Call for Improving Wikipedia with Content about Museums
In a joint campaign from May 4 to 18, the national Wikimedia associations and groups invite the community of Wikipedia contributors to edit, update, translate Wikipedia articles in the context or upload pictures. The International Museum Day 2022 Wikidata Competition 4-18 May aims to improve Wikidata content about museums, including related objects, people and events, in all participating countries and regions and completes the offer around the #IMD2022.
The International Museum Day (IMD) on 18 May is an event organised by the International Council of Museums since 1977 to raise awareness that “museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.”
More than 30 Wikimedia Chapters worldwide joined their forces to transfer this awareness into free accessible content of Wikipedia and its sister projects.
Having successfully partnered with ICOM to boost the visibility of museums for two years now, the collaboration with Wikimedia associations gives birth to yet another International Museum Day 2022 Wiki-project.
The overall project is coordinated by Wikimedia CH (WMCH) in association with Wikimedia Österreich (WMAT) and direct support by Wikimedia Deutschland (WMDE) and the Volunteer Supporters Network (VSN).
“For several years, the event has been an occasion for us to improve the presence of museums on Wikipedia, Wikidata and further Wikimedia projects”, says Ulrich Lantermann, Community manager at Wikimedia CH.
“The way museums interact with their public has drastically changed since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, and digitalisation has become a priority for many”, explains Alexandra Fernandez Coego, Head of Communications and Public Relations at ICOM.
“However, smaller and community museums often lack the means to create or maintain an online presence. Our collaboration with Wikimedia aims at supporting them in closing the digital gap”, she added.
The Wikidata competition to improve the data about museums and related people, objects and events is held in the form of localized versions sharing the same basic concept but focusing on the geographical area of the respective. Editors from all over the world can participate in any local edition.
Join International Museum Day 2022 xx Wikidata Competition
One of the key missions of Wikimedia affiliates and groups is to support Wikipedia contributors in their volunteer work and help memory institutions to share their curatorial knowledge, collections and resources in a digital manner, with a global community through a global platform. Together we advocate for free knowledge in the world. This joint project is an impressive example of this commitment.