Wiki Loves Monuments 2013 in Germany - WikiLovesMonuments

1 Jul 2013

Hi folks,

this is just a short update about what is going in Germany.

The structure of heritage institutions is a little bit complicated in 
Germany as they are organized on state level (which more than often 
delegated it on regional level) and a lot of private organizations take 
care about cultural heritage. (The most prominent one might be Deutsche 
Stiftung Denkmalschutz.) Nonetheless, there is a heritage project in 
de-Wikipedia since at least 2010, which focused on Wiki Loves Monuments 
over the past years. Where available a lot of heritage registers 
(Denkmallisten) are covered and Wikipedia is most likely the richest 
source for German heritage registers on the internet.

Photos from German cultural heritage monuments entered Wiki Loves 
Monuments in 2011 and 2012, so we can access a lot of infrastructure 
from previous years. Unlike other countries, Wiki Loves Monuments is 
very community-driven in Germany and the local chapter, Wikimedia 
Deutschland, is only supporting on demand. (With a community skeptical 
in general about any contribution by the chapter, which has a touch on 
content, this might be quite natural.) So, organizing Wiki Loves 
Monuments 2013 in Germany works pretty much the Wikipedia way. A little 
chaotic, but full of creativity. (-;

Preparations started late this year. At the moment we are about to 
organize a jury. We are still in need for awards, partners and sponsors. 
The plan to not become one more player in the field of cultural 
heritage, but to get in contact with major organizations and 
institutions, did not work out — again. The website 
http://wikilovesmonuments.de is not yet updated. And that is just to 
mention a few points that need attention. But after last years 
experiences, I am confident that on the 1st of September everything 
works fine.

So the bottom line is: Germany will participate in Wiki Loves Monuments 
2013!

For any questions, see 
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2013/Deutschland. 
Comments in English are welcome.

Alex

-- 
Alexander Sommer