Content Partnerships Hub/Expert committee/Meeting notes

Content Partnerships Hub

Improving the Wikimedia movement’s work with content partners

Expert committee

18 April

A general update on funding was given, and it was discussed how and if the Expert Committee could and should be involved in applications for funding.

It was also discussed how to support smaller questions that are received, such as direct technical questions or questions for documents that might be easily found etc. It was said that such questions should not be discussed in detail at each meeting, but that it would be enough if the Helpdesk reported during each meeting on smaller questions that had been received. It is still, for reporting and transparency purposes, important that such questions are tracked.

4 April

Updates were given on the funding of the Helpdesk, and the lack of certainty.

It was said that no projects are urgent to realize, but that it is a good idea for the Helpdesk to be especially involved with Wiki Loves projects, as they have low barriers to entry meaning that supporting such projects is a great way of ensuring diversity within the movement and strengthening underserved communities.

21 February

Requests under process and progress were discussed, and how much the Helpdesk can spend on individual projects. A major request on Wiki Loves Monuments support was discussed, which resulte din a larger conversation on how to support communities in powering Wiki Loves competitions through Wikidata.

A request was received as Baglama2 tool broke down, asking the Helpdesk to solve the issues. It was discussed whether this is really in the scope of the Helpdesk, and proposed that the Helpdesk rather might convene a meeting with involved actors to gather knowhow and understanding, to coordinate with actors in the movement that might be better suited to do the actual reparations.

17 January

As the first meeting of the new year, the Expert Committee discussed and evaluated the work of the committee, the governance and the functioning. It was said that there will be a time when long term decisions will need to be made around application, mandates and structures for joining and leaving, but that it was unsure if this was the right time.

Updates on several of the requests agreed upon were given, and it was discussed and proposed that the Helpdesk should communicate through the Movement Strategy Forum.

21 December

The expert committee discussed the finalization of the Smart Servier upload, and how to make sure that the global movement can make use of the files. This included potential translation projects, and if the scripts could be made available openly for similar future projects. The committee also stressed the importance of a template for helpdesk supported uploads.

The committee also had a long conversation on Wiki Loves Monuments and map data, following a request for support with data for Wiki Loves Monuments and Wikidata integration. Dynamic maps was seen as an interesting future opportunity to work with, but also noting the issues with conflicted regions and how to solve this, and make sure that local communities are safe. While this is not directly a question of the Helpdesk, the committee thought it important to talk about this with stakeholders such as WikiMaps User Group and OpenStreetMap. In previous meetings, the Helpdesk has decided to give support to the WLM data request, and to explore how to best give this support and make it can also be used by others.

One request on supporting uploads of larger files led to a conversation on how to document questions and answers that are generalizable and where specific cases could be of use for others in the movement, and also how to make sure that these cases reaches the movement. This question is something the committee wants to get back to.

Finally, the committee discussed a request for a new Wiki Loves Living Heritage project, where the support would be to import openly available national inventories of intangible heritage. One member of the committee, Susanna Ånäs, is part of the project, and did not take part in any decisions around the request. The committee found the request interesting, awaiting more information in order to take a decision.

18 October

During our meeting, we followed up on the 3 previously received requests, as well as the three new requests that were received. The first batch uploads from Smart Servier can be seen here. We also discussed giving support for powering Wiki Loves Monuments through Wikidata, after such requests were received, based on this blog post.

After the meeting, the Helpdesk will continue with the batch upload of medical images as well as supporting the project focusing on how to successfully advocate for open licenses in cultural heritage institutions. One important part of the latter project is to find the best ways of documenting and saving this knowledge for others to use.

The Helpdesk will also give support to the WLM project, while trying to find ways of standardizing this support to enable more WLM organizers to use Wikidata as base.

20 September

During our meeting on 20 September, we discussed five requests that were received during September. These requests lead to thorough conversations around how to make sure that approved projects benefit the entire movement, as well as build capacity for the volunteers requesting support.

The conversation also touched upon how copyright policies vary globally, and how to find a good way of working to make as much free knowledge available in the global south as possible, without causing inappropriate commercial exploitation of the content.

After the meeting, the Helpdesk will go ahead with further investigations into a project on medical images, and continue the conversations about a project focusing on how to successfully advocate for open licenses in cultural heritage institutions.