GLAM/Newsletter/November 2022/Contents/Uruguay report
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Let's GLAM Together in Uruguay: Help us organize the GLAM Wiki Conference 2023
Wikimedistas de Uruguay wants to organize the GLAM Wiki Conference 2023
Wikimedistas de Uruguay is planning to organize the GLAM Wiki Conference in November 2023 in Montevideo, Uruguay, with the invaluable help of Wikimedia Argentina, Wikimedia Chile, Wiki Movimento Brazil, and WMF. Below we answer some questions that we have already received about our future plans.
In order to present the grant application to the Wikimedia Foundation, we need to conduct an engagement survey to understand better how we can build a useful program that makes a good use for our in-person time.
The survey is available in the three languages that we are planning to have at the conference, Spanish, Portuguese & English.
Fill in the GLAM Wiki 2023 ENGLISH survey here.
Conteste la encuesta para GLAM Wiki 2023 en ESPAÑOL aquí.
Responda a pesquisa para GLAM Wiki 2023 em PORTUGUÊS aqui.
Please fill in the survey no later than January 15 and help us by spreading the word among your communities. Here we have crafted a message in the three languages if you want to help us spreading the word.
Small FAQ about the GLAM Wiki Conference 2023
Below we aim to answer some questions that we have received while distributing the survey. If you have any other question, please reach out to me through my talk page or shoot me an email at eheidel [at] wikimedistas.uy.
What's the GLAM Wiki Conference?
The GLAM Wiki Conference is a global conference for people dedicated to cultural heritage and Wikimedia communities & tools. The term "GLAM" comes from the acronym "Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums", but the communities of volunteers and professionals doing GLAM Wiki activities don't have to be working at an institution to be working with cultural heritage. Throughout three days, cultural heritage professionals, knowledge activists, Wikimedia volunteers and movement organizers working with cultural heritage and Wikimedia projects, come together to discuss topics such as:
- Open access to cultural heritage;
- Wikimedia tools for doing batch uploads, multimedia & content donations, and more;
- Innovative content campaigns to create awareness of the importance of cultural heritage around the world;
- Ongoing digitization efforts;
- Marginalized and underrepresented knowledge;
- Lessons learned from GLAM collaborations;
- ...and much more!
This conference was organized first in 2009 in Australia, and held in several other places afterwards, with the last one being held at Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2018. For a full (unofficial) list, see: GLAM Conferences.
The conference was planned to take place again in 2021, which couldn't happen because of the pandemic.
Why Latin America? Why Uruguay?
If our grant proposal gets approved, this would be the first time the GLAM Wiki Conference takes place in Latin America. This would be a huge opportunity for the Latin America communities that have been working on GLAM-related projects for a long time now bringing innovative approaches, such as the digitization program by Wikimedia Argentina, the capacity building initiatives by Wikimedia Chile & Wikimedistas de Uruguay, or the content campaigns to highlight the intangible cultural heritage of different States of Brazil by Wiki Movimento Brazil.
Wikimedia communities in Latin America have been a key partner to promote open access to cultural heritage across the region, and by organizing the GLAM Wiki Conference in Uruguay, we expect to create more opporutnities, articulations and a common goal for the region, while connecting with the global GLAM Wiki conversation.
At what stage of the planning process are you at?
Here is a brief outline of our current planning and calendar:
- Distributing Engagement Survey (required by the Wikimedia Foundation to present a grant proposal) till January 15th.
- Preparing proposal to be submitted by beginning of February 2023. People will be able to leave comments on the Talk page of the proposal.
- Proposal gets accepted or rejected by March 2023.
- If the proposal gets accepted, here's a (very) rough timeline for the Conference:
- April: Call for Program Committee members.
- May-June: Call for Proposals; Call for Scholarships; Call for volunteers.
- June-August: Proposals & scholarships accepted.
- September-October: Final program announced.
- November: Conference takes place!
I want to volunteer at the conference. How can I do it?
We are still at the planning stage. However, if you are interested in volunteering at the GLAM Wiki Conference, we are collecting expressions of interest by individuals. Just send Scann an email to eheidel [at] wikimedistas.uy if you would like to volunteer.
Are there going to be scholarships to attend to the GLAM Wiki Conference?
Yes, this is in our budget proposal. We expect to be offering full and partial scholarships for those interested in attending. While we can't guarantee right now how many scholarships there will be available, we expect to offer a similar amount to the scholarships allocated at GLAM Wiki Israel (a total of 45 scholarships were granted). We expect to offer scholarships to people coming mainly from underrepresented regions of the world.
Why an in-person event?
Great question! There are several concerns around doing an in-person event, from the carbon footprint to the need to allow for diversity & inclusion. We understand all these concerns, but we believe it's still very important to have in-person meetings to allow for in-depth conversations and problem solving activities that are otherwise hard to achieve online. However, in planning for the conference, we will do our best to incorporate online elements and allow for conversations to take place before the conference, in order to make the best use of our time while in person.
How can I recieve updates about the GLAM Wiki Conference 2023?
We will be distributing information through the traditional channels: this newsletter, the GLAM-Wiki Telegram group, the various GLAM mailing lists... if you are not familiar with any of these channels, leave me a message on my talk page.
