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The Heritage Guard Network: Figuring Out How to Crowdsource Digitization of Cultural and Natural Heritage Under Threat
08.08, 14:00–14:55 (Poland), Lviv (21+22+23) (interpretation)
Language: English

Cultural and natural heritage across the world is in danger – due to factors such as war, climate change, theft or simply decay, and a lack of resources. What is the role of the Wikimedia movement in safeguarding our heritage digitally?

The Heritage Guard Network will briefly present its preliminary findings from a project aiming to study exactly this and invite the audience for a conversation on how to make use of the findings and build new opportunities ahead.


The panel will commence with a concise overview of the Heritage Guard Network and our ongoing pilot project. We will delve into our initial insights regarding the legal and technical challenges hindering effective digitization, the potential risks associated with crowdsourcing endangered heritage, and strategies for engaging fellow Wikimedians and external collaborators in this endeavor. The presentation will build upon the insights gathered when developing four thematic reports that will be developed as part of the current pilot project. The reports will outline different aspects how crowdsourcing can be used to digitize cultural and natural heritage under threat in a responsible and effective way.

Partners involved in the project will share their insights, discussing how the Wikimedia movement and the systematic approach pioneered by the Network align with their respective domains. We will also share the plans for how to continue and scale the work as part of larger implementation projects – and what opportunities there are to join.

Subsequently, we will open the floor to the audience, fostering a dialogue on leveraging these insights within the Wikimedia movement.

Session recording: https://www.youtube.com/live/EYYQ-zBqY8s?si=LFSHgPxKi3PzUnT6&t=14837


Как ваша сессия связана с темами события: Открытое сотрудничество?

The session will have a strong focus on collaboration. Collaboration is at the core of the HGN project, fostering stronger collaboration between the involved Wikimedia affiliates and building networks with volunteers in the movement as well as external partners. These new relationships will be important for furthering our work as a movement, together with friends, which in turn will make more common heritage open but especially explore the role of the open in safeguarding the cultural and natural heritage.

Какой уровень опыта нужен аудитории для вашей сессии?

Everyone can participate in this session

Как вы планируете провести эту сессию?

Onsite in Katowice

С какими другими темами или вопросами соотносится ваша тема? Пожалуйста, выберите из списка тегов ниже.

Collaboration, Affiliates, Capacity building, Grants

See also: Slides

I am Project Manager for Involvement and Advocacy at Wikimedia Sverige. In that capacity, I have recently worked primarily with international partnerships, such as with the UN agencies, and advocacy for the open movement at the national, European and international level. I have an M.A. in Comparative Literature, and live in Stockholm.

This speaker also appears in:

My name is Olesia, coming from Ukraine. I’m a part of Wikimedia Ukraine in the role of project manager for the International photo contest Wiki Loves Earth since July 2022 and the Heritage Guard Network project (Ukrainian working group) manager since January 2024.

ED of Wikimedia Georgia