EMWCon Spring 2023

The Enterprise MediaWiki Conference Spring 2023, or EMWCon Spring 2023, was held April 19-21 in Austin, Texas in the United States. EMWCons are three-day conferences featuring discussions of topics related to "Enterprise MediaWiki", i.e. the usage of MediaWiki software by and within companies, non-profits, governments, and other organizations. The intended audience of EMWCon Spring 2023 was anyone who uses, or would like to learn more about, MediaWiki within organizations.

This was the 8th EMWCon. EMWCon began as a spinoff of the Semantic MediaWiki Conference, or SMWCon, which is an annual conference held each fall in Europe. EMWCon and SMWCon are both three-day conferences with similar topics of discussion, though EMWCon has a broader scope.

As in 2022, the conference was held in a hybrid manner. For those who could not attend in person, there was online/virtual capability that was intended to be as integrated into the conference as much as possible. All presentations were available on Hopin live and talks were accepted from remote speakers. There was no cost for online/virtual attendance. However, in-person attendance was encouraged!



Event details

 * Dates: April 19-21, 2023
 * Times: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM CDT
 * Location: Hilton Garden Inn Austin Northwest/Arboretum

<!-- To book a hotel room at the conference venue, please book directly through our special link under. Please do not use Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Booking.com, or Hilton.com to book a room at this hotel.

Platform
Hopin - Remote attendees and speakers needed to create a free account on Hopin. Please use the following link to sign-up and attend:
 * https://hopin.com/events/emwcon-2023-6b1a3bc1-d45b-4980-88a0-6e398303c99a

YouTube - The main platform will be Hopin, but the conference Main Stage will be simulcasted on YouTube:
 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoI35A7CZ0M


 * Day 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0xEhy9bBFU
 * Day 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoI35A7CZ0M

Element - An instant messaging platform used for EMWCon and general MediaWiki discussions:
 * EMWCon Room: https://matrix.to/#/#emwcon:matrix.org
 * General Room: https://matrix.to/#/#mwstake-general:matrix.org

Etherpad - Create Camp ideas:
 * https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/emwcon2023-create-camp

Registration
To register for EMWCon, please go to the EMWCon Spring 2023 page at Eventbrite (coming soon) or click the button below. Tickets come with breakfast, lunch, & snacks for all 3 days of the conference and one social dinner (Thursday night). There is no cost to attend remotely.

The early bird registration deadline for in-person attendance is March 19, 2023, after this date the early bird discount will no longer be available.

The cost for the three-day in-person event is: (If you would be paying your own way, go with the lower rate. If your company or organization is paying, the regular rate applies.)
 * $450 - Regular Rate
 * $250 - Students and Freelancers

In addition, information about accommodations for anyone who requires them can be found under.



Local accommodations
Everyone is highly encouraged to stay at the conference hotel; this helps keep down conference costs. A discounted group rate of $129 per night has been negotiated.

To get this rate, your room needs to be booked by March 30. The rate allows your room to be cancellable up to 6:00pm CDT on the day you are supposed to check in. Furthermore, no payment is due until you check out. Only a credit card is required to be on file.

We recommend booking four nights between Tuesday, April 18 and Saturday, April 22.

'''If you intend to stay at the conference hotel, please book using our group rate. This keeps conference costs down.'''



The above link is programmed to book a room for 4 nights (between Tuesday, April 18 and Saturday, April 22). You can click on this link and adjust the number of nights you wish to stay before booking.

To reiterate: Bookings are not charged until the day of check-in. You can modify or cancel the reservation at your pleasure up until 6:00pm (18:00) CDT the day you check in. Hilton.com will ask you for your credit card simply to keep it on file, but it won't be charged when you make the booking.

The deadline to book rooms has been extended to March 30, 2023.

Room sharing
If you would like to share a room, please add your name below:

Shared room signup: -->
 * Name

Participants
Informal participation sign up:

In-person

 * Yaron Koren
 * Bryan Hilderbrand
 * Jeffrey Wang
 * Ike Hecht (WikiTeq)
 * Vincent Brooks (NASA/Cimarron)
 * Dwan Humphrey (NASA/KBR)
 * James Hare
 * Brian Wolff (WikiTeq)
 * Daniel Scherzer (WikiTeq)
 * Rich Evans (NASA GRC-ATF)
 * Cindy Cicalese (Wikimedia Foundation)
 * Mat Nadrofsky (Wikimedia Foundation)
 * Linh Nguyen (Wikimedia Foundation)
 * Nick Gluzdov (Speed & Function)
 * Add your name here

Online

 * Gary Foster
 * Alex Tanchoco
 * Erin Nebres
 * Musaddam Idriss
 * Phil Keith
 * Wolfgang Fahl
 * Bernhard Krabina (KM-A)
 * Simon Stier
 * Charlot Cobben (Wikibase Solutions)
 * Marijn van Wezel (Wikibase Solutions)
 * Robis Koopmans (Wikibase Solutions)
 * Eric-Jan van Kakerken (Wikibase Solutions)
 * gBRETT miller (19 April only)
 * Stephan Protsack (Speed & Function)
 * Lexi McGillivray
 * Thomas
 * Greg Rundlett
 * Jared Olson (USSF)
 * Markus Glaser (Hallo Welt!)
 * Add your name here

Program
Here is the program for the conference:

Lightning talks

 * OpenSemanticLab Python Package Demo: How to automate code & content creation &mdash; Simon Stier
 * WikiSearch WikiSearch as a result format - Robis Koopmans (Wikibase Solutions)
 * PagePermissions extension - Yaron Koren
 * Backdrop extension - Yaron Koren

Links
YouTube Videos:
 * Day 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0xEhy9bBFU
 * Day 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoI35A7CZ0M

Element - An instant messaging platform used for EMWCon and general MediaWiki discussions:
 * EMWCon Room: https://matrix.to/#/#emwcon:matrix.org
 * General Room: https://matrix.to/#/#mwstake-general:matrix.org

Etherpad - Create Camp ideas:
 * https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/emwcon2023-create-camp

Sponsorship
This conference is coordinated by the MediaWiki Stakeholders' Group and the current sponsors of EMWCon are:

Become a sponsor
If you are interested in sponsoring EMWCon 2023, please contact Ike Hecht, the conference sponsor chair.

Premier ($600)
 * Your logo (large), link, and description in the sponsorship section of the conference website.
 * Your name will be mentioned during the conference and your logo (large) will be visible during talks and conference breaks.
 * Your name will be included in all upcoming announcements of the conference (e-mail, social media).
 * You will have the opportunity to discuss selected topics or demonstrate your products/services or show your short video in breakout sessions during coffee breaks.

Contributor ($250)
 * Your logo (small), link, and description in the sponsorship section of the conference website.
 * Your name will be mentioned during the conference and your logo (small) will be visible during talks and conference breaks.

Frequently asked questions

 * Are there vegetarian/vegan options for food during the conference?
 * Yes, vegetarians/vegans (and anyone else with dietary requirements) will be accommodated at each meal service. Please let us know during event registration so we can ensure you are served a meal tailored to your diet. In addition, for meals not provided by the conference, Austin has many great vegan options in the city, including food trucks that only sell vegan food!


 * Can I change and/or cancel my hotel reservation penalty-free? Do I have to pay in advance for the hotel booking?
 * Bookings are not charged until the day of check-in. You can modify or cancel the reservation at your pleasure up until 6:00pm (18:00) CDT the day you check in. Hilton.com will ask you for your credit card simply to keep it on file, but it won't be charged when you make the booking.


 * How do I get from the airport to the hotel?
 * Realistically, you will need to go by car. (The public transit infrastructure in Austin is not sufficient to bring you to the hotel in a reasonable manner.) Usually, a decent chunk of the conference attendees get a rental car. Most likely, you can carpool with fellow conference attendees in their rental cars. Alternatively, you can take a rideshare from Austin–Bergstrom International Airport to the hotel. More communication will be sent about airport carpooling as the conference approaches.

Visa assistance
Please view on Wikipedia the visa policy of the United States. If your nationality is not included in the Visa Waiver Program and you need assistance with applying for a B-1/B-2 visa, please contact the Local Chair if you need an affidavit of this conference.