Come join us as we set a place for the dead; through helping to create new biography articles and improving existing articles on Wikipedia as part of a day of celebration.
On Halloween, Monday 31st October 2016 & continuing on 1st November 2016, the University’s Information Services team are running an edit-a-thon in two magnificent venues to celebrate the lives of those sadly passed on to mark Samhuinn: the Gaelic Festival for the Dead!
The event page is located at bit.ly/WikiHalloween
Samhuinn is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the “darker half” of the year. Traditionally, it is celebrated from the very beginning of one Celtic
day to its end, or in the modern calendar, from sunset on 31 October to sunset on 1 November.
Samhuinn was seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld could more easily be crossed. This meant the Aos Sí, the ‘spirits’ or ‘fairies’, could more easily come into
our world. Offerings of food and drink were left outside for them. The souls of the dead were also thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality.
Each day will have different guest speakers discussing the traditions of Samhuinn, Celtic history & folklore and the importance of remembering the dead on this day.
Feel free to suggest notable lives & articles we’ve overlooked & should be creating too.
Bring your best spookily carved turnip along and win a prize. We will have tablet skulls to munch on and guest speakers telling us about Celtic customs, beliefs & folklore. Hopefully, we may even be visited by the Faerie Porters too…..
Working together with liaison librarians, archivists & academic colleagues we will provide training on how to edit and participate in an open knowledge community. Participants will be supported to develop articles covering areas which could stand to be improved in order to improve Wikipedia’s representation of notable lives; be they connected to the university, to Edinburgh, to Scotland or further afield.
Between the worlds of the living and the dead
A Wikipedia editathon for Samhuinn: The Gaelic Festival for the Dead.
Book for one day or both!
If you are a student or staff member at the University of Edinburgh:
To book a place for the session on Monday 31st October in the Project Room (room 1.06) of 50 George Square then book through
MyEd Event Booking here: Monday 31st October 2016 session.
To book a place for the session on Tuesday 1st November in the Raeburn Room of Old College, University of Edinburgh, then book through
MyEd Event Booking here: Tuesday 1st November 2016 session.
If you are from outside the university
To book a place for the session on Monday 31st October in the Project Room (room 1.06) of 50 George Square then book through
Eventbrite here:
Monday 31st October 2016 session.
To book a place for the session on Tuesday 1st November in the Raeburn Room of Old College, University of Edinburgh, then book through Eventbrite here: Tuesday 1st November 2016 session.
New editors very welcome. Full Wikipedia training given.
Bring a laptop (no desktop computers are available) but a few laptops are available if you need to borrow one. Message ewan.mcandrew@ed.ac.uk if you need to borrow a laptop.
*Lunch is not provided on Monday 31st October but tea, coffee & tablet skulls will all be available and food can be eaten in the room.
*Lunch will be provided on Tuesday 1st November along with plenty of tea, coffee & tablet skulls!
Ewan McAndrew
Wikimedian in Residence
Tel: 07719 330076
Email: ewan.mcandrew@ed.ac.uk
Working hours are 2.5 days per week, usually Monday to Wednesday.
Wikipedia Project Page for the residency: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:University_of_Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, Learning, Teaching & Web Services, Hugh Robson Building, 15 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD.
www.ed.ac.uk