Wikimedia Blog/Drafts/The documentary film of Wikimedia Argentina

Title ideas

• The documentary film of Wikimedia Argentina
• Who edits Wikipedia?

Summary

Wikimedia Argentina will release a documentary film about their community to celebrate the fifteenth birthday of Wikipedia.

Body

Every time we perform activities in Wikimedia Argentina we realize that there is a general ignorance about who is behind the Wikipedia articles. Many people think that the people who edit the articles are hired or specialists in a particular subject.
That is why during the 2015 Wikimedia Argentina worked with the community in the realization of a documentary film that tries to reflect the experiences of the volunteers as Wikipedia editors.
Our main goal is to break the different myths that we found in the collective imagination when meeting, about how are the real editors in Wikipedia, if they are paid or if the information within Wikipedia is reliable. Thus we concluded that the best way to reach the greatest number of people was through a documentary film where to show the personal stories of different Wikipedians by first hand.

Who will tell their story?

The selection of the storytellers wasn’t easy. We tried to show the diverse community of Wikimedia Argentina . After a long debate seven life stories were chosen :

• Beatrice , photographer. Her main contributions are in Wikimedia Commons.
• Alberto Robles, a union lawyer. Wikipedia’s editor since 2006.
• Andrea, a psychologist and visual artist. She leads the WikiProject:Women
• Jorge fan of the astronomy. Wikipedia’s editor in Spanish since 2006.
• Mauritius, student of librarianship . Leads the digitization project.
• Leandro , student of tourism . Editor of Wikipedia since 2004, former librarian.
• Lucas Reynoso , secondary student. He is the youngest member of Wikimedia Argentina.

They are all volunteers who faced the Wikipedia’s challenges in their first editions but kept trying and helping to approach Wikipedia to others.

The documentary film will be available on January 15th, 2015 and will be launched at the first volunteers and community’s meeting of WMAR in 2016.

Trailer del documental de Wikimedia Argentina

Proposed

Today is Wikipedia's 15th birthday! To commemorate the event, our friends in Argentina have shot a documentary about seven editors on Wikipedia or the various Wikimedia projects. It has English subtitles.

Wikimedia Argentina, a local Wikimedia chapter, told us that they often find that "there is a general ignorance about who edits Wikipedia and writes the encyclopedia's articles." Many, they say, believe that Wikipedia editors are hired or are selected for their expertise in specific areas.

These experiences heavily influenced Wikimedia Argentina's decision to create a video documentary that showcased the editors of Wikipedia. They want to "break the different myths that we found in the collective imagination," by "showing the first-hand personal stories of different Wikipedians."

The featured volunteers, all people who faced Wikipedia’s challenges in their first edits but kept trying and helping to approach Wikipedia to others, are:

• Beatrice, photographer. Her main contributions are in Wikimedia Commons.
• Alberto Robles, a union lawyer. Wikipedia’s editor since 2006.
• Andrea, a psychologist and visual artist. She leads the WikiProject:Women
• Jorge fan of the astronomy. Wikipedia’s editor in Spanish since 2006.
• Mauritius, student of librarianship . Leads the digitization project.
• Leandro, student of tourism. Editor of Wikipedia since 2004, former librarian.
• Lucas Reynoso, secondary student. He is the youngest member of Wikimedia Argentina.

Giselle Bordoy, Communications Manager, Wikimedia Argentina
Ed Erhart, Editorial Associate, Wikimedia Foundation

Spanish version

¡Hoy es el aniversario número 15 de Wikipedia! Para conmemorarlo, nuestros amigos de Argentina filmaron un corto documental que cuenta la historia de 7 editores que contribuyen en la Wikipedia. Tiene subtítulos en inglés.

Wikimedia Argentina, uno de los capítulos locales de la fundación dijo: "a menudo nos encontramos con un desconocimiento acerca de quienes editan y escriben artículos de la enciclopedia. Muchos creen que los editores son contratados o seleccionados por su conocimiento en áreas específicas".

Este tipo de experiencias hicieron que Wikimedia Argentina tome la decisión de crear un documental que presente a los editores de Wikipedia. Ellos quieren "romper con los diferentes mitos que hay en el imaginario colectivo a través de las historias personales de los diferentes wikipedistas".

Los voluntarios elegidos son personas que se enfrentaron a los desafíos clásicos que se tienen al editar Wikipedia por primera vez pero siguieron intentando y se acercaron a Wikipedia para ayudar a otros. Ellos son:

• Beatrice, fotógrafa. Sus principales aportes son en Wikimedia Commons.
• Alberto Robles, abogado sindical. Editor de Wikipedia desde 2006.
• Andrea, psicóloga y artista plásticas. Actualmente lidera el wikiproyecto Mujeres.
• Jorge, fanático de la astronomía. Editor de Wikipedia en español desde el 2006.
• Mauricio, estudiante de bibliotecología. Lidera el proyecto de digitalización.
• Leandro, estudiante Turismo. Editor de Wikipedia desde 2004, ex bibliotecario.
• Lucas Reynoso, estudiante secundario. Es el socio de Wikimedia Argentina más joven.

Giselle Bordoy, Responsable de Comunicación, Wikimedia Argentina
Ed Erhart, Asociado editorial, Wikimedia Foundation