Sharing experiences at Wikimania 2024 made me part of the community

Hello, I’m Adriano from Brazil and it’s great to be here on Diff, which, by the way, I’m an avid reader of. My Wiki journey began in 2013, when I started my undergraduate studies in Computer Science. What at the time was just an occasional query turned into something much bigger: my participation in Wikimania 2024.

I obviously already used Wiki a lot, but this was limited to reading the Review Scores infoboxes of my favorite albums. Until there came the day where I tried to edit a photo caption, but it was promptly rejected.

Just like memes on social media, at Wikimania I learned that no experience is individual in nature. In a conversation that took place during a side event, it was clear to me that many editors, especially Portuguese-speaking ones, shared frustrations like my own at the beginning of their journey.

The participants’ different perspectives — and, why not say it, their frustrations also — are some of the most fascinating aspects of Wikimania. Each presentation seemed to bring with it an almost imperative feeling to speak up, comment and share.

I was selected to participate in Wikimania on a full scholarship. I received the good news in March 2024, after submitting my first time application in December. When my scholarship was confirmed, it was surreal. Although everyone around me was extremely happy for me, I still couldn’t believe my good fortune.

The idea of ​​participating in the largest Wikipedia event in the world seemed unreal (in fact, I still think of it as a side event in my life). I should mention that this was my first ever trip abroad.

I was advised to choose the activities I wanted to participate in before the beginning of the event (including  this Diff article) so as not to get lost among the many available options. I chose technology and higher education with Wikimedia tools related activities, because during the last year I developed a MOOC on Introduction to Audioligy on Wikiversity as a Wikimedian in Residence. This project was the result of a collaboration between the Bauru School of Dentistry and Wiki Movimento Brasil, with support from FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation).

As far as technology goes, I participated in a hackathon where I learned how to create a simple robot in Python (and, to my surprise, it was really simple). In terms of higher education, I attended the talk “Student engagement with openness”, which presented the experience of a Wikimedian in Residence at the University of Edinburgh.

As someone on a full scholarship, I had to select four hours of any day of the event to help with the organization. I must confess that I was a little apprehensive at first, but I agreed to be a Room Manager.

It was a bit of a challenge trying to balance the scheduled time for everyone who was presenting without interrupting the talks. However, as with most Wiki activities, things tend to self-organize very well. Choosing the role of Room Manager ended up being the right decision because, in addition to being stress free, it provided me with the opportunity to talk to a lot of people.

Besides the event itself, perhaps the most enriching aspect of Wikimania was being able to talk to so many people. I made friends with people from Portugal, met an Armenian (and I now know the difference between Western and Eastern Armenian languages), and met those who work at the Czech Republic Wiki Movement. I do regret not having taken a photo with a Norwegian friend.

There were many opportunities to interact, especially during side events and tours, such as the tour that included visits to the Symfonia Science and Musical Education Center, the University of Silesia and the city center, among other places.

So, I think what will always stay with me when I look back on Wikimania 2024 will be the interactions I had with other Wikimedians. Friendships made and cultural exchanges were as important to me as the technical and pedagogical discussions. I took in these experiences not only to improve as an editor but also who I am in a global community.

Bring on Wikimania 2025!