GLAM/Newsletter/December 2024/Contents/Macedonia report

This Month in GLAM – Volume XIV, Issue XII, December 2024

Macedonia report

Cconference for GLAM employees in Skopje

The GLAM program of Wikimedia MKD implies cooperation, action and implementation of activities in close partnership with GLAM institutions. Such cooperation implies activities of various kinds, such as workshops on a given topic, training the staff from institutions on the use of Wikipedia, editing sessions to enrich the contents of Wikipedia and its related projects, sending a native Wikipedian who would be a link between the institution and the association and who will actively improve the content of Wikipedia and its related projects.

Motivated by these goals, on 6 December 6 2024, at the amphitheater of the city library "Braka Miladinovci", members of Wikimedia MKD held a conference with the working title "Advanced Editing of Wikipedia" intended for employees of museums, libraries, galleries and archives. This is the first of its kind held in Macedonia, and also the first dedicated conference of this type organized by Wikimedia MKD members, this time, in close cooperation with Public Libary "Braka Miladinovci" - Skopje. The conference, in addition to the theoretical part and lectures, also included training of staff from these institutions on using Wikipedia and making their contribution to the growth of the encyclopedia. The conference was attended by 30 participants from different institutions.

After the introductory speech by the president of Wikimedia MKD, Nikolče Stojanoski, and his emphasis on the importance of cooperation with these institutions for obtaining solid and reliable free content, the executive director of Wikimedia MKD, Snezana Štrkovska, also addressed the attendees. Her remarks focused on what Wikipedia is and what a solid, well-verified encyclopedic-style article should look like. After the practical one-hour training provided for the 30 participants, a representative of Wikimedia Serbia also gave a presentation, who also emphasized the importance of these institutions for the creation free knowledge. The final part was reserved for Ana Vishinova, GLAM coordinator, who reflected on her experience and the historical development and significance of the GLAM program of Wikimedia MKD.

The importance of creating free content and digitizing materials, documents, and cultural and historical heritage was recognized by all participants at the conference. The diverse profile of participants, who actually represented institutions of this type, only confirmed the unity of some of the cultural workers in cooperating with Wikimedia MKD and implementing projects of this type.