Event:Wikicon Australia 2024/Reports/ashlar

Questions to be addressed

Things learned at the conference
How the participant hopes to use his/her new learnings/skills
Comments about the conference
Suggestions for future Wikicons

Response

This report concerns Wikicon Australia 2024, which was held in Adelaide on 23 November 2024. I was awarded a scholarship from the Wikimedia Australia Foundation which allowed me to attend the conference.

This report covers the sessions that I attended, what I learned at the conference, how I plan to apply what I learned, and the suggestions that I have as a result of the conference.

Sessions I participated in

I attended the following sessions:

9:30 - 10:30

Presentation by Ingrid Ngoorlak Cumming and Jennie Buchanan about the Noongarpedia project.

10:45 - 11:30

Tenniscourtisland - First Nations content and community engagement, including information for the recent NT Environment Project

11:30 - 12:00

Aliceinthealice - A brief introduction to Wiktionary and how to use it for First Nations Language

1:00 – 2:00

Pakoire Decolonisation conversation: relationship building between New Zealand and Australia through collage

2:00 - 2:30

99of9 - Measuring the progress of Australian content with Wikidata

2:30 - 3:00

Jacknunn - Introducing 'Standardised Data on Initiatives' (STARDIT) and the partnership with Wikimedia Australia (15 minutes)
Oronsay- Where do the gender stats come from?

3:15 - 4:00

JarrahTree - Questions and Queries (15 minutes)
JarrahTree - Inherently notable (30 minutes)

4:00 - 4:30

Bracteantha - What happened at Wikimania Katowice from the perspective of a Wikimania newbie (15 mins)
Aliceinthealice - Ensuring cultural sensitivity when uploading First Nations images to Wikimedia Commons (15 mins)

What I learned

The sessions that resonated with me the most were:

Tenniscourtisland’s First Nations’ content and community engagement, which highlighted some of the challenges faced by editors with platform rules and norms;
99of9, Jacknunn, Oronsay, and JarrahTree sessions that concerned:
- the innovative ways that people are using, and can use, Wikimedia metadata;
- statistics that provide insight into who is using the various Wikimedia platforms; and
Aliceinthealice’s discussion about the Alice Springs’ library experience uploading First Nations images to Wikimedia Commons - both the benefits to the community and issues of cultural sensitivity.

I learned more about the Women in Red and Noongarpedia projects, uses for and ways to query metadata, STARDIT, efforts to digitise historic photos and make them available in culturally-sensitive ways, as well as efforts to populate Wikidata.

Key themes emerged around platform development, underrepresented groups, innovations, and strategies to attract and accommodate new editors. Often while participating, I drew parallels with my experience and efforts in relation to underrepresented or less documented people and experiences.

Networking Opportunities

It was rewarding to meet people who share the same passion. I came to appreciate how many editors are meeting regularly face-to-face. Through talks with other participants, I also learned about other websites and apps such as Open Map Earth and Miraheze for hosting more subject-specific wikis. Networking added a new dimension to the experience, creating a real sense of community. I look forward to following up on these opportunities.

Event Organisation

The conference was well organised, the sessions were well run, and the activities were enjoyable. There were also great suggestions of things to do in Adelaide on Sunday.

Diversity and Inclusion

I was impressed by the representation of women at the conference—it seemed like more than half the attendees. Key topics included First Nations issues, the Women in Red project, and a focus on gender statistics.

Next steps

As a direct result of the conference, I plan to use Wikidata more and to start editing corresponding items as soon as I create new Wikipedia articles. I’ll also contribute to the Women in Red project and I’m keen to learn more about, and use, STARDIT.

In particular, I’d like to start a checklist for new users with a suggestion of approx. 20 tasks to help them learn by doing before taking on the challenge of starting a new article.

For future conferences, it would be great to have some group discussions in addition to Q&As. (Also, a printed flyer with the schedule or a schedule outside the breakout rooms would have been welcomed).

Conclusion

Wikicon 2024 was a fantastic experience. I’m grateful for the opportunity, and the scholarship that made it possible. I thoroughly enjoyed connecting with others and learning from the sessions and I looking forward to 2025.