On Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 2:05 AM, Michael Snow <wikipedia(a)verizon.net> wrote:
This isn't directly related to the board meeting,
but I want to pause
for a moment to share some ideas. Not all of them are mine, quite a bit
of this is directly from the chapters.
The Swedish chapter had the idea to declare 2009 The Year of the
Picture, to put a concerted effort into adding images to the Wikimedia
Commons, along with using more illustrations in Wikipedia and elsewhere.
I think this is absolutely a great idea. Making better use of visual
material in our projects also fits in with the ongoing effort to improve
quality.
I applaud the efforts of all the chapters in this area, and I encourage
anyone who can to join in. You may recall that the German chapter
recently secured the release of a large number of images from their
federal archive, and several other chapters are also working on free
image collection projects. Hopefully our April meetings of chapter
representatives, in conjunction with the board, will be an opportunity
to develop more ideas and strategies. And of course, you don't even need
to have a recognized chapter to get a group together and organize photo
expeditions, as for example some of the people in the now-approved New
York chapter have done.
Hurrah for the The Year of the Picture!
In New York City, it feels like 2008 was our Year of the Picture with
our "Wikipedia Takes Manhattan" photo scavenger hunts, and I encourage
folks to look at stuff that has been done in other places as well:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Takes_The_City
I hope "Wikipedia Loves Art" can be a great kick-off to The Year of
the Picture, with maybe a dozen museums and cultural institutions
around the globe who will be participating next month.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Loves_Art
Thanks,
Pharos