ESEAP Conference 2024/Report/Hs17127

ESEAP REPORT 2024

Firstly, I would like to thank Wikimedia Foundation for granting me a full sponsorship to attend this conference. This was my first international Wikipedia event, and I honed various skills during my time in Kota Kinabalu. Still fairly new to editing, I was unsure of how this conference would play out but found myself surrounded by different backgrounds and worlds of knowledge. I got to truly see how large of a tool Wikipedia is to many and just how much of an impact it has on learning, resourcing and research. Having only started editing in November 2023, I was interested to see how those around the ESEAP region utilised Wikipedia and whether it was received positively by those around them. I ended the conference feeling encouraged, heard and eager to contribute more through my own work.

What did I learn?

With this being my first time attending an ESEAP conference, I was hoping to learn more about Wikipedia use in schools as well as Copyright laws in other countries. I was successful in answering both queries as I listened to different presenters discuss their experiences and ideas. For example, I enjoyed a great presentation on the Freedom of Panorama. This went into numerous problems Wikipedia has surrounding Copyright laws, which always lead back to the fact that you can only share images unambiguously licensed in order to be compatible with Wikipedia's free-use licenses; legal obstacles when trying to upload photos of public spaces or photographs by the public, local files are not accepted in foreign languages and the issue of uploading photographs of architecture. For the latter, I learned the big cheat most people will use is to black out the sculpture/architecture or rely on the use of shadows. This 'blanks' out the subject. Another huge issue is artworks, as they are protected almost everywhere. Johnny, the presenter, suggested hosting temporary exhibitions as a solution which I believed, while possibly time-consuming, could work. He also highlighted how out of the 197 countries, 111 do not have Freedom of Panorama. Another presentation I was in, highlighting Namuwiki, shared how South Korea does not have Freedom of Panorama due to Article 35 of their Copyright Act. It was immensely difficult for them to appeal this law as there is a lack of education about Copyright; so, the laws are more restrictive. Two benefits of Freedom of Panorama I learnt include economic boost from tourism growth and exposure on Wikipedia for the respective countries and possible improvements towards clearer structure and policies. I also tuned into an excellent presentation on Wikipedia and higher education. Majority of the students in Indonesia use Wikipedia in their classrooms but do not reference it as it is not considered a reliable encyclopaedia; a comment I heard far too often in my own country too. The reputation reveals a negative stigma, and it creates a large gap for misperception. These presenters showcased how they chose to go about improving Wikipedians reputation and this was through; creating clubs in schools to edit and research on Wikipedia, boost the pros of Wikipedia like how it teaches students to read, critically analyse texts, review, edit and improve articles as well as improve digital literacy. For me, coming from a place where Wikipedia is looked down upon, I was in awe of how these teachers had introduced it to their classes and created an entirely new outlook on it.

How did I contribute?

My three colleagues and I contributed by co-presenting our talk; ‘Editing Wikipedia to Understand our past: Enriching Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s local history on Wikipedia’. The four of us showcased our summer internship as Wikimedians at Tāmaki Paenga Hira/Auckland Museum and individually expanded on our research, our journey, our struggles and our highlights. We emphasised our learning curves through photos, maps, lists etc. At the start of my internship, I decided to follow the themes of culture and community because I believed both were lacking on Wikipedia and I could improve it. I discussed my pages on notable New Zealand authors and entrepreneurs as well as my large page on public parks in my hometown. Speaking in front of people is not my forte but I did enjoy expanding on my research process and sharing knowledge about topics I'm keen on!

Post conference

I felt a surge of confidence after lsitening to the many presentations and was inspired to take action in my own town to do my part in improving the reputation of Wikipedia as a source. Some of my plans after the conference included: to spread the word about my experience as an editor through peers and my community, attend future editathons and clinics, keep in touch with the friends I made and try to involve myself more as a volunteer for Wikipedia. I want to emphasise the 'keep in touch' bit as I made some really great friends during the conference, who uplifted me and boosted my confidence but also made me want to continue editing. The ESEAP Conference 2024 was a brilliant experience that inspired in me a thirst for knowledge and I left feeling very fulfilled and grateful. My only suggestion is that the next conference has even more speakers with even finer topics to discuss so I can once again be surrounded by such a vast, multicultural sphere of knowledge.