dear all, Wikimedia initiatives/activities/experiences/tools/organizations are now incredibly numerous, and panels at Wikimania are reaching an almost unmanageable number (for attendees). why not creating posters?
posters are a simple presentation tool largely used in academia. it is literally a poster (A3 or larger), which presents an overview of a project/activity/experience/thing in a short and comprehensive way. basically they include an abstract, an image (photo, visual representation, graph...), links to further documentation (it can also be a QRcode which links to a video), credits, timeframe and contacts. The can be made available online (also with an editable format which allows translations), they can be used as slides, and they can be printed and used for all sorts of exhibitions (in a school, during an event...).
The possibility of submitting posters at Wikimania was already possible in previous Wikimania editions, but it didn't generate an habit and probably it didn't work very well (maybe it was not the right time). now there are structured chapters and affiliates, people working consistently in education, GLAMs and outreach, programs at WMF, and a desire to let other people know what is going on. we are thinking of include an exhibition of posters within our Wikimania bid[1] (it allows to reduce the number of panels, to allow people to share their experience even if they don't attend and to cross rapidly things you don't know jet). I'm also working with Wikimedia CH and Wikimedia Italia to prepare an event and exhibition in Lugano in Spring 2014[2] which includes an expo of posters of successful experiences in GLAM partnerships; this event could be a pilot to test the creation and use of posters.
To collect the information we can make a form with limited number of words and centralize the editing; or we can make a graphic template available; or we can create a team of people who summarize already available information from online documentation. i think visual consistency can be an asset.
what do you think? do you think it is a relevant format? anyone willing to help? anyone has an idea on who can set a graphic template for the posters? on meta you find a draft page about posters[3]
thank you iolanda/iopensa
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2015_bids/Esino_Lario [2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM_exhibition_and_event_in_Lugano_2014 [3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Poster_design