Polish Heritage in Ukraine: Wikimedia Polska and Wikimedia Ukraine invite to contribute

For the first time a Ukrainian edition of Wiki Loves Monuments international photo contest will have a special category dedicated to Polish cultural heritage during October. The authors of the best pictures and videos will receive prizes and branded souvenirs. Wikimedia Polska is partnering with Wikimedia Ukraine for this inaugural joint project.

Due to a long shared – and at times complicated – history, there are many Polish monuments on the territory of Ukraine; and not all of them are registered and protected, let alone properly cared for by the state authorities or local communities. The main purpose of a separate special category is to draw attention to these monuments and their condition, and to document them for Wikipedia. Over the years of conducting Wiki Loves Monuments Ukraine the organising team held special categories dedicated to monuments of Greek, Armenian, German and Jewish cultural heritage in Ukraine – in an attempt to cover a very multicultural landscape of Ukraine in the past.

Anton Protsiuk, programs coordinator of Wikimedia Ukraine, noted: “Ukrainian participants repeatedly asked us to organise a separate category for Polish monuments. A lot of these sites and objects are now simply collapsing, and now with the Russians waging a war against Ukraine, there are even less resources available to care for the monuments. The danger of destruction is ever present, thus creating a sense of urgency to collect information and document as much as possible. This animates the work of the volunteer organising team of Wiki Loves Monuments Ukraine. We are very grateful for Wikimedia Polska partnering with us in this project, and we are hoping for good results”.

“It is a great honour for us that the representatives of Wikimedia Ukraine approached us with a proposal for partnership in the special category “Polish heritage in Ukraine”. This is important because we have much more in common than geographical proximity. The shared past of Ukraine and Poland is an important part of our history, and the presentation of Polish heritage in Ukraine, which is often not included in official lists of monuments, allows us to honour and document traces of this past in an original way. We look forward to the results of the competition, and if there is interest, we will be happy to consider conducting a similar initiative in Poland or continuing this partnership in another way,” commented Kasia Makowska, Open Science Manager of Wikimedia Polska and Coordinator of this year’s Polish edition of the contest Wiki Loves Monuments (Wiki Lubi Zabytki).

“This is not our first cooperation with Wikimedia Ukraine – we try to work together whenever there is an opportunity. Personally, I highly value this partnership, Wikimedia Ukraine is a professional organisation with which you can effectively and creatively implement the most valuable initiatives! Our synergy brings a lot to [the] Wikimedia [Movement],” noted Natalia Ćwik, CEO of Wikimedia Polska.

The contest list of Polish monuments will also include objects that are not in the official state lists. This list can be viewed at the link: pl.wlm.photo.

“The list of this special category is still far from complete, but we are working on gradually filling it. And we also rely on the help of our regular and new participants, who can send information about monuments, especially those that do not have official status and are not protected by the state,” commented Daryna, project manager of the Wiki Loves Monuments Ukraine. “As of now, with still two weeks before the start of the contest, we have a few hundred objects in the special category lists, with Vinnytsia Oblast alone having almost 450 objects.”

The lists of the special category will be expanded during the competition as well. If you have photos or information about Polish cultural heritage objects not currently listed, please send the information to the e-mail address of the organising committee at wlm@wikimedia.org.ua.

All photos depicting objects from the lists of the special category will automatically participate in it, so there is no need to additionally indicate this when submitting a photo to the competition. Please note that photos of objects that have an official protection status will also take part in the main categories of the competition. But objects without official protection status can be awarded only within this special category.

The expert jury will determine and award:

• authors of the three best photos of Polish monuments in Ukraine;
• the author of the best video depicting Polish cultural heritage.

The most active participants will receive branded souvenirs.

“We hope that this special category will help us to collect more photos to illustrate Wikipedia, and we think that more foreigners can contribute now to the Wiki Loves Monuments Ukraine – not only Poles who had historical, often family connections, to what is now modern territory of Ukraine, but also all those international volunteers who come to Ukraine to deliver aid or rebuild destroyed houses etc. Hopefully they will be encouraged to take part in the contest, while also learning more about the country they are helping”, commented Anton Protsiuk.

How to participate

1. Go to the special category page on Wikipedia (the page is also available in English and Polish, though the lists themselves are in Ukrainian only).
2. Create or log in to your Wikipedia account (you must enter a valid e-mail when registering).
3. Find a monument in the lists of the desired region. Each monument has its own identifier (ID).
4. If you have information about an object that is not on the lists, please send that information to wlm@wikimedia.org.ua, indicating the name of the settlement where the object is located, other data (coordinates, links to publications, etc.).
5. From October 1 to 31, upload a photo of the monument directly from the lists: find the line with the desired object in the lists, and in the last column click on the link “[Upload photo] (Завантажити фото)” or “Upload another photo” (Завантажити ще фото).

Please note: due to the state of war in Ukraine, only photos taken no later than June 30, 2024 can participate in the contest. The only exception is the interiors of monuments – their pictures can be submitted even if the pictures were taken during the competition in October.

All photos depicting objects from the lists of the special category will automatically participate in it, so there is no need to additionally indicate this when submitting a photo to the competition. Please note that photos of objects that have an official protection status will also take part in the main categories of the competition. But objects without official protection status can be awarded only within this special category.