Wikimania 2022/Individual Reports/Judy Unbrake

Username: Judy Unbrake

Wikimania 2022 (The Festival Edition)

August 11th – August 14th 2022

Wikimania is a Wikimedia annual conference hosted by Wikimedia foundation for all Wikimedians and everyone who believes in the Wikimedia movement for a global access to open-source information. It is organized by volunteers. Wikimania has always been an in-person or physical conference being hosted in different countries of the world. But this year it was virtual with attendees from across the world.

Wikimania 2022 was my first Wikimania and I was so excited to attend from the opening session to the closing session. There was a lot of new knowledge to acquire, skills and cultural experiences to witness and it was wonderful. Through the Pheedloop app I was able to set up my own schedule to accommodate my interest. I accessed my scheduled sessions through Zoom and YouTube, I also accessed recordings of the few sessions I missed on YouTube. In every session, I learnt something new since I am a Wikimedia newcomer, the speakers/presenters discussed their topics in simple enlightening manners that kept me motivated throughout the conference.

I was a beneficiary of the Wikimania 2022 individual scholarship which I used for data purchase, snacks, and food expenses during the event. I started off the first day of the event with a lot of enthusiasm because I had an objective which was to acquire more skills that will help me contribute more to the Wikimedia project, to learn from the presenters’ wealth of knowledge since most of them are old Wikimedians and to find out how other Wikimedians are solving challenges associated with being a Wikimedian.

I had a lot of take-aways from all the sessions that I attended but three sessions were more relatable to my objective for attending Wikimania 2022. I’ll discuss them below:

Day 1 – Digital Security Basics on August 11, 11:35am – 12:25pm GMT+1

Presenter - Konstantin Urbanec

When this session began, I didn’t have any expectations because there are lots of stories about how lack of web or internet safety can make one become vulnerable to cyber attack and the likes of it which I didn’t take seriously. By the time the session was ten minutes gone, I became really interested because the presenter talked about what I thought I knew from a new perspective, and I was thrilled by the eye opening information.

Take-away: my takeaway from this session is as follows:

1. I understood that using my real name as my Wikimedia digital space username was not right and that it could endanger me on social media platforms and even physically.

2. I learnt that there are unruly habits which people practice on digital spaces that are not safe, like posting plenty personal information on digital spaces, lack of password protections and other habits.

3. I learnt that pseudonymity is better than anonymity.

4. I understood that Wikimedians can be targeted for editing a controversial topic amongst other dangers, hence, the reason to be careful about the kind of personal information we share.

Outcome: the outcomes or effects of my take-away from this session were prompt and they are:

1. I made a request to Metawiki to change my Wikimedia username which got approved after two trails. Now I have a pseudonym Wikimedia username which is a right step towards taking my digital space security seriously.

2. I decided that going forward I will improve my digital space habits and adopt a safe practice on a regular basis to strengthen my digital space.

Day 2 – Don’t cite it, write it! What professors think about Wikipedia on August 12, 11:55pm – 12:25pm GMT+1

Presenters – Ian Ramjohn and LiAnna Davis

During my undergraduate studies in the university, whenever I talk about information I got from Wikipedia, people always discard it as unauthentic and lacking validity. Because of this experience, I was happy that this would be discussed during Wikimania and I was glad to add it to my schedule. I was interested in learning what professors have to say and it was a great session for me. Listening to five professors from different institutions in The United States of America talk about how they incorporated Wikipedia in their lessons and in projects they assign to their students was amazing.

Take-away: at the end of this session, I learnt that:

1. Even though information on Wikipedia may not be from primary sources, it is important and can help anyone who needs it.

2. Information on Wikipedia may not be quoted in a research article, but it can direct the researcher towards the right path and as well, provide references for the researcher.

3. Contributing to Wikipedia is a great good to the world and to people who use it.

Outcome: from my take-away in this session, I resolved that I would keep using Wikipedia and I would continue to be a part of this movement, contributing and editing information on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects for the greater good of the world.

Day 3 – Meet the members that are drafting the Wikimedia Movement Charter on August 13, 09:05am – 09:50am GMT+1

Presenters: Ciell and Kaarel Vaidla

I was fascinated to meet the members that are drafting the Wikimedia Movement Charter. I joined this session because I wanted to know what the charter was about, its focus and content. I was also interested in knowing how they are doing the work since the members are Wikimedians from different countries. During the session I learnt that there are subcommittees and drafting groups with different functions assigned to them, I learnt about their review methods, and it was inspiring to learn about their progress and resilience.

Take-away: this session exposed me to the following:

1. The key content agreements of the charter are conciseness, appendices, definition/preamble and enforcing.

2. The charter content outline is incorporating and is discussed under important headings such as, preamble; values, principles, policies; definitions; global council; roles and responsibilities; decision-making; section dealing with amendments, implementation; appendices/glossary.

Outcome: from my take-away in this session, I believe that the product of the charter after its completion would be a great document and I look forward to it.

Meeting people and Networking

During the event, I met a lot of people for the first time, and I also met old faces. I was happy to listen to Jimmy Wales, Andre Lih, Ananya Mondal, Carla Toro, Tochi precious, Benedict Udeh, NANöR NANöR, Alice Kibombo (whom I already know) and other speakers. It was also great to meet other attendees and chat with them in the lobby. I joined “Wikimedians for Sustainable Development” user group on Telegram to learn more about how I can contribute to the Wikimedia project on climate change. It was great meeting all the awardees, especially Dr. Nkem Osuigwe who is from my community, I was happy that she won “Wikimedia Newcomer of the Year” because she inspires Wikimedians in my community. I enjoyed the cultural displays, the meal sessions, the games, the parties hosted by Uganda and Nigerian communities and the Mexican music.

Conclusion

Conclusively, there was a few connection and technical challenges which brought some sessions to an end and left the attendees in awe, this happened in two sessions I attended, and I wasn’t happy about it. Nevertheless, I enjoyed Wikimania 2022. It was a great conference and an exciting experience for me. I learnt a lot and acquired more skills that will aid me in contributing to Wikimedia projects. It was a memorable first time and I look forward to Wikimania 2023 in Singapore.