How a summer internship started my journey as a Wikimedian

Like many of Gen Z, I have been reading Wikipedia articles for as long as I have been using a computer but, until this summer, I had never created an account or made any edits.

Wikipedia had always felt like a fortress. As a reader, I could admire it from a distance. But, as a potential editor, I imagined the gates were guarded by veteran Wikipedians, ready to unleash a rain of arrows (in the form of angry comments) if I made a beginner’s inevitable mistakes. 

Another barrier was not knowing where to start. Wikipedia and its sister projects provide a staggering diversity of potential ways to contribute. As a beginner, the astonishing range of topics bewildered me. 

But this summer, my journey as a Wikimedian began. It was one I embarked on through a unique route: a summer internship with Joseph Bull at the University of Oxford’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science (ICCS). This experience gave me the motivation and support I needed to overcome the barriers that held me back. 

At the heart of the internship was a recognition of Wikipedia’s importance, as one of the world’s most visited websites, in raising awareness of biodiversity loss and informing people of the emerging policy solutions for this crisis, including some of the people who are key to implementing them. These ideas immediately drew me to the opportunity and motivated the goals that were set for me. 

A month into my internship, I achieved my principal goal of creating a nature-positive article for English Wikipedia. Getting my first draft created, after navigating the Articles for Creation Process, was a great feeling that gave me a sense of achievement.

As well as this principal goal, I worked on updating and expanding a range of existing articles on biodiversity policies during my internship, such as biodiversity offsetting, environmental mitigation, and the economics of biodiversity. These are a few examples, but if you’re interested in the other articles I worked on and what I did on sister projects, check out my user page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Manxshearwater.

As I began to edit under User: Manxshearwater, I realised that many of my assumptions about Wikipedia were just that – assumptions. While editing was not without its challenges, much of my fear was unwarranted and my confidence grew. The support and training of Liam Wyatt at the Wikimedia Foundation and Stuart Prior at Wikimedia UK played an important role in making this learning curve a gentler one and my thanks go to them both!

Beginning as an editor by working on an article for creation, while simultaneously editing existing articles, was a challenge that taught me a lot in just a short time. Quickly, I became accustomed to the encyclopaedic style of writing that contrasted with the persuasive style I had to use in essays as a student. I also rapidly gained an appreciation for the laudable work of Wikimedia’s legion of dedicated volunteers, without whom, the site could not function. With time, this appreciation has only continued to grow. 

My last week as an intern ended with the submission of my second draft No net loss, which went on to become the second article I created. The close of those 8 weeks left me with much to reflect upon.

Having witnessed Wikipedia’s vibrant community and collaborative dynamic for myself, I had learned a lot and, happily, the journey did not end there. Since then, I have continued to edit. I am excited to see where this journey will take me and hope that, along the way, I can inspire others to get involved.