Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2018/Programme/Submission/"Free" or "stable" encyclopedia? Dilemmas of Wikimedia communities in authoritarian countries

Title of your proposal

Name(s) and/or username(s)

Tomasz, Bladyniec, User:Tomasz Bladyniec

Wikimedia Polska

Topic

1. Strategic discussions:
   • Increasing the level of cooperation on the level of communities.
   • Developments of small communities.
2. Capacity development:
   • Creation and development of local communities. Recognition from WMF. Support of small communities.
   • Conflict resolution.

Type of submission

• Presentation with discussion (one-to-many + Q&A)

Summary

The common problem of Central and Eastern Europe Wikimedia communities is dealing with authorities and official state institutions that are not fully democratic and sometimes not friendly towards the very idea of free, unrestricted knowledge. The dilemma is: should we stick to the values of truth and objectivism in our work, no matter what the costs are? Or maybe we should focus on safety of Wikimedians living in these countries, risking self-censorship and unintentionally helping authorities in their politics? What is more important and more valuable: possibility to cooperate with state institutions or the right to criticize them? How to keep away from politics and remain neutral when the very word "Free" in the name "Free encyclopedia" sound political and authorities would prefer "Stable encyclopedia" instead?

Expected outcomes

General discussion about about dealing with this kind of problems and sharing experiences. No specific decisions to be made.

Duration (without Q&A)

30 minutes

Specific requirements

Projector, computer

Interested attendees (Please add yourself, and you may indicate your questions to the presenter).

1. --Jetam2 (talk) 22:16, 9 August 2018 (UTC)
2. --Tobias1984 (talk) 11:45, 11 August 2018 (UTC)
3. --Vogone (talk) 23:57, 19 August 2018 (UTC)
4. --Saintfevrier (talk) 17:19, 22 August 2018 (UTC)