These Powerpoint slides were used by guest speaker Amy O'Riordan from Wikimedia in the History in Your Hand revision class in February 2024.

1. Access, Representation and
Engagement
Working with Wikimedia Projects
Amy O’Riordan
Irish Language Officer
with Wikimedia Community Ireland

2. What I’ll be
talking about
Access
● What is Wikipedia?
● The Open Knowledge Movement
● Who writes Wikipedia?
Representation
● Why representation matters
● Addressing the Gender Gap
Engagement
● Events & Edit-a-thons
● Wiki Global Campaigns
● How to Get involved

3. So, what is Wikipedia? “Imagine a world in
which every single
person on the planet is
given free access to the
sum of all human
knowledge. That's what
we're doing.”
- Jimmy Wales
(co-founder and promoter of Wikipedia)
➔ Wikipedia is a free, web-based,
collaborative, multilingual
encyclopedia
➔ Editable by everyone (with an
internet connection)
➔ Written collaboratively
➔ Funded by donations and run
by a charity - the Wikimedia
Foundation

4. Wikipedia’s 5 Pillars
Online
Encyclopedia
Neutral Point of
View
Free Content Respectful
Interaction
No Firm Rules
Wikipedia is not a
personal website,
search engine, or
random data
collection. It's an
encyclopedia for
finding well-
summarized
information.
Articles present
balanced
viewpoints without
personal opinions.
Use facts from
trusted sources
and avoid
suggesting one
version is "the
truth."
Wikipedia is free to
use, edit, and
share. Respect
copyright, cite
sources, and avoid
close
paraphrasing.
Contribute in your
own words.
Editors
communicate
respectfully.
Embrace edits,
discuss
disagreements on
Talk pages, and
assume good faith.
Act respectfully
and respond to
others.
Wikipedia's rules
evolve. Principles
matter more than
literal wording. Be
bold in updating,
learn from
mistakes, and
communicate
through Talk
pages.

5. Wikipedia’s Audience
➔ The largest encyclopedia ever
written
➔ Available in 307 languages
(including Irish)
➔ 21 billion page views every
month
➔ 121 million pageviews a month
from Ireland
➔ 43 million edits
➔ 1.8 edits per second

7. The Open
Knowledge
Movement
Open knowledge (or free
knowledge) is knowledge that is free
to use, reuse, and redistribute
without legal, social, or
technological restriction.
Open knowledge organizations and
activists have proposed principles
and methodologies related to the
production and distribution of
knowledge in an open manner.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_knowledge#cite_note-1

8. How is Knowledge
(and access to it) Restricted?

9. How is Knowledge
(and access to it) Restricted?
Restricted Educational Resources
Copyright Restrictions
Limited Internet Access
Educational Inequality
Censorship
Language Barriers
Restricted Software and Tools
Data Hoarding

10. Who writes Wikipedia?
➔ Everyone can edit Wikipedia
➔ 130,000 regular contributors
➔ Some languages are very big
like English, some languages
are small like Irish
Can you think of any issues that
might happen because of the current
majority demographics?

11. Minding the gaps
A number of gaps documented on
large language Wikipedias:
➔ Gender
➔ People of colour
➔ LGBTQA+
➔ Verbal/oral histories or cultures
➔ Less dominant cultures within
languages (Irish culture on EN,
Belgian culture on FR, DE, NL)

12. Representation

13. Bridging the
Gaps
Why Representation
Matters
Diverse Perspectives
Authentic Narratives
Cultural Competence
Addressing Bias
Encouraging Inclusivity
Global Relevance
Empowering Underrepresented
Voices

14. Wiki Projects: Woman in Red
Project Page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Women_in_Red
A group of editors of all genders living around the world
focused on reducing systemic bias in the wiki movement.
➔ October 2014, only 15.53% of English Wikipedia's
biographies were about women.
➔ Has reached 19.75% as of 12 February 2024.
That means that of 1,986,370 biographies, only 392,233 are
about women.

15. Erasmus+ Project: Wiki Women / Wiki na mBan
Project Website: https://www.wikiwomen.eu/
"It's about two forms of emancipation: the emancipation
of smaller languages and the emancipation of women."
Project Objectives:
➔ Spread Wikipedia usage in European minority language areas
for teaching digital literacy, social engagement, and language
skills.
➔ Address the underrepresentation of women on Wikipedia by
empowering students to write articles on women in their
minority languages.
➔ Collaboration between schools, Wikipedia foundations, and
language organizations in Europe.
➔ Utilizing Wikipedia as a tool to teach essential skills while
promoting digital literacy, social engagement, and language
proficiency.

16. Erasmus+ Project: Wiki Women / Wiki na mBan
Empowering Students
➔ Students guided in researching and writing articles on women
not yet featured on Wikipedia, while also enhancing confidence
in using minority languages, and contributing to the online
presence of their language.
Navigating Information
➔ Learning essential skills such as finding trustworthy information,
verifying online content, and accessing relevant information.
Practical Learning through Article Writing
➔ Writing Wikipedia articles provides a practical way for students
to apply online and offline research skills.
➔ Publishing work online serves as a valuable source of
information for others.

17. Erasmus+ Project Results
Addressing Gender Imbalance
➔ Recognizing and addressing the serious
underrepresentation of women on Wikipedia.
➔ Empowering students to reflect on gender
equality and understand historical reasons
behind the imbalance.
Preserving Minority Languages
➔ Wikipedia as a tool for preserving and
promoting minority languages, often under
threat from dominant languages.
➔ Open-source nature allows individual users to
contribute to real change.
Practical Learning through Article Writing
➔ Writing Wikipedia articles provides a practical
way for students to apply online and offline
research skills.
➔ Publishing work online serves as a valuable
source of information for others.
Creating a Generation of Empowered Users
➔ Working towards a generation of secondary
school pupils empowered to use Wikipedia.
➔ Expanding and deepening the online presence
of their language using new digital, research,
and language skills.
Project's Lasting Impact
➔ Tangible results and tools created during the project will have lasting effects.
➔ Promoting the project's results in other minority language regions to increase its
impact.

18. Engagement

19. Edit-a-thons
What is an Edit-a-thon?
An edit-a-thon is a gathering where people
who edit online platforms like Wikipedia or
OpenStreetMap come together to improve a
specific topic.
At these events, new editors often receive
training, and there may also be a chance to
socialize with others who share similar
interests.
Stephanie Fuller and Abby Butcher at Ditchling Feminist Wiki Editathon Oct 2019
Source Own work Author Molly Fuller Abbott

20. Events
➔ Meetups
➔ Online Events
➔ Writing/Editing Competitions
➔ Photo Competitions
➔ Exhibitions (for Photo
Competitions)
➔ Podcast Episodes
➔ Edit-a-thons
➔ Conferences
➔ Workshops & Tutorials on
Editing and Writing for
Wikipedia
Screenshot from
Wikimedia Community Ireland’s Website

21. Attendees of Wikimania 2023 in Singapore stand together for a photo. Date 17 August 2023 Source Own
work: Author ZMcCune (WMF)

22. How Wikimedia Communities
Promote Engagement
Campaigns & Initiatives throughout the year
➔ Art+Feminism (January)
➔ Wiki Loves Folklore (February & March)
➔ Feminism & Folklore (February &
March)
➔ Wiki Loves Earth (May & June)
➔ Queering Wikipedia (June)
➔ Wiki Loves Science (November &
December)
➔ Wiki Loves Women (ongoing)

23. How can you get involved?
1. Accessing Open Licensed Material:
○ Explore and use materials available under open
licenses for your projects and contributions.
2. Sign Up and Start Editing on Wikipedia:
○ Join the Wiki community! Create an account and begin
editing articles, sharing your knowledge with the
world.
3. Host Events with Wikimedians:
○ Collaborate with Wikimedians and open knowledge
groups to organize events, fostering a sense of
community and shared learning.
4. Create New Open-Licensed Materials:
○ Contribute to the open knowledge ecosystem by
creating and sharing new materials under open
licenses.
5. Digitize and Share:
○ Digitize relevant materials and make them accessible.
Share your contributions on platforms like Wiki
Commons.
6. Participate in Photography Competitions:
○ Showcase your photography skills by participating in
current Wiki Commons photography competitions.
Your images can enrich articles and contribute to
visual storytelling.

24. Get in Contact
Email:
oifigeach.gaeilge@wikimedia.ie
or
info@wikimedia.ie
Website:
https://wikimedia.ie/
https://www.youtube.com/@WikimediaIE
@WikimediaIE
@wikimediaie @WikimediaIreland
@wikimediacommunityie

25. Go raibh maith
agaibh- thank you!
Ceisteanna? Questions?