Wikimedia CH/Grant apply/Decolonising
Infodata
[edit]- Name of the project:Decolonising knowledge in Switzerland
- Amount requested: 10'000 chf
- Type of grantee: Individual / Organisation
- Name of the contact:Iolanda Pensa - iopensa
- Contact: iolanda.pensasupsi.ch
In case of questions, please write to grantwikimedia.ch
The problem and the context
[edit]What is the problem you're trying to solve?
[edit]A Western perspective strongly limits knowledge. Also in Switzerland, GLAMs are starting to document and communicate more and more strongly the necessity of multiplying perspectives, analysing how knowledge is represented and disseminated in collections, events and exhibitions, acknowledging and correcting biases and misrepresentations, and engaging a wider number of communities in redesigning cultural institutions and their approaches. This attention to decolonising knowledge and communities is strongly related to the necessity for GLAMs to be at the service of society, open, accessible, inclusive and capable of fostering diversity and operating and communicating ethically, with the participation of communities (as explicitly requested in the new definition of museums by ICOM in 2022 https://icom.museum/en/resources/standards-guidelines/museum-definition/).
What is your solution to this problem (please explain the context and the solution)?
[edit]By identifying existing collections, exhibitions and sources, this project focuses on the issue of decolonising knowledge in Switzerland. It involves GLAMs, researchers, existing networks and volunteers and it supports them in making content available and engaging communities.
The project takes a series of exhibitions about colonial history, colonisation, restitution and migration as a starting point to drive attention to the importance of connecting those initiatives to Wikipedia and the Wikimedia project and start a larger strategy.
Location | Museum | Exhibition | Until | Link |
Zurich | Landesmuseum Zurich | colonial – Switzerland’s Global Entanglements | 19.01.2025 | https://www.landesmuseum.ch/colonial |
Zurich | Museum Rietberg | In Dialogue with Benin. Art, Colonialism and Restitution | 16.02.2025 | https://rietberg.ch/en/exhibitions/indialoguewithbenin |
Zurich | ETH Zurich | Colonialism in the ETH collections | 13.07.2025 | https://ethz.ch/en/campus/getting-to-know/learning-and-working/collections-and-archives/dekolonialisierung.html |
Zurich | Ethnographic museum University of Zurich | Benin Dues. Dealing with Looted Royal Treasures | 14.09.2025 | https://www.musethno.uzh.ch/en/Exhibitions/benin-dues.html |
Geneva | Ethnographic museum Geneva | Remembering
Geneva in the Colonial World |
05.01.2025 | https://www.meg.ch/en/expositions/remembering |
Project goals
[edit]The proposal contributes to Wikimedia CH program GLAM with a specific focus on decolonising knowledge. The project makes the relevant steps to prepare and launch decolonising knowledge in Switzerland and facilitate further activities (training, GLAM Wiki collaborations with institutions, communication and involvement of more diverse communities).
Specific goals |
---|
Identifying collections, exihibitons and source related to Swiss colonial history, provenance of Swiss collections, bias and representations within existing collections, migration and communities in Switzerland. |
Engaging GLAMs, researchers, existing networks and volunteers on the topic of Decolonising knowledge in Switzerland. |
Involving editors in contributing to knowledge gaps related to colonial history, provenance of Swiss collections, bias and representations within collections and exhibitions, migration and communities. |
Project impact
[edit]How will you know if you have met your goals?
[edit]Specific goals | Output |
---|---|
Identifying sources related to Swiss colonial history, provenance of Swiss collections, underrepresented communities, bias and representations within existing collections, migration and communities in Switzerland | List of collections, exhibitions, events, sources, institutions, networks, researchers and topics. Data in CC0 and uploaded on Wikidata. |
Engaging GLAMs, researchers, existing networks and volunteers on the topic of Decolonising knowledge in Switzerland. | List of contacts; number of networks and institutions contacted, number networks and institutions which expressed interest in the collaboration with the Wikimedia projects. |
Involving editors in contributing to knowledge gaps related to colonial history, provenance of Swiss collections, bias and representations within collections and exhibitions, migration and communities | A series of 3 online conversations, two events, number of participants, and number of edited content. |
Do you have any goals or metrics around participation or content?
[edit]- 3 online conversations: expected 10-15 participants each
- 2 events: expected 40 participants
- Data about GLAMs, networks, researchers: expected a selection of 150
- Contacts with selected GLAMs, networks, researchers: expected in this first initiative 15
Project plan
[edit]Activities
[edit]- Preparatory research about Swiss relevant collections, exhibitions, event and topics
- Research and contacts with Swiss related networks and communities
- A series of 3 online conversations about decolonising knowledge
- Events with presentations and edit-a-thons in two locations.
Budget
[edit]Working time is calculated with a flat rate of 600 chf per day.
Activities | Unit | Cost per unit | Cost |
---|---|---|---|
Preparatory research about Swiss relevant collections, exhibitions, event and topics | 5 days | 600 chf | 3000 chf |
Research and contacts with Swiss related networks and communities | 3 days | 600 chf | 1800 chf |
Two events | 3500 chf | ||
Coordination 20% | 1660 chf | ||
Total request to Wikimedia CH | 9960 chf |
Community engagement
[edit]The project activates a selection of cultural institutions, professional, researchers and volunteers. The topics of decolonising knowledge, provenance, migration, care principals, underrepresented communities, biases and misrepresentations is an important entry point to engage new contributors and GLAMs in the Wikimedia project, by triggering a specific and very topical issue.