Wikiprojekt:GLAM/Goethe-Institut/Rezultaty

Inspired by the 'European stories' / 'Heirlooms' theme of the project, the volunteer editors in Poland – most of them first-time editors of Wikipedia – have selected a wide range of subjects to do with culture, science, history, and social life in Poland and Europe.

The project took place between September and November 2018. The students of the University of Łódź have learned the basics of editing over 4 workshop sessions. The program introduced basic rules of editing Wikipedia as well as the structure of basic articles and selection criteria for new content. 20 new articles were written and published in Wikipedia -- in English, Polish and German.

Wikipedia’s transparent and collaborative content development process allows students to gain a deeper understanding of how information is both produced and consumed. This provides an excellent opportunity for students to reflect on available sources and their appropriate usage.

Students and volunteers have chosen topics which form a group of 'snapshots' of culture, tradition and science of countries and societies across Europe'a past, present and future. Altogether the project participants have written 16 new articles, extended or edited over 50 articles, made close to 400 edits, and added over 15,000 words to Wikipedia.

View project statistics ->

To quote Professor Wolfgang Schmale, cultural heritage is no longer the task of only specialists -- "Democracy and the way of dealing with cultural heritage are closely bound up with each other. Each and every one of us contributes to the strengthening or weakening of democracy through his or her treatment of the cultural heritage".

Selected new and extended articles[edytuj | edytuj kod]

Themes rooted in the past:

Themes looking at the present:

Students of the University of Łódź have selected themes to do with intercultural past, visible through industry and engineering (French cruiser D'Entrecasteaux, Hanza); the fine arts (Peasant Coffin and traditions and folklore (Turoń, Liczyrzepa). They described subjects dealing with the past and present daily life in Poland in foreign languages (Bambino ice cream, Zalewajka (soup), Pocztówka, Woda kolońska).

Culture, and consequently cultural heritage, is often related to man’s physical well-being, or the expression of friendliness, as in the example of the postcard. The coupling of well-being and friendliness or affection in particular promotes the dissemination of cultural practices, cultural objects and immaterial culture, such as cooking and baking recipes, because much of what pleases people in one place also does them good in another, and works here as well as there. Nothing remains as it was initially, but is enriched, creatively changed and integrated into new contexts of meanings.

New editors placed towns and villages into the largest language version of the largest open encyclopaedia, offering everyone information about those places (Ciebłowice Duże, Kudrichi); translated biographical articles about scholars and artists working on the intersection of cultures (Bohdan Dedyckiy). Others yet looked at contemporary artistic trends in the local context (Anka Leśniak, Polish Vaporwave), and described phenomena outside the scope of the 'Heirlooms' but of global interest (RCW 34, Printer's key).

Images uploaded to Wikimedia Commons[edytuj | edytuj kod]

Photos from the workshop

Students learn to critically analyse articles to determine how well they cover the topic, to assess what information is missing and evaluate to what extent the article is documented with reliable sources. In the larger context, the evaluation of Wikipedia articles helps your students learn how to evaluate sources of information in general.

Students learn first-hand how to collaborate with a community of other volunteers. They often receive feedback on their work and learn to negotiate with others. Learning these skills is indispensable in the contemporary world, where even our cultural heritage and intercultural dialogue is conducted by means of online discussion and participation through digital media.