A chairde,
I hope this finds you all keeping really well.
There are some exciting changes happening at Wikimedia Community Ireland.
As some of you may have seen, we are in the process of hiring a new Irish
Language Officer and our current ILO, Amy, will move into a community
manager role. Unfortunately, these changes have come about as I (Sophie
Fitzpatrick) will be stepping down from my role as Projects and
Communications Manager in the New Year.
For the last two and a half years, it has been a huge privilege to work
with such a dedicated community both here in Ireland and across the globe.
My role at Wikimedia Community Ireland opened my eyes to just how powerful
crowdsourced knowledge and digital communities can be. From continuing the
WikiWomen legacy in collaboration with our Basque and Frisian partners,
working with amazing colleagues at Wikimedia UK to organise Celtic Knot and
getting to meet a whole new network of Wikimedians across the world, it has
been a whirlwind experience that has left me inspired and amazed by what is
possible.
It has also been amazing to engage with the Wiki photo contests and
initiatives like Art+Feminism, whose organisers work tirelessly to
coordinate events that span the earth. I have also been so lucky to
collaborate with GLAMS, particularly Trinity library who co-hosted our
Wikimedian in residence from Japan, ADAPT and our Data-to-text
collaboration, which won an award at the International Conference on
Natural Language Generation, the National Library for co-hosting our Rising
Voices Event and the National Gallery and Hunt Museum for jumping on board
our mission to make the internet a more inclusive place. I also want to
thank our University partners from all over Ireland who have welcomed me
into their classrooms to teach students about Open Knowledge, digital
activism and critical thinking around information.
It has also been a privilege working to promote and protect language
diversity and particularly Gaeilge. Language is at the heart of heritage
and an integral part of identity. It shapes how we see the world and thus
our sense of self. It connects us to our past, binds communities together,
and opens doors to the future. Wikimedia provides a powerful platform for
language preservation and growth. Whether you're creating articles in
Cornish, Manx, Welsh, Dagbani, or Saami, you’re helping to safeguard
linguistic diversity for future generations. I am looking forward to seeing
Wikimedia Community Ireland move further forward in this direction.
Since joining the team, I have witnessed Wikimedia Community Ireland go
through huge growth and thoroughly enjoyed building up our online presence
and continuing to establish our reputation here in Ireland and in Europe as
a leader in digital heritage and education. Thank you to the Wikimedia
Foundation, especially Agnes, Chen and Cornelius, who have been extremely
supportive of our group. Thank you so much to my team, Shannon, Eugene and
Amy, who have been encouraging and open-minded to every idea that I brought
to the table (no matter how outlandish!) since day one. Finally, to our
fabulous volunteers, thank you for all that you do to continue to highlight
Irish heritage and, particularly, our linguistic heritage in the digital
realm. Community is at the heart of everything we do, and this group is
living proof that it works!
I will be finishing up mid-December, so my inbox is open if anyone would
like to tie up any loose ends. After that, I will leave you in the capable
hands of the Wikimedia Community Ireland team.
Beir bua & beannacht,
Sophie Fitzpatrick - Projects and Communications Manager, Wikimedia
Community Ireland
wikimedia.ie
*Wikimedia **Community Ireland *is the national affiliate group for the
global Wikimedia open knowledge movement. *Eolas Oscailte, Oideachas agus
Gníomhaíocht Dhigiteach.*
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