ESEAP Conference 2024/Report/Summ23

ESEAP 2024 Report

Introduction

I was fortunate enough to attend the ESEAP Conference 2024 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. I was incredibly excited to be there because it was both my first time visiting Malaysia, and my first time attending an international Wikimedia event. I am relatively new to Wikimedia, having started editing Wikipedia pages in November 2023. For this reason, I found the conference insightful. I learned a lot about the work that other Wikimedians across the region are doing, and I was also able to share my own experiences. This conference was an enriching experience that has motivated me to continue my presence in the Wikimedia space moving forward.

Learning

I learned a lot from the speakers at the ESEAP Conference. My initial focus starting out as a Wikimedian was to contribute to the knowledge gaps that are present on Wikipedia, and to create articles about topics that need more recognition. For this reason, I was excited to learn about similar work elsewhere in the ESEAP region. For example, I learned about the potential of Wikimedia as a means of preserving and promoting the Hokkien language, which has been marginalised through strict education policies. I also learned about efforts being made to bring visibility to women in Wikimedia in China. Interestingly, I learned that one of the key obstacles to activity in Wikimedia was credibility concerns. In other words, Wikimedia is viewed by some as an unreliable source, making people hesitant to contribute to it. This is something I had noticed to a limited extent in Aotearoa New Zealand, but it became clear to me through this conference that concerns of credibility are universal. I was inspired by one particular speaker, who noted that she had been the first author in Japan to attribute her real identity to a book about Wikipedia editing.

Additionally, I was able to learn more about other Wikimedia platforms that I am less familiar with, such as Wikidata, Wikisource and Wiktionary. I have always been aware of these platforms, but less aware of their practical uses and benefits. For example, I learned that Wikidata and Wikisource are being used by Hong Kong Baptist University to digitise newspaper clippings in order to track their spatial and temporal spread. This allows the patterns of these publications to be tracked in ways that are not possible through assessing physical archives alone. Furthermore, I learned that Wiktionary is being used to document words that are considered too vulgar or colloquial to be formally recognised in dictionaries. These applications of Wikimedia were insightful, and they signify the fact that Wikimedia has practical uses that span well beyond Wikipedia articles.

One concept that Wikimedia appears to grapple with is the tension between free knowledge and cultural consideration. I was encouraged to learn about the work taking place in Australia to assess the cultural significance of images before uploading them to Wikimedia Commons. The ‘free knowledge’ aspect of Wikimedia does create the risk of inappropriate use of information and images. Therefore, it is important to normalise the practice of obtaining consent where there is a possibility that data has been gathered in a colonial or exploitative context.

My Contribution

On the first day of the conference, I co-presented a talk called ‘Editing Wikipedia to Understand our past: Enriching Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s local history on Wikipedia’. In this talk, my colleagues and I, who are all newcomers, discussed our summer internship as Wikimedians at Tāmaki Paenga Hira/Auckland Museum. We described the subject matter of our pages as well as the challenges we faced as new Wikimedians. In particular, I talked about my two areas of interest; Natural History and Queer History. I noted the particular challenge I faced in regards to finding sources that were considered reliable for the purpose of Wikipedia. I made the arguement that there is valid information to be found beyond traditional academic sources. I hope that this resonated with the audicence and encouraged people who are facing similar challenges in writing their articles.

Moving Forward

I enjoyed sharing my experience and my views on Wikimedia as a whole. This experience encouraged me to continue using Wikipedia to bridge knowledge gaps in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand. I am still very interested in Queer History, and I intend to broaden the scope of my articles to include topics from accross Aotearoa, not just Auckland. It was comforting to see that Wikimedians all over the world face the same challenges as myself and are finding innovative ways to overcome these challenges. It was also nice to meet so many Wikimedians. Up until now, my interactions with most other users were virtual and very limited. Meeting people at this conference has encouraged me to continue editing and to be more active through my Talk Page.

Highlights

One of my highlights of the conference was learning more about the various cultures in Sabah. I especially enjoyed visiting Mari Mari Cultural Village and watching the Silat Martial Art Performance by local Wikimedians from the Silat Seni Gayong Club. Conferences are an opportunity for people from a range of backgrounds to learn more about various places in the ESEAP region. I would strongly recommend that these experiences continue to be made available as part of the conference programme.

Final Reflection

A final thought from the ESEAP Conference 2024 that I will be taking forward was a comment made by one of the speakers. She said that encyclopaedias are a “barometer of the total body of human knowledge”. This insight made me realise the importance of ensuring that Wikimedia remains accessible for all, and contains a diverse variety of resources. We all have something to contribute and something to learn.