In 2018 I announced the creation of my "Skip Mobile Wikipedia" Firefox add-on, which automatically redirects you to the desktop version of the site. At the time it worked on both standard desktop Firefox and in Firefox for Android, life was great.

Unfortunately at some point, Firefox stopped allowing arbitrary add-ons on Android and it was disabled. It was still usable in the "Nightly" edition, but that wasn't very user friendly.

Anyways, fast-forward to earlier this month, Firefox has re-enabled general add-on support, so "Skip Mobile Wikipedia" is installable and works again on Android. The source code is the same, I haven't had any need to update it since 2020.

I personally use the responsive Timeless skin, which I think provides a nicer viewing and editing experience from my phone. Happy browsing!

12/12/2023-18/12/2023

About us

• Dear weeklyOSM readers,

  We are delighted to present you with the 700th issue of weeklyOSM. For over 13 years we have been reporting on the latest developments, projects, events, and data related to the free world map. We are proud to be part of this great community dedicated to open cartography.

  Thank you for your loyalty, interest, and feedback. Your contributions are essential for weeklyOSM. We hope you’ll continue to follow our blog in the future and share your opinions, suggestions, and criticism with us.

  We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2024. Stay healthy, lively, and creative. The next issue of weeklyOSM will be published on New Year’s Eve.

  Your weeklyOSM team

Mapping

• Anne-Karoline Distel explained in detail, in her latest video on YouTube, how she mapped the Black Pig’s Dyke as an Irish national monument in OpenStreetMap .
• Robhubi wrote ► about the challenges of tagging objects, highlighting that while names are usually sufficient to identify objects, they are sometimes non-existent or duplicated, leading to the practice of inventing or modifying names to distinguish objects. However, this practice conflicts with the OpenStreetMap guidelines, which states that the name tag should only contain real unique names.
• The vote on amenity=bicycle_wash, to map bicycle wash stations, has closed. The proposal was approved with 35 votes in favour, 4 votes against, and no abstentions.

Community

• Analysing the OSM contributions in 33 countries, Rubén has observed OSM contribution patterns similar to previous studies on the subject with a decline of the number of contributors in recent years and with only 3% of contributors making 75% of contributions (objects edited). The author noted the limits to this preliminary study, with the difficulty of separating local knowledge contributors via field or remote mapping from corporate contributors. These observations have sparked some discussions in the OSM Community forum.
• Andreas Varotsis made a Christmas appeal for people to contribute to OpenStreetMap (OSM), highlighting its importance in providing up-to-date, high-quality geographic data, such as ATM locations, which are otherwise difficult to obtain. Inspired by their own experiences with OSM, the author praises the community-driven, open-source nature of the project, comparing it favourably to corporate alternatives such as Google Maps. They describe contributing to OSM as both enjoyable and impactful, and recommend user-friendly tools such as StreetComplete and EveryDoor, as well as the full OSM editor, to get started with mapping.

OpenStreetMap Foundation

• HOT has enhanced its collaboration with the OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF), formalising an agreement on the use of the OpenStreetMap trademark and achieving silver-level corporate membership in the OSMF. This partnership, marked by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by HOT’s Executive Director and OSMF’s Director, underscores a shared commitment to advancing the OpenStreetMap ecosystem and supporting communities vulnerable to humanitarian crises​​.

Events

• The KonGeoS conference, a meeting of geodesy students from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, brought ► together around 170 people for specialist lectures, workshops, and group activities. One particular highlight was an OpenStreetMap mapathon, in which 30 students created or updated maps of earthquake zones in Morocco by digitising buildings and roads from current satellite images.
• More videos from the State of the Map 2023 presentations in Antwerp have been published on YouTube.
• The 11th collaborative Mapbox / OpenStreetMap Japan meetup took place online on 10 May 2023, focusing ► on the topic of real-time location sharing services following the discontinuation of the Zenly app in February 2023.

Education

• An article on Habr described ► the OsmAnd app and its various functions for different user needs. It also showed some non-obvious functions.

OSM research

• A new paper explored the use of OpenStreetMap data for remote sensing. The researchers developed methods for evaluating OSM land use and land cover information, focusing on intrinsic data quality indicators, and assessing OSM-derived multi-labels in remote sensing. They used deep learning techniques to handle label noise in OSM tags, improving the reliability of remote sensing applications. The study highlights the potential of OSM data to improve remote sensing practices, despite the challenges posed by data quality, and label noise.
• A new study investigated the impact of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on air quality and racial/ethnic disparities in California using the road network from OpenStreetMap data and the transit network from GTFS data.
• A study has investigated the increase in glacial lake outburst floods in the Third Pole region. All of the infrastructure features, except for hydropower information, were obtained from OpenStreetMap but with the disclaimer that OpenStreetMap has limited coverage of features throughout the Third Pole. Editor’s note: Does this sound like a topic for a new mapping campaign?

Maps

• Stamen Design highlighted several notable contributions to the #30DayMapChallenge, which was organised by Topi Tjukanov.
• The Office for National Statistics in the UK has created an interactive map tool that allows users to explore the 2021 Census data for England and Wales at a neighbourhood level on an OpenStreetMap basemap. The tool provides information on a range of topics including population, education, identity, housing, health, and work.
• The Nahbucks! website displays all the non-Starbucks coffee shops in the US on a map. Interestingly, OpenStreetMap is used as the background map, but the POI data comes from Google Maps.
• The website hike-and-bike.ch ► offers maps for Garmin navigation devices based on OpenStreetMap data. These maps are optimised for activities like hiking, cycling, and other outdoor activities and include detailed information such as routes, points of interest, terrain contours, and elevation details. The maps are updated every two months and are designed on a layer basis without specific routes for particular activities. They are available for European and North American countries.

OSM in action

• AxxonSoft has released version 2.0 of their Axxon One VMS, which is software for scalable surveillance video management. The updated version includes a new tool for monitoring multi-storey buildings on an interactive map with OpenStreetMap support.
• New energy management software has been developed ► by I3DEnergy, which focuses on energy savings for businesses and communities. The solution visualises energy data and CO₂ emissions using platforms such as OpenStreetMap to help identify inefficiencies and potential savings.
• GeoFS is an online flight simulator that offers a global environment using satellite images and digital geographic data from OpenStreetMap. GeoFS is accessible for free through web browsers, with no installation required.
• Nextcloud Hub 7 has been introduced and contains numerous new features, including the new map view in Nextcloud Photos using OpenStreetMap.
• 2023 was a historic year for cycling in Europe, according to the ECF in its annual review. Notable advances included a new tool that uses OpenStreetMap data to analyse cycling infrastructure and the new EuroVelo route planner based on OpenStreetMap. The European Declaration on Cycling and the planned EuroVelo 16 are also addressed.

Open Data

• The study ‘Social patterning of childhood overweight in the French national ELFE cohort’, published in Nature’s Scientific Reports, investigated the social gradients of overweight in preschool children. The authors used the contour data of France from OpenStreetMap, provided ► via the French OpenData platform, to visualise the results.

Software

• Jake Coppinger tooted about his new ‘Australian Cycleway Stats’ tool. It is an evolving project that visualises cycling infrastructure statistics using OpenStreetMap data. Users can click on statistics to view maps and customise queries in overpass turbo, with the underlying calculations available on GitHub.
• As of the latest update of Komoot’s Garmin app, it now offers dedicated maps for Garmin devices. However, this function can only be used with a Premium subscription.
• Cityliner is a tool for creating posters of public transport routes, highlighting different types of transport with different colours and line thicknesses representing the frequency of trips on each route segment. The tool, based on earlier code by Michael Müller for processing GTFS data, was completely rewritten in Python by the author, adding features such as colour themes, city icons, and the inclusion of water bodies using data from OpenStreetMap.
• The QGIS plugin OSMInfo, developed by NextGIS, allows users to retrieve detailed information about objects from OpenStreetMap using the Overpass API. This plugin allows users to click anywhere on a map to get OpenStreetMap features for that location, even if there is no vector data in their project.
• Lucas Longour has created an open-source alternative for StreetCompleteNess with the name Street Complete Progress Report.
• The MapRoulette application, operated by OpenStreetMap US, is calling for donations at the end of the year.
• Piet Brömmel has developed ‘Plotting Maps’, a tool for creating OpenStreetMap SVG maps specifically designed for pen plotters. Users can upload OSM export files to the tool’s website and render them as line-only SVGs, ideal for pen plotting.

Programming

• Branko Kokanovic, from Microsoft, wrote an OSM diary in which he invited the OSM community to provide interesting software projects that Microsoft could potentially work on. It is open ended, so this is your chance to write your favourite ideas or your biggest pet peeve.
• MapTiler has released a high-resolution global satellite map which is available to both free and subscription users of MapTiler Cloud. The map offers a resolution of 1–2 metres per pixel globally, with some areas reaching up to 8 cm per pixel. It includes the latest Maxar satellite imagery from 2021/2022. To update, use ‘satellite-v2’ or it will be automatically updated with their SDK.
• Anna Akhlestova explained ►, on Habr, how to implement OpenStreetMap in Flutter projects using the flutter_map plugin. She also wrote about the advantages of flutter_map over GoogleMaps API or Yandex Mapkit SDK and presented a guide on how to integrate the plugin into Flutter projects with examples of implementing different map layers and features.

Releases

• StreetComplete has released version 56.0-beta1 that features OAuth 2.0 authorisation, as OAuth 1.0a is being deprecated on OSM. Additionally, the app now allows users to view, filter, and copy logs from within the app, which helps in identifying issues. The new version also includes a new quest that asks if there is a sanitary dump station for caravan sites.

Did you know …

• … the Esri World Imagery Wayback service? It is a digital archive of Esri’s World Imagery that allows users to access different versions of World Imagery that have been created over the years. The archive currently supports all updated versions of World Imagery dating back to 20 February 2014.
• … you can find an OpenStreetMap community on Lemmy.ml?
• … there is a version of Organic Maps for the Linux operating systems in the Flathub Store?
• … that Petal Maps is a TomTom-based mapping service offered by Huawei on devices running HarmonyOS, Android, and iOS?

OSM in the media

• Jeff Oppong described how to create elevation cross-sections using QGIS. This process involves using Digital Elevation Models to visualise changes in elevation along specific routes, providing valuable insights for fields such as geography, geology, and urban planning. The tutorial shows the steps for importing OpenStreetMap as a base layer, downloading elevation data using the SRTM downloader plugin, and creating detailed profiles using the Profile tool in QGIS.
• An article in the Berliner Morgenpost compared ► various Google Maps alternatives, with OpenStreetMap only mentioned in passing, while TomTom, Apple, HERE, and Garmin took centre stage.
• autoevolution recently featured the Magic Earth app as an alternative to Google Maps due to its frequent updates and commitment to full-featured navigation. The latest update, version 7.9.5, introduces head-up display navigation, which projects key information onto the windscreen for safer driving.

Other “geo” things

• heise online described ► how artificial intelligence can be used to produce more accurate maps of snow depths. The AI technology uses satellite imagery to measure and map snow depths in different regions with up to 90% accuracy.
• Newsweek has reported on a significant move by China’s Ministry of State Security, which announced a thorough investigation after discovering that geographic information had been accessed by unnamed adversaries for strategic purposes. This action underscores China’s efforts to protect sensitive state secrets, particularly in the area of geospatial data.
• Lucas Marshall has made five key predictions for 2024, including the integration of generative AI and large language models into geospatial workflows, increased demand for geospatial professionals in infrastructure projects, and the growing importance of IoT, BIM, and data synchronisation technologies.
• Jakub Nowosad discussed teaching R and Python for geocomputation, focusing on the analysis of geographic vector data, including points, lines, polygons, and their attributes. The context of the article is the OpenGeoHub Summer School 2023, which will highlight the benefits of language diversity in geocomputation, and the authors’ collaboration on the open source book Geocomputation with Python.
• MapAmore has shared a video about Costa Rica, where there is no centralised street address system. The video portrays locals and shows how they find their way around.
• A discussion on Hacker News revolved around the capabilities and limitations of proprietary map apps when used offline. Many comments mentioned Organic Maps, which can be used completely offline, unlike Google Maps and Apple Maps.
• A Geo Week News article focused on Mercy Akintola, a cartograph/validator within HOT. Akintola’s work involves mapping previously unmapped areas by tracing satellite imagery and adding essential geographic features to OpenStreetMap, aiding in development and disaster response, particularly in vulnerable areas of Nigeria and surrounding countries.

Upcoming Events

This weeklyOSM was produced by MatthiasMatthias, PierZen, TheSwavu, TrickyFoxy, YoViajo, barefootstache, mcliquid, rtnf.
We welcome link suggestions for the next issue via this form and look forward to your contributions.

The Wiki Exploration Program started from the need to document the lesser-known and rarely visited heritage sites in West Bengal and other parts of Eastern India. Many of these are located in remote areas, some on the verge of obliteration. With support from the West Bengal Wikimedians User Group, a group of local travel bloggers and heritage enthusiasts started documenting the sites in phases. In November 2017, the first phase was launched with an exploration program to Purulia. Since then, 29 explorations have been completed in the past seven years. 

Video Documentation

Video documentation of the sites started in 2021. Drones were used to cover excavated mounds and Semaphore Towers. From 2023 an effort was put into video documenting all the sites covered during a program. Wiki Explores Darjeeling I and Wiki Explores Bihar II were two such explorations.

GLAM

Museums were a part of the exploration program from the beginning. But in the last one year efforts were made especially to cover them. In the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal, and in Bihar, a total of 16 museums were covered. While most of the museums didn’t require prior written permission, The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute Museum in Darjeeling required one. The permission was arranged with the help of the West Bengal Wikimedians User Group. 

You can learn more about the Wiki Exploration Program on Meta-wiki.

Annually our region carries out the Wiki for Human Rights campaign, this initiative responds to the demands of users of the Wikimedia ecosystem to find relevant and reliable information on climate change and the environment as a human right. In November 2023, thanks to the funding granted by the Green Screen Coalition – Ariadne Foundation, the organizing chapters of the campaign had the opportunity to meet to evaluate the actions taken and define next actions.

At that meeting, the initiative arose to hold a face-to-face meeting in November in Huaraz, Peru, which, in addition to contributing to the cohesion of the group, would allow us to evaluate the campaign, discuss the work plan and promote knowledge alliances. Within the framework of this meeting, the need to hold an open conference was raised with the following objectives:

• Advocate for open, free and accessible content policies on climate change and environmental issues in Spanish, Portuguese and indigenous languages among organizations that document and communicate on environmental rights.
• Create a space where indigenous leaders have a voice and digital rights activists from Peru and South America can learn from their experience.

In order to map the feasibility of this meeting, the interests and needs of the participating organizations, among other aspects, we need to know the opinion of the activists linked to the theme within the Wikimedia movement. That is why we invite you to complete the following survey, which will be available until February 1, 2024.

WikiWomen Camp 2023, held in the vibrant city of Gurgaon, was a gathering dedicated to empowering and celebrating the diverse voices of women within the Wikimedia community. This camp aimed to create a supportive space for women contributors to connect, learn, and collaborate on initiatives that amplify their impact on Wikimedia projects.

The camp was being hosted after a gap of six years and it was the South Asian community that spearheaded the momentum and played host to the WikiWomen Camp 2023. The camp program was designed according to the diverse contributions in Wikimedia by Women Wikimedians and was divided into cohorts: Strategy and Capacity Development, you can read more about the WWC here.

CIS-A2K was a partner organization of WWC 2023 and one of the areas they focussed on was to work towards the legacy and footprint of the WWC on the South Asia Community and enable some of the much-needed conversations to bridge the Gender Gap in South Asia. 

Here’s how!

South Asia @ WWC

A total of 20 South Asia, Bangladesh and India, female Wikimedians attended the Camp and took part in inspirational Workshops to enhance editing skills, explore advanced Wikimedia tools, Interactive panel discussions to explore strategies for creating a more inclusive environment, Success Stories forum, community building by encouraging networking opportunities, mentorship connections, and other collaborative initiatives. WikiWomen Camp 2023 in Gurgaon was more than an event; it was a celebration of the powerful impact of women within the Wikimedia Movement and a step forward in building a more inclusive and empowered community. 

South Asia Open Community Calls

Preceding the WikiWomen Camp, CIS-A2K initiated a series of four calls as part of the pre-camp activities. These calls aimed to involve female participants from South Asia in discussions, introducing new agenda points and topics. The goal was to encourage female Wikimedians to actively contribute to addressing current challenges and promoting inclusivity. Additionally, the calls served as a platform for collaborative strategizing on future initiatives, including recruiting new female Wikimedians and facilitating strategy sessions to encourage female Wikimedians to take on leadership roles.

South Asian Women Wikimedian’s Round Table

We took the opportunity of the WWC to host a round table and debrief session at the end of each conference day. This was initially intended to review the day’s sessions and prepare for the next days but the discussions took an unexpected turn as participants delved into the challenges they faced and proposed potential solutions for the community beyond the camp. Consensus emerged on strategic approaches, leading to systematically executing a series of sessions.

A2K facilitated this collaborative effort by sharing a feedback form with participants, encouraging them to share insights about challenges and opinions. This feedback loop aimed to ensure that the participants’ perspectives were considered and implemented in future endeavours.

The A2K team is committed to taking some of the discussions and recommendations forward with other members of the movement in South Asia to ensure we take some steps to reduce the Gender Gap within the South Asian communities. 

Another Feather for South Asia – WikiCelebrate

Earlier this year, the monthly initiative by the communications team at WMF called Wiki Celebrate honoured Ms Meenakshi Nandhini

In line with the WWC and to recognize and celebrate the achievements of another South Asian Wikimedian, A2K collaborated with the WikiCelebrate team and identified five outstanding female Wikimedians. After a thorough review and voting process by the WWC COT, Dolon Prova, a Bangladeshi Wikimedian, emerged as the top choice due to her significant contributions.

Dolon’s exceptional work was highlighted and honoured with a certificate of appreciation during the WikiWomen Camp. To extend the recognition further, the WikiCelebrate team published a detailed Diff post shedding light on Dolon’s remarkable contribution. 

Next steps

The camp concluded within three days; however, the discussions that transpired are extending beyond the camp as actionable items. The next steps include:

• Continuing the monthly calls for South Asia Female Wikimedians to uphold an open platform for discussions.
• Planning sessions to address the concerns of South Asian female Wikimedians and collaboratively finding solutions to achieve our goals.
• Encouraging more collaborations among communities or community members to promote women in leadership roles.

When we were young, we all had dreams, dreams of becoming someone in future, dreams of achieving something in life. Dreams that no one has ever been able to be sure of being able to achieve! Dreams that only existed in our minds and hearts. But we all believed that one day we would achieve all that we have been dreaming of. That’s the spirit and kind of dream I have always had towards the Wiki Student Summit since 2019.

Every year since 2019 the Tanzanian University Students Wikimedians prepare various events and activities to bring together students from different Schools, Colleges and Universities for the purpose of teaching, creating awareness on open knowledge on different fields and topics of impact such as climatic change, Gender issues and any other community impacting topics. These events play a pivotal role in shaping our communities and creating a better and brighter future for the future generation.

2023 has been a year of dreams come true. The sun-drenched streets of Dodoma Tanzania pulsated with an unusual excitement in July 2023. For the first time, the bustling capital city hosted the first-ever Wiki Student Summit with the theme: “Connecting, Collaborating and Creating on Wikimedia”, a national phenomenon gathering 100+ passionate students united by their fervour for improving access to free knowledge. It was a watershed moment, marking a significant shift from smaller community meetups to a grand stage where students could join hands with their peers from across the nation and contribute to the open knowledge movement through the Wikimedia Foundation’s platforms.

Before the Summit: From Dream to Reality

A Vision Takes Root

The conception of hosting the inaugural Wiki Student Summit in Tanzania emerged from a profound aspiration to empower the local student community and foster connections with the broader global Wikimedia network. Acknowledging the untapped potential of Tanzanian youths and recognizing the crucial importance of diverse voices within the open knowledge movement, a passionate and dedicated team of organizers embarked on a mission to transform this visionary idea into a tangible reality.

The concept for the summit was initially presented to Ebenezer Mlay, the founder of Open Knowledge Tanzania and the Wikimedians of Arusha User Group. A thorough discussion ensued to chart the course forward. In the initial phase, a conference grant application was submitted, aiming to secure support from the Wikimedia Foundation for hosting the event. Regrettably, funding from this particular summit proved elusive, and there was a moment of disappointment. Despite this setback, we rallied and persevered.

Building the Dream Team

To ensure the triumph of the summit, we curated a diverse and skilled team of volunteers and organizers, each equipped with expertise in event planning, Wikimedia editing, and community engagement. Our team members hailed from various regions, including Dodoma, Morogoro, Iringa, Arusha, and Dar es Salaam, bringing a rich tapestry of experiences and perspectives to the collaborative effort. The success of this undertaking is indebted to the collective dedication and proficiency of our team.

Special commendation is due to the team leaders who played pivotal roles in steering our endeavours. Our heartfelt gratitude extends to Ebenezer from Arusha, Awadhi from Morogoro, Hussein and Miriam from Dodoma, Rashid from Iringa, and JrSiki from Dar es Salaam. Their unwavering commitment and tireless efforts were instrumental in bringing the summit to fruition. Their leadership not only ensured the seamless coordination of diverse talents but also fostered an atmosphere of collaboration and shared purpose that defined the success of our collective venture.

Months of Collaboration

The months leading up to the summit were a whirlwind of activity. Organizers held regular meetings, both online and in person, to discuss every aspect of the event. They meticulously planned the workshops, secured speakers, identified sponsors, and ensured accessibility for all participants. It was not an easy task at all considering this was the first big event for us to host we had a lot to learn from past events and ongoing events, and some of us had to attend some events to gain the experience in person.

Overcoming Challenges

Organizing a significant event in an unfamiliar setting inevitably brought forth a set of challenges. Navigating language barriers, addressing logistical complexities, and managing limited resources necessitated inventive solutions and steadfast commitment. The team engaged in close collaboration with local partners, pooling efforts to surmount these obstacles and guarantee a seamless experience for all participants. Anticipating and proactively addressing potential challenges that could arise before, during, and after the event proved to be a crucial preparatory step. This strategic foresight was instrumental in our approach to mitigating any issues that could potentially arise at various stages of the event, ensuring a well-prepared and resilient execution.

Building Excitement

As the summit date approached, the communication team launched a comprehensive communication campaign to generate excitement among potential participants. They created social media buzz, reached out to universities and student organizations, and organized online pre-summit workshops to introduce people to the world of Wikimedia. The journey from a vision to reality was paved with hard work, collaboration, and unwavering passion. The dedication of the organizing team laid the foundation for the transformative experience that awaited the participants at the Wiki Student Summit in Tanzania.

During the Summit: A Glimpse into the Summit

A compilation of photos from different activities during the event. Magotech, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The atmosphere at the summit was one of electric energy and intellectual curiosity. Workshops covered a wide range of topics, from editing best practices to combating misinformation and promoting diversity in content creation. Participants also had the opportunity to hear from inspiring keynote speakers, including prominent Wikimedians, activists and academics.

From the outset, diversity, equity and inclusion were woven into the very fabric of the summit. Organizers carefully curated a representation of participants reflecting the global nature of the Wikimedia movement. Students from across religions, ethnicities, and genders conversed, debated, and collaborated, enriching the discussions with their unique perspectives. The Wikimedia Universal Code of Conduct served as a guiding principle, ensuring a respectful and welcoming environment for all.

Beyond the formal sessions, the summit provided ample space for informal exchanges and networking. Coffee breaks and meals buzzed with conversation, as students from different regions and cultures shared their experiences and perspectives. The common thread binding them all was a shared commitment to making the world a more informed and equitable place.

3 Key Takeaways from the Summit

• The Power of Collaborative Diversity.

The summit served as a potential reminder that collaboration thrives on diversity. Participants embraced the richness of different experiences and viewpoints, leading to the creation of innovative solutions and enriching the content of Wikimedia projects.

• Democratizing Knowledge Through Inclusion.

The event reaffirmed the unwavering commitment of the Wikimedia movement to making knowledge accessible to all. Conscious efforts were made to include marginalized voices and perspectives, ensuring that the global knowledge base truly reflects the diversity of human experience.

• Innovation Springs from Inclusivity.

When diverse voices are heard and valued, innovation flourishes. The summit showcased the boundless potential of inclusivity, as students from underrepresented communities presented bold ideas for enhancing user experience, addressing misinformation, and expanding outreach to previously unheard voices.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

Despite the successes, the summit also highlighted some challenges. Language barriers, limited financial support for some participants, internet connectivity, limited financial resources and logistical difficulties in navigating a new host region presented hurdles that required creative solutions. These challenges underscored the importance of ongoing efforts to improve accessibility, communication, and resource allocation within our community.

Catalyst for Change: The Enduring Legacy

The 2023 Wiki Student Summit in Tanzania was more than just a day event; it was a catalyst for positive change. Participants left the summit empowered, equipped with new knowledge, skills, and a network of like-minded individuals ready to make a difference in their communities and beyond.

• Increased Participation and Local Content.

Inspired by the summit experience, many students are expected to become active contributors to Wikimedia projects, enriching the knowledge base with local perspectives and experiences.

• Enhanced Content Quality and Diversity.

The influx of fresh, diverse voices will undoubtedly lead to the creation of more accurate, relevant, and culturally nuanced content on Wikipedia, Wikidata, and other Wikimedia platforms.

• Open Knowledge Advocacy and Community Building.

Participants will become vocal advocates for open knowledge within their communities and educational institutions, raising awareness about the importance of free and accessible information. They will also play a crucial role in building and strengthening the local Wikimedia community in Tanzania.

• Nurturing Future Leaders.

The summit has identified and empowered a new generation of open-knowledge leaders in Tanzania. These young minds, equipped with the skills and confidence needed to navigate the digital landscape, will undoubtedly play a crucial role in shaping the future of the Wikimedia movement, ensuring it remains diverse, inclusive, and truly representative of the global community.

After the event: Continuing the Legacy in 2024 and beyond

The momentum generated in Tanzania carries a promise for the future. Plans are already well underway for the 2024 Wiki Student Summit, with the venue yet to be announced. Whether it takes place in Morogoro, Dodoma, Iringa or the tourism city of Arusha, one thing is certain: the spirit of collaboration, diversity, and inclusivity that defined the Tanzanian summit will continue to shine brightly.

Building on the Tanzanian Model

The success of the 2023 summit has paved the way for replicating the model in other regions. Imagine vibrant student gatherings in India, Nigeria, or the Philippines, echoing the Tanzanian call for open knowledge and bringing fresh perspectives to the Wikimedia movement. Such regional summits, inspired by the Tanzanian precedent, hold the potential to empower local communities and enrich the global knowledge landscape.

Focus on Emerging Challenges

The future of the Wiki Student Summit lies not only in expanding its reach but also in adapting to the evolving challenges of the digital age. Misinformation, digital divides, and ever-changing technologies demand innovative solutions and engage young minds. Future summits can act as fertile ground for brainstorming initiatives to combat these challenges, ensuring that the open knowledge movement remains relevant and accessible in the years to come.

A Catalyst for a Brighter Future

The 2023 Wiki Student Summit in Tanzania marked the beginning of an exciting journey. The Wiki Student Summit is more than just a gathering of enthusiastic students; it’s a vital step towards a future where access to knowledge is truly universal. By empowering young minds, fostering inclusive collaborations, and nurturing innovation, the summit has the potential to transform the landscape of global education and information sharing.

As we look forward to the 2024 edition and beyond, let us carry the torch ignited in Tanzania, building a future where everyone, regardless of their background or location, has the power to learn, contribute, and shape a more informed and equitable world.

Esta publicación también está disponible en español.
This post is also available in english.
Tento příspěvek je dostupný i v češtině.
Questo post è anche disponibile in italiano.
この投稿は日本語でもお読みいただけます。
Αυτό το άρθρο είναι διαθέσιμο και στα ελληνικά.

As pessoas doam para a Wikipédia por muitos motivos diferentes. A Fundação Wikimedia, a organização sem fins lucrativos que opera a Wikipédia, garante que cada doação que recebemos é reinvestida para servir a Wikipédia, projetos Wikimedia e nossa missão de conhecimento livre.

Conquanto muitas pessoas visitem a Wikipédia diariamente, não é sempre óbvio o que é necessário para tornar aquela visita possível. Aqui estão 7 motivos para doar para a Fundação que também esclarecem quem somos, o que fazemos e por que as suas doações importam:

1. Não temos fins lucrativos, e pessoas que nos leem e doam para nós por todo o mundo nos mantêm independentes.

Muitas pessoas se surpreendem ao descobrirem que a Wikipédia é hospedada por uma organização sem fins lucrativos. Na verdade, ela é o único site entre os dez mais visitados no mundo todo que é operado por uma organização sem fins lucrativos. Isto é importante porque nós não somos financiados por anúncios, nós não cobramos assinatura e não vendemos os seus dados. A maior parte do nosso financiamento vem de doações ($11 na média) de pessoas que leem a Wikipédia. Muitas veem banners de captação de recursos na Wikipédia e doam por meio deles. Este modelo preserva nossa independência reduzindo a capacidade de uma organização ou pessoa de influenciar o conteúdo na Wikipédia.

Há muito nós seguimos as boas práticas da indústria para organizações sem fins lucrativos e recebemos os conceitos máximos de grupos sem fins lucrativos como o Charity Navigator para eficiência e transparência financeira. Também publicamos relatórios anuais sobre nossas finanças e captação de recursos que são abertos para qualquer pessoa conferir.

2. A Wikipédia serve milhões de pessoas e opera sob uma fração do custo de outros grandes sites.

A Wikipédia é visualizada mais de 15 bilhões de vezes por mês. Nós temos os mesmos níveis (talvez até mais) de tráfego global de muitas outras empresas de internet com fins lucrativos com uma fração do orçamento e da equipe.

Mais de 700 pessoas trabalham na Fundação Wikimedia. A maioria trabalha em produto e tecnologia, garantindo tempos de carregamento rápidos, conexões seguras e experiências de leitura e edição melhores em nossos sites. Elas fazem a manutenção do software e da infraestrutura em que nós operamos um dos sites mais multilíngues do mundo com conhecimento disponível em mais de 300 idiomas. Conquanto nossa missão e trabalho sejam únicos, por comparação, a ferramenta de tradução do Google atualmente funciona em 133 idiomas; a Meta tem mais de 70 mil colaboradores; e o Reddit tem cerca de 1,4 mil colaboradores.

3. Doações de pessoas que nos leem apoiam a tecnologia que torna a Wikipédia possível e melhorias para como as pessoas leem, editam e compartilham conhecimento na Wikipédia.

Cerca de metade do nosso orçamento vai diretamente para a manutenção da Wikipédia e outros projetos Wikimedia. Isto apoia a infraestrutura técnica que permite bilhões de visitas à Wikipédia mensalmente, bem como a equipe que desempenha um papel vital em contribuir para a manutenção de nossos sistemas, incluindo engenharia da confiabilidade do site, engenharia de software, segurança e outros papéis.

Como a Wikipédia está disponível em 300 idiomas, ela precisa de tecnologia multilíngue de ponta para garantir que as pessoas que nos leem e nos editam possam visualizar e contribuir com conhecimento em sua língua de preferência. O financiamento também ajuda com melhorias à experiência de usuário na Wikipédia e no apoio ao crescimento de comunidades de editores do voluntariado global para aumentar o conhecimento no site, de modo que ele siga relevante, correto e útil.

4. Estamos evoluindo para atender a novas necessidades em um panorama tecnológico em transformação e para responder a novas ameaças globais.

Se você visitou a Wikipédia regularmente em nossa primeira década, provavelmente você viu uma mensagem de erro em algum momento. Por conta dos nossos investimentos regulares em tecnologia, isso não acontece mais. Novos investimentos permitem à Wikipédia lidar com recordes de picos de tráfego com facilidade, prevenindo qualquer disrupção à experiência de leitura e edição.

Estamos também nos adaptando para enfrentar novos desafios, incluindo táticas sofisticadas de desinformação e ameaças de censura governamental, bem como ataques de cibersegurança e mudanças em leis que regulam a web. Novos protocolos de segurança limitam o potencial de agressores tirarem vantagem dos nossos sites, enquanto nossa equipe jurídica ajuda a proteger nossa missão de conhecimento livre.

Mais da metade do nosso tráfego agora vem de dispositivos móveis. Dispositivos ativados por voz e websites usam cada vez mais a Wikipédia para atender as necessidades das pessoas que os utilizam. Continuamos a evoluir para atender a estas preferências. Nota da edição: Desde que este blog foi criado originalmente em novembro de 2022, a Fundação, juntamente à comunidade voluntária da Wikimedia, tem explorado como a inteligência artificial pode transformar a manera com que as pessoas buscam por conhecimento. Nós desenvolvemos recentemente um plugin novo, experimental da Wikipédia para o ChatGPT, que permite a usuários pesquisarem as informações mais atualizadas na Wikipédia, e fornece as devidas atribuições e citações.

5. Nós gerenciamos nossas finanças com responsabilidade e equilibramos as necessidades imediatas da Wikipédia com sustentabilidade a longo prazo.

Você provavelmente não usa a sua conta corrente da mesma forma que usa uma conta poupança. Uma provavelmente é para gastos mais do dia-a-dia e a outra é provavelmente para emergências, como quando o seu carro quebra de repente, ou objetivos financeiros a longo prazo, como aposentadoria.

É a mesma coisa para organizações sem fins lucrativos. Nós temos duas contas que atuam como contas poupança para nós. Nossa reserva é como uma poupança para emergências, como uma crise econômica.

Nossa conta de doações (endowment) é um fundo permanente a longo prazo. A receita de investimento dessa conta apóia o futuro da Wikipédia e dos projetos Wikimedia. Esses fundos são separados para propósitos de longo prazo específicos. Contudo, nós usamos a vasta maioria das doações que recebemos de pessoas que nos leem para apoiar o trabalho atual que estamos fazendo naquele ano.

Sustentar reservas financeiras sadias e ter uma política de capital de giro é considerado boa prática para organizações de todos os tipos. O Conselho de Direção da Fundação Wikimedia definiu nossa política de capital de giro de modo que ele possa sustentar nosso trabalho e prover apoio a afiliados Wikimedia — uma rede global de grupos que apoiam a Wikipédia, projetos Wikimedia e a missão globalmente — e o voluntariado no caso de gastos não planejados, emergências ou quedas de receita. Isso também nos permite ter fluxo de caixa suficiente para cobrir nossas despesas ao longo do ano.

6. Apoiar a Wikipédia significa que você está ajudando ela a ficar mais representativa de todo o conhecimento do mundo.

A Fundação Wikimedia apoia indivíduos e organizações por todo o mundo com financiamentos para aumentar a diversidade, alcance, qualidade e quantidade do conhecimento livre. Ao longo dos últimos quatro anos, nós distribuímos mais de $47 milhões para membros da comunidade voluntária da Wikimedia em 94 países. Recentemente, fizemos mudanças na maneira com que alocamos nossa receita para sermos mais inclusivos para afiliados Wikimedia novos e menores.

Conquanto reconheçamos que ainda há grandes lacunas para preencher, o conhecimento na Wikipédia e as pessoas que contribuem para ele se tornaram mais representativos do mundo globalmente. Por exemplo, de 2020 a 2023, a comunidade de pessoas editoras voluntárias na África Subsaariana cresceu em 36%. Isto se deve a esforços programáticos regulares liderados pelo voluntariado, os afiliados e outros — muitos dos quais receberam financiamento, treinamentos e outros apoios da Fundação. 

Por que a representação global do voluntariado da Wikipédia importa? Importa porque a Wikipédia é um reflexo das pessoas que contribuem para ela. Perspectivas diversas criam conhecimento relevante, de maior qualidade e mais representativo para todas e todos nós.

7. Contribuições de pessoas que nos leem nos mantêm seguindo em frente.

Os humanos que doam de volta à Wikipédia — seja por meio de doações, palavras de apoio, edições ou por meio dos vários outros jeitos que as pessoas contribuem — nos inspiram todos os dias. Todo mundo aqui na Fundação Wikimedia que aproveitar esta oportunidade para agradecer essas pessoas. Queremos compartilhar algumas das nossas mensagens favoritas de pessoas que nos doaram ao longo dos anos. Esperamos que elas emocionem você tanto quanto nos emocionaram:

“Estou maravilhado(a) com as capacidades da Wikipédia! Quando eu leio artigos científicos ou médicos em um monitor, eu deixo a Wikipédia aberta no outro para verificar o significado e o contexto das terminologias cada vez mais obscuras dessas áreas. A Wikipédia não é só o maior projeto colaborativo da história da humanidade, é o melhor!”

Doador(a) dos EUA

“Por favor, aceitem meu agradecimento de coração por tocarem a Wikipédia, por não deixarem ela ser a propriedade pessoal de ninguém, por manterem sua integridade, qualidade e santidade, por tornarem ela acessível a toda e qualquer pessoa ao longo da geografia. Eu entendo o quão difícil pode ser não se comprometer e continuar em frente, especialmente no mundo digital com fins lucrativos de hoje.”

Doador(a) da Índia

Esperamos ter ajudado a aprofundar a sua compreensão sobre o quão importante são as doações de leitores para a Wikipédia. Se você tiver alguma dúvida, por favor verifique o nosso FAQ. 

Se você puder doar, você pode fazer sua doação para a Wikipédia em donate.wikimedia.org.

Nota da edição: Esta postagem foi originalmente publicada em 3 de novembro de 2022. Vários dados, números e links foram atualizados em outubro de 2023 para incluir informações mais recentes.

The post 7 motivos para você doar para a Wikipédia appeared first on Wikimedia Foundation.

Butch Bustria of the Philippines (professionally working in Singapore) is the event lead of the ESEAP Wikimania 2023 Core Organizing Team (COT), also serving at the Wikimania Steering Committee. Vanj Padilla, also COT and from the Philippines assisted Butch in documenting Wikimania. This the final of the three part blog about ESEAP region’s experience in organizing Wikimedia Movement’s largest annual event.

Wikimania 2023 was the 18th edition of the annual conference that celebrates Wikimedia projects like Wikipedia and the volunteers who make them possible. This event took place from 16 to 19 August 2023 at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre and online, with the theme of “Diversity. Collaboration. Future.” The conference was hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia volunteers, chapters, user groups and allied groups from the East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific (ESEAP) region. Close to 800 participants attended the conference in person, and thousands more joined online through event platforms eventyay and YouTube as well as chatting over the Telegram messaging app and internet relay chat channels. The closing dinner and dance party happened at the Gardens by the Bay, south of Singapore.

The conference featured a rich and diverse program of lectures, open discussions, workshops, hackathons, exhibitions, and entertainment, covering topics such as the future of technology and generative AI, advancing gender equity on Wikimedia projects, preserving cultural heritage on Wikipedia, closing knowledge gaps by and for underrepresented communities, such as the ESEAP region and many more.

So… how did Wikimania turned out?

Highlights of Wikimania 2023

Among the program content and features that standout and became the highlight of Wikimania 2023 are:

• Artificial Intelligence topics
  • AI advancements and the Wikimedia projects
  • ChatGPT vs. WikiGPT: Challenges and Opportunities in harnessing generative AI for Wikimedia Projects
  • Exploring the Values That Will Shape AI for a Better internet
  • Empowering Wikidata and Wikipedia with Generative AI: Unlocking the Potential of Scholarly Publications
  • Using LLMs to Overcome Bias: An Experiment

• WikiWomen Summit 2023
• Wikimedian of the Year 2023 that awarded three Wikimedians from the ESEAP region
• Wiki Loves Loving Heritage Singapore 2023
• UNESCO and its associated cultural preservation topics
  • Joining forces: Partnering with intergovernmental organizations creates new opportunities for the Wikimedia movement
  • Embracing Open Knowledge: Preserving Diversity and Access for Future Generations
  • International Decades of Indigenous Languages (IDIL)-related Celebration
  • Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Singapore
• Wikimedia Hubs
  • ESEAP Strategy Summit 2023
  • Hands-on support for content partnerships through the Helpdesk at the Content Partnerships Hub
  • Strengthening Collaboration among Turkic-Speaking Countries on Wikimedia Projects: Sharing Experiences and Proposing a Hub Implementation
  • The future of East African Regional and Thematic Hub (EARTH)
  • Iberoconf 2023: lo que nos dejó como experiencia organizar una conferencia regional
• Youth forum at Wikimania

• Cultural Performances
  • Aotearoa Pasifika performance
  • Sazau by Wikeint and Manuk Lembukun Dances from Borneo
• Fun Activities and Stuffs
  • Wikeys, a pedagogical game to discover Wikipedia
  • Rebranding Wikimedia: Wikimedia for Anime, Cosplay and Gaming World
  • Wikiraces
  • Karaoke night
  • The W cardboard
  • Postcards and the mail box at the concourse area
  • World map
  • Boba milk tea and ice cream sandwich at the opening reception
  • Wikimania Exchange Center
• Full hybrid format of Wikimania
• Cross-Lingual Collaboration: Breaking Language Barriers for Global Knowledge Sharing

For other program content including videos and slides you can visit the Wikimania 2023 program page.

Legacy of Wikimania 2023

Wikimania 2023 was a memorable and inspiring event that brought together hundreds of volunteers and free knowledge leaders from around the world. It was a celebration of the Wikimedia movement and its vision of empowering and engaging people around the world to collect and develop valuable content to disseminate it effectively and globally.

We are happy to tell you some great output of the event which includes:

• Wider discussion on the effective use, opportunities and threats of Artificial Intelligence;
• Opening gates of collaboration such as partnership between the youth of Japan with Türkiye and Malaysia;
• Learning of newcomers and emerging volunteer contributors through the Wikimedia Workshops (Wikipedia, Wikidata, Commons, Wikisource, Wiktionary;
• Greater emphasis and assistance on regional and thematic hubs such as ESEAP;
• Solidify the advancement of the feminist cause, and created a safe and inclusive space to share strategies, debate, reflect and forge alliances and common agenda;
• Learning best practices and initiatives of various communities from GLAM, education to technology and open data;
• Greater interest in soft skills and leadership development through the Let’s Connect program;
• Effective collaboration of regional community such as ESEAP together with the Wikimedia Foundation and support of the global community in organizing the most diverse and extensive Wikimania so far, and will be used as a model in future editions of Wikimania;
• Inclusion of future hosts of Wikimania at the planning stage of Wikimania 2023 to allow them to observe, calibrate and evaluate for their organizational planning; and
• Fully opening Wikimania to the world, wherever they are: to watch live or in the future, to present, to meet, to engage in discussions and to co-celebrate free, open, and shared knowledge.

Thank you.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed to the success of Wikimania 2023. It was a great opportunity to learn from the experts, exchange ideas with the peers, and network with the potential collaborators. I appreciate the hard work and dedication of all volunteers, Foundation staff and partners who made this event possible. I also thank all the participants for their active involvement and enthusiasm. I hope you enjoyed the event as much as I did, and I look forward to seeing you again in the future.

We at the core organizing team wholeheartedly appreciate all the feedback you provided in the post event survey, uploaded content on Wikimedia Commons, diff posts, and social media especially this post from X (Twitter).

Fellow Core Organizing Team

• Andrew Lih (United States) Lead Adviser, Liaison to the Wikimania Steering Committee
• Gnangarra (Australia) Scholarships Chair, Exhibitions Chair
• Robert Sim (Singapore) Technical Subcommittee Chair, Event Technology Infrastructure Chair
• Nur Fahmia (Indonesia) Communications Subcommittee Chair, Social Media & Visual Designs
• Vanj Padilla (Philippines) Chair, Events related to Equity and Inclusion Social Media & Public Relations Event documentation
• Venus Lui (Hong Kong/ Germany) Trust and Safety Subcommittee Chair
• Agus Damanik (Indonesia) Volunteer & Human Resource Coordination
• Athikhun Suwannakhan (Thailand) ESEAP Community Relations Wikimania 2020 Event Lead

Others include:

• • Ameisenigel as Wikimania Wiki Translation Admin

• • Gisca Syalindri (WMF) for Wikimania Scholarship Coordination

• • Naila Rahmah Adien Gunarta for the Wikimania Visual Designs

Wikimedia Foundation led by Maryana Iskander, Chief Executive Officer

Wikimedia Foundation Movement Communications that helped on the Main Logistics

• • Mayur Paul

• • Lisa McCabe

• • Elena Lappen

• • Mehrdad Pourzaki

• • Rachit Sharma

Sakti Pramudya on Partnerships

Kelsi Stine-Rowe on Event Evaluation

Lucas Pasqual on Social Media

Brooke Camarda, Lauren Dickinson, Johan Jönsson on Press and Digital Media

Trust and Safety Team

Digital Safety Team

My fellow members on the Wikimania Steering Committee

• • Iolanda Pensa, Chair

• • Phoebe Ayers, Vice-Chair

• • Andrew Lih, our liaison

• • Florence Devouard

• • Iván Martínez

• • Eric Luth

• • Gnangarra (my fellow ESEAP)

Wikimania 2023 Program Subcommittee which I am Chair

• • Alan Ang

• • Angie Cervellera

• • Anna Torres

• • Adélaïde Calais

• • Rémy Gerbet

• • Antanana

• • Ardzun

• • Arupako

• • Avicenno

• • Ciell

• • GhoziSeptiandri

• • Gopavasanth

• • JarrahTree

• • Jayprakash12345

• • Joycewikiwiki

• • K2suvi

• • Kunokuno

• • Mako

• • Nadzik

• • Rachmat04

• • Rju2022

• • Rosiestep

• • Ruby D-Brown

• • Ryuch

• • Shanluan

• • Tarunno

• • Wojciech Pędzich

• • Slavina Stefanova (WMF)

• • Leila Zia (WMF)

• • Andrew Lih

Wikimania 2023 Scholarships Subcommittee which Gnangarra is Chair

• • DerHexer

• • *Youngjin

• • Anntinomy

• • Dsvyas

• • Joycewikiwiki

• • Kitanago

• • Luisina Ferrante

• • Slashme

• • RamzyM

• • T Cells

• • Violetova and Виолетова

Wikimania 2023 Technology Events Subcommittee (Hackathon) which Robert Sim is Chair

• • Slavina Stefanova (WMF)

• • Onyinyechi Onifade

• • Andrew Lih

• • Jay Prakash

• • Vasanth Gopa

• • Szymon Grabarczuk

• • Kenrick Angarra

• • Omar Sansi

• • Joris Darlington Quarshie

Wikimania Event Technology Selection Subcommittee which Robert Sim is Chair

• • Bachounda

• • Joris Darlington Quarshie

• • Imelda Brazal

• • João Alexandre Peschanski

• • Kayode Yussuf

• • Wasi

• • zBlace

• • Abigail Agbenomba

1st WikiWomen Summit team

• • Rosie Stephenson-Goodknight

• • Vanj Padilla

• • Masana Mulaudzi (WMF)

• • Tila Cappelletto (WMF)

Movement Strategy team

• • Yop Rwang Pam

• • Belinda Mbambo

• • Natalia Szafran-Kozakowska

• • Junko Nakayama

• • Vivien Chang

• • Kaarel Vaidla

Let’s Connect & Leadership Development team

• • Beverly Jiang

• • Jessica Stephenson

• • Nitesh Gill

• • Chinmayee Mishra

• • Jan-Bart de Vreede

• • Nada Alfarra

• • Asaf Bartov

• • Anthony Diaz

Pre-conference at Google Asia Pacific

• • Sakti Pramudya

• • Stefan Fussan

• • Bodhisattwa

• • Taufik Rosman

• • Anthony Diaz

• • Ilham Mufti

Post conference at National Library

• • Rachit Sharma

• • Alan Ang

• • Pru Mitchell

• • Silvia Gutiérrez de la Torre

• • Angie Cervellera

• • Alice Kibombo-Ekanya

• • Omorodion Okuonghae

• • Mike Dickison

• • Dr Tamsin Braisher

Wikimedia Basic Workshops

• • Arjuna Fiqrillah

• • Asaf Bartov

• • Rafli Noer Khairam

• • Joris Darlington Quarshie

• • Jan Beranek

• • Leon Liesener

• • Dreamy Jazz

• • Mike Dickison

• • Dimas Hardijanto

• • Taufik Rosman

• • Benny Lin

• • Ahmad Ali Karim

• • Satdeep Gill (WMF)

• • Farouk

• • Nur Fahmia

• • Sam Wilson

• • Agus Damanik

WikiMapathon

• • Susanna Ånäs

• • Eugene Alvin Villar (seav)

• • Dennis Raylin Chen

• • Rxerself

Photowalk at Wikimania 2023

• • Suyash Dwivedi

• • Commons Photographers User Group

Affiliates and Community Groups in the ESEAP Region who helped in the decision making process and other support

• • Wikimedia Australia

• • Wikimedia Indonesia

• • Wikimedia Korea

• • Wikimedia Thailand

• • Wikimedia Community User Group Hong Kong

• • Myanmar Wikimedia Community User Group

• • Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia

• • Wikimedia User Group of Aotearoa New Zealand

• • Vietnam Wikimedians User Group

• • Wikimedia Taiwan

• • Wikipedia Asian Month User Group

• • Paiwan Wikimedians User Group

• • Philippine Wikimedia Community User Group (PhilWiki)

• • Wiki Advocates Philippines User Group

• • Wiki Society of the Philippines

• • Shared Knowledge Asia Pacific

• • Pilipinas Panorama Community

• • Bikol Community

• • Hablon

• • Hopengiu

• • Amis

Event Partners

• • UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

• • Creative Commons

• • Open Knowledge Foundation

• • Google & Google Asia Pacific

• • Mozilla Foundation

• • National Heritage Board Singapore

• • National Library Board Singapore

• • Singapore Tourism Board

• • Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau

• • National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre

• • MyCommunity

• • NETS

Special Thanks to

• • Ms. Joon-Nie Lau Singapore Press Club

• • National Youth Advancement Award Council for the Youth Volunteers, Wiki Loves Living Heritage Singapore, Social Media Photo Scavenger Hunt, and guided tours

Technical partners

• • THE MASTERPLAN LLP Event Technical Planning and Project Management

• • Suntec Singapore Convention an Exhibition Centre Conference Venue

• • Unearthed Productions Audio Visual Production

• • Eventyay, FOSSASIA Event Management and Virtual Platform

• • Pretalx Conference Management Application

• • Gardens by the Bay

• • IdeaInk for the Highlight Sketch of the Conference

Digital Ambassadors from

• • Malaysia

• • Philippines

• • Indonesia

• • Singapore

• • Japan

Accommodation

• • PARKROYAL on Beach Road

• • Village Hotel Bugis

• • Pan Pacific Singapore

and to all Wikimedians who supported us in our journey!

Thank you!

Maraming salamat po!

Terima kasih!

Matur nuwun!

Mauruuru koe!

Agyaman la unay!

Dios mabalos!

どうもありがとうございます

謝謝

감사합니다

ကျေးဇူးတင်ပါသည်

ขอบคุณ

សូមអរគុណ

ຂອບ​ໃຈ

Баярлалаа

On a personal note, thank you Wikimedians for celebrating my birthday at Wikimania.

The first part of the series narrates ESEAP’s journey to Wikimania 2023.

The second part of the series covers the program design of Wikimania 2023.

On December 14, 2023, I held a talk event on my book “A 70-year-old Wikipedian talks about the charm of libraries” at the book cafe TAKIBI (meaning Bonfire) in Tokyo. Including myself there were nine participants, we had a friendly and open conversation, knee to knee.

The talk consisted of three parts: (1) What is Wikipedia, (2) Who writes Wikipedia, and (3) What articles I have written on Wikipedia. Since most of the participants were library professionals, I focused on “talking about the charm of libraries”.

(1) What is Wikipedia?

At first I mentioned the “Wikimedia Foundation” and the “Wikimedia Movement”, which are responsible for the operation of Wikipedia, and introduced their mission: “to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and globally”. I also introduced the “Wikipedia:Statistics” page and mentioned the participation trends of countries around the world and Japan.

(2) Who writes Wikipedia?

Next, I gave an overview of Wikipedians around the world based on statistics, and mentioned the articles “List of Wikimedia chapters” and “Wikimedia Deutschland“. I recently translated these two articles into Japanese. I also mentioned that although there is no chapter in Japan, “Wikimedians of Japan User Group” has recently been launched. There are currently 146 user groups, and I discovered “Wikigrannies User Group” among them, so I am thinking about joining it. I also mentioned “Wikimania” and “Wikimedian of the Year“, then introduced Eugene Ormandy, the first Japanese to win the “Newcomer of the Year” award. Eugene recently wrote an article about my book in English on Diff.

(3) What articles I have written on Wikipedia

I mentioned several articles that I have fond memories of, and I will write about three of them. First, I mentioned Yaeko Nogami’s novel “Meiro (The labyrinth),” which I first wrote on Wikipedia. The novel is set in Japan and China, and it gave me a glimpse of China as a battleground during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Next, I introduced the “Tokyo Orchestra Troupe,” which played on ocean-going passenger ships between Japan and the United States before World War II. After returning to Japan, the musicians spread the music they heard in America to Japan. 

The third topic, the Chinese literary magazine “Jintian (Today)”, was first published in 1978 by the contemporary poet Bei Dao, was republished overseas after being suspended by the authorities, and is still published quarterly in Hong Kong. The entire volume of this magazine could be browsed at the Keio University Library, Tokyo. 

It was the first time for me to give a coherent talk about Wikipedia in public, but I felt that I had an unexpectedly good response, and I would like to do so again in the future when I have the chance. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who participated, to Mr. Tetsuya Ando of TAKIBI for organizing the event, and to Ms. Mitoe Onoda for planning and promoting the event.

The Fiji-Hindi-speaking community is spread across the world and stands as one of the vibrant yet untapped contributors to global initiatives within the Wikimedia movement. Among the critical discussions shaping the movement, the Movement Strategy stands out as one of the most crucial topics. It’s imperative to involve and engage the Fiji Hindi community in the Movement Charter discussion to acquaint them with ongoing updates. The Ambassador program is pivotal in ensuring equity in decision-making by involving the Fiji-Hindispeaking community, enhancing their awareness of the movement’s governance, and translating the Movement Charter into Fiji Hindi, facilitating a better understanding of its contents in their local language.

Feedback channels included individual meetings held on October 9, 2023, in Rajbiraj, Nepal, and on October 10, 2023, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Additionally, one-on-one telephonic conversations were conducted between October 10 and November 28, 2023, and online meetings via Google Meet on October 21, 2023, hosted by Suyash Dwivedi (U:Suyash.dwivedi). The detailed feedback report is here.

Fund Dissemination Insights

Discussions surrounding the Global Council’s role in fund dissemination have surfaced from varying perspectives. Predominantly, there is an inclination towards advocating for oversight and review of Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) decisions. The insights provided by the Fiji Hindi-speaking community regarding fund allocation processes and the establishment of committees for global fund dissemination are fundamental to enhancing transparency and efficiency within the movement.

Structural Considerations for Governance

The structural considerations for the Global Council have been deliberated upon, revealing a preference for a larger council that fosters diverse representation and informed decision-making. The opinions from the Fiji Hindi-speaking community regarding council size, mechanisms for member seating, and the balance between an executive body and an advisory board are crucial in shaping effective governance strategies.

Membership Framework: Equity and Diversity

Inputs on membership limits for movement representation hold significant importance. Suggestions such as regional caps, home project/entity limits, and balanced representation from large language communities are pivotal in ensuring fair and inclusive council membership. Considerations towards diversity across thematic areas, gender balance, and varied expertise are instrumental in creating an equitable council.

Feedback on Draft Chapters: Collaborative Engagement

Feedback from various chapters emphasizes the necessity for clarity, simplification, and broader accessibility. Recommendations from the Fiji Hindi-speaking community advocating for clearer definitions, improved explanatory content, and enhanced awareness of the movement charter and Global Council formation are critical for fostering engagement across diverse global regions.

Call to Action

Active participation from the Fiji Hindi-speaking community in these discussions is integral to shaping the trajectory of the Wikimedia movement. Collaboration and contributions towards creating a Global Council that resonates with diverse voices and upholds the values of inclusivity are encouraged.

Conclusion

The engagement and contributions from the Fiji Hindi-Speaking Community in the discussions within the Global Council are invaluable. Their insights, recommendations, and active involvement are pivotal in shaping a future where every voice is heard, every perspective is valued, and every contribution is celebrated within the Wikimedia movement.

Since my first contribution to Wikipedia, I have been striving to promote human rights on Wikipedia in various languages. With the escalation of events and the expansion of armed conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, and after conducting a careful analysis of the human rights content on Wikipedia in various languages, I came to a clear conclusion that the human rights content on Wikipedia in its Arabic and English versions is weak. Because I have a legal background and work in the legal profession and human rights, I decided to change the image of Wikipedia educational programs, and launched the first educational program that promotes and publishes articles related to human rights covering all conflict zones, and in all languages in conflict zones.

The first start was on Human Rights Day on December 10, 2021, and the program is still ongoing with the aim of continuing this program, which was the beginning of forming my dream to cover and promote human rights articles in all languages (with a focus on Arabic and English).

Why did you launch the program?

The goal is to promote human rights and involve marginalized groups and victims of violations in editing on Wikipedia, to involve them in the process of defending their rights, and to keep the victims’ narrative present as the official narrative. In addition to setting priorities:

• Enriching and promoting human rights content in the free encyclopedia “Wikipedia”.
• Creating new human rights content and updating the available content according to the latest developments in the reality of human rights.
• Creating groups and teams interested in enriching, following up and editing human rights content on “Wikipedia”.
• Enhancing the narrative of the victims of violations and highlighting.

Over 150 conflict victims have received training, with the majority hailing from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Syria, and Jordan. Additionally, over 70 law students from Palestinian universities, the University of Bologna, and Mohammed V University actively participated. The training initiative extended to 12 university lecturers in law faculties and 20 lawyers.

It also worked to provide comprehensive information and materials about Wikipedia, including: its foundations and rules, and worked to provide a working model and editing basics for Wikipedia in conflict areas. The meetings also discussed the nature of Wikipedia’s work from both a theoretical and practical perspective, as beneficiaries of the programs obtained information and data about the history of Wikipedia, the number of articles, and the extent of Wikipedia’s spread. The beneficiaries also received practical training and models on how to create an account on the free encyclopedia, create articles afterwards, or edit existing articles, with a detailed explanation of Wikipedia’s standards and policies to ensure the correct use of Wikipedia and its sister projects and that the trainees do not violate the policies.

The program has produced a specialized staff capable of systematic publishing and editing, as well as coordinating teamwork and contributions to “Wikipedia”. The staff also worked on qualifying and training other activists based on research and using sources mainly in the documentation and editing process, by taking advantage of the experiences of former trainees and their information on topics related to human rights and humanitarian aspects to enable them to provide Wikipedia with the necessary facts.

On October 20, 2023, we lost the writer “Hiba Abu Nada” who was one of the trainees in the human rights program. She was killed in an Israeli air strike while she was in her home in Khan Yunis, south of Gaza. On January 18, 2022, Hiba became a part of the Human Rights Program, where her responsibilities included linguistically reviewing Arabic articles before their publication.

Dec 20, 21:38 UTC
Resolved - Fixes were successful and the issue has been resolved.

Dec 20, 20:51 UTC
Monitoring - The fixes have rolled out and we are monitoring recovery.

Dec 20, 20:17 UTC
Identified - The problem has been identified and fixes are being rolled out.

Dec 20, 19:48 UTC
Investigating - We are aware that some users are having trouble accessing Wikipedia and other Wikimedia sites, and we are investigating.

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Οι άνθρωποι δωρίζουν στη Βικιπαίδεια για διάφορους λόγους. Το Ίδρυμα Wikimedia, η μη κερδοσκοπική οργάνωση που λειτουργεί τη Βικιπαίδεια, εξασφαλίζει ότι κάθε δωρεά που λαμβάνουμε επενδύεται για την υποστήριξη της Βικιπαίδειας, των εγχειρημάτων Wikimedia και της αποστολής μας για την ελεύθερη γνώση.

Ενώ πολλοί επισκέπτονται τη Βικιπαίδεια καθημερινά, δεν είναι πάντα προφανές τι απαιτείται για να γίνει αυτή η επίσκεψη δυνατή. Εδώ είναι 7 λόγοι για να δωρίσετε στο Ίδρυμα που διευκρινίζουν επίσης ποιοι είμαστε, τι κάνουμε και γιατί οι δωρεές σας έχουν σημασία:

1. Είμαστε μια μη κερδοσκοπική οργάνωση, και οι αναγνώστες και οι δωρητές από όλο τον κόσμο μας διατηρούν ανεξάρτητους.

Πολλοί άνθρωποι εκπλήσσονται όταν μαθαίνουν ότι η Βικιπαίδεια φιλοξενείται από μια μη κερδοσκοπική οργάνωση. Πράγματι, είναι ο μόνος ιστότοπος ανάμεσα στους δέκα κορυφαίους ιστότοπους με τις περισσότερες επισκέψεις παγκοσμίως που διαχειρίζεται μια μη κερδοσκοπική οργάνωση. Αυτό είναι σημαντικό, διότι δεν χρηματοδοτούμαστε από διαφημίσεις, δεν χρεώνουμε συνδρομή και δεν πουλάμε τα δεδομένα σας. Το μεγαλύτερο μέρος της χρηματοδότησής μας προέρχεται από δωρεές (με μέσο όρο τα 10€) από αναγνώστες  της Βικιπαίδειας. Πολλοί βλέπουν μπάνερ για δωρεές στη Βικιπαίδεια και δωρίζουν μέσα από αυτά. Αυτό το μοντέλο διατηρεί την ανεξαρτησία μας, μειώνοντας τη δυνατότητα ενός οποιουδήποτε οργανισμού ή ατόμου να επηρεάσει το περιεχόμενο της Βικιπαίδειας.

Τηρούμε επί μακρόν τις βέλτιστες πρακτικές του κλάδου για μη κερδοσκοπικούς οργανισμούς και λαμβάνουμε σταθερά τις υψηλότερες βαθμολογίες από μη κερδοσκοπικές ομάδες όπως το Charity Navigator για τη χρηματοοικονομική αποτελεσματικότητα και τη διαφάνεια. Δημοσιεύουμε επίσης ετήσιες αναφορές για τα οικονομικά και την ανεύρεση πόρων που είναι διαθέσιμες για όποιον θέλει να τις ελέγξει.

2. Η Βικιπαίδεια εξυπηρετεί εκατομμύρια αναγνώστες και λειτουργεί σε ένα κλάσμα του κόστους άλλων δημοφιλών ιστότοπων.

Η Βικιπαίδεια προβάλλεται περισσότερες από 15 δισεκατομμύρια φορές κάθε μήνα. Έχουμε τα ίδια (αν όχι υψηλότερα) επίπεδα παγκόσμιας επισκεψιμότητας με πολλές άλλες κερδοσκοπικές εταιρείες στο διαδίκτυο, με ένα κλάσμα του προϋπολογισμού και του προσωπικού.

Περισσότεροι από 700 άνθρωποι εργάζονται στο Ίδρυμα Wikimedia. Η πλειονότητά τους εργάζεται στον τομέα των προϊόντων και της τεχνολογίας, διασφαλίζοντας γρήγορους χρόνους φόρτωσης, ασφαλείς συνδέσεις και καλύτερες εμπειρίες ανάγνωσης και επεξεργασίας στους ιστότοπούς μας. Οι εργαζόμενοι αυτοί, συντηρούν το λογισμικό και την υποδομή με την οποία λειτουργούν ορισμένοι από τους πιο πολυγλωσσικούς ιστότοπους στον κόσμο, με άρθρα διαθέσιμα σε πάνω από 300 γλώσσες. Ενώ η αποστολή μας και το έργο μας είναι μοναδικά, συγκριτικά, το εργαλείο μετάφρασης της Google υποστηρίζει προς το παρόν 133 γλώσσες, η Meta έχει περισσότερους από 70.000 υπαλλήλους, και το Reddit έχει περίπου 1.400 υπαλλήλους.

3. Οι δωρεές των αναγνωστών μας υποστηρίζουν την τεχνολογία που καθιστά δυνατή τη Βικιπαίδεια καθώς και τις βελτιώσεις στον τρόπο που οι άνθρωποι διαβάζουν, επεξεργάζονται και μοιράζονται γνώση στη Βικιπαίδεια.

Περίπου ο μισός προϋπολογισμός μας επενδύεται για τη συντήρηση της Βικιπαίδειας και των υπόλοιπων εγχειρημάτων Wikimedia. ‘Ετσι υποστηρίζεται η τεχνολογική υποδομή που επιτρέπει δισεκατομμύρια επισκέψεις στη Βικιπαίδεια κάθε μήνα, καθώς και το προσωπικό που διαδραματίζει έναν ζωτικό ρόλο στη συντήρηση των συστημάτων μας, συμπεριλαμβανομένης της αξιοπιστίας του ιστότοπου, της τεχνολογίας λογισμικού, της ασφάλειας και άλλων ρόλων.

Καθώς η Βικιπαίδεια είναι διαθέσιμη σε πάνω από 300 γλώσσες, χρειάζεται υψηλής ποιότητας πολυγλωσσική τεχνολογία για να διασφαλιστεί ότι οι αναγνώστες και οι συντάκτες μπορούν να βλέπουν και να συνεισφέρουν γνώση στη γλώσσα της επιλογής τους. Η χρηματοδότηση βοηθά επίσης στη βελτίωση της εμπειρίας του χρήστη στη Βικιπαίδεια και υποστηρίζει την ανάπτυξη παγκόσμιων κοινοτήτων εθελοντών συντακτών για την αύξηση της γνώσης που υπάρχει στον ιστότοπο, έτσι ώστε να παραμένει επίκαιρη, ακριβής και χρήσιμη.

4. Εξελισσόμαστε για να ανταποκρινόμαστε σε νέες ανάγκες σε ένα μεταβαλλόμενο τεχνολογικό τοπίο και να ανταποκρινόμαστε σε νέες παγκόσμιες απειλές.

Εάν επισκεπτόσασταν τακτικά τη Βικιπαίδεια κατά την πρώτη δεκαετία της λειτουργίας της, υπάρχει μεγάλη πιθανότητα να είχατε λάβει κάποια στιγμή ένα μήνυμα σφάλματος. Λόγω των σταθερών επενδύσεών μας στην τεχνολογία, αυτό δεν ισχύει πλέον. Νέες επενδύσεις επιτρέπουν στη Βικιπαίδεια να χειρίζεται ρεκόρ επισκεψιμότητας με ευκολία, αποτρέποντας οποιαδήποτε διακοπή στην εμπειρία ανάγνωσης ή σύνταξης.

Προσαρμοζόμαστε επίσης για να αντιμετωπίσουμε νέες απειλές, όπως εξελιγμένες τακτικές παραπληροφόρησης και κυβερνητικές τακτικές λογοκρισίας, καθώς και επιθέσεις στον κυβερνοχώρο και αλλαγές σε νόμους που ρυθμίζουν το Ίντερνετ. Νέα πρωτόκολλα ασφαλείας περιορίζουν τη δυνατότητα των εισβολέων να παραβιάσουν τους ιστότοπούς μας, ενώ το νομικό προσωπικό μας βοηθά στην προστασία της αποστολής μας για ελεύθερη γνώση.

Περισσότερο από το ήμισυ της κίνησης στους ιστότοπούς μας προέρχεται πλέον από κινητές συσκευές. Οι συσκευές και οι ιστοσελίδες που λειτουργούν με φωνητικές εντολές χρησιμοποιούν όλο και περισσότερο τη Βικιπαίδεια για να εξυπηρετήσουν τις ανάγκες των χρηστών τους για γνώση. Συνεχίζουμε να εξελισσόμαστε για να ανταποκριθούμε σε αυτές τις προτιμήσεις.

Σημείωση του συντάκτη: Από τότε που δημοσιεύτηκε για πρώτη φορά  αυτό το blog το Νοέμβριο του 2022, το Ίδρυμα, μαζί με την κοινότητα εθελοντών της Wikimedia, διερευνά πώς η τεχνητή νοημοσύνη μπορεί να μεταμορφώσει τον τρόπο αναζήτησης γνώσης. Πρόσφατα αναπτύξαμε ένα νέο, πειραματικό plugin για το ChatGPT, που επιτρέπει στους χρήστες να αναζητούν τις πιο ενημερωμένες πληροφορίες στη Βικιπαίδεια  με σωστή απόδοση πηγών και παραπομπές.

5. Διαχειριζόμαστε τα οικονομικά μας με υπευθυνότητα και ισορροπούμε τις άμεσες ανάγκες της Βικιπαίδειας με τη μακροπρόθεσμη βιωσιμότητά της.

Πιθανότατα δεν χρησιμοποιείτε τον τραπεζικό λογαριασμό σας με τον ίδιο τρόπο που χρησιμοποιείτε έναν λογαριασμό αποταμίευσης. Ο ένας είναι πιθανότατα για τις καθημερινές δαπάνες και ο άλλος για έκτακτες ανάγκες, όπως μια ξαφνική βλάβη στο αυτοκίνητό σας, ή ακόμα και για μακροπρόθεσμους οικονομικούς στόχους, όπως ένα συνταξιοδοτικό πρόγραμμα.

Το ίδιο ισχύει για τις μη κερδοσκοπικές οργανώσεις. Έχουμε δύο λογαριασμούς που λειτουργούν ως αποταμιευτικοί λογαριασμοί για εμάς. Το αποθεματικό μας λειτουργεί σαν ένα ταμείο ανάγκης για έκτακτες περιστάσεις, όπως μια οικονομική κρίση.

Το κεφάλαιό μας είναι ένα μακροπρόθεσμο μόνιμο απόθεμα. Τα επενδυτικά έσοδα από το κεφάλαιο αυτό υποστηρίζουν το μέλλον της Βικιπαίδειας και των εγχειρημάτων Wikimedia. Αυτά τα κεφάλαια τα κρατάμε στην άκρη για συγκεκριμένους μακροπρόθεσμους σκοπούς. Ωστόσο, χρησιμοποιούμε τη συντριπτική πλειονότητα των δωρεών που λαμβάνουμε από τους αναγνώστες της Βικιπαίδειας για να υποστηρίξουμε το τρέχον έργο κάθε χρονιάς.

Η διατήρηση υγιών χρηματικών αποθεμάτων και η ύπαρξη μιας πολιτικής κεφαλαίου κίνησης θεωρούνται βέλτιστες πρακτικές για οργανισμούς όλων των τύπων. Το Διοικητικό Συμβούλιο του Ίδρυματος Wikimedia καθόρισε την πολιτική κεφαλαίου κίνησής μας έτσι ώστε να διασφαλίζει το έργο μας και να παρέχει υποστήριξη στις θυγατρικές του Wikimedia — ένα παγκόσμιο δίκτυο ομάδων που υποστηρίζουν τη Βικιπαίδεια, τα έργα και την αποστολή του Wikimedia παγκοσμίως — και τους εθελοντές σε περιπτώσεις  απρογραμμάτιστων δαπανών, έκτακτων αναγκών ή έλλειψης εσόδων. Επιπλέον, μας επιτρέπει να έχουμε επαρκή ρευστότητα για να καλύπτουμε τα έξοδά μας κατά τη διάρκεια του έτους.

6. Η υποστήριξη της Βικιπαίδειας σημαίνει ότι βοηθάτε να γίνει πιο αντιπροσωπευτική όλη η γνώση του κόσμου.

Το Ίδρυμα Wikimedia υποστηρίζει άτομα και οργανώσεις σε όλο τον κόσμο με χρηματοδότηση με στόχο την αύξηση της ποικιλομορφίας, της εμβέλειας, της ποιότητας και της ποσότητας της δωρεάν γνώσης. Τα τελευταία τέσσερα χρόνια, έχουμε χορηγήσει πάνω από 47 εκατομμύρια δολάρια σε μέλη της κοινότητας εθελοντών της Wikimedia σε 94 χώρες. Πρόσφατα, προχωρήσαμε σε  σε αλλαγές αναφορικά με τον τρόπο που κατανέμουμε τα έσοδά μας για να είμαστε πιο περιληπτικοί σε νεότερες και μικρότερες θυγατρικές του Wikimedia.

Παρότι αναγνωρίζουμε ότι υπάρχουν ακόμα μεγάλα κενά που πρέπει να καλυφθούν, η γνώση του κόσμου που περιλαμβάνεται στη Βικιπαίδεια έχει γίνει πιο αντιπροσωπευτική σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο, όπως άλλωστε και οι συντάκτες που συνεισφέρουν στον ιστότοπο. Για παράδειγμα, από το 2020 έως το 2023, η κοινότητα των εθελοντών συντακτών στη υποσαχάρια Αφρική αυξήθηκε κατά 36%. Αυτό οφείλεται στις σταθερές, προγραμματικές προσπάθειες που ηγούνται από εθελοντές του Wikimedia, θυγατρικές και άλλους — πολλοί από τους οποίους έχουν λάβει χρηματοδότηση, εκπαίδευση και άλλη υποστήριξη από το Ίδρυμα.

Γιατί έχει σημασία η παγκόσμια αντιπροσώπευση των εθελοντών συντακτών της Βικιπαίδειας; Έχει σημασία επειδή η Βικιπαίδεια αντικατοπτρίζει τους ανθρώπους που συνεισφέρουν σε αυτήν. Οι διαφορετικές απόψεις δημιουργούν υψηλότερη ποιότητα, πιο αντιπροσωπευτική και σχετική γνώση για όλους μας.

7. Οι συνεισφορές από τους αναγνώστες μας επιτρέπουν να συνεχίζουμε.

Οι άνθρωποι που συνεισφέρουν στη Βικιπαίδεια – είτε μέσω δωρεών και υποστηρικτικών λόγων, είτε συντάσοντας ένα λήμμα, είτε με άλλους τρόπους συμβολής – μας εμπνέουν καθημερινά.  Όλοι εμείς στο Ίδρυμα Wikimedia θέλουμε να τους ευχαριστήσουμε. Θέλουμε να μοιραστούμε μερικά από τα αγαπημένα μηνύματα που έχουμε λάβει από δωρητές κατά τα προηγούμενα χρόνια. Ελπίζουμε ότι θα σας συγκινήσουν όσο έχουν συγκινήσει και εμάς:

Είμαι έκπληκτος με τις δυνατότητες της Βικιπαίδειας! Καθώς διαβάζω επιστημονικά και ιατρικά άρθρα στη μία οθόνη, έχω πάντα τη Βικιπαίδεια ανοικτή στην άλλη για να ελέγξω τη σημασία και το υπόβαθρο της όλο και πιο δυσνόητης ορολογίας σε αυτούς τους τομείς. Η Βικιπαίδεια δεν είναι μόνο το μεγαλύτερο συλλογικό έργο στην ανθρώπινη ιστορία, αλλά είναι και το καλύτερο!”

Δωρητής από τις ΗΠΑ

“Παρακαλώ αποδεχθείτε τις ειλικρινές ευχαριστίες μου για το γεγονός ότι υποστηρίζετετη Βικιπαίδεια και την κρατάτε απαλλαγμένη από κάθε ιδιοκτησία, διατηρώντας την ακεραιότητά, την ποιότητά και την “ιερότητά” της, και καθιστώντας την προσβάσιμη από οποιονδήποτε και οπουδήποτε στον κόσμο. Κατανοώ πόσο δύσκολο μπορεί να είναι να μην συμβιβάζεστε και να συνεχίζετε να υπάρχετε, ειδικά στον σημερινό ψηφιακό κόσμο που επιδιώκει το κέρδος.”

Δωρητής από την Ινδία

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Ελπίζουμε ότι βοηθήσαμε να κατανοήσετε πόσο σημαντικές είναι οι δωρεές των αναγνωστών για τη Βικιπαίδεια. Αν έχετε οποιεσδήποτε ερωτήσεις, παρακαλούμε δείτε τις συχνές ερωτήσεις (FAQ) μας.

Εάν είστε σε θέση να συνεισφέρετε, μπορείτε να κάνετε μια δωρεά στη Βικιπαίδεια στη διεύθυνση donate.wikimedia.org.

Σημείωση του συντάκτη: Αυτή η ανάρτηση δημοσιεύθηκε για πρώτη φορά στις 3 Νοεμβρίου 2022. Αρκετά δεδομένα, αριθμοί και σύνδεσμοι ενημερώθηκαν τον Οκτώβριο του 2023 για να περιλαμβάνουν πιο πρόσφατες πληροφορίες.

The post 7 λόγοι για τους οποίους πρέπει να κάνετε μια δωρεά στη Βικιπαίδεια appeared first on Wikimedia Foundation.

Can Wikimedia projects help to repair social memories? Can open repositories about historical catastrophes be collaboratively (re) built? How can this be done with a respectful approach that avoids re-victimisation?

The 2003 flood in the city of Santa Fe (Argentina) is one of the most important avoidable socio-environmental catastrophes in the recent history of the country: a river overflowing an unfinished defence, a third of the city under water, 158 fatalities and hundreds of thousands abandoning their homes. A call for justice that has been going on for two decades.

In those days of April and May 2003, photographic and audiovisual records were generated on the rooftops, in the canoes, in the evacuee centres or in the street kitchens, outside the traditional press coverage. With greater or lesser technique, in an era that was still analogical, the people affected by the floods narrated their emergencies, their losses and their anger. Images that tell of the social crisis, neglect and abandonment, but also of their places of self-containment and forms of self-organisation. Twenty years later, many of these materials were still unpublished.

Wikimedistas del Litoral went out in search of these images, with the aim of preventing these archives from being lost completely, but also to fill a gap in visual content on Wikipedia, the main consulting source for the next generation that did not live the flood but did live its consequences.

Free culture as a strategy for collective memory

Wikimedistas del Litoral is a group of photographic activists from the cities of Santa Fe and Paraná. With their images and under the philosophy of free culture, they propose to narrate and document recent history and local culture.

Through images under free licenses, they create visual and audiovisual narratives on collaborative internet platforms. They consider Wikimedia projects as spaces to inhabit and as tools to disseminate and make struggles visible. Making the digital territory an extension of the street, where common sense can be debated on a collaborative, free and open basis.

Why in Wikimedia projects? A bit because of what Agustín Zanotti and Paloma Rubin say about Wikipedia: “it can be understood as a ‘fact factory’, since it has become a source of authority“. Even when it is clear that Wikipedia is not a primary source, “a series of processes are at work, including the revaluation of an idea of collective wisdom (…), as well as alliances with corporate actors, which position Wikipedia as a prominent content among the results of the main web search engines“.

In relation to images, Laura Malagón Valbuena and Marcela Suárez Estrada state that “the shift towards the digital (…) has encouraged the decentralisation of written language to make room for visuality as an important communicative tool in the creation of archives of memory and resistance“.

As Giselle Bordoy points out, “digitising and releasing photographs and archives on Wikimedia Commons and on free platforms does not simply mean sharing information or releasing intellectual property rights. The purpose was and is to be able to act as social agents in the construction of memory and identity in Argentina“.

From family album to Wikipedia entry

Archivo Inundación has the intention of digitising and replicating a medium from an analogical era. This photographs were taken without thinking of them as a piece of mass communication. Neither in the media of two decades ago, nor was it expected that they would become internet content. They were part of a personal, intimate record. In the words of Susan Sontag, “photographs provide proof“: of having been there, of having lived through it, so that no one can deny what happened, how far the water flooded and who was there to help in the emergency.

That is why there are images that seek to narrate the event in a photojournalistic way. Also of relatives and neighbours standing in front of the unbelievable – like this volunteers from the neighbourhood in front of the flooded hospital -. There are images that survived the judicial file. Twenty years later, these records find themselves with a logic that invites us to unarchive this archive and re-circulate it on the largest open window on the internet: Wikipedia.

The main goal was to initiate the local construction of a photographic and audiovisual collection on this historical and relevant fact that is underrepresented in Wikimedia projects. In the first stage – developed between March and August 2023 -, the aim was to capture, digitise and free up photographic, graphic and audiovisual documentary sources that would allow us to illustrate an event of national importance from a local perspective.

But collaboration is always difficult: legally and also because of community dynamics. Creative Commons licences in Wikimedia projects – including understanding the incompatibility of traditional media archives – are not always easily understood. But also the forms of interaction and participation with the communities of the Wikimedia movement are difficult. Because of some of the bureaucracies of Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, and in this last case also the language barrier. To all this was added another difficulty for those who had the archives: the past is still present.

Is the distance of twenty years enough to organise a collective narrative? Where does such an intimate photo fit into such an open archive?

A mediation strategy with the local Wikimedian community was used for this purpose.

From loose memories to the archive

The archivoinundacion.ar website served as a bridge to fulfil the requirements of Wikimedia Commons in terms of licensing materials, but it is not its only function. The main purpose was to generate the category and build an archive of sources in an organised and accessible way. But it was also intended to provide the storytelling of the images, with elements that guide the project’s own narrative, which does not seek to replicate the forms of the repository.

The level of visibility of the Wikimedia projects among activists, social organisations and archive contributors is almost total. The collaboration was seen as strategic for each of the individuals, groups and organisations that provided materials. They know what Wikipedia is, they understand how accessible the platform is, and they know that it is one of the first sites to be consulted. At the end of the first stage, 809 images were digitised. After being curated, 206 were selected and uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, with as much information as possible: authorship, date, context, geolocation and categorisation. A meticulous work to add good documentation to Wikimedia projects and not just quality photos.

Adriana Falchini is one of the main contributors. She is a professor and archival researcher. In an interview she points out that “when we talk about memory, what is important is both what was preserved – what is found and emerges in the archives – and the traces of those who unarchived it. Precisely as an operation that gives it meaning. Without this action, the archive does not exist, it is only loose memory“. Archivo Inundación opens up the sources, so that other people can also carry out sense-making operations. It offers a possible route from the web itself, but through the open repository it makes it possible for other people to search and reconstruct their own version of the 2003 flood in Santa Fe.

You can visit the website, the project’s social media and the category on Wikimedia Commons. Soon also the project wikipage.

Bibliography

• Bordoy, Giselle. (s.f.) “Por qué documentar y liberar registros audiovisuales en Wikimedia” en Wikimedia Argentina.
• Malagón Valbuena, Laura y Suárez Estrada, Marcela 2022 “Memoria y resistencia desde las disputas en la sociedad digital latinoamericana” en Virtualis. Revista de cultura digital. Vol. 13 N° 25.
• Sontag, Susan 2006 (1977) Sobre la fotografía (Ciudad de México: Alfaguara)
• Zanotti, Agustín y Rubin, Paloma 2019 “Escribir la historia: activismo en wikipedia y el debate por la despenalización del aborto en argentina”, en COMMONS. Revista de Comunicación y Ciudadanía Digital, vol. 8.

From 10 to 12 November, a group of Wikimedians from different parts of Spain and Portugal, made their appearance in the emblematic Spanish city of Salamanca, to enjoy the beauty of its streets, to know closely its captivating history and culture, and, above all, to have the opportunity to meet again with people from the Wikimedia community. All this, under a common goal, to have a whole weekend dedicated to sharing knowledge, experiences, dreams, ideals, opinions and proposals in community. 

This is how the Faculty of Translation and Documentation of the University of Salamanca, the oldest university in Spain, hosted our X Jornadas Anuales de Wikimedia España, under the slogan ‘Free Culture and Open Heritage’, alluding to our work during 2023. 

Thanks to everyone who attended, as exhibitors, hosts, organisers and staff, guests, Wikimedian groups and Wikipedians; without your support and participation, our X Jornadas Anuales would not have been possible.

A weekend of great emotions and learning

The weekend was attended by a total of 44 Wikimedians, 47.7% women and 52.3% men. Among those who attended were the members of Wikimedia Spain; academics with recognised trajectory from the University of Salamanca and the King Juan Carlos University; specialists in transparency and Open Data; thematic editing groups such as Cuarto Propio, Wikiemakumeok and Geochicas; the Basque Wikimedistas user group; and professionals from Wikimedia Portugal and the Wikimedia Foundation. We had the great opportunity to count on their knowledge, experience and desire to add to the community. 

In order to give more people the opportunity to participate, Wikimedia Spain granted a total of 14 scholarships for transport and accommodation. Thus, we had three lodgings close and totally accessible to the city centre, as well as to the Faculty of Translation and Documentation, the meeting place during the three days.

Launching the Wikimedia Spain Conference

On Friday 12th, from 4pm onwards, some Wikimedians started to arrive at the meeting point, some of them had just arrived in the city, while others had already been enjoying the food, the landscapes and the weather for half an afternoon.

After an hour of exchanging greetings, hugs and news, we went to the assembly hall of the faculty to start the conference with the ‘unofficial welcome’ from Florencia Claes, president of Wikimedia Spain, since the official welcome would be the next day when each confirmed participant would be present.

We then began with: “Art, science and gender through Wikimedia”, by Modesto Escobar, professor at the University of Salamanca and co-organiser of the conference. He opened the cycle of conferences by presenting the use that can be made of the multiple resources provided by Wikimedia, to interactively show different historical personalities in the fields of science and art, through a map of women throughout history.

For their part, the group of editors from Cuarto Propio presented “Editing Wikipedia from a feminist perspective”. In this way, they provided keys to identify sexism and androcentrism in Wikipedia, as well as tools to eliminate them. Through the selection of several articles by women and men, they illustrated various contents in which three clear gaps could be seen: of female editors, of articles and of contents; they also provided an important fact: in Spanish Wikipedia, there are currently 23% of articles by women, compared to 12% ten years ago. 

To close Friday, the women’s group Wikiemakumeok announced the launch date of their recently released documentary, in which they explain the origin of their initiative and what they do on a weekly basis to achieve a balance between the biographies of women and men in Wikipedia, with the aim of achieving greater equality in the digital world. They also commented on their experience with Wikipedia editing activities in Basque that they organise in Vitoria and Durango.

Finally, we closed the day with a “Guided tour” of the Paraninfo and the Library of the University of Salamanca, led by professors Modesto Escobar and Ángel Zazo, hosts and co-organisers.

At the meridian of the Annual Conference

On Saturday 13th we started with the official welcome by Florencia Claes, where she once again expressed her gratitude to our host, the University of Salamanca, and to all the participants. Also, under some moving words, she highlighted all the great work done by the community during 2023 and encouraged to continue working on initiatives in favour of the promotion of free knowledge. 

Inaugural conference: “Open Data”, presented by Jaime Gómez-Obregón, Open Data specialist. He gave a dynamic and interactive presentation where it was possible to learn about the work he has been promoting. He presented various cases in which he has worked, mainly with the impact that the project “elpreciodelagasolina.com” had on the ministry. In addition, he argued how other data that are not freely accessible could be released and used by open platforms that could make them available to the public, such as the mottos of the RAE, data from the Tax Agency, information from the Treasury’s tenderers, etc.

Next, “Generative Artificial Intelligence with open models”, by Jesús M. González-Barahona, professor at the King Juan Carlos University. He explained the notable progress made in recent years in generative machine learning (artificial intelligence) models such as ChatGPT and Llama (text) or DALL-E and Stable Diffusion (images). He also addressed the problems that can occur with the use of some of these tools, especially with regard to the intellectual property of images or videos generated by artificial intelligence programmes.

After this, the rooms branched off into workshops. One of them being “The Streets of Women by GeochicasOSM”, given by Carmen Diez from Geochicas; and “Wiki Loves Living Heritage in Wikidata: current status in Spain”, led by member Ismael Olea. Both presentations lasted 30 minutes.

This was followed by the workshops “Proposals for action to improve the local heritage of minor local entities in Wikimedia projects”, led by Mentxu Ramilo Araujo, vice-president of Wikimedia Spain; and the “Demo: Elaboration of web pages with Wikimedia content”, led by Modesto Escobar and Óscar Gutiérrez, from the University of Salamanca.  Once the workshops were over, we returned again to the auditorium for the conference “Intellectual Property”, given by Miguel Ángel García, member of Wikimedia Spain. Through his presentation, Miguel Ángel gave the audience different options on how to increase the use of free materials, starting with the current regulations on intellectual property. To do so, he made a journey from the first regulations to their evolution in Spain and Europe and to the current regulations.

Annual Wikimedian traditions

With the aim of taking the traditional group photo of the Wikimedia Community in Spain, once Miguel Ángel’s lecture was over, the attendees were told to go to the Faculty of Philology, also known as the “Palacio de Anaya”, and located a few meters away from the Faculty of Translation and Documentation where we were. However, between conversations, consultations with the speaker, some detours, light rain, among other factors, forty-five minutes later, we obtained the present group photograph on the main stairs of the emblematic building.

After a pleasant meal at the restaurant “Las Caballerizas”, a few metres from where the group photo was taken, we returned to the faculty to continue with the conference, but not before celebrating the traditional Wikimedia Spain game: the “Musical chairs”. To the music of “Súbete a mi moto” by the endearing Mexican group “Menudo”, each participant walked dancing around a group of chairs strategically placed so that they would have to make a great effort to sit on them when the music stopped.

Those who participated barely managed to grab a seat. And after several laps around the chairs, which were disappearing proportionally as there were fewer participants, two finalists were left: Florencia Claes; together with Ignacio Casares (Nacaru), the youngest member participating in the Conference. After a tough competition, amidst laughter and near falls, Nacaru became the winner of the “Musical chairs 2023”.

Parallel Wikimedia Workshops

Saturday’s conference ended with a series of parallel practical and theoretical workshops, where participants could choose which one to attend based on their interest, proximity, or work to be done. To this end, the following were presented: “Wikidata and LGBTIQ+: workshop to edit the properties Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation”, by member Miguel Alan; the second part of the demo “Making web pages with Wikimedia content”, by Modesto Escobar; “Twinkle Lite, a tool that helps maintenance on Wikipedia”, by the winner of the “Musical chairs game”, Ignacio Casares; and “The National Library of Portugal and Wikimedia projects: A growing collaboration”, by Miguel Mimoso Correia, member of the Board of Wikimedia Portugal, and special guest of Wikimedia Spain.

After a short coffee break, the last workshops of the day continued. “Demo: Data acquisition in Wikipedia and Wikidata”, by Ángel Zazo from the University of Salamanca; “Reliability in scientific articles on Wikipedia and its impact on texts and materials in secondary and higher education”, by Gustavo Carrancio, member of Wikimedia Spain; “Extraction and use of Wiktionary etymologies in English”, dictated by Víctor Fresco Barbeito, member of Wikimedia Spain; “Ikusgela: Creating and adding free pedagogical videos to the Basque Wikipedia”, chaired by Ander Bolibar from the Basque Wikimedians User Group. 

After a long day of conferences, workshops and traditional dynamics, and being the last night in the city, we could not leave without visiting and getting to know the different monuments and historical streets of Salamanca; so, through the Office of Tourism, Commerce and Economic Promotion of the Salamanca City Council, we organised a “Guided Tour” consisting of a panoramic outdoor visit through the historic centre of the city, lasting an hour and a half.

Despite the cold weather and the long walk, those who took part in the visit were eager to keep walking and get to know the ins and outs of the city, without missing anything along the way. Taking photos, analysing the monuments, identifying the astronaut on the façade of the New Cathedral of Salamanca, as well as looking for the well known Frog of Salamanca located on the façade of the Escuelas Mayores building of the University of Salamanca, which has become so important that it has become an icon of the city.

Closing of the conferences

The last conference was aimed at bringing together the different Wikimedia communities participating, whose theme is current and common within the community; therefore, the “Table on linguistic diversity” was proposed. On Catalan, with the participation of Ester Bonet and Koldo de Gibert, from Amical Wikimedia; on Basque, Aiora Mujika from the Basque Wikimedistas User Group; on Extremadura, Mentxu Ramilo from Wikimedia Spain; on Galician, Adrián Estévez from Galipedia; on Mirandese, Sofía Matias from Wikimedia Portugal and special guest from Wikimedia Spain.

During the round table, the various advances made by each of the representatives were highlighted. Ester and Koldo indicated that they are very active within Amical Wikimedia. Koldo also indicated that he is also an editor in Esperanto, a small but active community. However, they have problems with deletions because they put information in Esperanto as references.

On the Basque side, Aiora Mujika comments that this community is very active with many editing initiatives, and many academic contacts from different universities, so that their students can publish articles on the subjects of their speciality.

Regarding Extremaduran, with Mentxu, it is indicated that the Observatory of the Languages of Extremadura is trying to maintain Extremaduran, and that Güiquipedia can be an instrument to achieve this. Moreover, the evolution of the number of editors has been satisfactory, with an acceptable increase of editors and articles, achieving a balanced presence of articles between men and women, being the second Wikipedia in the languages of the peninsula, behind the Asturian one.

Regarding Galician, Adrián states that they are in 51st place in terms of the number of articles (200,000 written). There is a great deal of activity in the creation of articles in Galician municipalities, and many Galician editors work from locations all over the world. 

Finally, regarding Mirandés, Sofía points out that, between 2008 and 2014, there was a lot of activity; however, in recent years it has decreased significantly. There are still 4,249 pages of content and 24 active editors, and many articles are automatically translated from Brazilian Portuguese. Based on this situation, an agreement has been promoted with the “Associaçao de Lhéngua i Cultura Mirandesa” (ALCM), which aims to promote the publishing community.

Learning Processes and Active Listening

During the 10th Annual Conference, we considered that we should set different formats to establish greater connection and interaction between the community; therefore, this year two activities were implemented for members to share and teach their knowledge, as well as to make their opinions, concerns and proposals for the future of the association known.

1. Knowledge-sharing roundtables: what would you like to teach? Vs. what would you like to learn? Comprised of three thematic tables (Community, Content and Wikimedia projects, and Tools), where each participant had the opportunity to exchange different experiences, knowledge and know-how among the different participants. For this purpose, a room was available for each of the working tables, where they had a session to share topics in a relaxed atmosphere and discuss those points of interest to the community.

1. Active Listening: “Building Community”. With the participation of 27 people, and with the aim of generating a common working space that allows us to share, evaluate and obtain a common and committed vision of Wikimedia Spain. This methodology was developed during two hours, being moderated by Menxtu Ramilo Araujo, vice-president of Wikimedia Spain, and Sara Santamaría, communication manager of Wikimedia Spain.

The process was divided into three blocks. 

1. Introductory block: where the objectives of the workshop, the process, and what we expect from the participants are expressed.
2. Block of key questions that mark the interaction: How do you think we are seen from outside the Association? How do you see the association from the inside? What aspects would you need to carry out Wikimedian activities in your environment? What do you think are the possible challenges and opportunities we have as an Association?
3. Final block “conclusion”: the conclusions of the “Active listening” are presented through a single word stated by each participant, creating from there a narrative of conclusions. The word that achieved the highest repetition was “diversity”.

In addition to the session, and considering that there was not much time to carry it out, other channels were provided so that those who had not been able to participate in person, could also send their contributions online or in writing, through: a ballot box and a blackboard within the faculty, and a digital form.

It should be noted that the results obtained from this ‘Active Listening’ process have been identified and analysed by the Board, in order to be considered for Wikimedia Spain’s 2024 strategy.

The “X Jornadas Anuales de Wikimedia España 2023”, held at the Faculty of Translation and Documentation of the University of Salamanca, have been a space for learning and an opportunity to share and exchange in community, great initiatives of the last year. Thus, those who attended, through a satisfaction survey, reflected that the most valuable aspects of this year were: the attention and willingness of the organising team, the knowledge and management of the speakers, and the strategic location of the venue.

This experience allowed ‘Sharing and the environment’ in community to be a prominent theme among the attendees, through a relaxed space where the group had the opportunity to dialogue, share and converse with tranquility and closeness. See you at the XI Annual Wikimedia Spain Conference!

🕑 1 hour 8 minutes

It's not quite a holiday episode, but it is an end-of-year wrapup, featuring William Beutler, strategic marketing consultant and author of the blog The Wikipedian, which went on hiatus in 2020 and is now thankfully back. William shares some of the stories that he's working on for his "Top 10 Wikipedia Stories of 2023" feature (his first year-in-review in three years!), and we reminisce on the past year, in both the Wikimedia universe and the tech world in general.

By Lucy Crompton-Reid, Chief Executive of Wikimedia UK

Wikimedia UK’s vision is of a more informed, democratic and equitable society through open knowledge. There are times when achieving that vision seems light years away, but it still inspires me; and I think that the idea of creating a better and fairer world – even if they may articulate it differently – motivates many of Wikimedia’s volunteer contributors. In my experience and observation Wikimedians are also driven by a fierce commitment to objectivity, neutrality, openness, accessibility and truth. Unfortunately, during times of conflict and other emergencies, these values can be extremely fragile and highly contested. The Covid-19 pandemic was one such emergency, during which our already unhealthy and unbalanced information ecosystem became more vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation. The current situation in Gaza and Israel is another. 

Coverage of the war on Wikimedia has received millions of pageviews from around the world. On the English Wikipedia alone, the main article on the crisis has had nearly 1000 contributors (probably more by the time this is published). When writing about such a terrible situation and one that is driven by deep-seated division, Wikipedia’s emphasis on fairness, proportionality, neutrality and verifiability becomes even more vital. However the very fact that in some languages (including English) the conflict is described as the “Israel-Hamas War” while in others it is the “Gaza War” illustrates that – even when contributors to Wikipedia are editing in good faith – knowledge is not an ever-fixed mark but something that is negotiated in real time, while real lives are being lost. 

While many of us are watching the unfolding news with mounting horror, Wikimedians in the region are of course directly impacted, as are those who have personal connections through family or cultural ties. Tragically, we have heard of at least one volunteer contributor to Wikimedia who has been killed during airstrikes on Gaza, and an unprecedented number of journalists have died in the conflict. Meanwhile, the information ecosystem is being severely undermined by internet shutdowns, as well as rising disinformation.

The Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects, is working hard to support affected volunteers, with the Human Rights team leading a working group with colleagues from Legal, Disinformation, Global Advocacy, Technology and Communications. They can be contacted for support and advice at [email protected]; or [email protected] (monitored by staff 24/7) regarding an immediate threat of physical harm. 

The Wikimedia Foundation is also working in partnership with other organisations – for example through the #KeepItOn coalition, the Freedom Online Coalition and the Global Network Initiative – to support diplomatic and other actions against internet shutdowns in Gaza, and have created and published this comprehensive guide with resources on how community members can stay connected during internet outages. The Foundation’s recent update on Wikimedia’s activities in relation to the crisis in Gaza and Israel details further information about how the Human Rights team and others are supporting staff and volunteers and addressing disinformation. 

It is vital that we guard against false or misleading content on our platforms. Currently, pages relating to the crisis in Gaza and Israel – particularly in English, Arabic, Hebrew and Farsi – are being closely monitored by Wikimedia Foundation staff as well as volunteer communities to protect against any coordinated efforts to manipulate content, and staff are collaborating with academic researchers to understand more about potential malicious activities on the Wikimedia projects. In the medium to longer term, however, it is also crucial to improve media and information literacy skills as a way of helping to combat the impact of misinformation and disinformation. To that end, Wikimedia UK – the national charity for the global Wikimedia movement – has a long-held commitment to developing media and information literacy skills, and we work extensively with universities and other formal and informal education settings to support the development of these skills. We see an important link between media and information literacy skills and civic engagement, and published a report earlier this year on how Wikimedia UK increases citizen engagement in democratic processes through our work in information literacy.

More recently, Wikimedia UK co-hosted a two day workshop in partnership with the BBC and the Royal Society on the role of media and information literacy in building resilience to future emergencies, particularly in light of the unique challenges posed by AI-generated disinformation. As we know from conflict situations as well as from the Covid-19 pandemic, emergencies exacerbate inequalities and amplify asymmetries in the information environment. Moreover, Generative AI is creating huge changes in the way that information is created, shared and consumed. The workshop brought together academics, journalists, disinformation experts, policy advisors and senior leaders from civil society, government and community organisations in order to address the critical issues of building resilience against emergencies, and explore what different institutions can do to ensure access to trusted, life-saving information in times of crisis. 

The relationship between media and information literacy and people’s behaviour online and offline is very nuanced. After all, the creation and dissemination of disinformation depends on highly sophisticated media literacy skills (of the bad actors involved) in order to appear credible. Also, whilst building trust in institutions is essential for us to navigate existing and future crises, there are some communities that have been excluded or exploited by our institutions, and those communities’ criticality and distrust needs to be understood in that context. 

We will share more about our workshop with the BBC and the Royal Society early next year, including a summary of the discussions and emerging policy recommendations. My own key takeaway was a reinforced sense of urgency in improving the overall health of our information ecosystem, including (but not confined to) a more joined up approach to increasing media and information literacy across all levels of society. The work that Wikimedia staff and volunteers are doing to minimise misinformation and disinformation across the Wikimedia projects is also crucial, in times of peace as well as war. 

If you are interested in training to become a Wikipedia editor, please keep an eye on Wikimedia UK’s varied event programme. Details are usually listed here.

To support Wikimedia UK’s work by making a donation, please visit this page. 

The post Wikimedia and the war on information appeared first on WMUK.

On 30 November, Eric Luth at Wikimedia Sverige was invited to give a speech on Wikimedia, Wikipedia, and copyright at an interdisciplinary IP symposium in Stockholm. This is his speech.

In this talk, I’ll try to give a few of my perspectives on the internet legislation that shapes our work, dive deeper into copyright, and then give a few of my thoughts on where copyright legislation is lacking.

But to begin with, just a few words on the Wikimedia movement. 

We are the movement behind platforms such as Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata. 

Wikipedia alone today contains more than 50 million articles in over 300 languages, read on average more than 250 million times a day. Wikimedia Commons, the sister project for images and free media files, just passed 100 million uploaded files. All created by users, for users, and everything is published under free licenses, so-called Creative Commons licenses. 

The reach on the platforms is astonishing. But still, that is only the direct reach. When we start to consider the indirect reach, through, for example, ChatGPT, Siri, or Alexa, the numbers – though harder to measure – get even more astonishing.

Two years ago, we celebrated Wikipedia’s 20th birthday. Despite having radically increased access to knowledge worldwide, and created one of the largest compilations of knowledge in human history, Wikipedia is still, I think younger than all of us in this room. 

Young, but in an Internet context extremely old. Wikipedia was created on an entirely different Internet, and few, close to no, other of the other websites created back then, are still around today. 

This was an era of experimentation and creativity. People, mostly individuals, sat at home, I imagine in their basements, trying out things. Some things, like Wikipedia, worked, some things didn’t. It was a playground for new ideas. For most, money was not the driving factor, ideas were. Most websites were run non-profit, simply because there was no profit to make. 

The situation has changed dramatically since. Depending on how you define it, Wikipedia is the only, or one of very few, non-profit websites among the 100 most visited websites in the world. The commercialization of the Internet has been quick and has swept away most of the non-profit playground experimentation, in exchange for large, global, commercial super platforms. 

The start of this change dates back to the middle of the first decade of the 21st century when a few actors realized the commercial potential of user data, a potential that was realized during the last decade to a level I think none or few of us were able to predict.

My point is not to say that this change is inherently good or bad, but it is a fact that the Internet today is a different place than it was when Wikipedia was born.

To a certain extent, this is the result of these large commercial platforms, run by creative entrepreneurs who started with playgrounds but created new worlds.

But what I would like to argue is that this is also the result of the legislative development. Politicians and lawmakers have, for ideological or practical reasons, tried to curtail the large commercial platforms, but the effect in most cases has been that it is only those platforms that can afford to pay for the solutions required.

So while lawmakers have had the ambition to challenge the close-to-monopolistic situation of the large commercial platforms, in many cases they have rather reinforced this semi-monopolistic situation – by forcing solutions that are so expensive to implement, that smaller or non-profit actors cannot do it.

I think this is especially the case in Europe, where European politicians ponder why there are no large European platforms while developing legislation that effectively stifles innovation.

I understand the wish to legislate the internet from lawmakers, and get me right: legislation is needed. There are indeed actors that have actively aspired to share and distribute copyrighted works illegally. It would be hard not to mention the Pirate Bay in this context.

We also see an increasingly difficult online environment, where the tools that mean so much freedom for so many of us can also be used for criminal purposes. Online platforms need to take responsibility for the content on their platforms, I think it’s a given, and also take a social responsibility that goes beyond their own platforms in themselves. 

But most serious platforms would rather see each case of copyright infringement as a failure of the model of the platform, pointing to a need to refine the model and learn from the mistake. 

One of the most important pieces of European legislation for online platforms has for years been the eCommerce directive, which establishes a so-called notice and take-down model – similar to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the United States. 

Under this legislation, Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia platforms would need to analyze and take action as soon as a notice is received from a rightsholder. 

Under this model, of course, there might be a few works – among the, for example, 100 million files on Wikimedia Commons – that are infringing copyright. But as far as we know, the number is very small.

Every month, the community acts upon ~600 requests to delete content because of copyright infringement. Requests that have been made by other volunteers, that is, that are keenly reviewing all change logs to detect potentially infringing material.

Yesterday saw 100 requests from users about files where copyright was unclear. For example a set of images from the university library of Basel. The Freedom of Panorama of Switzerland only covers the exteriors. There was a renovation in the 1990s, but it is unclear to what extent these stairs were renovated in the 1990s, and if the architect of the renovation retains any copyright beyond the original architect from the 19th century. This is the kind of case that is always discussed, openly and transparently. We still don’t know if these stairs will survive online.

During the first half of 2023, rightsholders, on the other hand, gave less than 30 notices to the Wikimedia Foundation, of which a few were granted under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. Many of these cases are indeed difficult grey zones and are reviewed very carefully by professional lawyers and cultural heritage practitioners.  

To make this very clear: 600 cases are opened by the community itself every month. The first half of 2023 saw 30 cases, altogether, based on notices from rightsholders. The community moderation works, in most cases, very well.

But back to the legislation. In the early days of the Internet, this notice and take down approach was the standard or at least very common procedure, as outlined in the EU eCommerce directive as well as the named US Digital Millenium Copyright Act. 

But as you may know, this has changed profoundly in the EU during the last few years, starting with the Copyright (CDSM) Directive and followed by the Digital Services Act. There is an increasing trend to require proactive work to make sure that infringing or unlawful content may not be uploaded at all, rather than being deleted upon request. Increasingly it requires proactive work to make sure that deleted works are not uploaded again, in what has been called “notice and staydown”, which is the foundation of Article 17 of the EU Copyright Directive and indirectly, though perhaps not directly, requires upload filters. Despite the prohibition against general monitoring.

I find it hard to see how this piece of legislation can benefit anyone else than the large commercial platforms.

Thankfully, Wikipedia is exempted from this law, though I must say that the article that explicitly exempts Wikipedia (or rather “not-for-profit online encyclopedias”), Github, and others is a very bad way of writing law

But we are not exempted from similar provisions in the DSA. It will be interesting to follow the development ahead. The European Commission has listed 17 platforms that are considered very large online platforms. Of those 17, Wikipedia is the only non-profit. But what it means is still unclear. Wikipedia works in 318 languages. Are all languages covered, or only English? Only EU languages? Who decides and who supervises these questions? As I assume that you can understand, having volunteers monitor 50 million articles in 318 languages is not a piecemeal task.

I hope we can survive this legislation, and show that you can be a very large online platform, run as a non-profit, on the internet, and still survive in 2024. Show that a volunteer community can moderate content, and not only employed staff.

But honestly, I don’t think that this is important only for us. If the EU would kill the only non-profit platform by its laws, I think it would be a large shame for the EU as well.

The two decades of community moderation has had another effect. I usually say that the active users on Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons and other Wikimedia platforms are among the most copyright-informed people I have ever come across. Few have a legal background, but they read the law, try to understand it, and apply it – according to their interpretations – in thousands and thousands of cases.

The work of these volunteers shows the importance of copyright legislation that is understandable by laymen and not only professional lawyers.

The discussions around the copyright status of things as graffiti, toys, and model cities could be published as books. I’m constantly fascinated by the depth and width of arguments brought up in discussions around, for example, the famous Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, one of the most famous photos in US history. There have been dozens of deletion requests about this photo over the years, and the question is still contentious. In the US, between 1928 and 1963, you had to renew the copyright after 28 years, but no one has managed to find the renewal from the photographer – although Associated Press ascertains that the copyright was renewed.

Another contentious topic is which logos of institutions actually reach the threshold of originality and not. Such discussions cover every potential aspect of the questions, one argument more creative than the other.

The volunteers read the law, systematize it, compare it, try to understand it. Help pages on Wikimedia Commons summarize copyright legislation per country – ideally all countries across the globe – around derivative works, freedom of panorama, threshold of originality, de minimis, stamps, you name it.

I don’t want to say that all of the interpretations are correct. I am not a lawyer, but with the basic legal knowledge I have after years of working with copyright advocacy, I know that in fact, many interpretations are not correct. But I would like to argue that, based on the hundreds of pages of discussion about small aspects, these interpretations are most often reasonable interpretations. If there is a flaw in the interpretation, that most likely reflects an unclarity in the law.

One area of especially large concern is the cross-border usage of works. Copyright law, in the 21st century, is still extremely national. Two comprehensive copyright directives from the EU – the Infosoc and the CDSM directives ­– still fail to properly harmonize the copyright laws of the EU. We cannot work as one European movement, one global movement. We have to dive deeply into every one of all jurisdictions of the world, of Europe.

Let me give one example: the Hundertwasser decision from the German Federal Court of Justice from June 2003. The decision concerns the Freedom of Panorama exception, which lets users take photos of work permanently placed in the public space and share these freely, with some possible restrictions. The FoP is one of the exceptions allowed under the so called Infosoc directive, but not mandatory. There are also several discretionary words in the Infosoc wording, which has opened up for different national implementations.

So in the Hundertwasser example: the photo was taken of the Hundertwasser house in Vienna. According to the Austrian FoP version, the building has to be located on a public space, but in the German FoP version, the user has to be on public space. The photo of the building was taken from the roof of another building and across the street. This photo was perfectly legal under Austrian law, whereas a German federal court deemed it unlawful.

It is not enough to know if there is a freedom of panorama exception or not. You have to know the exact preposition of the wording. And you have to remember, in all the countries you visit, if this was the building on public space country or user on public space country.

All national jurisdictions obviously have the freedom to, within the framework set up by the EU, the EU Court of Justice, and the so-called three-step test, implement exceptions and limitations in the Infosoc Directive as they see fit. But every language and country-specific “creative solution” adds an extra burden to the work of users active across borders.

I often notice the tremendous difference between the EU copyright framework and the US copyright framework, where most of the Wikimedia servers are based. Our policy is that, for a work to be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, it needs to be free in the US and in the country of origin. But whereas the Fair Use doctrine takes care of most of the grey zones in the US, in Europe, we have not only to read the law, but the legal commentaries, recitals, and court cases. Of course, we have studied the law in the US too (such as the famous monkey selfie court case), but to a much less detailed degree than in the EU, with its nitty-gritty provisions and patchworky setup.

Where the Fair Use doctrine changes with time and adapts to a changing environment, the EU’s very narrow version of the three-step test makes copyright a bit more closed for every technical innovation.

My firm belief is that it should be easy to do things right, especially when it comes to exceptions and limitations to copyright. Copyright is strict: in the firmest sense, the rightsholder has the exclusive right to their work for all their lives, and in Sweden, 70 years after. The exceptions and limitations give some flexibility to this exclusive right, to the benefit of freedom of speech and the general public.

This means that exceptions and limitations are fundamental for the rights of users. That also means that users must be able to understand the exceptions and limitations, and know how to apply them. Individual users and volunteers don’t have the means to do thorough legal investigations. But they need to be able to base their work on the copyright law.

What I am aiming at is that the copyright legislation needs to be better harmonized on the EU level and that the exceptions and limitations need to be easier to understand. We need less creative variations between countries. We need predictable and clear laws.

I have a dream, and it is that I one day will live in a Europe with a copyright law that does not lead to 100s of pages of creative interpretations on Wikimedia Commons, and where volunteers can spend their time sharing knowledge rather than deleting it based on difficult legal provisions.

It might make my job a bit more boring, but it will make much more knowledge flourish.

05/12/2023-11/12/2023

Breaking news

• The 2023 Annual General Meeting of the OpenStreetMap Foundation took place on 16 December at 16:00 UTC. The election of the Board of Directors has been completed and Roland Olbricht, Guillaume Rischard, and Daniela (Dani) Waltersdorfer Jimenez are elected. A total of 913 members voted. The first board meeting to elect officers is scheduled for Thursday 21 December at 13:30 UTC. The OpenStreetMap Foundation also expressed its gratitude towards Mikel, who has been released from his board duties.

About us

• Take part in the competition for the 700th issue of weeklyOSM! Design a header image for the anniversary issue and win an osmflag from FOSSGIS. The closing date for entries is 21 December; more info

Mapping

• António Madeira announced on the Telegram channel of the OSM Portugal group the opening of the vote for the proposal for the standardisation of national built heritage drawn up by himself and user Jorge Pinho a few years ago, but which, due to lack of time, was never discussed or put to a vote.
  The discussion will be open for three weeks from 00:00 on 15 December, followed by the vote. In addition to the mailing list, the proposal’s discussion page, the Telegram channel and the OSM Community forum are available for discussion.
• Requests for comments have been reopened on these proposals:
  • tourism=camp_lodging for tagging small, rentable buildings or shelters with limited amenities, designed for short-term lodging in natural settings.
  • emergency=disaster_response for worldwide consistent tagging of disaster response service stations providing emergency response for civilians during or after a disaster.
• Voting is open on:
  • amenity=bicycle_wash to map bicycle wash stations, until Monday 18 December.
• The vote on crossing:continuous=yes/no has closed. The proposal was approved with 32 votes in favour, one vote against, and one abstention.

Mapping campaigns

• As of 1 January 2024, DB Netz AG and DB Station & Service AG will merge into DB InfraGO AG, requiring a comprehensive update of OpenStreetMap tags in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Czech Republic. Nakaner announced a manual edit of the affected operator tags.
• MapRoulette has updated its basic OSM checks. There are many new challenges worldwide related to footway conflicting nodes, such as this one.
• Two MapRoulette challenges have been created based on a discussion on the OSM Community forum about link rot in OSM data. These challenges aim to correct URLs in OSM tags that are no longer accessible.

Community

• A regional YouthMappers ambassador wrote about achieving a historic milestone by successfully completing their very first national YouthMappers Summit in Bangladesh, setting a benchmark for their global network.
• Approximately simultaneously, Jochen Topf and mcliquid each obtained permission to use the dataset of electric vehicle charging stations in Germany and Austria. The community is now discussing the possibility of an import.
• On the OpenStreetMap Community forum, a new key, foot_scale=*, has been proposed to enhance path tagging for walking similarly to sac_scale for hiking. This scale ranges from casual_walking, requiring no special effort, to not_walkable, indicating paths unsuitable for walking. The intention is to simplify the representation of path attributes, consolidating various existing keys like surface and obstacle into a more straightforward scale.
• Marcus Jaschen wrote ► about the significant growth of Geofabrik’s Europe extract of the OSM database, now around 28 GB, highlighting a steady increase. He has also updated his Gravel Overlay for bikerouter.de, detailing a comprehensive Ansible Playbook process for tile server updates.
• Sakshi Verma, from India, is the UN Mapper of the Month for December.

OpenStreetMap Foundation

• FOSSGIS e.V. ► , the German local chapter of OpenStreetMap, has committed to financially support the OpenStreetMap Foundation annually. This decision, made due to the size and financial resources of the German OSM community and their strong commitment to the project, is unprecedented for an OSM local chapter. For 2023 and 2024 the FOSSGIS board has decided to provide 10,000 EUR.
• The Chairman of the OpenStreetMap Foundation, Guillaume Rischard, reflected in the 2023 chairperson’s report on significant developments and challenges in the OSM community. Key topics included the growth of OSM data, improved community discourse, strategic planning, and technical innovations. The need to strengthen the OSMF structure to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness is particularly emphasised. Join in the discussion here.

Local chapter news

• Włodzimierz Bartczak ► announced ► that the Polish local chapter has unanimously decided to propose that the next State of the Map Europe be hosted in Poland. The conference planned for 2024 will be of particular importance as it will mark the 20th anniversary of the OpenStreetMap project.
• The State of the Map US 2024, the largest gathering of the OpenStreetMap community in the US, will take place 6 to 8 June 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Call for Speakers has now started and will close on 29 February 2024; contributions from the OSM community are welcome. Presentations ranging from OpenStreetMap fundamentals, to indigenous mapping, to OSM in leisure activities are desired.

Events

• The Chaos Communication Congress 2023 (37C3) will take place from 27 to 30 December in Hamburg, Germany, and there will be an OpenStreetMap booth. Will you be there? If so, register on the wiki and let us know in the OSM Community forum.
• The FOSS4G Europe 2024 conference is inviting OpenStreetMap enthusiasts to submit their proposals for general, workshop, and academic sessions. The conference to be held in Tartu, Estonia, will focus on European issues and activities related to free and open source geospatial software and data. Presentations will be streamed online, but presenters are expected to attend in person. The deadline for submissions is 11 February 2024.

OSM research

• [1] Dr. Christina Ludwig successfully defended her doctoral thesis on mapping urban green spaces using OpenStreetMap data and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. In her work, she analysed how green spaces are mapped in OSM and developed a mapping method that takes into account regional differences, incorporating both the fuzziness in OSM data and the limitations of satellite sensor resolution. This work significantly contributes to improving route suggestions for pedestrians and cyclists by recommending more pleasant paths through green areas.
• A research project on predicting the transportation infrastructure in Indian cities has been published in Scientific Reports. The project uses OpenStreetMap and an innovative RidgeGAN method to analyse complex urban patterns and road network densities using machine learning and satellite imagery. This is an important study for urban planners and researchers working on sustainable urban development and improved transportation networks.
• An innovative research project, published in PLOS ONE, uses satellite monitoring to identify the accumulation of terrestrial plastic waste. By employing neural networks to analyse data from the Sentinel-2 satellite, the system detects plastic waste in twelve Southeast Asian countries. This method identified more than twice as many waste sites in Indonesia, compared to OpenStreetMap and public databases, representing a significant step in monitoring and combating plastic pollution. National Geographic Indonesia reported ► on this.
• A German-Austrian research team has analysed the mass of buildings and infrastructure in the USA in a study published in Nature Communications, revealing remarkable patterns in human-dominated landscapes. The study aims to provide a database for more sustainable use of resources.

Humanitarian OSM

• HOT and OpenStreetMap Libya have concluded the 2023 Libya Floods activation. Debrief and after action review notes are available on Pete Masters’s OSM diary. Huge thanks to everyone who contributed!

Maps

• Discover the curiosities of the OpenStreetMap waterworld: a collection of unusual, circular waterways. These are almost always errors in mapping, as rivers and streams forming an endless loop are nearly impossible in reality. This page showcases such rare and fascinating mapping errors. Have fun correcting them.
• Darren Wiens presented a sea level rise simulator, where he uses the AWS Terrain Tiles and the new raster functionality available in Mapbox GL JS v3.
• Stefan Bohacek has created a webmap that lists the world’s governments that manage their own federated servers.
• OpenHiking offers optimised vector maps for hikers based on OpenStreetMap data. These maps highlight hiking routes and symbols, water sources, points of interest, and natural features. They include contour lines and shading and are compatible with Garmin devices as well as Android through apps including OruxMaps and LocusMaps. The maps cover areas such as the Carpathians and the Alps and offer features such as routing and searching for geographical names (Garmin only) and regular updates.

OSM in action

• The Cartotelco website displays all the locations of street cabinets for telecommunication in France on an OpenStreetMap map, colour-coded by their respective operators. By clicking on a marker, the OpenStreetMap node can also be opened directly.
• The ELWIS map view shows the German Nachrichten für die Binnenschifffahrt (News for inland shipping) on an interactive map. Among other data sources , OpenStreetMap is also listed.
• Andrei Kashcha tweeted about the ‘Geo-Mug’, a unique Christmas gift idea for GeoNerds and GIS folks. The mug can be designed with a custom map of any city in the world by using OSM data from a self-chosen bounding box and preferred colours. The geoObserver reported ► on the service.

Software

• JOSM will end support for OAuth 1.0a in early 2024 and will remove or hide password logins. It is recommended that all new users use OAuth 2.0, and existing users are encouraged to switch to it.
• JOSM releases (Java archive, Windows, and MacOS) will no longer be signed. The code signing rules have changed and are no longer acceptable to the JOSM team. When using systems relying on code signing warning requests will appear in the future.
• SEMA’s planning and construction programme now allows ► the presentation of 3D models as impressive renderings in Lumion, featuring vibrant environmental design using OpenStreetMap.
• Deepness is a QGIS plugin that allows the execution of segmentation, detection, and regression on raster orthophotos using custom ONNX neural network models. It supports various model types and provides features such as limiting the processing area, integration with layers, and exporting training data. This tool is useful for users who want to apply deep learning to remote sensing.
• Desert Atlas is a new self-hosted OpenStreetMap app for Sandstorm. It allows users to privately search, save, and bookmark places in collaboration with friends for on-the-go use. Desert Atlas integrates with OSM apps like Organic Maps and OsmAnd, enabling users to export their bookmarks. Desert Atlas focuses on privacy and user-friendliness, offering a simple way to download regions and plan in a trusted environment. The app has already been discussed on HackerNews.
• ForestScanner is an iOS app that can create 3D point clouds with LiDAR-enabled iPhones and iPads. Users can capture individual tree information such as diameter and coordinates, save this data, and export it as a CSV file. The app is aimed at users interested in forestry and environmental monitoring, supporting various data collection and processing functions.
• Episode 211 of Geomob featured an interview with Simon Poole, the creator of Vespucci Editor, the first and only full-featured OpenStreetMap editor for Android devices. He talked about his background, the history and development of Vespucci, the challenges and benefits of editing OSM on mobile, and the future plans for the app. The episode is about 40 minutes long and can be listened to on the Geomob website or various podcast platforms.
• The ExifLooter tool extracts geolocation from images using URLs or directories and is integrated with OpenStreetMap. The source, written in Go, is available from GitHub. The tool can be used to analyse images, remove metadata, or combine with other tools. It is suggested for use in security research, OSINT activities, and bug bounty hunting.
• TrailStash has introduced a new browser bookmark on Mastodon that allows you to easily switch between different maps in your browser while maintaining your viewport.
• Jeff Oppong explained, on Geography Realm, how to create isochrone maps with QGIS and how to find shortest and fastest routes using ORS tools and Quickmap services. Ideal for all mapping enthusiasts who want to gain insights into accessibility patterns.

Programming

• Jan Kammerath showcased, on Medium, the power of OpenStreetMap (OSM) by demonstrating how to extract a list of sushi restaurants in Manhattan using Go. He explained that while many mapping services offer similar data, they often come with a cost, especially for extensive queries.
• Discover the ‘viridis’ colour scales on CRAN, specifically designed to enhance the readability of graphics and support colour-blind users. These colour scales are not only colourful and aesthetically pleasing but also designed to remain discernible when converted to greyscale. For R users, they offer a wide range of possibilities, from basic plots to ggplot2 applications.
• In his OpenStreetMap diary entry, Sam Woodcock explained how he uses the PostGIS database to create FlatGeobuf files without having to rely on the extensive GDAL library. He described the process, which involves the use of SQL and SQLAlchemy in FastAPI, and highlights the benefits of this method for generating FlatGeobufs, particularly in terms of efficiency and ease. This approach offers an alternative solution for data preparation and management in geospatial applications.

Releases

• Wahoo has released a new map update for the ELEMNT GPS bike computer based on OpenStreetMap, as detailed in the release notes for Android and iOS. Following the last update in May 2023, this is now the second update for this year. With the wahooMapsCreator tool, you can generate new map material at any time.
• New versions of GeoDesk have been released: 0.1.9 (for Java) and 0.1.1 (for Python). The Java update includes the GOL Tool and addresses bugs like the OsmPbfReader shutdown issue with corrupt source files and a gol build encoding problem affecting way-node access. The Python version introduces improvements such as simplified creation of ‘Coordinate’ objects and better handling of feature sets, alongside fixing bugs such as the incorrect return of Features.members_of() and iteration issues in Tags​​.

Did you know …

• … osm.el is the OpenStreetMap viewer for Emacs? Osm.el is a tile-based map viewer, with a responsive movable and zoom-able display.
• … LearnOverpass is a beginner-friendly learning resource for the Overpass API? The website offers interactive courses to train users on how to effectively query and utilise OSM data.
• … Leigh Dodds’s Overpass QL tutorial offers a comprehensive guide to the Overpass query language used in OpenStreetMap? This tutorial is designed to teach users the fundamentals of the OpenStreetMap data model, various methods to extract nodes, ways, and relations, and how to perform spatial queries.

OSM in the media

• The Wunstorfer Auepost (a German local newspaper) used ► an excerpt from an OpenStreetMap map, including excellent attribution, in a detailed article about a firefighting operation.

Other “geo” things

• Geo Week News presented a summary of the #30DayMapChallenge on LinkedIn. #30DayMapChallenge features new, theme-based maps every day, from point-based maps of the US to stunning 3D representations of the universe. This article provides a glimpse into the creative highlights of this challenge and showcases some of the most intriguing and visually stunning maps.
• A paper in Scientific Data presented a global land cover dataset that utilises the capabilities of modern cloud computing platforms, such as Google Earth Engine, to map land cover worldwide. The authors have combined machine learning with high-resolution satellite imagery to create a comprehensive picture of global land cover. This research makes a significant contribution to improving the accuracy and availability of land cover data.
• The Daily Map page of the EU ERCC Portal provides a daily overview of significant events or situations related to humanitarian and civil protection interventions by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, or those expected to have humanitarian consequences. These maps are an important tool for coordinating and responding to emergencies and disasters.
• James Killick has put together a humorous, Christmas-inspired wishlist for improvements in the world of map software. The article offers an amusing, festive perspective on mapping applications, and their sometimes curious quirks.
• Milos Popovic tweeted how he combined forest type with elevation data to create a colourful and very impressive map of Europe. On YouTube he explained, over 45 minutes, how he created this map using rayshader in R and data from the Copernicus Global Land Cover project. The entire code is available on GitHub.

Upcoming Events

Where	What	Online	When	Country
Lorain County	OpenStreetMap Midwest Meetup	✓	2023-12-15
አዲስ አበባ / Addis Ababa	State of the Map Ethiopia 2023		2023-12-15 – 2023-12-16	et
Amsterdam	Maptime Amsterdam – A very Mappy Christmas!		2023-12-15
Berlin	186. Berlin-Brandenburg OpenStreetMap Stammtisch		2023-12-15
	OpenStreetMap Foundation’s board election – Deadline for voting		2023-12-16
	[Online] 17th Annual General Meeting of the OpenStreetMap Foundation (second part)		2023-12-16
Београд	Geospatial Community of Serbia – First Meetup		2023-12-18
City of Westminster	London xmas pub meet-up		2023-12-18
Berlin	DRK Beginner Online Mapathon		2023-12-18
Lyon	Réunion du groupe local de Lyon		2023-12-19
Saint-Étienne	Rencontre Saint-Étienne et sud Loire		2023-12-19
Bonn	170. OSM-Stammtisch Bonn		2023-12-19
IJmuiden	OSM Nederland bijeenkomst (online)		2023-12-19
Lüneburg	Lüneburger Mappertreffen (online)		2023-12-19
	UN Mappers Mapatón: MapRoulette Challenge en Somalia		2023-12-20
Karlsruhe	Stammtisch Karlsruhe		2023-12-20
Bengaluru	OSM Bengaluru Mapping Party		2023-12-23
San Jose	South Bay Map Night	✓	2023-12-27
Düsseldorf	Düsseldorfer OpenStreetMap-Treffen (online)		2023-12-29

Note:
If you like to see your event here, please put it into the OSM calendar. Only data which is there, will appear in weeklyOSM.

This weeklyOSM was produced by MatthiasMatthias, PierZen, SeverinGeo, Strubbl, TheSwavu, barefootstache, conradoos, derFred, mcliquid, rtnf.
We welcome link suggestions for the next issue via this form and look forward to your contributions.

Dec 14, 13:17 UTC
Resolved - This incident has been resolved.

Dec 14, 12:36 UTC
Monitoring - A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results.

Dec 14, 12:32 UTC
Identified - The issue has been identified and a fix is being implemented.

Dec 14, 12:28 UTC
Investigating - We are aware of issues with accessing some wikis, and we are investigating.

Much of the world’s natural beauty and animal species rest in places none of us will ever visit. So why not let one of the world’s highest-quality photo contests bring them to your virtual doorstep? 

For a decade now, Wiki Loves Earth has been snapshotting the best of the globe’s natural heritage, whether it’s in a nationally protected area or in a nearby park. This year’s edition is no different: you are about to witness jaw-dropping animal close-ups juxtaposed with wide vistas of secluded solitude. The photos are a demonstration of human perseverance, dedication, and skill. 

The contest winner (at top) finds a common tiger beetle perched upon an acorn, its objective unknown, in a wooded area located a bit east of Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv. Wiki Loves Earth’s contest judges commended photographer Serhii Miroshnyk for the technical skills required to capture the moment. One judge compared it to the award-winning 1996 documentary Microcosmos, known for its close portrayal of insect interactions. 

Volunteer-led and organized, Wiki Loves Earth asks people to venture out into nearby natural areas. The contest’s definition of a natural area is intentionally broad, which helps ensure that anyone, anywhere is able to participate. The photographers’ submitted work is uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, a media library that holds many of the photos used on Wikipedia. All of the content within that library is freely licensed, meaning that it can be used by anyone, for any purpose, with only a few restrictions.*

This year, the contest received more than 61,700 submissions from over 3,300 participants in 50 countries—the highest number of countries ever in the contest’s history. From those, 492 from participating countries were selected and forwarded to the international competition. These images were divided into two categories (macro/close-ups followed by landscapes), and the two are coincidentally but perfectly delineated between #1–10 and #11–20. You can learn more about Wiki Loves Earth and get its full rules on its website, and read about its special WikiForHumanRights nomination from earlier this year.

Photo by Dasrath Shrestha, CC BY-SA 4.0

Second place in the macro category (2nd overall): Building a strong and robust nest is a crucial task for many birds, as they will often go on to hold the next generation of birds, and photographer Dasrath Shrestha Beejukchhen caught this common baya weaver finishing that task in the Kathmandu Valley area of Nepal. The Wiki Loves Earth judges were impressed by the sharpness Beejukchhen was able to capture despite the bird being in flight, with one saying, “the moment is exceptional”.

Photo by Tjustorparn, CC BY-SA 4.0

Third place in the macro category (3rd overall): Being able to spot threats is essential if a roe deer wants to survive for long, but judging by its injured ear, this particular deer might need to work on that skill. Still, it does seem to have spotted the photographer User:Tjustorparn and stared them down long enough to snap this remarkable image. “It was not easy to make this photo!”, one judge said, and several acclaimed its sharpness and symmetry.

Photo by Sven Damerow, CC BY-SA 4.0

Fourth place in the macro category (4th overall): This is the sort of image that rewards a curious individual who clicks through and zooms in. Do you see all the dots? Those droplets on this black-tailed skimmer‘s wings are from the morning dew. “That is in itself an interesting phenomenon to describe”, said one judge. This photo was taken by Sven Damerow, who won Wiki Loves Earth in 2019 and was a finalist last year.

Photo by Mark Kineth, CC BY-SA 4.0

Fifth place in the macro category (5th overall): These blue-banded bees can be found in Northern Negros Natural Park, a federally protected area in the Philippines. The close shot was lauded by the judges for the technical skill Mark Kineth required to pull it off, and it was also called “ideal for educational articles”.

Photo by Maurizio Carlini, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sixth place in the macro category (6th overall): At first glance, you might think this is the luckiest bird in the world: bugs just fall into its mouth! But there is more to this tale: this European bee-eater already caught the cetonia aurata and is tossing it into the air to make it easier to swallow. Photographer Maurizio Carlini called this image Lunch on the Fly.

Photo by Sven Damerow, CC BY-SA 4.0

Seventh place in the macro category (7th overall): This photo comes to us from Sven Damerow again, who took it about 22 hours before their fourth-place photo. This banded demoiselle is similarly covered in dew, but what drew the judge’s eyes to the photo was its striking difference in colors—the green plant and white flower against the insect’s blue body.

Photo by Nuno Candido, CC BY-SA 4.0

Eighth place in the macro category (8th overall): Like a scene in a nature documentary, this snowy egret is splashing through some shallow water in Portugal’s Sado Estuary Natural Reserve. One contest judge said that its unusual gesturing gave it an “angel-like appearance”.

Photo by Hugo Miguel Marques, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ninth place in the macro category (9th overall): These two European bee-eaters were caught in Portugal by Hugo Miguel Marques at the beginning of a mating ritual: a male has brought along some food for a female. 

Photo by Prasan Shrestha, CC BY-SA 4.0

Tenth place in the macro category (10th overall): According to Wikipedia, black kites like this one in Nepal spend lots of time gliding on convection currents to stay aloft. But once they spot a live meal, they have the skill to dive in, legs extended, to snatch the prey into the air. Beyond the shot’s composition, the contest judges called out the skillful cropping that makes this photo educationally useful in a variety of contexts.

Photo by Nuno Luís, CC BY-SA 4.0

First place in the landscapes category (11th overall): Starting with this photo, we transition to the landscape category winners. In a scene that could have been ripped from Star Wars: The Last Jedi, a solitary stork has decided to build its nest in the most perilous of locations: a tall and narrow rock outcropping. The faint rays of an early sunrise serve to highlight the whitecaps that are ripping along the shoreline. This photo was taken by Nuno Luís in the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park of Portugal. The contest judges had many comments about this photo, with one noting that it was a “very dramatic view with long exposure time, letting the water ‘paint’ the rocks”.

Photo by Pamela Doretti, CC BY-SA 4.0

Second place in the landscapes category (12th overall): Silk Sheets is what photographer Pamela Doretti named this image of marshes near Fucecchio, Italy. It’s not difficult to see why. Spiders created these webs to gorge themselves on the excesses of insects that come when a long period of drought is broken by heavy rain that puddles on the ground.

Photo by Cuneyt Gumushaneli, CC BY-SA 4.0

Third place in the landscapes category (13th overall): Photographer Cuneyt Gumushaneli chose a vertical orientation for this landscape photo—an unusual choice that paid off for them. Thanks to their choices, the distant mountain bathed in sunlight is contrasted with the close-up, cracked ground in the shade. “Somehow, the sun and shadow are well-balanced”, one judge said and added that it “must have taken a lot of skill.” The photo was taken in Davutoğlan, Nallıhan, Turkey.

Photo by Marat Nadjibaev, CC BY-SA 4.0

Fourth place in the landscapes category (14th overall): At first glance, this photo from Uzbekistan’s Ugom-Chatkal National Park looks mundane. But then, small details start to emerge. The colors of the moss. The long exposure of the waterfall. The grey stillness of the rocks leading up to ridgelines whose diagonal cuts lead your eye back to the center of the photo. The contest judges commended Marat Nadjibaev’s “great skills” in composing this shot, and another added that they found the “ideal balance between movement of water and stillness of mountains”.

Photo by Jacob Allen, CC BY-SA 4.0

Fifth place in the landscapes category (15th overall): This fort was once built on a tiny river island in the middle of Milford Haven Waterway to defend a Royal Navy dockyard in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Today, it sits rotting away, open for Jacob Allen to fly a drone overhead and capture the mossy ruins.

Photo by Veloso Patacas, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sixth place in the landscapes category (16th overall): A lake nestled at the top of a volcano may sound like a contradiction in terms, but they do exist. This is the aptly named Lagoa do Fogo, or Lake of Fire, on the island of São Miguel in Portugal. On this photo by Veloso Patacas, one judge said: 

The lighting in this shot is absolutely perfect, casting a soft and warm glow over the entire scene. It creates a wonderful sense of depth and dimension, bringing out the natural beauty of the landscape. The sharpness and clarity of the image are truly exceptional. Every detail, from the distant mountains to the blades of grass in the foreground, is rendered with remarkable precision. The photographer’s technical skill in achieving such sharpness is commendable.

Photo by Refik Demir, CC BY-SA 4.0

Seventh place in the landscapes category (17th overall): With a single glance, this photo will make your teeth chatter. High up in the Kaçkar Mountains of Turkey, a few cabins are the only refuge from the snow and cold of a moonless night. The stars above complete the scene. “Madrigal, highly encyclopedic (documenting community in extreme weather), [and] super interesting effort to get the right shot”, one judge said.

Photo by Cesare Barillà, CC BY-SA 4.0

Eighth place in the landscapes category (18th overall) place: This photo is aptly titled Dichotomy: the difference between the black fire-razed landscape on the left and a lush unaffected area on the right is sharp and unmissable. Cesare Barillà captured the scene in the aftermath of significant forest fires that hit Italy in August 2021.

Photo by Mykhailo Petskovych, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ninth place in the landscapes category (19th overall): This Mykhailo Petskovych photo could quite easily be a painting—but it’s actually found on Mount Shcherban in Ukraine. One contest judge loved its layering and contrasts that emerged from the flowers in the foreground, mountain backdrop, and red sky above.

Photo by Niroj Sedhai, CC BY-SA 4.0

Tenth place in the landscapes category (20th overall): Barley and buckwheat are being grown in this shot from Nepal by Niroj Sedhai. “I can see a harmony between [the] yellow and green field, a village, and grey mountains covered by clouds”, a contest judge said.

Post by Ed Erhart, Communications Specialist, Wikimedia Foundation.

*Please make sure to follow each image’s copyright tag. All of the images above, for instance, are available under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA license, meaning that you are free to share them for any reason so long as you give credit to the photographer and release any derivative images under the same copyright license.

The post Birds, bugs, and beauty: The winners of Wiki Loves Earth 2023 appeared first on Wikimedia Foundation.

A Tale Of Code Review Review

New Wikimedia Code of Conduct

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