Bikol Wikipedia Community/Bikol Wikisource Training of Trainers/Program

Collaboration towards an Open GLAM
Naga City, Philippines; July - August 2024

The Bikol Wikisource Training of Trainers aims to build a pool of enthusiastic trainers who can share their gained knowledge and skills with the staff of GLAM institutions and various organizations though training, tutorial and mentorship. The activity is an initiative of the Philippine Wikimedia Community, Nueva Caceres Heritage Movement, and the Bikol Wikipedia Community and a response to the call-to-action of Wikisource Loves Manuscripts for the digitization of old publications.

Schedule

The expected timeline for the Bikol Wikisource TOT Program is as follows:

July 8-12, 2024 - Call and pre-training orientation
July 15, 2024 - Sending invitations to selected participants
July 20 & 21, 2024 - First and second training sessions
July 21 to August 22, 2024 - Proofreading challenge
August 17, 2024 - Third training session
August 18-30, 2024 - Validation
August 31, 2024 - Culmination and announcement of winners in the proofreading challenge

Background

In December 2022, the virtual seminar Webinar on Wikimedia featuring LiAnna Davis and Satdeep Gill as resource speakers was conducted at Fr. James O'Brien SJ Library in partnership between the Ateneo de Naga University and the Bikol Wikipedia Community. The webinar featured two topics on Wikipedia and Education, and Wikisource. In partnership with the PhilWiki Community and the University of Nueva Caceres Museum, the Bikol Wikipedia Community organized the Wikimedia forum on Preservation of old publications through Bikol Wikisource in March 2023. Attendees were faculty members of University of Nueva Caceres, and college students taking History and BS Library & Information Science from Camarines Norte State College, Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges, and University of Nueva Caceres. In June 2023, another GLAM outreach activity at University of Nueva Caceres was conducted with Engineering and Architecture students and the UNC Museum staff. Participants learned about Wikisource as an open online library as well as its edition in the Bikol language and how the project contributes in the quest for the greater Bicol identity and Filipino identity. The participants identified digitization, workshops and proofread-a-thons as activities for future collaboration. PhilWiki Community president Maffeth Opiana and board treasurer Marife Altabano reiterated their support to efforts that will make rare publications be more accessible thru open sources like the Wikisource.

Revitalization of indigenous languages and Bikol Wikisource were among the topics discussed at the Bikol WikiConference 2023 held from August 4-6, 2023 attended by teachers and indigenous language advocates. At the 3-day WikiCommons PH Conference 2023, a museum-hopping was conducted visiting GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) institutions namely Museo ni Jesse M. Robredo, Universidad de Santa Isabel Museum, Museo del Seminario Conciliar de Nueva Caceres (Holy Rosary Minor Seminary Museum) and finally, the University of Nueva Caceres Museum. Ian Christopher Alfonso, Officer-in-Charge - Research Publications and Heraldry Division (RPHD) of National Historical Commission of the Philippines, one of the speakers at the conference talked about Liberating Philippine Historical Sources. He shared about the national agency's project called National Memory Project which envisions to democratize Philippine history materials, especially the rare collection, unique items, and public domain materials found in the NHCP library, archives, or museums.