The fifth Global Voices Summit has come to an end.

Dozens of Global Voices contributors as well as other bloggers, journalists, activists, and at least one Archbishop met at the Santiago Public Library in Santiago, Chile on May 6 and 7 to discuss everything from blogging in Mongolia and Liberia to measuring the impact of citizen media to how best to translate online content into multiple languages.

We also listened to funky jams prepared by the Global Voices Latin America team and danced the conga:

Summit participants dance the congo on Friday evening. Photo courtesy of sate3 on TwitPic.

The purpose of the Summit was to bring together people from all over the world who are interested in citizen media and to foster discussions on how this media is affecting societies, politics, education and other spheres around the globe. Along with a number of formal sessions on topics including citizen media and government transparency, the role of libraries and how YouTube and other social networks moderate content, the Summit included a variety of informal breakout sessions organized around the interests of participants. These included discussions on the digital divide, the use of social media in reporting conflict, and the differences between old and new media. The notes from all of these discussions are being posted in the session notes section of this site.

One of the most unique things about this Summit was that it was officially bilingual: presenters spoke in both English and Spanish, and translators worked tirelessly to make sure every participant had access to the entire program in a language they could understand. This focus on language accessibility was a theme throughout the Summit, as evidenced by sessions on media and translation and indigenous citizen media, as well as the sheer volume of different languages represented at the summit.

Global Voices Lingua member Ruben Hilari discusses Global Voices in Aymara, an indigenous language spoken in Latin America. Photo courtesy of luigiluib on Flickr.

For those who couldn't make it, we published a liveblog, a Twitter feed and a live webcast. Many sessions were also recorded, and those videos will be posted on the site soon. As participants trickle home to steady Internet connections, we'll also be posting their reflections on how things went. Thanks to all who helped make this Summit a wonderful time for everyone who participated, and we hope you'll join us next time!