08-10, 10:00–10:25 (Poland), Istanbul (10)
Language: English
This session explores how Wikiesfera, a community of feminist editors with a horizontal model of governance known as the "Consejo de sabias," uniquely addresses gender disparities on Wikipedia. By focusing on collaborative activities and inclusive decision-making, Wikiesfera increases and enhances the representation and participation of women and underrepresented groups on the platform. We want to share Wikiesfera's methods, impacts, and how our approach could inspire broader changes within digital knowledge spaces, highlighting the importance of feminist principles in combating systemic biases online.
This talk will review Wikiesfera's path from its origins a decade ago to the current moment with a stable community of over 50 regular and many more occasional editors, totaling over 300 in-person and nearly 100 virtual meetings, training over 650 wikipedians. What is unique about our community, at least in the Wikimedia Movement, is that it is composed mainly of women. And we want to share with you how we have managed to accomplish this.
We will show you how our community works, the type of activities we have organized - including more than 120 editatonas among them! - and how we have achieved an innovative governance model comprised of 100% women. Also, we will highlight the importance of creating and guaranteeing safe spaces, especially when your community is composed of women or people from underrepresented groups.
Our wonderful community which has been nurtured and empowered over the years has published in Wikipedia over 5,600 articles and enhancing more than 30,000 others. We've also enriched Wikidata with around 2,500 new items and improved over 10,400, alongside uploading roughly 3,500 files to Commons. This collective effort has generated an impressive 18 million page visits, largely filling knowledge gaps across various subjects.
Since Wikipedia needs more women (with only 13% of Wikipedia editors identifying as women and only 19% of all Wikipedia biographies about women) we believe that our model can be replicated by other groups to reduce these gaps. Also, we are sure that some learnings could be useful for other groups, even those that do not have women as their main target.
As we are continuously learning and iterating ourselves, we will be happy to share perspectives and future challenges with the attendants during the Q&A.
Session recording: https://www.youtube.com/live/e1PcBYNAWAo?feature=shared&t=2681
To us, Wikiesfera, "Collaboration of the Open" is not just a theme; it encapsulates the essence of our work. It symbolizes the open exchange of ideas, the inclusive collaboration of diverse voices, and the shared commitment to fostering a Wikipedia that truly reflects the diversity of human knowledge. Within the context of Wikiesfera's mission, this spirit resonates particularly strongly.
What is the experience level needed for the audience for your session?* –Everyone can participate in this session
How do you plan to deliver this session?* –Onsite in Katowice
What other themes or topics does your session fit into? Please choose from the list of tags below. –Collaboration, Edit-a-thons, Capacity building, Storytelling
I am Patricia Horrillo, a journalist specialized in communication and social media. Since 2015, I have been coordinating Wikiesfera (UG), a working group established in Madrid (Spain), where I assist more individuals in learning how to edit on Wikipedia and in gaining a deeper understanding of other projects within the Wikimedia universe. I am concerned about the existing knowledge gaps on Wikipedia: gender (on which I gave a TEDx talk titled "Nobody will talk about us (women) if we are not in Wikipedia"), as well as historically invisible minorities (LGBT community, Romani people, etc.) and everything related to the historical memory of Spain. To address these deficiencies, I organize thematic editatonas aimed at attracting new editors to the free encyclopedia.