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Amical Wikimedia/report year 2023

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Annual report
2023
+ reports

Welcome to the Amical Wikimedia 2023 report (from 01-01-2023 to 31-12-2023)

Community

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Community

Internal organization

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The general assembly elected the new Amical Wikimedia board on February 4th. For the first time, the board was gender equal: three men and three women. The general assembly approved the 2023 budget and 2022 financial report in May. Shortly after, two board members resigned, the president and the treasurer. A new board was elected in July, again gender equal. On the other hand, the February elected board dismissed the association's only staff member, who intended to incorporate two people throughout the year, but that didn't happen due to the board's reconfiguration. We just hired one person part-time in December. As a result, Amical Wikimedia did not have staff for almost the whole year. We did rely exclusively on voluntary work. The transition was tough, but we are back on our feet already.

The board had a challenge last year. We have had to overcome many obstacles and headaches. However, we are also learning a lot, which is strengthening us. Thinking positively and seeing how the Wikipedian community can benefit from the initiatives that come out of Amical helps us to continue.

Institutional relationships

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Amical Wikimedia has kept on developing strong links with several institutions. We are thrilled that Amical Wikimedia became part of the Alliance for the Catalan language digital presence, in which several NGOs and administrations have worked together. It aimed to improve the positioning of the Catalan language in internet searchers. We are also patrons of Fundacio. cat. This Foundation is aligned with Amical Wikimedia's founding purpose: to promote all kinds of activities related to creating, managing, and promoting the Catalan language and culture on the Internet and the new information technologies.

Community growth and diversification

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There was a slight growth during the second half of 2023 since it increased from 104 to 108 partners. At the same time, it was decided to deregister associated people who were inactive and did not demonstrate the will to remain in the association. So, we think the community is being renewed.

We are also working to diversify our membership, which still is mostly adult and male. Women come to our events, but we are struggling to retain them. Even though we keep meeting new women, they usually come because of a thematic event. After the event is done, very few keep editing. However, we are reinforcing the link between Wikimedia and the public libraries. Among the librarians, the female percentage is relatively high. One of our future priorities will be strengthening those links.

Members of Amical Wikimedia at the Viquitrobada in El Prat de Llobregat. Photo: Joan Manel


Young editors mainly participate in online events like the Cinema Project, Comic Books, and the Non-binary People Challenge. This last one was led by one of our new young members. We have noticed they tend to avoid offline events, maybe because they do not feel attracted to them. We are thinking of retaking only the young editors' events, even if they are not editathons but gathering events. We have a wiki group for young people, but it has gone dormant lately.

The Viquitrobada (annual gathering for all members) took place on November 25th 25th in El Prat de Llobregat. Around 40 members participated. The Viquitrobada is not only a social gathering; there are discussion forums, proposals, lectures, and presentations. This year, our focus was on promoting women's active participation. We successfully ensured that every presentation had a gender perspective, addressing statistical imbalances (such as the low number of biographies) and content biases. This year's keynote speaker, the Dones tech collective, provided valuable insight into women's roles within the system and network security, furthering our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Education

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Education

Throughout 2023, several education projects were developed by universities and secondary education centers. The universities involved have been among the most important ones in Catalonia: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Universitat Ramon Llull, and Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

GLAM and content

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GLAM and content

We have over 15 projects that run yearly on our Wikipedia, are promoted by different volunteers, and are linked to different GLAM institutions in Catalunya, País Valencià, and Andorra. In early 2023, several workshops were promoted with the Col·legi de Bibliotecaris i Documentalistes de la Comunitat Valenciana (COBDCV, the professional association for librarians in Valencia). Also, on May 23rd, Amical Wikimedia helped organize the International Meeting#GLAM+WIKI+Gènere in Barcelona. On the other hand, Amical was also present in September at the XXth International Council of Museums (ICOM) Conference in València.

Furthermore, there are editathons almost every month focused on various topics. The on-person editathon seems to be getting old, so we always offer hybrid systems. We have more and more people editing from afar who are unable or willing to come to a particular place but are motivated to participate in activities. Also, online challenges are something that we particularly like in our community, so we emphasize those too. This year, we have again been the first Wikipedia version to complete all the 100 BBC Women challenge. Last, we are trying to bear in mind the quality of the articles over the numbers. In this sense, there is a weekly challenge where Wikipedians add references to preexisting articles that run every Sunday.

The Viquimarató de la Llengua Catalana, which reached its tenth edition in 2023, stands as a testament to our collective success. This project, closely aligned with the mission of Amical Wikimedia, is a testament to our shared commitment to preserving and promoting Wikipedia in Catalan. It is a project that unites Amical with a diverse range of stakeholders, including the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Government of Andorra, the Institute of Balearic Studies, the Public Office of the Catalan Language (Catalunya Nord), and the Alghero office of the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to Italy.

Likewise, for years, the Viquimarató de la Llengua Catalana has been proposed as a decentralized activity that takes place over a couple of days in different populations and formats. In 2023, there were in-person activities in El Prat de Llobregat, Girona, Tarragona, and Reus (in Catalonia), in Palma (Balearic Islands), in Benavarri (Aragon), and Andorra. And outside the Catalan-speaking territories of Paris, Lisbon, and Porto. This makes it possible to multiply the participation and the diversity of these participants representing the different territories. It is a way for Amical to become present in these same territories. The Viquimarató de la Llengua Catalana is one of the activities done in more cities and moves more people from all over the wiki environment, also internationally. This year, more than 120 participants (online and in-person) participated.

Another successful project in recent years and this 2023 is the one regarding the 10,000 articles considered essential in any Wikipedia. Amical has managed to mobilize a significant group of highly motivated volunteers who work hard to improve the quality index of Wikipedia in Catalan and its position in the international ranking. Thus, between January 2023 and January 2024, the score went from 77.08 to 84.08, and a position advanced, positioning itself as number 8 worldwide.

Active projects

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Marathons and editing contests

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Communication and discourse

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Communication and discourse

Amical Wikimedia continued its communication efforts through different media during 2023. However, the association's lack of staff during this period diminished its capacities in this field. Still, the weekly newsletter to members was active during February and March, and fifteen new entries were published in the association blog. Amical also maintained its presence through social networks and traditional media (newspapers, etc.), mainly thanks to its participation in the Alliance for the Catalan language digital presence. In October, the group of Wikipedians from Hospitalet de Llobregat started a new podcast called Viquibarrina, from which five programs were released til the end of 2023.

Blog entries:

Financial report

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Financial Report
REVENUE
CONCEPTE EUR.
WF Grant 56.000
Membership fees 1.111
Excess provisions 7.696,54
TOTAL 64.807,54
EXPENSES
CONCEPTE EUR
Help to other entities 1.050
Provisioning 71,45
Staff 10.561,08
External services 22.578,81
Amortization of fixed assets 49,80
TOTAL 34.311,14

FINAL OUTCOME: 30.496,4