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Revisiting cyberfeminism

Revisiting cyberfeminism: edit-a-thon & readings

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Event Details:

  • 🗓 Date: 07-08th December 2024
  • 🕒 Berlin from 11am, online schedule see event details
  • 📍 Location I: Lindenstraße 91, 10969 Berlin (Ground floor), Enter via E.T.A-Hoffmann Promenade
  • 📍 Location II: Online (link follows after registration)

Berlin and online, 7 to 8 December 2024 + online follow up, 14th December 2024

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From Saturday 7th to Sunday 8th of December 2024, we will meet in Berlin to revisit the concept of cyberfeminism and how Wikipedia articles about cyberfeminism can be read and understood in various ways across different language versions. We want to discuss as well as refresh them by adding current expertises and experiences. How do we connect ourselves with the term cyberfeminism, as we do feminist work in a technological landscape such as Wikimedia? This discursive workshop will be supplemented by readings.

Parralel to the gathering in Berlin, there is an online workshop hosted by Khoj Studios, New Delhi - open to a global public. On December 14th, 2024, there is an online follow up event for open questions and final edits.

Please register for the event until December 6th, 2024 via revisiting.cyberfeminism proton me

Please indicate whether you will participate online or on site in Berlin. Please also let us know if you need an Wikipedia-introduction or if you already have some editing-knowledge. If required, introductions will take place to explain how Wikipedia is edited. The idea is that different people with different language skills are present, the common language is expected to be English.

Revisiting Cyberfeminism is an initiative by Wiki Riot Squad, Who writes his_tory?, and Athina Petsou. It is a cooperation with bildwechsel/GuterGrund GmbH, Khoj Studios, and financially supported by Wikimedia.

Event Details - BERLIN - on site

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hosted by Wiki Riot Squad, Who writes his_tory? & Athina Petsou

🕒 7th Dec

11 am - 6.30 pm CET

8 pm CET public reading session (without prior registration)

🕒 8th Dec

11 am - 5 pm CET

Event Details - online

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hosted by Khoj Studios New Delhi & Daniela Brugger

🕒 7th Dec

11 am - 2.30 pm BERLIN, CET  

3.30 pm - 7 pm NEW DELHI, IST

🕒 8th Dec

11 am - 4 pm BERLIN, CET  

3.30 pm - 7.30 pm NEW DELHI, IST

Event Details - FOLLOW UP - online

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hosted by Khoj Studios New Delhi, Wiki Riot Squad, Who writes his_tory? & Athina Petsou

🕒 14th Dec (optional)

11 am - 2 pm BERLIN, CET

3.30 pm - 6.30 pm NEW DELHI, IST

Detailed Program

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SATURDAY

December 7th

ON SITE - BERLIN

Central European Time

ONLINE

Central European Time

ONLINE

Indian Standard Time

Good to know
Start & welcome: arrival & coffee 11.00 11 am 3.30 pm
Online gathering:
  • Introduction of the topic/structure
  • Short introduction round of participants
  • Forming Editing Groups - who works on what language version or content?
 11.15 - 13.00 11.15 am - 1.00 pm 3.45 - 5.30 pm all participants meet online

english is presumably the common language - please let us know if you prefer other languages/translations

Break: beverages & food 13.00 1.00 pm 5.30 pm
Editing instructions for beginners:
  • optional
 14.00 - 14.30 2 - 2.30 pm 6.30 - 7.00 pm optional for those who need it
Editing:
  • The online space stays open to connect, individual use of the online space
 14.30 - 18.30 2.30 pm - 4.30 pm 7.00 pm - 9pm online official end 2.30 pm respectively 7.00 pm

the online space is optional to join, otherwise independent/individual editing time

Break: beverages & food 18.30
Readings 20.00 recorded readings w/ Vimeo Link? (tbc)
SUNDAY

December 8th

ON SITE - BERLIN

Central European Time

ONLINE

Central European Time

ONLINE

Indian Standart Time

Good to know
Online check in 11.00 - 11.30 am 3.30 - 4 pm
  • Questions?
  • What was read or edited so far?
  • What would should be read or edited?
Arrival & coffee 11.00
Editing:
  • The online space stays open to connect, individual use of the online space
 11.30 11.30 am - 1.30 pm 4 - 6 pm the online space is optional to join, otherwise independent/individual editing time
Break: beverages & food 13.00 1.30 pm 6 pm
Hybrid roundtable: online & on site 14.00 - 15.00 2 - 3 pm 6.30 - 7.30 pm all participants meet online
  • exchange round: experiences, observations, feelings
  • official ending online at 7.30pm
  • infos about the follow up event on December 14th
Writing and open discussion 16.00 The space in Berlin stays open until 18.00 for conversations & editing
Optional editing until 18.00

Workshop details

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Cyberfeminism describes the efforts of feminists theorising, critiquing, and re-reading the internet as a space of empowerment, focusing on how biased technology could challenge or reinforce gender norms. This movement emerged in the early 1990s to explore and challenge the power structures embedded in technology and online platforms, questioning who controls information, who gets to participate, and how gender influences and is influenced by these dynamics.

Wikipedia is one of the most visited and influential community knowledge platforms online. Yet, wikipedia still has significant gaps in content related topics about women, queer people and other marginalised groups, which has been a base for a feminist critique. As we see it, it would have been a prime site for cyberfeminist activism. However, when it launched after the millenium, cyberfeminist action already began to fade away. Furthermore, cyberfeminist topics, activists and groups are currently underrepresented in the online encyclopedia.

In this workshop, we will update and expand Wikipedia articles on cyberfeminism across different language regions. We want to re-read and re-search the movement of cyberfeminism within and through the framework of Wikipedia. By contributing to Wikipedia collaboratively, we engage in an act of knowledge production that challenges the systemic biases inherent to the platform. The movement of cyberfeminism itself has also often been critiqued for being biased, as it was represented by predominantly white, Western, and cisgender women, overlooking the experiences of women of color, trans individuals, and those outside of the Western digital context. This exclusion reflects broader patterns of marginalization in feminist movements and highlights the need for more intersectional approaches in understanding gender and technology. Our workshop will consider these critiques as we engage with the material, aiming to reflect a more inclusive and diverse perspective in the Wikipedia articles we contribute to.

The workshop will not only involve editing but also emphasise on the conversational aspect of writing. By finding ourselves using different sources, perspectives, and experiences, we want to contribute to a richer understanding of these topics. The first day of the event will end with a special participatory reading session at 7 PM, as a chance to approach these critical themes and materials with our own voice outloud.

This event is organised in cooperation with Who writes his_tory?, wiki riot squad, Athina Petsou, Khoj Studios, Bildwechsel and GuterGrund GmbH, with financial support from Wikimedia Deutschland, Wikimedia CH, and Wikimedia UK

We look forward to your participation in this collective project of feminist knowledge-building.

Impressions

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The "Revisiting Cyberfeminism" event took place in Berlin from December 7th to 8th, 2024, with a follow-up session on December 14th. Organized by Wiki Riot Squad, Who writes his_tory?, and Athina Petsou, in cooperation with bildwechsel/GuterGrund GmbH and Khoj Studios, the event was financially supported by Wikimedia DE, CH and UK. The primary goal was to revisit and update Wikipedia articles related to cyberfeminism, ensuring that the content reflects diverse experiences.

The concept of cyberfeminism, which emerged in the early 1990s, has been a critical framework for understanding and challenging the power structures embedded in technology and online platforms through a feminist perspective. This movement focuses on how biased technology can challenge or reinforce gender norms, questioning who controls information, who gets to participate, and how gender influences and is influenced by these dynamics. In December 2024, a Wikipedia event titled "Revisiting Cyberfeminism" took place in Berlin and online, aiming to refresh and expand the discourse around cyberfeminism through collaborative efforts on Wikipedia. Among others we created and translated articles in english, german, french and spanish wikipedia, about Frauen+technik, Old Boys Network, etc.

I loved the fact that the event brought together different participants: artists, historical figures who were part of the Cyberfeminist movement in the 90s, wikipedians, students, researchers and theoritics.The Berlin event took place in an artist atelier and included a series of workshops, readings, and collaborative editing sessions. It was lovely to hear stories and have a look in the archival material of the different groups (-Innen, frauen·und·technik, Old Boys Network).

More importantly for me, the event was structured as a hybrid gathering, with participants joining both on-site in Berlin and online from various locations, including a parallel workshop hosted by Khoj Studios in New Delhi, following the tradition of cyberfeminism movement itself.  

Cyberfeminism has historically been underrepresented in online spaces, and this event aimed to address that gap by bringing together diverse voices and perspectives. We also read poems from the archives and from contemporary poets working on the cyber feminist topics. The collaborative nature of the event allowed participants to learn from each other, share their expertise, stories and new ideas and create a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of cyberfeminism. Also, the intergenerational nature of the event is a good heritage on the online and in flesh feminist discourses.  

The "Revisiting Cyberfeminism" event was more than just an edit-a-thon; it was a collaborative effort to engage in knowledge production that challenges the systemic biases inherent in online platforms and technological products. By updating and expanding articles on cyberfeminism, participants contributed to a more inclusive and accurate representation of feminist work in the technological landscape. Also, it was a chance to reflect on our own lives and work, discuss and connect. Hopefully, meeting you all again soon and to our new projects.

Participants BERLIN

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To register, please write a short e-mail if you attend online or on site to: revisiting.cyberfeminism proton me

  1. --Helga Broll (organiser)
  2. --Memoryschaum (organiser)
  3. --Sāḥerä (organiser)
  4. --AthinaPetsou (organiser)
  5. --ylvie_ocean (organiser)
  6. --NB-Edit
  7. --Grizma
  8. --Ruesselbueffel
  9. --M.K. (no account yet)
  10. --Yasminkaa
  11. --Massenmedien
  12. --J.S.
  13. --EliLin26
  14. --Artistic*researcher
  15. --Storytellings

Participants ONLINE

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To register, please write a short e-mail if you attend online or on site to: revisiting.cyberfeminism proton me

  1. ----Elena Patrise (talk) 06:02, 20 November 2024 (UTC) (organiser)[reply]
  2. --V.K.
  3. --L.D. (no account yet)
  4. --Annette Rosen
  5. --M.N. (no account yet)
  6. --D.S. (no account yet)
  7. --R.C. (no account yet)
  8. --R.J. (no account yet)
  9. --P.R.M. (Sunday only)
  10. --Moorhands
  11. --Davida
  12. --Madamebiblio
  13. --D. (no account yet)
  14. --J.T. (no account yet)
  15. --A.G. (no account yet)
  16. --S.M. (no account yet)
  17. --C.M. (Sunday only)
  18. --S. (no account yet)

Pages to work on

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New Pages

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Useful Material

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Meeting avec l'équipe en présentiel et online
 
Meeting avec l'équipe en présentiel et online 1
 
Meeting avec l'équipe en présentiel et online
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