Wikimania 2011/Bids/Haifa

Haifa is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean Coastal Plain, the historic "via Maris" - the ancient road between Europe, Africa, and Asia. The city is split over three tiers: The lowest is the center of commerce and industry including the Port. The middle level is on the slopes of Mount Carmel and consists of older residential neighborhoods, while the upper level consists of modern neighborhoods looking over the lower tiers. From here views can be across the Western Galilee region of Israel towards Rosh HaNikra and even Mount Hermon.

Haifa has a Mediterranean climate with hot summers and cool rainy winters. The average temperature in summer is 26 °C. Humidity tends to be high all year round, and rain usually occurs between October and April.

Haifa has 13 hotels with a total of 1,462 rooms. The city is a coast city with 17 kilometers of beaches.

Haifa's main tourist attraction is the Bahá'í World Centre, with the golden-domed Shrine of the Báb and the surrounding gardens. Between 2005 and 2006, 86,037 visited the shrine. The restored German Colony, founded by the Templers, the Stella Maris Monastery and Elijah's Cave also draw many tourists.

Located in the Haifa district are the Ein Hod artists' colony, where over 90 artists and craftsmen have studios and exhibitions, the Mount Carmel national park, with caves where Neanderthal and early Homo Sapiens remains were found. Also nearby are the Druze villages where a majority of the Druze population in Israel is located.

Despite its image as a port and industrial city, Haifa is the cultural hub of northern Israel. The Haifa Cinematheque, founded in 1975, hosts the annual Haifa International Film Festival during the intermediate days of the Sukkot holiday.

The most popular museum is the Israel National Museum of Science, Technology, and Space, which recorded almost 150,000 visitors in 2004. The museum is located in the historic Technion building in the Hadar neighborhood. The Haifa Museum of Art houses a collection of modern and classical art, as well as displays on the history of Haifa. The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art is the only museum in the Middle East dedicated solely to Japanese art.

Other museums in Haifa include the Museum of Prehistory, the National Maritime Museum, the Hecht Museum, the Dagon Archeological Museum, the Railway Museum, the Clandestine Immigration and Navy Museum, the Oil Industry Museum, and the Mane Katz Museum.

Israel (officially the State of Israel) is a country in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area.

Israel has a population of about 7.5 million people, of whom approximately 5.7 million are Jewish. The largest ethnic minority group is the segment denominated as Arabs, while minority religious groups include Muslims, Christians, Druze, Samaritans, most of whom are found within the Arab segment.

Israel approximately 20,770 square kilometers (8,019 sq mi) in area, of which two percent is water.

Despite its small size, Israel is home to a variety of geographic features, from the Negev desert in the south to the mountain ranges of the Galilee, Carmel, and the Golan in the north. The Coastal Plain on the shores of the Mediterranean is home to seventy percent of the nation's population. East of the central highlands lies the Jordan Rift Valley, which forms a small part of the 6,500-kilometer (4,040-mi) Great Rift Valley. The Jordan River runs along the Jordan Rift Valley, from Mount Hermon through the Hulah Valley and the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the surface of the Earth.

The Haifa Auditorium has been the annual host of the Haifa International Film Festival for the past 26 years, and the nearby Hecht building and Auditorium complex has hosted numerous conventions and events. The Auditorium has three large lecture halls, and the Hecht Bulding has seven smaller halls.

The Hecht building is a renovated historic building originally built as a hotel by the Templers during the late 19th century.

Nearby is the Carmel Center shopping and leisure district, which has several hotels of all values. The Carmelit (Haifa's metro) has a station nearby, making access simple and easy.

Student dorms of the Port Collage and the Haifa University are located near the Carmelit stations, enabling visitors who stay at the dorms to reach the Auditorium with great ease.

Provided for Wikimania's use, will be:

• The Main auditorium (for the main event) - seating 1,139
• The Rapaport Auditorium - seating 450
• The Haifa Cinematheque - seating 160
• The Hecht House with:
  • 1 room of 120 seats
  • 3 rooms of 60 seats
  • 3 rooms of 30 seats (for VIP Guests and press room)
• The Center's garden for opening welcome cocktail.
• Lounge and reception area for exhibition - which can hold 500
  • All rooms set up for presentation (and simultaneous translation) and taping of the proceeding (with possible simultaneous webcast)
  • All rooms are air conditioned.

The Auditorium has facilities for check-in (receiving the delegates packs) and on-site guidance, and provides all security services.

On-site is a small shopping mall where restaurants and supplies can be found.

The Auditorium is located at the heart of the Carmel Center shopping and leisure district, in which there are cinemas, dozens of coffee shops and restaurants and many pubs, some of which are open 24 hours.

The entire site allows easy access to mobility-reduced participants, as well as aids to persons with limited visibility.

further details to be provided

We have received the sponsorship of both the Haifa University and the Municipal College who will provide dorms at no cost.

For the budget traveler, the city has several budget hotels - all with bed and breakfasts. The densest collection of hotels is within walking distance from the Haifa Auditorium. Three of these hotels are four and five-star hotels. Several luxury boutique spa hotels are also within walking distance.

Most hotel rooms in the vicinity are accessible to the disabled.

A direct train links Israel's Ben Gurion Airport with Haifa. The train rides takes about an hour and a half. A cab service enable reaching the city of Haifa from the airport within 1 hour and ten minutes.

Haifa has its own airport, Haifa Airport, which serves domestic flights to Tel Aviv and Eilat.

Haifa is well connected to by train lines to Tel Aviv, Akko (Acre), Beer Sheva and the Ben Gurion International Airport. The trip takes a little over an hour and during peak hours there are as many as 3-4 services hourly.

There are 4 train stations in Haifa:

• Hof ha-Carmel — close to bus terminal that serves the lines connected to the cities south of Haifa and local buses.
• Bat Galim — close to Elija's Cave and the cable car to Stella Maris Carmelite monastery.
• Haifa Merkaz - Ha-Shmona — near city downtown and Carmelit underground funicular which connects this station to the Carmel Center and the Haifa Auditorium.
• Lev ha-Mifratz — close to bus terminal that serves the lines connected to the North area of Israel.

From the south, route 2 is the coastal highway which links Haifa with Tel Aviv. This journey from the airport to Haifa takes up to one and a half hours.

Wikimedia Israel will attempt to arrange buses from Ben Gurion Airport to the convention area on the day of the convention.

The currency used in Israel is the New Israeli Shekel. There are currency changing offices everywhere, and some stores even allow payment in US dollars.

We suggest the following Itinerary for the leisure activities of the event:

• Thursday night - Opening Gala Cocktail at the gardens of the Auditorium center
• Friday Night:
  • Festive Shabbat Dinner
  • Later at night - shuttles will take the party goers to Tel Aviv with its numerous pubs, discotheques and parties

• Saturday
  • Saturday afternoon and evening - beach party

• Sunday: Wikimedia Israel is planing to provide the attendants with various entertainment and educational options:
  • Organized tours to the north of Israel and the numerous religious sites there and around the Sea of Galilee

• • Guided tours to the city of Jerusalem

• • Guided tours to Acre

• • Tours of the Bahai Gardens

The Haifa Municipality and the Haifa University have agreed to provide financial support to the event, as well as visibility and both will assist in raising local sponsorships and support.

Several companies have already agreed to support the event.

further details to be provided

• Wikimania 2011