advanced nature of the financial planning. All three Bids were very strong in differing ways, each with stronger and weaker points. We would like to draw particular attention to the efforts of the team behind the Atlanta bid, which came in second place and was particularly commendable in the areas of providing in-facility accommodation and social space, and for doing great outreach to local Wikimedians. Their efforts could serve as an example to any team hoping to get the local community involved. The Cape Town bid was marked strongly by the Jury for cultural diversity, a particularly benign local environment, and efforts to secure local recognition and facilities. We'd especially like to congratulate Cape Town on providing our very first strong bid from the Southern Hemisphere. A table of the results is given below. Each member of the jury had up to 60 points to allocate to the bids in each of the 12 categories, which they did after a period of discussion and careful deliberation. Category Alexandria Atlanta Cape Town Accommodation 251 298 71 Funding 264 224 152 Location 294 154 182 Internet Access 204 263 133 Local Laws 155 253 222 Press 232 235 153 Organizing Team 244 206 163 Rotation 305 55 260 Social Areas 222 258 140 Cost 289 206 125 Venue 323 158 139 Visas 243 109 263 Total 3026 2419 2003 Note that a 13th category, on personal preference, was polled but is not included as it had no significant effect on the result. The Jury would like to thank all of those involved in bids, including those whose bids did not go forward to the final selection, for their efforts which combined to produce a competitive field. We strongly encourage all those who bid this year, and those of you wondering whether your city could have done the same, to consider bidding for Wikimania 2009, for which the decision will begin very shortly. See the Wikimania 2009 page on meta[2] for further updates within the next few days. We are especially looking forward to the Wikimedia Foundation collaborating with one of the most famous repositories of knowledge in the world, and emphasising the newly developing Wikimedia projects in Africa and the Middle East. We would like to encourage the entire community to support the Alexandria team over the coming year in producing an outstanding conference, and look forward to meeting as many of you as possible there. On behalf of the Wikimania 2008 bid Jury. [0] - http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2008/Jury Sue Gardner and Jan-Bart DeVreede abstained from voting. [1] - http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania 2008/Judging criteria [2] - http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2009 -- James D. Forrister Cary Bass
According to an official mailing list post from Wikimedia Volunteer Coordinator Cary Bass, Wikimania 2008 will be held in Alexandria, Egypt.

The location was chosen because it is "particularly strong in the areas of reflecting the Wikimedia Foundation's roots in geo-diversity and multi-lingualism". According to the final tally, Alexandria placed first in the Funding, Location, Organizing Team, Rotation, Cost, and Venue. Alexandria had 3026 points total.

In second place with 2419 points was , Georgia, United States. They placed first in Accommodation, Internet Access, Local Laws, Press, and Social Areas.

Finally, Cape Town, South Africa had 2003 points, placing first in Visas only.

The motto selected for Alexandria's bid is "Let The Knowledge Be Free Everywhere", Atlanta's was "A new day for the New South", and Cape Town's was "Wikimania 2008. The International Wikimania Conference."

According to the post, the Jury used 12 different categories including Accommodation, Funding, Internet Access, Press, Organizing Team, and Visas. Each member of the jury had 60 points to assign to the three proposed venues.

The decision has provoked some debate on the selection process; complaints have been raised about honour killings and gay rights within Egypt, with some asserting that the human rights record of the country should have factored more into the decision process. In reaction to this criticism Jimmy Wales has decided his talk at the conference will be entitled "''Free knowledge and human rights''".

, London, and Toronto submitted official bids, but later withdrew at various points throughout the process.