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Reports/2018

From Wikimedia Canada
Activity Report 2018


See the 2018 Detailed Activity Report with more information on all the activities.

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Introduction

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In 2018, Wikimedia Canada focused on capacity building. This was needed for several reasons, including to avoid losing volunteers due to exhaustion, being able to make the most out of opportunities from the interest of GLAMs[1] across the country, and working towards obtaining the charity status with the federal government. This last point is very important since it will allow the chapter to issue tax-deductible receipts for donations, which will allow Wikimedia Canada to run its own fundraising campaigns and become more sustainable.

This report presents the key highlights and the results of 2018 in each program compared to the objectives set out in the Annual Plan Grant (APG) applications to the Wikimedia Foundation: 2018 H1 and 2018 H2.

To view the detailed list of all activities conducted in 2018 by Wikimedia Canada, please read Reports/2018 detailed.

Highlights

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Some key highlights of 2018:

  • Wikimedia Canada hired an independent contractor as Institutional Advancement Manager in August, the first regular contractor of the chapter.
  • Wikimedia Canada was involved for the first time in governmental lobbying in regards to copyright in Canada by participating in the parliamentary process to statutory review the Copyright Act conducted by Industry Canada.[2]
  • Since the Annual General Meeting 2018, the Board of directors is composed of 45% women and has representation from the LGBTQ+ community. Furthermore, the Executive Committee is composed of 50% women, and the Programs Committee, which is the main body to oversee the programmatic activities of Wikimedia Canada, is 56% composed of women.
  • In 2018, Wikimedia Canada received a total of 45 requests from volunteers across the country for financial support to organize their activities.
  • Wikimedia Canada is in the final stages towards signing an official memorandum of understanding for an institutional partnership with Library and Archives Canada.

Programs

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In 2018, the three programmatic areas of Wikimedia Canada are:

  • Content, outreach, education and communities
  • Indigenous peoples on Wikimedia projects
  • Photographic content

Content, outreach, education and communities

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A Wikimedia Canada's volunteer giving a presentation about Wikidata during the International Open Data Day
A Wikipedia workshop hosted at Université de Montréal during the #1lib1ref campaign
An archives scan-a-thon hosted a BAnQ Vieux-Montréal during the International Archives Day

The goal of this program is to develop free knowledge about Canadian cultures, languages, history, geography, sports and other fields of knowledge, and increase the diversity of contributors from Canada. It has a focus on expanding and strengthening institutional partnerships with Canadian GLAMUs.[3]

Highlights

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Highlights of this program include:

  • Throughout the year, there was a strong leadership of women in organizing activities.
  • The hosting of a series of activities on the International Archives Day in partnership with Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) across the whole province of Quebec is the biggest simultaneous event organized by Wikimedia Canada so far. The detailed report includes several findings and comments about this event.
  • Once again, in October, Wikimedia Canada hosted the National Contribution Month in Canada. A total of 11 workshops has been hosted in 5 different provinces: British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Newfounland and Labrador.

Objectives and comments

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  • Augment, improve and diversify free knowledge about Canada, especially on Wikimedia projects.
To achieve this objective, Wikimedia Canada organized two large scale campaigns, one international and one national: the International Francophone Contribution Month in March and the National Contribution Month in Canada in October. Another large scale event was for the International Archives Day where Wikimedia Canada co-organized with BAnQ a series of activities in Quebec.[4] Wikimedia Canada also participated in the #1lib1ref international campaign with a friendly competition between different institutions in Quebec. In 2018, we saw an increase in the number of workshops organized around Wikidata. A total of nearly 60 workshops has been hosted in six different provinces with a total of nearly 400 participants.
  • Increase the number and the diversity of contributors from Canada on Wikimedia projects.
The key activities to achieve this objective are the hosting of regular monthly workshops at fixed dates to introduce new contributors to editing Wikipedia and its sister projects;[5] this was done in Montreal with "Mardi c'est Wiki !" and Quebec City with "Jeudi c'est Wiki à Québec !". Other introductory events were hosted in a more punctual basis in different provinces through partnership with local libraries and universities. Another key campaign to increase the diversity of contributors was the participation to the Art+Feminism campaign and the hosting of events on the International Women Day. In total, 17 workshops have been hosted in March as part of Art+Feminism in six different provinces in English and French. Furthermore, a new partnership has been established with Amnesty International Canada and an event has been hosted in Ottawa to create Wikipedia articles about female and non-binary peacemakers.
  • Increase the awareness and the knowledge of the Canadian public and institutions about Wikimedia projects, free licenses and open knowledge.
To achieve this objective, Wikimedia Canada conducted outreach meetings, participated in conferences to give presentations, and gave training sessions about the Wikimedia projects to different GLAM institutions including mainly museums and libraries. An interesting aspect of this outreach was the participation to several book fairs where volunteers from Wikimedia Canada gave presentations about Wikimedia projects to librarians, authors and historians.
  Featured activity: Cinémathèque québécoise
Wikipedia evening at the Guy-L.-Côté Mediatheque of the Cinémathèque québécoise on the filmmaker Matthew Rankin
Read the full story on Wikimedia Foundation's blog
Read the full story on Wikimedia Foundation's blog
Every month since September 2017, the Cinémathèque québécoise invites Montrealers to participate in workshops to learn how to edit Wikipedia, create Wikidata elements, develop articles about animated films, producers, filmmakers, etc.

The Cinémathèque also invites an artist who comes to talk to Wikipedians. They discuss the works of the artist, the technique used and a projection surrounding the artist is offered by the Cinémathèque. Then together, they develop a work plan to write the biographical article, the works and even complete the articles dealing with the technique used by the artist.

As soon as the Wikipedians get to work, the artist is invited to be photographed in the studio. It is also an opportunity to photograph specialized material used by artists and creators, as evidenced by the photo above of the artist Matthew Rankin discussing his works with Wikipedians.

During an evening of contribution around the artist Jacques Drouin, he explains the technique of the pinscreen invented by Alexandre Alexeïeff and Claire Parker. In this case, Wikipedians were able to know the use of this unique technique that would have been virtually lost if it had not been for Mr Drouin who resurrected the use of the pin screen for the creation of an animation film. Wikipedians were able to appreciate this technique thanks to the projection of his most recent film, Empreintes.

The screen named "Baby Screen" lent to the contribution night by the National Film Board of Canada was thus photographed to illustrate the Wikipedia article.

For more information on this project, please see the GLAM page of the Cinémathèque québécoise on French Wikipedia or the post on the Wikimedia Foundation's blog.

Indigenous peoples on Wikimedia projects

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A Wikimedia Commons uploading session hosted by the Atikamekw Community of Manawan WikiClub

The goal of this program is to develop the Wikimedia projects in the indigenous languages of Canada and increase the quality free knowledge about Canadian First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

For more information on this program, please read Aboriginal communities outreach.

Highlights

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Highlights of this program include:

  • The Atikamekw Community of Manawan WikiClub has been one of the most active WikiClubs in Canada by hosting mensual Wiki Ciwakamihikan (Wiki Coffee) and other activities such as Nitaskinan in pictures (see below).
  • A presentation was given at Wikimania 2018 in Cape Town about the Atikamekw project (see the video of the presentation).
  • Wikimedia Canada had a meeting with the Canadian Commission for the UNESCO for collaboration on indigenous projects.

Objectives and comments

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  • Augment and improve free knowledge in Canada's Aboriginal languages, especially on Wikimedia projects.
Once again this year, a pedagogic project has been organized at the Otapi Highschool of the Atikamekw Community of Manawan in Quebec where students in the computer class had to write articles on the Wikipetcia Atikamekw Nehiromowin. The Atikamekw Wikipedia has now over 625 articles. However, Wikimedia Canada was not able to extend this program to other indigenous languages in Canada in 2018.
  • Augment, improve and modernize free knowledge about Canadian indigenous peoples, especially on Wikimedia projects.
For the second edition in 2018, the Nistakinan in pictures event where the goal is to document with pictures and videos the traditional territory and activities of the Atikamekw First Nation was organized by the Atikamekw Community of Manawan WikiClub. A total of 103 photographs have been uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by 13 different participants. Another initiative, launched in 2018, is Nanto masinatcikan where the Atikamekw Community of Manawan WikiClub invites the population of Manawan to upload family archives pictures on Wikimedia Commons. However, in 2018, Wikimedia Canada was not able to extend this program to other Atikamekw communities nor to other indigenous communities in Canada.
  • Increase the awareness and the knowledge of indigenous communities about Wikimedia projects, free licenses and open knowledge.
In 2018, Wikimedia Canada didn't conduct any outreach or training with indigenous communities. However, the chapter met with the Canadian Commission for the UNESCO to discuss about a potential symposium on indigenous languages in Canada in 2019 where Wikimedia Canada could be involved to present the Wikimedia projects as an option to preserve and revitalize indigenous languages.
  Impact report
The Wikimedia Foundation conducted a case study about the impact of the Atikamekw Project started in 2015. It can be read on Meta-Wiki: meta:Grants:Impact/Cultural Heritage/Atikamekw.

Photographic content

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The winning picture of Wiki Loves Earth 2018 in Canada: hoodoos and the night sky at Midland Provincial Park in Alberta
The winning picture of Wiki Loves Monuments 2018 in Canada: the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac located in Quebec City, Quebec
A Wikimedia Canada volunteer photographing Marcel Sabourin during a book fair in Trois-Rivières, Quebec

The goal of this program is to increase free photographic content about Canada and educate Canadian photographers communities about free licenses. It is mainly done by organizing national photographic contests and supporting photographic activities about specific events and thematics in Canada.

Highlights

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  • As part of its Red Carpets Project, Wikimedia Canada was present at different events, such as book fairs and comic book festivals, to photograph notable people for Wikipedia.
  • Wikimedia Canada participated in Wiki Loves Earth for the second edition. A total of 1,215 photographs have been uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by 288 different contributors, including 247 new contributors. 7% of those images are used on Wikipedia. See the 10 winners or all the images from Wiki Loves Earth 2018 in Canada on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Wikimedia Canada participated in Wiki Loves Monuments in 2018. A total of 1,534 photographs have been uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by 106 different contributors, including 78 new contributors. 11% of those images are used on Wikipedia. See the 10 winners or all the images from Wiki Loves monuments 2018 in Canada on Wikimedia Commons.

Objectives and comments

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  • Increase the quantity, quality and diversity of free photographic content about Canada.
The key activities to achieve this objective are the participation in Wiki Loves Monuments and Wiki Loves Earth. Another key activity to increase the diversity of free photographic content about Canadian topics was the hosting of the second edition of Nitaskinan in pictures which aims at documenting the traditional territory and activities of the Atikamekw First Nation.
  • Increase the number and diversity of photographers sharing some of their work under a free license or in the public domain.
This objective was partly achieved through Wiki Loves Monuments and Wiki Loves Earth since a majority of the contributors were new. However, Wikimedia Canada did not conduct any specific outreach and education about free licenses to Canadian photographers communities in 2018.
  Featured activity: Nitaskinan in pictures
A photograph of a traditional activity uploaded during the Nitaskinan in pictures event

Nanto masinatcikan: Masinawapiskahikana kitaskinak

2018 was the second edition of the Nitaskinan in pictures event where the goal is to document with pictures the traditional territory of the Atikamekw First Nation. The event was held from 22 May to 22 June 2018 and a Wikimedia Commons uploading session was organized on 28 May at the Otapi Highschool of Manawan.

The event was organized by the Atikamekw Community of Manawan WikiClub (Wiki Ciwakamihikan).

A total of 103 photographs have been uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by 13 different participants. See all the pictures in this category on Wikimedia Commons: Category:Nitaskinan en photos 2018.

Press review

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English
French

Global metrics

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2018 H1

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Program name Participants Newly registered Content pages Files uploaded Explanations
Target Final Target Final Target Final Target Final
Workshops 100 562 10 0 140 2,484 0 590 Wikimedia Canada far exceeded its targets for this program, mainly thanks to the International Francophone Contribution Month, the International Archives Day and the regular monthly activities such as Mardi c'est Wiki ! and the Cinémathèque québécoise.

The numbers are lower than the reality because the chapter was not able to capture the metrics of all the organized activities; to alleviate that for the future, Wikimedia Canada is now requiring that all funded volunteers use the Wikimedia Foundation's Dashboard to record the metrics for their events. This is why the number for "newly registered" is zero, because this was not measured.

Indigenous languages 45 15 12 12 170 25 80 103 Wikimedia Canada did not achieve all its targets for this program; this is mainly due a planned project with the Innu First Nation that did not come to be executed because of a partner not communicating back with the chapter. All the numbers achieved are thanks to the Atikamekw First Nation.
Photography 110 303 20 247 100 93 500 1,346 Wikimedia Canada far exceeded its targets for this program, mainly thanks to Wiki Loves Earth.

2018 H2

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Program name Participants Newly registered Content pages Pictures uploaded Sound files uploaded Explanations
Target Final Target Final Target Final Target Final Target Final
Content, outreach, education and communities 100 133 15 1 300 33 0 0 0 0 Wikimedia Canada achieved its target for the number of participants, but was unable to completely measure the metrics for newly registered and the content pages edited. To alleviate this in 2019, Wikimedia Canada put in place a new policy that events financed by the chapter must use the WMF dashboard.
Indigenous peoples 50 16 5 5 100 217 100 0 200 0 All the results of this program are thanks to the Atikamekw Community of Manawan WikiClub. Wikimedia Canada was unable to extend this program to other indigenous communities.
Photography 200 107 60 78 80 160 1000 1538 0 0 The targets were relatively achieved. This is mainly thanks to Wiki Loves Monuments.

Notes

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  1. Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums
  2. Listen to the meeting on ParlVu: [1]
  3. Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums and Universities
  4. See the event page on French Wikipedia
  5. To see a list of all Wikimedia projects: meta:Wikimedia projects