Wikimania 2006 In the course of informal discussions at Wikimania in Frankfurt the possibility of having Wikimania 2006 in Vancouver was raised What makes Canada desirable for such a meeting is the capacity to draw delegates from the United States For many overseas delegates however U S visa requirements make that country less attractive All else being equal Europeans see Vancouver as a more interesting Canadian city to visit than Toronto the only other Canadian city to receive significant consideration Preliminary bids from various cities need to be made by Sept 30 2005 A short list will be drawn from those bids Is there enough interest and energy to put together such a conference in Vancouver for August 2006 The people in Frankfurt put on a tremendous gathering with a core organizational group of about a dozen people Some 400 people attended from 52 different countries I expect that a North American Wikimania could be a little smaller but we would still need a suitable facility It would be good to know that such a facility is available for a conference the type of youth hostel facility that was used in Frankfurt does not exist in North America What would be the cost of hosting such a conference at UBC I m looking for interest and commitment To that end I am proposing a Vancouver meetup for Saturday Sept 24 If someone has a reasonably accesible place for such a meeting please let me know I live in Richmond but something in the city of Vancouver would be more appropriate I am spammiong this to all Vancouver area Wikipedians that I can find Please reply to my talk page Eclecticology 21 50 16 2005 09 03 UTC