The previous 12 months has seen all of us challenged like never before. Collectively and
individually we have faced new ways of living and changes to how we work and volunteer.
As a staff and Trustee team we are sending our appreciation and thanks to each one of you for your dedication, commitment, passion and belief that time volunteered on open knowledge is time well spent.
By George Colbourn, Fundraising Development Coordinator at Wikimedia UK
This year, Wikimedia UK is taking part in ‘Small Charity Week’, an annual event to celebrate the contributions made by the small charity sector to individuals, communities and causes across the country. From the 14th-19th of June 2021, we will be joining other charities with a revenue of less than £1 million to highlight the importance of our work and the impact it has on our beneficiaries.
The small charity sector comprises thousands of organisations across the country that, despite restricted funding, provide crucial support, services, campaigns and events. Through the extensive efforts of our volunteers and partner organisations, as well as the vital support of our donors, Wikimedia UK is able to work on projects that increase knowledge equity around the world, develop digital literacy and contribute to the development and improvement of Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. Small Charity Week provides us with a great opportunity to showcase this work and the efforts of the wider Wikimedia community.
Throughout the week, we will be taking part in a number of activities to highlight our achievements and impact, with each day having a specific focus of our work.
There are numerous ways to get involved in Small Charities Week, whether you’re a volunteer, member or new to Wikimedia UK. Follow our facebook, twitter and instagram channels to keep updated about our activities over the course of the week and how you can be a part of it. A full schedule of Small Charity Week can be found here.
Please also use these hashtags to keep up to date with our campaign involvement: #SmallButVital, #SmallCharityWeek, @WikimediaUK
New research identifies a strong fixation on the Western canon in Wikipedia’s coverage of visual arts, but offers ways towards a more truly global perspective.
If you were asked to name artworks or artists, how many would be non-Western? You might visit the free encyclopedia Wikipedia to support your search; after all 1.7 billion visitors per month do just this. However, new research highlights that even with Wikipedia’s approach – ensuring anyone can edit and add content – there is still a bias towards Western artworks and artists.
Artist and scholar Waqas Ahmed and veteran Wikipedian Dr. Martin Poulter were well-placed to investigate Wikipedia’s perspective on the visual arts. For example, they observed with the English language version of Wikipedia, “its ‘List of sculptors’ is 99% Western, ‘List of painters by nationality’ is around 75% European and its ‘List of contemporary visual artists’ is 80% European”. They probed whether this was just a problem with those articles, or just with the English language Wikipedia. “There appears to be a systemic cultural bias against non-Western visual art and artists across all Wikipedia platforms and in various languages”, Ahmed says. “We hope that this research will remind people that the Western artistic canon is but one of many worldwide – each deserving respect and appreciation on its own terms.”
With a commitment to identifying and overcoming barriers to diversity online, Wikimedia UK, the national charity for the Wikimedia open knowledge movement, funded the research. Director of Programmes and Evaluation Daria Cybulska says “The vision of the Wikimedia movement has always been ‘a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.’ In recent years, we began more critically examining what that means, and what are the repercussions of existing biases and gaps in content on Wikipedia. Some biases on Wikipedia are better known than others – and this research shines a new light on cultural biases, and what can be done about them.”
The researchers measured the coverage of visual arts across the hundreds of different language versions of Wikipedia. They compared 100 artists from the Western canon to 100 significant artists from other cultures. Poulter pointed out that “Even equal coverage of the Western artists and the artists from all of the rest of the world would still be a pro-Western bias, because Europe is just one sixth of the world.” The research found that on average Wikipedia coverage was seven times greater for artists in the Western canon than for their non-Western counterparts.
One example compared the coverage of The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque) in Istanbul. Both places of worship receive approximately 5 million visitors each per year, and have enormous cultural and artistic importance. Whilst both Michelangelo and Syed Kasim Gubari are considered geniuses within their respective cultures, Michelangelo’s Wikipedia articles total over 440 times greater length than Gubari and the Blue Mosque Ceiling does not have a single entry across the Wikimedia projects.
Past research has identified geographical biases and a gender gap on Wikipedia, where a small (but growing) minority of biographies are about women. This new research demonstrates and measures a specifically cultural bias. Ahmed and Poulter suggest we can all play our part through extending the coverage of art and artists outside the Western canon. For individual wiki contributors, this can involve creating, translating, or extending articles. Cultural institutions can help by sharing their knowledge and images.
As the research states “societal biases have a long and well-documented history, rooted in systems of hegemony and oppression like imperialism.” These biases inevitably shape narratives online and are reinforced through echo chambers. The first step to creating an online world which truly reflects global cultures and histories is the awareness that we are far from there – yet.
The research paper is currently undergoing peer review but can be freely accessed as a pre-print through preprints.org.
Upload your photographs during June to be in with a chance of winning country and
international prizes.
This year Wales is taking part in the international photography competition ‘Wiki Loves Earth’ organised by the Wikimedia movement. Founded 9 years ago as a focus for nature heritage, the competition aims to raise awareness of protected sites globally.
Robin Owain who leads the Wikimedia UK projects across Wales said “Today we’re excited to be launching Wiki Loves Earth 2021 in Wales. This is one of the largest photography competitions in the world focusing on National Parks, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Sites of Outstanding Natural Beauty and all other protected areas. Robin explained “The biodiversity and geology of Wales is unique, and this competition allows Welsh photographers to show the beauty of their landscape, the flora and fauna of their protected areas on a world stage.”
Organizations who will be supporting this exciting competition include Natural Resources Wales, Pembrokeshire and Snowdonia National Park, the Welsh Mountaineering Club, Edward Llwyd nature society, National Library of Wales, Wikimedia UK, WiciMon and others.
Jason Evans, National Wikimedian at the National Library said, “”The National Library of Wales is thrilled to support this competition, which will encourage people to explore and document Wales’ diverse wildlife and landscapes. This aligns with our commitment to community engagement and will complement our current Welsh Government funded project to support the improvement of Welsh language data and mapping services.”
This year, the international winning photos will represent two categories — landscapes, including individual trees if it has a preservation order, and macro or close-ups of animals, plants, fungi etc. Examples of past winners can be seen at #WikiLovesEarth. For instructions on how to upload, Google ‘Wiki Loves Earth 2021 in Wales’, or follow this link.
Any photographs taken in the past (even on a phone) can be uploaded during June, with prizes at both country and national level for the winners. Robin added “The competition is open to everyone. We ask our friends, volunteers and staff to put Wales on the international map by entering their photographs of our beautiful and diverse country.”
Read more about Wiki Loves Earth 2021 in Wales here on Wikimedia Commons.
More on Wiki Loves Earth can be found here.
Mae Cymru’n cymryd rhan eleni yn y gystadleuaeth ffotograffeg ‘Wiki Loves Earth’ (Wici’r
Holl Fyd yw’r enw Cymraeg) a drefnir gan y mudiad rhyngwladol Wikimedia, mam Wicipedia!
Ymhlith y sefydliadau eraill fydd yn cefnogi’r gystadleuaeth y mae Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru, Parciau Cenedlaethol Eryri a Phenfro, Clwb Mynydda Cymru, Cymdeithas Edward Llwyd, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru, Wikimedia UK, WiciMon ac eraill.
Yn ôl Robin Owain sy’n arwain gwaith Wikimedia UK yng Nghymru, “Mae heddiw’n ddiwrnod cyffrous iawn, gan ein bod ni’n lansio Wici’r Holl Ddaear 2021 yng Nghymru. Dyma un o’r cystadlaethau ffotograffiaeth mwyaf yn y byd sy’n canolbwyntio ar Barciau Cenedlaethol, Safleoedd o Ddiddordeb Gwyddonol Arbennig, Safleoedd o Harddwch Naturiol Eithriadol ac ardaledd warchodedig eraill.” Esboniodd Robin “Mae bioamrywiaeth a daeareg Cymru’n unigryw, ac mae’r gystadleuaeth hon yn caniatáu i ffotograffwyr o Gymru gofnodi ac arddangos ei harddwch: y tirwedd a’r golygfeydd, a chyfoeth yr amrywiaeth bywyd sydd yma: anifeiliaid, ffwng a phlanhigion.”
Ymhlith y sefydliadau eraill fydd yn cefnogi’r gystadleuaeth y mae Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru, Parciau Cenedlaethol Penfro ac Eryri, Clwb Mynydda Cymru, Cymdeithas Edward Llwyd, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru, WiciMon a Wikimedia UK.
Dywedodd Jason Evans, Wicimediwr Cenedlaethol Cymru, “Mae’n bleser gan Lyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru gael cefnogi’r gystadleuaeth hon, a fydd yn annog pobl i archwilio a dogfennu bywyd gwyllt a thirweddau amrywiol Cymru. Mae hyn yn cyd-fynd â’n hymrwymiad ni i ymgysylltu â’r gymuned a, bydd yn ategu ein prosiect presennol, a ariennir gan Lywodraeth Cymru, i gefnogi gwella data a gwasanaethau mapio yn y Gymraeg.”
I gael hyd i’r cyfarwyddiadau sut i uwchlwytho, a rhagor am ymgais Cymru, Gwglwch Wici’r Holl Ddaear 2021 Cymru, neu dilynnwch y ddolen: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Earth_2021_in_Wales
Gallwch uwwchlwytho lluniau rydych wedi eu cymryd unrhyw bryd yn y gorffennol, neu fynd ati o hyn tan ddiwedd Mehefin, ac yn ôl Robin, “Gall unrhyw beson gystadlu, gan ddefnyddio camera eu ffôn neu gamera pwrpasol! Be sy’n bwysig ydy ein bod yn cystadlu, fel cenedl ar lefel rhyngwladol!”
Dolen i wefan Cymru: yma ar Comin Wicimedia
By George Colbourn, Fundraising Development Coordinator at Wikimedia UK
The accelerating use of digital technology means that it now plays a major role in most aspects of our lives. For many of us it is vital to be able to learn, work and communicate in these online environments, making digital literacy a key aspect of education in the 21st century. Yet acquiring these digital skills isn’t just important for our personal and professional lives; a digitally literate society has now become a necessity in preserving one of our most fundamental human rights. This article addresses why freedom of information has taken on a new context in the digital age, and the efforts Wikimedia UK are making to ensure the safe and responsible democratization of knowledge.
A few years ago, I was working for an American charity that provided support and refuge for North Korean refugees. It was here that I attended an event hosted by Yeon-Mi Park, a young North Korean who had fled her home country and been granted citizenship in the United States. Since then she has become a best selling author, documenting her life in North Korea and her perilous escape. Listening to her account was eye-opening; the lack of nutrition and health care that her family endured, and the brutal repression forced on her community seemed almost too dystopian to comprehend.
One particular aspect of her account that stuck in my mind was her realization of the world around her once she had found freedom. Her newfound ability to embrace previously unknown cultures and philosophies, to argue and to voice opinions were so new to her, and it was this aspect of her tale that had the most lasting impression on me. Stories like Yeon-Mi’s reaffirmed to me the importance of access to unbiased information, for human beings to feed their natural curiosity and for the overall development of societies.
The concept of ‘freedom of information’ is vast in scope, an extension of the right to free expression and free speech, amongst others. Such liberties are largely taken for granted in free democracies. For those living in countries like the UK, the suppression of political opposition and curtailed press freedom seems reserved for those living within autocratic, oppressive regimes, similar to those experienced by Yeon-Mi.
While the protection of this fundamental right in the UK is grounded in democratic ideals and international declarations, easily accessed online misinformation now poses a unique predicament to current understandings of credible, unbiased content. The rapid emergence of digital mediums has led to an unprecedented democratization of knowledge, which has altered not just who can access information, but who can produce and distribute it.
Fundamentally, this enables a greater capacity for individual expression and knowledge acquisition, key indicators of development. Yet its shortcomings arise in the form of misinformation that spreads erroneous content, as well as disinformation, which intends to deceive its recipients for political or monetary gain. False information such as this enables the politics of inequality and division that are emerging in the Global North. In order to defend ourselves from such a threat, it is vital that societies become more resilient to the spread of false information and aware of its ramifications.
The Wikimedia community can play a key role in advocating and promoting the need for responsible, credible knowledge sharing. At Wikimedia UK, we have been taking measures to prevent this threat to democracy, by launching programmes focused on digital, political and media literacy. Our intention is to provide our beneficiaries with the tools needed to become resilient to fake news and manipulative content, as well as also becoming contributors of high quality, reliable online content in their own right. In addition, through our work with cultural and academic institutions across the country, we are increasing both the amount and quality of our content, meaning that all users can benefit from the discoveries and teachings of academics across a variety of disciplines.
This work takes place across the country. Last year for example, we partnered with Menter Môn and the National Library of Wales to launch information literacy projects across the Isle of Anglesey as part of the new Wikimedia module on the Welsh Baccalaureate, and are now working in schools across the area. The WikiMôn project was presented with Mentrau Iaith Cymru’s technology award in January 2020 in recognition of its impact.
Our projects and programmes that aim to increase digital literacy amongst communities can have a wider impact on society as a whole; a population equipped with skills needed to identify misinformation and fake news will be better prepared to act safely and responsibly in online environments. As a result, the internet can become a tool that re-enforces freedom of information in the 21st century, rather than acting as a threat to it.
The emergence of the internet has had drastic impacts on how we communicate across the world, and this includes the spread of ideas and factual information. Over the coming years, it is vital that we come to acknowledge the impact this can have on truth and fact, and how we prepare future generations to utilise the internet and open knowledge in the most responsible and effective way. For Wikimedia UK, this is one of our highest priorities.
This year’s WikiForHumanRights campaign centres around “Right to a Healthy Environment” — connecting the 20th Birthday “Human” theme with the global conversations about COVID-19, environmental crisis, like climate change, and human rights. The content-writing challenge with prizes runs from April 15th – May 15th. Learn more about the challenge and sign up for the challenge here. There is also a draft list of articles to be created or enriched with UN Human Rights.
By Richard Nevell, Project Coordinator at Wikimedia UK
Wikipedia is a magnificent tool for sharing knowledge with an enormous reach. Its pages are read 20 billion times every month. But like the world around us, it reflects some long-standing inequalities. At Wikimedia UK one of our strategic priorities is to increase the engagement and representation of marginalised people and subjects. We want to challenge these inequalities and help redress them by sharing information.
Universities and museums – keystones of education and heritage communication – are currently working out how to decolonise their curriculum and their collections. Doing so widens the variety of voices in interpreting and understanding our heritage. Within the context of higher education, courses often focus on the work of white, western people. Decolonisation aims to bring more diverse research into the curriculum.
Finding the best path to decolonisation can be tricky. Removing a subject from a curriculum, or a group of authors from a reading list, does not address the underlying structural inequalities which mean that reading lists tend to be predominantly white. Widening the range of sources used and exploring how the colonial past influences how particular subjects are approached and researched today is important.
Wikipedia itself needs to be decolonised. It began as an English language project, and while it is available in more than 300 languages English is still by far the largest. The dominance of English and a small group of languages risks eroding smaller languages. For people who speak more than one language, they tend to gravitate to where there is more content – even if it is in a language they are less fluent in. While language is an issue, it is one factor that Wikipedia needs to address and it extends to the content of our pages. The Wikipedia article about historians has images of eight people – all of whom are male and European.
Wikimedia UK is taking active steps to combat this. We run events improving Wikipedia’s coverage of under-represented subjects; we support residencies such as those at Coventry University and the Khalili Collections; and we run an annual conference supporting small language communities, the Celtic Knot. The conference has showcased the work of Welsh, Cornish, Irish, and Suomi communities amongst others and helped foster their work.
Coventry University has a programme of activity which aims to decolonise the curriculum, and our Wikimedian in Residence there, Andy Mabbett, is helping lecturers use Wikipedia as a way students can make information about a wide range of topics more accessible. The Khalili Collections comprise 35,000 items, including collections about Islamic art and Japanese culture. The Resident, Martin Poulter, has been sharing information about the collections through Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikimedia Commons, bringing them to a new audience. The images are already seen by a million people a month through Wikimedia.
We are working with organisations such the London College of Communications who have established a Decolonising Wikipedia Network. In the process of learning about Wikipedia and how it works, the students have an opportunity to redress some of the imbalances within Wikipedia. Many of our events try to highlight marginalised communities and figures who have otherwise been overlooked by Wikipedia; it is an ongoing process, often culturally sensitive and one which will take years.
By Lucy Hinnie, Wikimedian in Residence at the British Library, on Twitter at BL_Wikimedian
Hello, I’m Dr Lucy Hinnie and I’ve just joined the Digital Scholarship team at the British Library as the new Wikimedian-in-Residence, in conjunction with Wikimedia UK and the Eccles Centre. My role is to work with the Library to develop and support colleagues with projects using Wikidata, Wikibase and Wikisource.
I am delighted to be working alongside Wikimedia UK in this new role. Advocacy for both the development of open knowledge and the need for structural change has never been more pressing, and the opportunity to work with Wikimedia and the British Library to deliver meaningful change is immeasurably exciting.
Bringing underrepresented people and marginalised communities to the fore is a huge part of this remit, and I am looking to be as innovative in our partnerships as we can be, with a view to furthering the movement towards decolonisation. I’m going to be working with curators and members of staff throughout the Library to identify and progress opportunities to accelerate this work.
I have recently returned from a two-year stay in Canada, where I lived and worked on Treaty Six territory and the homeland of the Métis. Working and living in Saskatchewan was a hugely formative experience for me, and highlighted the absolute necessity of forward-thinking, reconciliatory work in decolonisation.
2020 was my year of immersion in Wikimedia – I participated in a number of events, including outreach work by Dr Erin O’Neil at the University of Alberta, Women in Red edit-a-thons with Ewan McAndrew at the University of Edinburgh and the Unfinished Business edit-a-thon run by Leeds Libraries and the British Library. In December 2020 I coordinated and ran my own Wikithon in conjunction with the National Library of Scotland, as part of my postdoctoral project ‘Digitising the Bannatyne MS’.
Since coming into post at the start of this March I have worked hard to make connections with organisations such as IFLA, Code the City and Art+Feminism. I’ve also been creating introductory materials to engage audiences with Wikidata, and thinking about how best to utilise the coming months.
Andrew Gray took up post as the first British Library Wikipedian in Residence nearly ten years ago, you can read more about this earlier residency here and here. So much has changed since then, but reflection on the legacy of Wikimedia activity is a crucial part of ensuring that the work we do is useful, engaging, vibrant and important. I want to use creative thinking to produce output that opens up BL digital collections in relevant, culturally sensitive and engaging ways.
I am excited to get started! I’ll be posting on the British Library’s Digital Scholarship blog regularly about my residency, so please do subscribe to the blog to follow my progress.
Wikimedia UK, the national charity for the global Wikimedia movement is among the successful organisations awarded funding by The National Lottery Heritage Fund Digital Skills for Heritage initiative, to raise digital skills and confidence across the UK heritage sector. National Lottery funded Digital Skills for Heritage has expanded thanks to an additional £1 million from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.
Wikimedia UK’s project ‘Developing open knowledge skills, tools and communities of practice for sustainable digital preservation’ is one of 12 grants announced today, awarded to address three distinct areas; driving digital innovation and enterprise, providing answers to organisations’ most pressing concerns, and empowering collaborative work to achieve common aims.
Digital skills are more relevant and necessary than ever as heritage organisations affected by the coronavirus pandemic look toward a more resilient future. In October 2020, The National Lottery Heritage Fund published the findings of its survey of over 4,000 staff, trustees and volunteers at 281 heritage organisations, identifying the current digital skills and attitudes of the sector. The results highlighted what tools and training organisations needed to weather the coronavirus pandemic and move forward into a more resilient and creative future.
Wikimedia UK has a strong track record of collaborating across heritage and cultural organisations, developing strategies to embed open knowledge and engaging with wider virtual audiences. Over two years £119,000 funding will develop skills, tools and communities of practice for the sustainable digital preservation of heritage. Engagement will be through a range of opportunities, from short webinars explaining the role of open knowledge and the scope it holds for sharing and engaging in collections, through to close collaboration on the development and delivery of strategic plans for open knowledge; enabling participating organisations to ensure that heritage is better explained as well as preserved for the long term.
Chief Executive of Wikimedia UK, Lucy Crompton-Reid, said “Wikimedia UK is excited to have been awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver this vital and timely project. Our ambition is to equip heritage staff and volunteers with the skills and tools to share their content and collections online, with a particular focus on increasing access to underrepresented cultural heritage. We look forward to working in partnership with the heritage sector to make this happen, and to ensure that the extraordinary reach and longevity of Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects benefits everyone.”
Josie Fraser, Head of Digital Policy at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said, “Throughout the coronavirus pandemic we have all seen the essential role that digital skills have played in helping heritage organisations continue to work, communicate and connect. We are proud that our National Lottery funded Digital Skills for Heritage projects have provided the sector with practical support when it has been most needed.
“The £1 million Culture Recovery Fund boost from DCMS recognises the value of digital skills and allows us to expand the initiative. These new grants focus on what organisations have told us they need most – digital innovation, enterprise and business skills to improve and rethink how the sector operates.”
Caroline Dinenage, Minister for Digital and Culture, said,
“I have been really impressed by the innovative ways that sites and projects have already pivoted during the pandemic, but now more than ever it is essential that our heritage sector has the latest digital skills to bring our history to life online. This £1 million boost from the Culture Recovery Fund will ensure that staff and volunteers have the skills they need to keep caring for the past and conserving for the future through the sector’s reopening and recovery.”
Read more about the awards here.
Further information & images: press@wikimedia.org.uk
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Using money raised by the National Lottery, we Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. Website: www.heritagefund.org.uk.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund and #HereForDigital
By Sarah Lappin, final year computer science and artificial intelligence student at the University of Edinburgh, and President for Edinburgh University Women in STEM (EUWiSTEM).
In Summer 2020, I organised my first Wikipedia Editathon as part of the Women in STEM Connect series. With an eye-opening talk, physicist and Wikipedia diversity advocate, Dr Jess Wade introduced me to the issue of underrepresentation on Wikipedia and left me, and seemingly all our attendees, feeling inspired to start editing Wikipedia. With training from University of Edinburgh Wikimedian in Residence, Ewan McAndrew, and a total of 15 editors, we were able to contribute fourteen thousand words, edit forty-two articles and add five new articles to Wikipedia by the end of the event. I created my first Wikipedia article on Dr Jessica Borger, an Australian T-Cell immunologist, and caught the editing bug!
To celebrate International Womens’ Day 2021, Edinburgh University Women in STEM (EUWiSTEM) has joined forces with 5 other female and gender minority lead societies: Edinburgh University Women in Business, Women in Law, Women in Politics and International Relations, EconWomen, and Hoppers, the society of women and gender minorities in Informatics. Together we are hosting Women EmpowerED, a week-long celebration aiming to showcase the achievements of women in different fields and discuss the issues women currently face, with a focus on cross-disciplinary inclusion.
The theme of International Womens’ Day 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge. Fitting with that theme, it is important we acknowledge the achievements of diversity and inclusion initiatives but it is equally crucial that we continue to challenge the norms and push for further improvements. Women EmpowerED has chosen to kick-off our celebrations on March 6th with an event that fits these aims perfectly – a Wikipedia Edit-a-thon. At this event, we aim to improve the representation of women and gender minorities on Wikipedia, focusing on those who have chosen to challenge societal norms, and inspirational women in the host societies’ fields. Ewan McAndrew will be providing editing training during the event, helping us to make Wikipedia editing accessible to all.
We are pleased to be welcoming Bruce and John Usher Professor of Public Health in the Usher Institute, Dr Linda Bauld, to give a talk on the importance of representation online at the Edit-a-thon. Online platforms now have a massive influence on society, and most of these platforms are rife with internet ‘trolls’, and political agendas. As the fifth most visited website worldwide, and what is designed to be a source of reliable information for users, it is crucial that Wikipedia is free from bias and abuse. As Jess Wade explains in a 2018 TEDXLondon talk, “the majority of history has been written by men, about men, for other men.”
But we can start to change that through Wikipedia.
In our event, not only will we add and improve articles for women and gender minorities, but we also hope to increase the diversity of its editors, making a lasting impact on Wikipedia.
If you would like to learn how to edit articles or assist in our mission to improve diversity on Wikipedia, you can get tickets to our editathon on eventbrite.
For more information on Women EmpowerED visit our website.
By Lucy Crompton-Reid, Chief Executive of Wikimedia UK.
Wikipedia’s vision is a world in which everyone has access to the sum of the world’s knowledge, but to do this, we must have representation from all the world’s voices. For the past five years Wikimedia UK has been working to address inequality and bias across the projects, with a key strategic aim being to increase the engagement and representation of marginalised people and subjects on Wikipedia. Whilst there are all sorts of ways in which structures of power and privilege can exclude people, during Women’s History Month we will be shining a light on the gender gap, and thinking critically about how women are represented on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects.
In a world where women are still systematically oppressed in many countries – and where, even in countries with gender equality written into the legislative framework, systemic bias still pervades – the ‘gender gap’ can feel like an intractable issue. We have seen how the Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women, and deepened pre-existing inequalities, despite men being more likely to die from the disease. Globally, according to the UN, even the limited gains made in the past decade on issues such as education, early marriage and political representation are at risk of being rolled back. Here in the UK, a report by the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee acknowledges the particular and disproportionate economic impact on people who are already vulnerable, and highlights how existing gendered inequalities have been ignored and sometimes exacerbated by the pandemic policy response.
Within this context, working to increase and improve the representation of women, non-binary people and related subjects on Wikimedia is more important than ever. If ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ then we need to make sure that the world’s free knowledge resource – which is read more than 15 billion times a month – is telling everyone’s story. This includes women, people of colour, disabled people, LGBTQ+ folks and those living outside the United States and Western Europe. Those people, and those stories, exist – they don’t need to be written into Wikipedia to come alive. But for many of us, Wikipedia is the ‘first stop’ when we want to learn about the world. By writing women’s stories into Wikipedia and the wider information ecosystem – by making them more discoverable – we will be helping women around the world discover who they are and can be.
People of any gender can, and do, commit time and energy to addressing gender inequality on Wikimedia. This might be by creating new articles about women, training new female editors, raising awareness of the gender gap or myriad other things. Increasingly, editing Wikipedia is being recognised as a form of knowledge activism which helps to address gaps in information, and generate discussions about how knowledge and information is created, curated and contested online.
Fixing the gender gap on Wikimedia is a huge challenge. Much has been written about the reasons for this, as well as the many initiatives and tools that have been developed to try to address the lack of parity on Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. I’m not going to repeat that here, but instead I’m going to introduce some of the extraordinary people involved in this work. I’m pleased and proud that Wikimedia UK will be talking to the following four amazing women as part of a special Women’s History Month series of interviews, with one video to be released every Monday in March:
I will be giving the final interview in March to round up the series and reflect on the future priorities, challenges and opportunities for Wikimedia and the gender gap.
Recognising our own privilege when it comes to knowledge and information is important. I feel very privileged to be writing this blogpost for Women’s History Month for Wikimedia UK; to have this platform when so many women’s voices aren’t heard. On that note, if there’s anything you would like me to include in my interview later this month, please let me know. I’m keen to hear about and to showcase all the different ways in which people and communities are addressing underrepresentation on Wikimedia, so please contact me on info@wikimedia.org.uk or by twitter (@lcromptonreid) if you would like me to share your story.
