Wikimedia CH/Grant apply/Wikiglaciers-Pilot

Infodata

• Name of the project: Wikiglaciers – Visualising Climate Change through Historical Imagery and Open Scientific Data
• Amount requested: CHF 15’000
• Type of grantee: Group
• Name of the contact: Claudio Bozzini
• Contact: claudio.bozzinigmail.com

In case of questions, please write to grantwikimedia.ch.

The problem and the context

What is the problem you're trying to solve?

The effects of climate change on Swiss glaciers are scientifically well documented, but public understanding of these changes remains limited, especially on digital platforms such as Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.

Today we have:

• GLAMOS datasets (1850–2016) describing glacier retreat with scientific precision.
• Historical aerial photographs, such as Eduard Spelterini’s early 20th-century images.
• Contemporary aerial and satellite imagery offering a clear view of the present situation.

However:

• These complementary sources are not yet integrated in a way that allows the public to visually grasp the scale of glacier retreat.
• Wikipedia and Commons pages on Swiss glaciers often lack clear visual explanations, comparative views, interactive elements, and climate-focused infographics.
• Existing Wikimedia content does not fully exploit the potential of open scientific data, making it harder for non-experts to understand long-term climate impacts.

This leads to a gap between scientific knowledge and public awareness — a gap that Wikimedia is uniquely positioned to fill.

What is your solution to this problem?

Example of the project Wikiglacier comparing two 3d models of the same glacier

Example of the project Wikiglacier integrating GLAMOS data

Wikiglaciers proposes a pilot project to create high-quality, accessible visualisations of glacier retreat by combining:

• Historical aerial photography (e.g., Spelterini, 1910)
• Modern aerial and satellite imagery
• Open scientific datasets (GLAMOS)
• Infographics, comparative images, and interactive visual content
• Selective use of 3D models to support visual explanation
• Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia, and Wikidata integration

The goal is not merely to reconstruct 3D models, but to translate scientific evidence into visual materials that everyone can understand.

The project will focus on 3–4 pilot glaciers to test the visualisation workflow and evaluate its impact on Wikimedia content, user understanding, and replicability.

Project goals

Create a new generation of climate-focused visualisations for Wikimedia projects.

• Produce visual materials that explain glacier retreat using:
• historical photographs,
• modern imagery,
• GLAMOS scientific data,
• maps and infographics,
• simplified 3D views (as needed).

Upload 20–30 new visual files to Wikimedia Commons:

• comparisons,
• infographics,
• maps,
• 3D-enhanced visualisations.
• Improve at least 10 Wikipedia articles with clearer climate-change explanations and visual content.
• Enhance Wikidata items with structured climate-related metadata.
• Provide a methodology for visual climate communication using open data and Wikimedia tools.
• Evaluate whether this workflow can support a larger climate-visualisation initiative across more glaciers.

Project impact

How will you know if you have met your goals?

Quantitative indicators

• At least 20–30 media files uploaded to Commons.
• 3–4 pilot glaciers documented with historical ↔ modern comparisons.
• 5–10 infographics or maps created from GLAMOS datasets.
• 5–10 volunteers or researchers participating in at least one workshop.

Qualitative indicators

• Wikipedia readers report clearer understanding of glacier retreat thanks to new visual materials.
• Visualisations successfully convey climate trends to non-experts.
• GLAMOS data becomes more accessible and visible to the public.

The workflow is validated as scalable for future phases.

Do you have any goals or metrics around participation or content?

Content

• High-quality images and infographics illustrating glacier retreat.
• Historical ↔ modern comparisons for selected glaciers.
• Updated Wikipedia pages with clearer climate explanations.
• GLAMOS data integrated into Wikidata for public reuse.

Participation

• Technical workshop engaging Wikimedia volunteers and climate researchers.
• Collaboration with GLAMOS and photogrammetry experts.
• Engagement of Commons photographers, GIS contributors and open-data communities.

Project plan

Activities

Indicated in the budget to be done in 2 or 3 months depending on the availability of the material.

Budget

• Data preparation: 1'000 CHF
  • Selection of 3–4 glaciers.
  • Collection of hystorical photographs.
  • Retrieval of GLAMOS datasets.
  • Selection of modern imagery and terrain data.

• Visualisation production: 8'000 CHF
  • Creation of historical ↔ modern comparison images.
  • Production of infographics explaining retreat trends.
  • Generation of simplified 3D views where needed.
  • Preparation of annotated maps and overlays.

• Wikimedia integration: 0 CHF
  • Upload of visual materials to Commons.
  • Updating Wikipedia articles.
  • Enhancing Wikidata with glacier-related metadata.

• Project management: 6'000 CHF
  • Project coordination, management of collaborators, and partner relations.
  • General administrative expenses related to project activities.
  • Assessment of impact and visual clarity.
  • Proposal for future expansion.

Total = 15’000

Community engagement

• Collaboration with GLAMOS researchers and environmental data experts.
• Involvement of Wikimedia volunteers in content creation and review.
• One workshop to teach visualisation methods and open-data integration.
• All outputs openly documented for reuse.

Wikimedia CH decision

The grant has been approved in 2025. More information is provided in the discussion page. --Ilario (talk) 18:35, 27 February 2026 (UTC)