Wikipedia Day with General Assembly

Wikipedia & AI: The race for free knowledge

On 27 April 2024, Wikimedia CH will embed its General Assembly (GA) in a Wikipedia Day in Welle 7, Bern. Our guests will experience a day of talks, networking opportunities, insights to Wikimedia CH’s programme, exciting partner projects, and much more.

Please read Wikimedia CH’s annual report 2023 and get informed about our activities in 2024 by our annual plan. It is aligned with the Movement strategy as well as with our 2022-2026 strategy. You are invited to comment on the discussion page.

Programme

Good to know

The event and the GA are open and free for everybody. Registration is recommended by April 20 at the latest.
Please let us know if you need a baby sitter.
In the GA, only active members have the right to vote. Read more about all members rights and obligations in our Bylaws, §4.
All members will get an official invitation. You want to become a member? Here we go!
Food and drinks will be provided for registered people only.
Helping hands wanted! All voluntrees who want to give active support in this event, please contact us via events@wikimedia.ch
(THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!)
The event will be filmed and photographed. We will provide red lanyards for anyone who does not wish to be photographed. The photographers and filmers engaged by Wikimedia CH have been informed of this.
Further information will follow here as soon as possible.

Our speakers and panelists

Lisa Stähli, Moderator

Lisa Stähli is a Product Engineering Lead at the Esri R&D Center Zurich, Board Member and Head of Press at Girls in Tech Switzerland and creator of the Hello 50:50 World initiative. In her role as a Product Engineer Lead, she operates at the intersection of engineering, product design, and leadership. She is a passionate activist and community builder around the topics of diversity and inclusion in the tech industry and beyond.

Alec von Graffenried, Mayor of the City of Bern

Alec von Graffenried has been Mayor of Bern since 2017. He was previously a lawyer and governor of the administrative district of Bern, before becoming a member of the National Council and working as a director at construction company Losinger Marazzi AG. As mayor, he is committed to urban planning, culture, regional cooperation and the accelerated digitalisation of the city administration, among other things. He thinks Wikipedia is the best thing on the Internet.
Photo: Stadt Bern

Patrick Karpiczenko, comedian and expert for generative AI

Patrick Karpiczenko was born in Berne and educated at the ZHdK Film School in Zurich. He works as a writer, director, and comedian for film, television, and the stage, and is a columnist for print media (Tagesanzeiger, NZZ, Beobachter). He is the creator and showrunner of various television formats and performes stand-up comedy on stage. He is the founder of the production company Apéro Film and a lecturer and speaker on generative artificial intelligence.
Photo: Maurice Haas

Kevin Golde, User:Wikiolo

Kevin Golde is a transport engineer, geographer, and Wikimedian dedicated to the development of Wikipedia. In 2018, he founded the project Wiki Loves Broadcast. Due to the project, content from SRF, ARD, and ZDF is being implemented in Wikipedia. In 2023, Golde explained that Wikimedia must evolve rapidly to survive as a free encyclopedia for the public good in the age of profit-driven companies providing AI generated answers.
Photo by Amrei-Marie, “Wikiolo 01“, Bildschnitt von Wikimedia CH,CC-by-sa 4.0

Anna Jobin, President of the Swiss Federal Media Commission

Anna Jobin is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the University of Fribourg, President of the Swiss Federal Media Commission, and an internationally recognized expert on the social aspects of artificial intelligence and new media. After Cornell University, Tufts University, ETH Zurich, and the HIIG, she is now at the interdisciplinary Human-IST Institute, teaching also in the new Digital Society master programme. Her research focuses on algorithmic systems as sociotechnical institutions.
© Pierry-Yves Massot

web_anna_jobin_18012024_©pierre_yves_massot_02A2888-CUT

Sid Singh, scientific researcher

Sid Singh is a scientific researcher at Berne University of Applied Sciences, where he works with applications of large language models with formal text documents (law, finance etc.). Over the years, he has worked with researchers and engineers ranging from human emotions in speech and predictive maintenance in drones to gaming and cyber security. He has a special interest in AI compliance and verification. He is also a board member and CTO at the IDE4 Association in Geneva, Switzerland.

Nadia Fischer, Founder Startup "Witty"

Nadia Fischer is an expert in Software Products. First as Head of Marketing in a San Francisco startup, she became the Lead Product at a renowned web agency. Thereafter she joined the leadership team at PwC as Head of Product Strategy. Missing diversity in large organizations, Nadia founded the tech startup ‘Witty’, an AI-augmented tool to identify bias in language that deters diverse talent.

Marketplace for networking

The Marketplace is a central element in the afternoon of Wikipedia Day. Engaged groups, active members and cooperation partners are invited to present themselves and their projects at a stand. The Wikimedia CH programmes offer insights into their work and are available to talk face to face.

A market stand is a simple conference table. It is up to the exhibitors how they design it and what they want to present. The participation is free of charge. If you are interested, please register by 30 March at the latest.

Programme

Location: Welle 7, Schanzenstrasse 5, Bern – directly at the West exit of Bern PostParc station.

Wikipedia & AI: The Race for Free Knowledge

09:30 – Check-in & Get together with coffee, tea, croissants   in the Foyer
10:00 – Opening the doors to the event room
10:15 – Welcome from Lisa Stähli, moderator
10:20 – Welcome & Greetings: Alec von Graffenried, Berner Stadtpräsident (Mayor of Berne)
10:30 – Introduction by Jennifer Ebermann, Executive Director and the Board of Wikimedia CH
10:40 – Keynote: Patrick Karpiczenko

11:00 – Podium Discussion “Wikipedia & AI: The Race for Free Knowledge” with Patrick Karpiczenko, Anna Jobin, Kevin Golde, Nadia Fischer & Sid Singh
12:15 – Q&A and Summary
12:30 – Lunch break (vegan buffet available until about 15:00.)

12:50 – General Assembly in Meeting room L

(ca. 60 min) – Agenda / annual report 2023; all necessary information and documents are available on the memberswiki page (for members of Wikimedia CH only). For questions contact membership@wikimedia.ch)