Grants:Project/Rapid/Marta Malina Moraczewska/Creators and Wikipedia
gmail.com
Project Goal[edit]
Briefly explain what are you trying to accomplish with this project, or what do you expect will change as a result of this grant. Example goals include, "recruit new editors", "add high quality content", or "train existing editors on a specific skill".
- Add needed content
- Add high-quality training materials
- Recruit and train new editors
- Create a new network of contributors - outreach to high-potential groups of Wikimedia contributors
Context[edit]
- In Poland (and some other CEE countries), although a growing number of cultural/GLAM institutions are sharing culture and research via Wikimedia Commons, the general public knowledge about the basics of Wikipedia, Commons, licenses, permissions, reuse – is still quite low. Digital competences are not an element of the educational program at any - primary, secondary or university level.
- Often aided by Wikipedians in Residence, GLAM institutions do contribute to Wikimedia projects, but the resources they release could be used much more widely both inside and outside of Wikipedia, if academic communities, creators, activists, were more aware of how to use them (and how to contribute their own work). This in turn would allow for more cross-sector cooperation (for example, between GLAM and academic communities) and for grassroots action taken by small centres and organisations.
- Even though training resources exist, they are dispersed across many Wiki pages. Meanwhile a concise "instruction and inspiration" manual-booklet can easily be distributed online. Groups that would greatly benefit from such focused, activity-themed information are: 1) creators (artists, photographers, filmmakers, other creators, art and culture experts); 2) activists and NGO; 3) academic teachers and researchers.
- I would like to create a Wiki-manual specifically targeted at the first group: creators – concisely and engagingly presenting how they can contribute and engage with Wikipedia. The final result would be available as a PDF file + editable files uploaded to Wikimedia Commons on a CC BY-SA license, and on-wiki (as a Wiki page) – in 3 languages: Polish, English and Ukrainian.
- While writing and editing this manual, at the same time I will work online with a group of 20 people representing creative communities in monthly workshops which will include: consultation, specific Wiki skills training, practical work on editing and uploading, and networking (linking people to projects).
The main outcomes:[edit]
- Create and disseminate the manual "Creators and Wikipedia" that could be used in many future outreach and training activities;
- Create a network of new editors and contributors (via a series of 6 online workshops)
- Add high quality, needed content (via a targeted upload campaign)
Project Plan[edit]
Activities[edit]
Tell us how you'll carry out your project. What will you and other organizers spend your time doing?
Activity 1: Monthly Wiki workshops with creators[edit]
Each month, a workshop will be held online (in order to allow participants from different locations, and in this way help build a network of interest and competence across different cities). There will be a total of 6 workshops. The topic scope can be found below, in the section "structure and contents". Number of participants: 20-30. Each workshop will consist of:
- Presentation, related to the "theme of the month" - corresponding to one of the 5 main topics of the manual (see below). Presentations will then be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons.
- Practical training, related to the "theme of the month"
- Discussion and invited guest presentation
- 'Homework' assigned to participants
The discussion portion of the workshops is necessary to identify the needs, obstacles, and specific issues (example: formats of video suited to Wikimedia Commons; street photography and personality rights; etc.) Discussion will provide additional feedback and ensure the manual is suited to its target group.
After initial training, participants of workshops will take part in a targeted upload and illustration effort, aimed at filling specific gaps, including: missing portrait images of 20th and 21st century, artworks, public art, documentary photography, and themed illustration material for existing and active (Wikimedia and community-led) campaigns - for example, Women in Red, Wiki loves Folklore, Wiki Human Rights, Saving Ukrainian Heritage, SDG knowledge and others, according to the participants' interests and field of expertise.
In the final stage of the project, workshop participants will promote the upload campaign in their professional networks and communities.
How participants will be recruited[edit]
Several creative professionals are already interested in participation (professional photographers, active professional artists, members of an active women's art group, and a teacher at the Academy of Art in Łódź). The rest of the group will be invited by:
- Sending an email describing the project to a few arts universities and a few museums (listed below), informing that I will be running a free, short series of workshops, training basic Wikipedia skills, tailored to creative/visual arts professionals (as described above here), and inviting interested people.
- Forwarding the invitation to Wikimedia organizers from Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Eva Vele expressed her interest in helping with this project (see Endorsements) so hopefully some participants from Czech Republic may join; I will also invite Kamila Neuman from Wikimedia Poland, and Patrik Kunec from Slovakia to suggest participants.
List of institutions where I'd like to send an invitation for interested participants:
- The Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź,
- The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków,
- The Łódź Film School,
- The Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts Poznan,
- The Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw,
- The Museum of Art in Łódź,
- Department of Modern Art of the Polish National Museum in Gdańsk,
- Center of Polish Sculpture,
- Art and Documentation Association,
- Centrum Cyfrowe.
Note: Centrum Cyfrowe above is a Polish NGO and a major promoter of open culture, with a mission largely aligned to that of Wikimedia. They also run competence building programs aimed at the visual arts community, so are naturally likely to know of, and suggest, interested participants.
Activity 2: The 'Creators and Wikipedia' manual[edit]
The manual, in its primary form, will be an illustrated PDF, consisting of five main sections-chapters. Each section will correspond to the "theme of the month" of the group workshops. Each of the five sections will cover Wikipedia and Commons skills and know-how, as well as practical examples.
Structure and contents[edit]
The main themes will be, in short:
- 1. Creators and... Wikipedia
- The rules of Wikipedia, five pillars, notability, reliable sources
- Problems to avoid (self-promotion, unreliable sources, lack of proportion);
- Articles needing expansion/illustration (20th, 21st century, lists of missing articles, thematic Wikiprojects)
- Communication and conflict resolution
- 2. Creators and... Wikimedia Commons
- Basic licensing of non-PD works
- Friendly instructions and explanation of the VTRS system
- Images needed - 20th, 21st century, portraits for biograms, ephemeral art, documentation of activism, performative art, folklore and regions.
- How to properly caption derivative works
- Freedom of panorama
- Best practices (for example: 'choose fewer, higher-quality images suited to Wikipedia')
- 3. Contribute and Reuse
- 4. Get involved
- Help out! Get involved with Art and Feminism, Women in Red, Wiki loves SDG, Wikipedia and Human Rights, Documenting Ukraine's Cultural Heritage online, Wiki loves Folklore (information and links)
- Local and regional initiatives - document your region, help document intangible heritage
- Creators and GLAM Wiki
- 5. Your contribution matters
- The role of equal access to reliable information
- Images and media an important part of global communication
- Goals of the Wikimedia community.
Each section will be prepared so that it can function on its own, and can be used/downloaded separately. Each of the five topics will be described in a practical, concise but friendly way, with links, helpful further information and practical examples. Short quotes from creative people who contributed to Wikipedia in the past, and selected comments by workshop participants, will also be included. Any contributors will of course be credited as co-authors.
Volume and specifications[edit]
- The length of text for each of the main sections will be kept between 5 and 10 pages (1 page of text=1800 characters with spaces).
- Total text will be kept between 28 and 40 pages.
- The manual will be illustrated by images from Wikimedia Commons (including new images uploaded by participants)
- The PDF version will have a professional graphic composition (DTP) with files enabling easy modifications/translation to other languages
- All content will be available on a CC BY-SA 4.0 license
- Languages and localization: 3 versions - Polish, English, Ukrainian.
- Note: The English version will allow more users to benefit from the material, and enable translations of selected chapters. As a certified and experienced translator, I am able to produce a high-standard English translation myself. The Ukrainian translation will be done by a professional translator (who will also receive Wiki training) - this language is chosen because this language version might be especially needed in upcoming documentation efforts.
How will you let others in your community know about your project (please provide links to where relevant communities have been notified of your proposal, and to any other relevant community discussions)? Why are you targeting a specific audience?
Promotion and dissemination[edit]
If the project is approved, it would be good to disseminate its main result - the tutorial - and inform future users that this new resource is available in Wikimedia Commons (and open for future modifications / localization). I would like to do this in three ways:
1) Within the Wiki infrastructure and community, to post information in places such as:
- Wikimedia Commons wiki,
- GLAM Wiki mailing list and social media,
- Polish, English, Czech, Ukrainian Wikipedia noticeboard,
- Perhaps other appropriate Wikipedia lists/channels.
2) By informing institutions / organizations who might benefit:
- Art universities mentioned in the "Activities" section above,
- Museums mentioned in the "Activities" section above,
- Organizations that support open knowledge: Centrum Cyfrowe, Creative Commons Poland
- Cultural publications: Culture.pl, Obieg, Dwutygodnik, Magazyn Szum
3) Hopefully also the participants will also promote the results of the project in their communities.
- Art collectives and organizations: Art and Documentation Association, Fraction art collective
- Full list can be provided at request.
Note: This project is not aiming to open or establish any GLAM partnership. It is a training program for individuals who can bring substantial value to Wikimedia projects, and help create a practical textbook that can be used by more people in the future.
Why addressing the creative community matters[edit]
I believe the project can help solve some persistent problems, i.e.:
- Explaining VTRS permissions to people and institutions who wish to contribute their work (or work to which they own copyright) - this is usually a difficult point in GLAM or when encouraging individuals/copyright owners to share valuable media on a Wiki-compatible license. It would help to have a basic 3- or 4 page explainer at the ready.
- Helping acquire needed images of 20th and 21st century iconography, through an upload campaign
- Lowering entry barriers for copyright owners and artists
Additional opportunities:[edit]
- Encouraging creative reuse of existing GLAM content
- Encouraging cooperation between different communities.
- This community can greatly help with existing initiatives in Wikipedia (gender gap, missing images, projects such as Wikipedia for Human Rights, SDGs, Folklore and Documenting Ukraine's Cultural Heritage).
Project team[edit]
- Coordination, workshop lead, writing and editing - Marta Malina Moraczewska
- 4 invited guest contributors (writing: short sections of manual, quotes, comments): 2 from Wikimedia and 2 from outside Wiki community
- 2 reviewers (1 Wikimedian, 1 non-Wikimedian)
- 6+ invited workshop guest speakers (Polish and international artists who contributed to Wikimedia in the past, Wikimedians), including at least 3 from other CEE countries
- 20 workshop participants
- 1 graphic designer / DTP professional
- 1 translator into Ukrainian
Additionally, active Wikimedians from the CEE region will be invited to take part in the targeted upload campaign.
What will you have done at the end of your project? How will you follow-up with people that are involved with your project?
Expected results[edit]
- At least 20 participants taken through an in-depth training
- 1 Wikiproject containing the upload campaign, and the English manual wiki page
- At least 400 high quality images/multimedia uploaded by end of 2022
- At least 150 articles illustrated with the media uploaded
- "Creators and Wikipedia" manual PDF, uploaded to Wikimedia Commons in 3 languages
- "Creators and Wikipedia" manual promoted in min. 10 art schools and 10 museums (in Poland and neighboring countries)
Follow-up[edit]
- The participants will be motivated to continue the targeted upload and illustration campaign in 2023, after the project is completed (using the completed PDF manual in their local communities). Files uploaded and edits made will be tracked using Outreach Dashboard and a dedicated category in Wikimedia Commons.
- The project has potential to generate new GLAM/WiR-type cooperations in the future - if and when Wikimedia organizers would like to work with some 'graduates' of the project.
Are you running any in-person events or activities? If so, you will need to complete the steps outlined on the Risk Assessment protocol related to COVID-19. When you have completed these steps, please provide a link to your completed copy of the risk assessment tool below:
- No in-person events are planned for the duration of the project.
Impact[edit]
How will you know if the project is successful and you've met your goals? Please include the following targets and feel free to add more specific to your project:
- Number of total participants: 36-40 direct participants + invited community (upload campaign, invited art schools)
- Number of articles created or improved (if applicable) 30+ (writing articles is not a primary goal, but each workshop participant will edit at least one article as part of in-depth training)
- Number of photos uploaded to Wikimedia Commons (if applicable) 400+
- Number of photos used on Wikimedia projects (if applicable) 150+
- Number of contacted art schools, museums and organizations (at the promotion and dissemination stage): 20
- Manual PDF published in Wikimedia Commons + min. 30 blog/website/social media posts by end of 2022
Resources[edit]
What resources do you have? Include information on who is the organizing the project, what they will do, and if you will receive support from anywhere else (in-kind donations or additional funding).
My experience[edit]
I have experience both as an editor of a resource like this, and as a coordinator of long-term group Wiki projects. As regards preparing a manual, in 2020 I prepared a similar tutorial aimed at school teachers "School Navigator" (teachers' manual about digital resources online, open education, OER, and educational projects with Wikipedia). The School Navigator is available online in the form of a website and downloadable text files. I was also the author of the website and graphic design on this. The Navigator won a grant from the Polish Ministry of Culture in 2020. Earlier I was the editor of the "Open Cultural Projects" brochure, which drew interest in Wikimedia from a number of Polish GLAM institutions. I also write in English and have a translation diploma - here's my recent article on the Creative Commons blog.
I worked on a number of long-term projects with a dedicated group, most recently coordinating the Digital Heritage project run by the Auschwitz Jewish Center. Earlier in 2014-2019 I was the GLAM coordinator at Wikimedia Polska, established and coordinated projects including the Carpathian Ethnography Project, National Library of Poland, Museum of Łódź digitisation, and others. (My user page in PL, EN)
Workshop participation[edit]
I received preliminary confirmation of interest in participation from creative professionals representing, among others: the Academy of Art in Łódź, the Museum of Art in Łódź, the Jan Matejko Academy of Art in Kraków, the Fraction group. If the project is confirmed, my intention is to also invite participants from other CEE countries.
What resources do you need? For your funding request, list bullet points for each expense:
- Coordination, translation, writing and editing work:
- 6 months of part-time (2 weeks per month) work at 2400 PLN (equivalent to 3 full-time months of work at 4800 PLN per month = total 14400 PLN
- Professional graphic design and DTP (by a professional graphic design artist): 2500 PLN
- Translation of the manual into Ukrainian (by a professional translator): 2000 PLN
- Posters for art schools and museums: 600 PLN
- Promotional prints, handouts and postcards for participants: 400 PLN
Total: 19 900 PLN = 4,577.4 USD
Endorsements[edit]
- *
Strong support I took part in Marta's project for writing articles connected with the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oświęcim. As a leader of the project, Marta offered a great deal of support and was an immense source of technical information therefore I strongly believe that Marta is the right person to teach new editors of Wikipedia (by the means of the Wiki-manual) how to add new content in a right and clear way. Kam691 (talk) 14:29, 16 March 2022 (UTC) - * Strong support Marta is the implementer of the most important GLAM projects in Polish Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons such as National Library in Warsaw, Collection of the Museum of the City of Lodz, or Collection of the National Museum in Warsaw. I am familiar with her vast organizational experience, knowledge of the arts, and ability to connect with cultural institution partners. She combines these qualities brilliantly with her Wikipedia editing skills. I am pleased that Marta is willing to contribute her dedication and expertise to Wikipedia again in this project. CelStrzel (talk) 18:20, 16 March 2022 (UTC)
- * Strong support Interesting project. In fact as far as I know we still have no any comprehensive tutorial for contemporary artists, who are quite often disappointed after their first attempts to contribute their own works and bios due to problems with understanding our rules regarding copyright, VER and NPOV. Before Marta was working as GLAM coordinator in Poland, she gathered experience in GLAM organizations, as she was professional curator in Poland and UK. I was working with Marta when she was Wikimedia Polska GLAM coordinator and I believe she is right person to link Wikimedia world with contemporary artists world. Polimerek (talk) 18:48, 16 March 2022 (UTC)
- Strong support This is a very interesting target group and I fully endorse Marta's proposal. I am looking forward to results which can be replicated elsewhere - Marta, please keep the Czech GLAM people updated on your outcomes and learnings :) Vojtěch Dostál (talk) 22:13, 17 March 2022 (UTC)
- Strong support The project looks valuable and necessary. Wikipedia always needs new editors and improving their competences. Marta has experience working in these topics. Looking forward to see the results of these planned activities. TR (talk) 12:16, 21 March 2022 (UTC)
- Strong support As an art historian and manager of the Czech GLAM project, I know how important it is to keep Wikipedia (and all Wikimedia projects) up-to-date on culture, cultural institutions and contemporary artists, not only for research and schools, but for the general public. A manual that would give contemporary artists, art groups and non-profit organizations of contemporary art galleries an easy guide on how to report on contemporary art and share their work through Wikimedia projects is, in my opinion, very necessary and beneficial. That is why I fully support Marta's project and look forward to working with her. Eva Vele (talk) 13:25, 21 March 2022 (UTC)
Support Figuring out the "best practices" of uploading images to Wikimedia Commons was difficult when I first became a Wikipedian-in-residence. I would love to be able to refer creators to a user-friendly guide when talking with them about how to upload their works. Rachel Helps (BYU) (talk) 20:48, 21 March 2022 (UTC)- Support The project seems very ambitious and well designed, addressing one of the most critical issues that frequently comes up when writing about arts and culture, which happens to be my main area of interest. From my perspective, as a Wikipedia contributor, activist, art scholar and a member of the Caryatid Collective [[1]], it is very important to have access to reliable educational opportunities and resources, that focus on multimedia (especially images) and the legal requirements for Commons. Having both English and Ukrainian translations seems to be a great idea. I'd also be very happy if the prospective women and senior Commons users were more involved as the target group of the project. I'm very looking forward to reading the manual! Zoedyta (talk) 08:42, 24 March 2022 (UTC)
- * Strong support The idea of working with creators has the potential to be successful as there are so many ways to be creative and it is a growing group in all societies. 18:28, 24 March 2022 (UTC)VisbyStar (talk)
