March and the first week of April were once again dedicated to women and women-related topics on Wikipedia. Thanks to the Women’s Month on Wikipedia challenge, which was organized for the seventh time by the Wikimedia Czech Republic, 91 Wikipedians managed to create or significantly expand 382 articles and expand another 183 – totaling 565 edits.
This year, we gathered four times: at the American Center, at the Academy of Sciences, at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University, and at the State Regional Archive in Prague. Collaborating with various partners has long helped to address a diverse range of topics and biographies of women, which need to be documented for Wikipedia. Whether it involves scientific disciplines or cultural areas, this cooperation successfully attracts newcomers with expert insights to participate in editing.
The aim of the challenge is to encourage more women to edit Wikipedia and to increase the number of biographical and related articles about women and related topics. Currently, the Czech Wikipedia contains 120,000 biographies of men and only 26,000 biographies of women. The distribution of editors is also uneven. Only one in ten volunteer editors is a woman. Anyone could take part in the challenge – either online from the comfort of their own home, or by attending one of our events where experienced tutors were available to help, especially beginners.
Editing Together with the Ambassador
The main event of Women’s Month on Wikipedia is traditionally the editathon held at the American Center in Prague. On Thursday, March 21st, 37 people came to edit and 5 joined online.
“This editathon, held for the seventh time, is highly valued for our long-term cooperation. It’s a great opportunity to share common interests, hear the stories behind individual articles, and witness the journey that editors must undertake to create them,” says Klára Joklová, the Executive Director of Wikimedia Czech Republic.
“There are so many interesting women around the world, whether in politics, art, or science. It’s a shame that we know so little about them and that they are underrepresented on Wikipedia,” says Kristina Němcová, a participant in the editathon.
Author: Jan Beránek, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The special guest was Bijan Sabet, the Ambassador of the United States. He tried his hand at contributing to Wikipedia and reaffirmed our good relations with the American embassy, which has long supported the Wikimedia Czech Republic.
“I am writing an article about Czech sculptor Dagmar Šubrtová. She has had about 20 solo exhibitions and countless group exhibitions, so creating this entry is not straightforward,” comments Jiřina Kádnerová. Her article is based purely on her own research, for which she traveled to various libraries and galleries. The article includes 125 references – links to literature or relevant websites.
Pavel Bednařík, the lead lecturer of the Wikimedia Czech Republic Association, also found time to contribute: “I decided to write an article about German actress Sandra Hüller, who starred in the Oscar-nominated film ‘A Hidden Life,’ and I think she truly deserves a spot on the Czech Wikipedia.”
Women, Media, and Wikipedia: A Topic for Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University
The Women, Media, and Wikipedia workshop was the first one we organized in cooperation with the ICSJ Student Association at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University. The funding was secured by a grant from the Academic Senate of FSS Charles University.
The invitation to the discussion was accepted by Ilona Zasidkovyčová, a foreign correspondent for Czech Television, accompanied by editor Pavlína Tomášová. The lecture mainly focused on Ilona’s work in Ukraine, and the discussion allowed for topics related to, for example, gender biases. Thanks to the workshop, for instance, an article about Ilona Zasidkovyčová was created, or a photo of Markéta Fialová was uploaded.
“The ‘Women, Media, and Wikipedia’ workshop was among the most interesting educational events of the ICSJ Student Association. Similar practical courses with extensions into other types of media communication, other than journalism or PR, are unfortunately scarce at our institute, and thus they become very sought after by students. We would be very pleased if we can continue to cooperate with Wikimedia CZ“ – said Michael Benda, Vice-Chairman of the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism Student Association.
Women in Science – The sounds of keyboards resonated through the Academy of Sciences again
For the second time, we joined forces with the Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences, and at the very start of the editing challenge, we met in the beautiful premises of the main building of the Academy of Sciences on National Avenue – the theme of this edit-a-thon, like last year, was Women in Science. The editing itself was accompanied by a traveling exhibition of Czech female scientists and their contributions not only to Czech science.
Apart from the Institute of Physics, the Historical Institute and wiki residents from several partner institutions, museums, and libraries also participated this year. The participants formed a diverse mix of scientific workers, Wikipedians, and seniors. Time for editing was also found by the chairman of the Wikimedia CR association, Michal Reiter, along with several other members.
The atmosphere of the event can be captured through the photographs by Richard Sekerak.
Women and Archives
Part of Women’s Month this year was also an event called Women and Archives, which we prepared as part of the GLAM cooperation with the State Regional Archive in Prague (SOA). The seminar and workshop focused on significant women and their legacies and were intended for archivists from Central Bohemia, who tried their hand at writing and sourcing original articles. Among other things, new contributions emerged, such as an article about the notable nun Antoinette Olga Chotková.
And how did the competition for prizes turn out?
We awarded all participants of the challenge with a virtual “medal” (a user award created specifically for this event). Additionally, for the first 100 participants of the Women on Wikipedia Month challenge, our partner Audioteka provided a month’s access to its Audioteka club, which means over 1,500 titles to listen to for free as part of the subscription and a 20% discount on thousands of other audiobooks. Among the 10 winners, we distributed vouchers from the wo-men publishing house, an annual subscription to Heroine magazine, and other prizes.
The project was financially supported by the US Embassy in the Czech Republic under the Small Grants program.
We thank our partners and everyone who participated in this year’s challenge. Congratulations to the winners. We look forward to next year!
We continue not just in March
Throughout the entire year, the active group Women on Wikipedia on Facebook is lively. We would be very happy if you joined and shared your experiences, gave each other editing advice, shared articles about significant women, or tips for articles that are missing. We are interested in what Wikipedia editors experience and how to further cultivate this environment. Join us too! Let’s create a group of people that welcomes women on Wikipedia.
Check us out at the American Center
How did the edit-a-thon at the American Center go? Check out the video below to get a feel for the atmosphere of the place.
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