Announced this morning:
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/
Orange_and_Wikimedia_announce_partnership_April_2009
Orange forms world’s first mobile and internet partnership with the
Wikimedia Foundation
* This partnership, the first of its kind, will expand the reach
of Wikimedia content through co-branded channels on Orange’s mobile
and web portals
* The two partners will work together to develop new services
and features around content from Wikipedia, the flagship project of
the Wikimedia Foundation.
Paris and San Francisco, 23 April 2009
Orange and the Wikimedia Foundation today announced a wide-ranging
strategic partnership designed to mutually benefit each
organization’s users by extending the way people can access free
knowledge.
Orange, the European telco leader in internet audience ranking, with
55 million unique visitors per month*, will initially provide
customers in France, the UK, Spain and Poland with quick and simple
access to co-branded content from the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-
profit organization behind the web encyclopedia Wikipedia.
Partnership activities include:
* creating specific Wikipedia channels on Orange mobile and web
portals
* enriching sections of the Orange web and mobile portals with
links to relevant Wikipedia information
* developing mobile and web-based widgets which enable customers
to access Wikipedia content directly from their Orange mobile or web
homepage
Phase two of the agreement will see the two organisations cooperate
to create a range of simple but innovative new services drawing on
Orange’s skills as a total communications provider across mobile,
internet and television. In addition, the partnership will be rolled
out across the rest of Orange’s European footprint.
Commenting on the agreement, Paul-François Fournier, Executive Vice
President, Audience Line of Business, Orange, said: “At Orange we are
committed to giving people maximum access to the widest range of
digital technologies and to simplifying the way people use these
technologies to access information. By bringing our customers a new
way to access content from Wikipedia, one of the world’s most
recognised and popular internet brands, we are delivering on this
commitment.”
“The Wikimedia Foundation is dedicated to spreading knowledge to as
many people as possible, in as many ways as possible,” said Sue
Gardner, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. “Orange's
leadership in mobile and focus on innovation makes them an ideal
partner to help us extend our reach. The Foundation welcomes
partnerships that help us carry out our mission and that respect the
valuable contributions of the Wikimedia community”
This partnership is part of Orange’s strategy to provide the most
popular and compelling content to its customers and will increase the
reach of Wikimedia services, particularly in the European mobile
market and at a time when mobile internet usage is soaring. Through
this partnership Orange is also supporting the Wikimedia Foundation's
core mission of enhancing and expanding the reach of Wikipedia and
other collaborative knowledge projects to new users.
Learn more about the Orange Wikimedia partnership on video at
www.orange-innovation.tv/wikimedia.
_______________________________________________
Wikimedia UK mailing list
wikimediau...@wikimedia.org
http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l
WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
