Grants:Project/Rapid/RachelWex/ALMS Wikipedia Promotion/Report
- Report accepted
- To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:Project/Rapid/RachelWex/ALMS Wikipedia Promotion.
- You may still comment on this report on its discussion page, or visit the discussion page to read the discussion about this report.
- You are welcome to Email rapidgrants at wikimedia dot org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.
Goals
editDid you meet your goals? Are you happy with how the project went?
1. Expand network of potential partners Goal met! At the ALMS Conference we connected with multiple interested LGBTQ+ librarians, archivists, museum professionals and activists from around the world in regard to LGBT+ Wikipedia. We met interested people from Austria, India, Sweden, the Balkan countries, Israel, Australia, and the Netherlands. It turns out that IHLIA Heritage in Amsterdam is holding regular Wikipedia edit-a-thons that no one knew about, and we are working with them to promote this work. The Salzburg Global LGBT Forum is also interested in investigating Wikipedia for their next global project.
2. Increase awareness of Wikimedia projects Goal met! Approximately 50 people attended our "Queering Wikipedia" presentation and were very interested about the work of Wikimedia LGBT+, engaging in LGBT+ Wikimedia projects, and discussing the challenges surrounding this work. This was all new information to them, in particular, how marginalized populations from non-English speaking countries were engaging in this work. Attendees had to respond to a Call to Action and commit to doing something for Wikimedia LGBT+ for the year, even if it was to make one edit. Most attendees responded with something. The Australians who attended would will work on an edit-a-thon devoted to LGBTQ+ history of Australia. The Indian librarian from the new Queer South Asian Archive is also interested in doing more with Wikimedia projects.
3. Recruit new editors While we did not recruit new editors at the event, my co-presenter Houssem Abida made connections with Israeli archivists to establish connections with Wikimedians from Israel and Palestine to begin organizing a "Write for the Rights" edit-a-thon in Israel or Palestine.
4. Educate librarians, archivists, and museum professionals working in LGBTQ+ libraries, archives, and museums around the world about how they can support LGBTQ+ Wikimedia initiatives Goal met! Approximately 50 people attended our "Queering Wikipedia" presentation and were very interested about the work of Wikimedia LGBT+, engaging in LGBT+ Wikimedia projects, and discussing the challenges surrounding this work. Attendees had to respond to a Call to Action and commit to doing something for Wikimedia LGBT+ for the year, even if it was to make one edit. Most attendees responded with something. The Australians who attended would will work on an edit-a-thon devoted to LGBTQ+ history of Australia. The Indian librarian from the new Queer South Asian Archive is also interested in doing more with Wikimedia projects.
Outcome
editPlease report on your original project targets.
| Target outcome | Achieved outcome | Explanation |
| 400 people attending the conference and on the same conference schedule | Approximately 50 people attended our "Queering Wikipedia" session. | The number of accepted presentations the ALMS conference skyrocketed, so everyone made their own conference schedule. Roughly the same number of people attended the conference, with approximately 50 people in attendance at our "Queering Wikipedia" session. |
| At least 5 new potential partners, ideally 4 out of 5 from outside the United States. | At least 5 new potential partners. All of our new potential partners came from outside the United States. | Representatives from IHLIA Heritage (the Netherlands), three Australian librarians, the Queer South Asian Archive of India, and the chair of the Salzburg Global LGBT Forum would like to become more engaged with Wikimedia projects. My co-presenter also connected with two Israeli archivists who would like to support Palestinian access to Wikipedia edit-a-thons. |
| If approximately 400 people attend the conference, if we receive 200 cards with a defined call to action are returned to us, that would be great. | 8 people approached me to say how they would commit to some Wikipedia work in the future. | Due to the smaller number of people attending this presentation than intended, this is why the number was so small. |
| If we receive a minimum of 10 cards from librarians, archivists, and museum professionals from non-English speaking countries who state in their call to action that they want to learn how to edit Wikipedia, that would be great. | 8 people approached me to say how they would commit to some Wikipedia work in the future. | Due to the smaller number of people attending this presentation than intended, this is why the number was so small. |
Learning
editProjects do not always go according to plan. Sharing what you learned can help you and others plan similar projects in the future. Help the movement learn from your experience by answering the following questions:
- What worked well?
Doing this conference presentation with two other people actively engaged in Wikimedia LGBT+ projects really helped. The audience appreciated hearing the librarian perspective on Wikimedia LGBT+, as well as the Wikimedian activist perspective and how this work is accomplished for and with marginalized populations.
- What did not work so well?
My original intention was to have more time to discuss how LGBTQ+ libraries, archives, and museums can provide more support to Wikimedia LGBT+ work. The attendees were much more interested in hearing about the speakers' personal experiences, which was not a bad thing, but I could not bring them back to the discussion questions of focus, which were about barriers that may keep them from doing LGBTQ+ Wikipedia work in their institutions.
- What would you do differently next time?
If I present to ALMS or IFLA about LGBTQ+ Wikipedia work in libraries, archives, and museums again, I would like to focus more on discussing the barriers that these institutions face--and attitudes of the surrounding LGBTQ+ communities--about doing LGBTQ+ Wikipedia work in libraries, archives, and museums in other countries. Aside from that, we did have a good turnout for the presentation and lots of interest and discussion afterward!
Finances
editGrant funds spent
editPlease describe how much grant money you spent for approved expenses, and tell us what you spent it on.
- Round trip flight: $832.98
- Lodging: $273.97 ($243.10 EURO)
- Registration: $169.04 (150 EURO)
- TOTAL: $1275.99
Remaining funds
editDo you have any remaining grant funds? No
Anything else
editAnything else you want to share about your project? Thank you so much for your support of our efforts. They are appreciated. Most importantly, this conference presentation opportunity gave my young co-Wikipedians Houssem Abida and Kristina Millona visibility and helped them to network and communicate about their work.