Toronto and Boston are currently competing to play host to Wikimania 2006, which will be an international gathering of those involved in the Wikimedia Foundation's various projects.

Although I'm very much a novice in this world, having just begun to learn how to edit Wikipedia articles, I'm delighted by the possibility that a large numbers of wiki-oriented geeks from many countries will land in Massachusetts next summer to discuss online projects for making knowledge in the public interest more accessible. (Here's a sample of these projects:  Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikiquote, and Wikinews.)

Yesterday evening, I attended the local Wikipedia Meetup, convened by Sj, for a discussion of plans for Wikimania 2006.  The Berkman Center for Internet & Society has very generously offered facilities at Harvard Law School, and Sj is busy lining up all the other necessities. 

The Boston area's nonprofit technology community is becoming more cohesive than ever, and I'm hoping that we can welcome and  make common cause with the Wikimaniacs if they come here. There's so much talk about Web 2.0, in which we will take online tools to the next level.  Both the Wikimedia community and the nonprofit technology community are dedicated to collaboration in the service of noble causes, and therefore we would do well engage each other in dialogue about how Web 2.0 can help us achieve our goals.

 This article was originally posted to my personal blog about "Technology for the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sector."