Wikimania  In the course of informal discussions at Wikimania in Frankfurt the possibility of having Wikimania  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 US 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    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   The people in Frankfurt put on a tremendous gathering with a core organizational group of about a dozen people  Some  people attended from  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  Im looking for interest and commitment  To that end I am proposing a Vancouver meetup for Saturday Sept   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     UTC