Winter Greetings from Wikimedia Community Ireland!
November marks a time of transition with the anticipation of festive celebrations ahead. As the winter chill washes over our island and the year draws to a close, we find ourselves starting to reflect on the year gone by but by no means slowing down! Join us as we delve into the latest updates, achievements, and upcoming events in our vibrant community.
You can view the full version of this newsletter on our website!
Wikimedia Community Ireland was delighted to host the Wiki Women Erasmus+ Partners meeting at the end of October. We were joined by partners from Monaghan, San Sebastien in the Basque region of Spain, and Friesland in the Netherlands.
WikiWomen addresses many imminent challenges: the need for digital skills and literacy, the position of Europe’s smaller and minority languages, the need for multilingualism to be mainstreamed across school curricula, and the importance of gender equality, not only in society but also in the information we access.
Dublin Port kindly provided a space for the meeting to take place. Discussions about teaching materials and GLAMs Toolkits took place overlooking vistas of Dublin’s Docklands, the Liffey, and the distant Dublin mountains.
On the second day, the partners made important plans for the Basque and Frisian Wikithons taking place in 2024.
The partners left feeling inspired and motivated by the discussions, eager to get to work on the plans. A huge thanks to all of our partners for joining us in Dublin and to Dublin Port for being such amazing hosts! You can learn more about the WikiWomen Erasmus+ Project here or check out the project’s website.
In this section, we will the latest news (An Nuacht is Déanaí )from hear from Amy, our Irish language officer.
Amy was very busy this November! She was lucky enough to attend the Oireachtas na Samhna at the beginning of the month in Killarney. This is a festival that provides a platform for traditional arts and plays an important role in Irish cultural life bringing people from Gaeltacht areas and Irish speakers from non-Gaeltacht areas together.
She got to meet a member of the Wikimedia Community, Éamonn an active editor on Vicipéid and attended various seminars. It was a great chance to make connections with people who are really interested in Wikipedia, our Erasmus+ project, and keen to collaborate with them in the New Year.
Keep an eye out for an Irish language Editathon in the middle of December too!
A chairde!
Mí ghnóthach a bhí againn i mí na Samhna! Bhí mé ag Oireachtas na Samhna at tús na míosa i gCill Áirne, am ar dóigh a bhí agam.
Bhuaileas lenár gcara Gaelach Vicipéide Éamonn (féinín dúinn anseo) agus bhí cómhrá deas againn. D'fhreatail mé ar sheimineáir dheireadh seachtaine éagsúla; bhí an-chuid seoltaí ar siúl le Chonradgh na Gaeilge, Cnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann, agus tuilleadh.
Bhuail mé le go leor daoine agus tá fíorspéis ag dhaoine le Vicipéid, an tionscadal Erasmus+ atá againn, agus ba mhaith leo obair linn. Faoi láithair táím ag déanamh ianchúram tár éis on comhdháil chun na nascanna seo a dearbhú. Tá dóchas rom go mbeidh níos mó nuacht agam san Athbhliain faoi seo.
Ba mhaith liom Edithon a eagrú i lár mí na Nollag, beidh mé i dteagmháil níos déanaí faoi seo!
Mise le meas,
Amy
To celebrate Science Week 2023 we are holding an online editathon throughout the month of November! Get involved to help us achieve our goal of increasing the visibility of Irish women in STEM on Wikipedia. Anyone can participate at any time!
Stuck for ideas? Check out the event dashboard to find an article to edit, or if you know a woman in science who needs a page you can work on that too! For example, Dr. Kathleen Lynn (28 January 1874 – 14 September 1955), born in Mayo, was a doctor and activist deeply involved in the Irish Citizen Army. She played a vital role in the 1916 rising by providing first-aid training to the members and Cumann na mBan. Notably, she used her car to transport guns into Dublin before the Rising, even housing some in her own home.
Lynn assumed the role of Chief Medical Officer for the Irish Citizen Army. She was stationed at City Hall, offering medical aid to the wounded. However, the British forces recaptured the position on Easter Monday. Subsequently, Lynn was arrested and detained in Ship Street, Richmond Barracks, Kilmainham, and Mountjoy Gaols.
Digitized versions of her original diaries have been made fully available online by The Royal College of Physicians Ireland Heritage Centre. These span from Easter Monday 1916, until her death in 1955 and could be a great source of new information to add to her Wikipedia page as part of the Science Month Editathon.
Stuck for time? Small edits make a difference! You could add a citation or fix a typo.
Are you a Gaeilgeoir or even a Gaeilgeoir in training? This editathon is a great opportunity to use your cúpla Focal! There's plenty of room for improvement on Vicipéid about science and a huge lack of info about Irish #WomeninSTEM. Editing Wikipedia is a collaborative effort so, don’t let perfectionism stop you from getting involved. Remember mistakes are easily reverted!
If you are new to editing Wikipedia or feeling a bit rusty there are lots of resources to help you get started on our website, or you can reach out to us for help. We are always happy to hear from you!
This week Wikimedia Community Ireland was thrilled to unveil the talented winners of the Wiki Loves Monuments photography competition for 2023!
We received an overwhelming number of entries that showcased the diverse and awe-inspiring heritage sites scattered across Ireland. From ancient castles to modern architectural wonders, each submission encapsulated the essence of these monuments, offering a glimpse into their historical significance and architectural beauty. You can check out all the winners here.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated in Wiki Loves Monuments 2023. Your dedication to capturing the essence of Ireland's cultural heritage is commendable and contributes significantly to the preservation and celebration of our nation's history.
If you missed the last photography competition, do not fret! Wiki Science the international photography competition returns for 2023!
Wikimedia Community Ireland is calling upon amateur, professional, and aspiring photographers with a love of science to take photos and upload them to Wikimedia Commons. Photos are welcome of scientists, research subjects, and the research process. You can enter photos of nature, image sets, and astronomy. We also have a special #WomeninSTEM category for Ireland!
The contest is open until the end of November, so get your entries in to be in with a chance of winning prizes. Enter Wiki Science here.
This week our chairperson Shannon and valued community member Rebecca, hosted an in-person editathon with undergraduate and postgraduate students at Univedsity College Dublin as part of our Education and Outreach work.
This provided the students with the opportunity to put the finishing touches on their Wikipedia biographies they have been busy learning to edit over the semester. The editathon included lots of hands-on demonstrations on adding images, fixing citations, and publishing their work. The informal environment made it easy for the students to ask for help and feel more confident publishing their work on Wikipedia. The event was a roaring success with lots of biographies of Directors of the National Library of Ireland updated and edited.
Last week we held our final Community Meeting of the year, as we will take a break for the business of December. If you want to get more involved with the group next year, just let us know and you can come along to the first meeting of 2024 in January. We meet once a month on Zoom (usually a Tuesday at 7 pm) when we discuss and plan our events and campaigns, just email info@wikimedia.ie to join.
To keep up to date join the mailing list.
If you, your group, or organisation want to run a virtual, in-person, or hybrid Wikimedia workshop, we can provide a Zoom space in which we can hold an editing or other workshop for you and your colleagues. Get in touch: info@wikimedia.ie.
Le dea-ghuí,
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