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Grants:Project/Giantflightlessbirds/New Zealand Wikipedian at Large

< Grants:Project
statusselected
New Zealand Wikipedian at Large
summaryA series of short Wikipedian in Residence stints in GLAM sector, research, and educational organisations throughout New Zealand, while establishing face-to-face meetup groups to support new editors.
targetEnglish Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata
type of grantoffline programs and events
amountUS$45,407 (NZ$61,853)
type of applicantindividual
contact• giantflightlessbirds@gmail.com
this project needs...
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created on04:26, 31 January 2018 (UTC)


Project idea

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What is the problem you're trying to solve?

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Aotearoa New Zealand is underrepresented in Wikimedia projects because of our isolation, small population, and small editing community; in many ways coverage of NZ in Wikipedia is 5–10 years behind corresponding articles on Northern Hemisphere countries.

There is little visible Wikimedia presence in Aotearoa; although there are individual editors doing good work, there is no organised editing community, and little opportunity for interested editors to learn and meet others. While edit-a-thons (most organised by me) are increasingly common, the lack of community support means newly-recruited editors often stop contributing. Even something as simple as regular meetup groups to follow up on Wikipedia training workshops would make a difference in editor retention.

There has only ever been a single short Wikipedian in Residence placement in New Zealand. Consequently, while individuals in the GLAM sector, research institutions, or universities might be interested in what Wikimedia projects have to offer, there is a shortage of experienced editors able to work with them on strategies to engage with Wikipedia and the Commons. New Zealand is, in Wikimedia terms, an emerging community, with huge potential that is not being realised.

What is your solution?

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Based on my Wikipedia outreach work of the last few years and regular discussions with GLAM sector institutions, I think these problems can be addressed with a full-time, visible Wikipedian supporting both individuals and institutions. I am applying for support to undertake a series of short (2 to 6 week) Wikipedian-in-Residence positions throughout New Zealand for one year, with two objectives:

  1. Run public Wikipedia/Commons editing workshops and edit-a-thons, followed by a series of meetups, organised by mailing list and Facebook group, to provide support for new editors.
  2. Work with a wide variety of GLAM, science-communication, and research institutions throughout New Zealand, so that each one makes a visible contribution to one or more Wikimedia projects and develops a Wikimedia strategy that can be used as an exemplar for similar institutions.

Throughout the year of being a "Wikipedian at Large" these activities will be shared through radio, TV, online, and print media to educate the public about how Wikimedia projects work, and inspire other institutions to engage with them.

Project goals

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The main benefits to the Wikimedia community will be:

  1. Immediate and well-publicised improvements in New Zealand's coverage in Wikimedia projects, by helping heritage and research organisations host public Wikipedia events and release appropriate image collections to Commons.
  2. The creation of an editor support network in New Zealand’s four main cities (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin) through a Facebook group and offline meetups, with the long-term goal of building a self-sustaining editing community.
  3. Continued long-term participation of New Zealand organisations in Wikimedia projects by helping them develop a Wikimedia engagement strategy, and by training and supporting the key staff who will drive continued Wikipedia activity.

Project impact

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How will you know if you have met your goals?

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As "Wikipedian at Large", I will organise a chain of short placements in a wide range of institutions in the four main centres in New Zealand. This grant will provide support, so each institution need only supply a workspace and network access. At the start of this project, I have offers to host a short term Wikipedian in Residence from:

There are also potential placements with:

All public activities will be followed by face-to-face meetups for participants; editing coffees or "wikibrunches", which will function as social events as well as support groups for beginning editors. Editors keen to continue organising meetups will be identified and mentored to help make these self-sustaining.

The long term impact of this grant will be measured as follows:

  1. Tracking the use of host-institution Commons items in Wikimedia projects. This usage can be summarised on a "Wikipedian at Large" project page and updated monthly for a year, then annually, so institutions can directly track the impact of a Wikipedian’s residency and add the data to their annual reports.
  2. The establishment of regular in-person meetings of Wikipedia editors in NZ’s four largest cities, logged in the Wikipedia Meetups in NZ template.
  3. GLAM, research, and education organisations begin developing Wikimedia strategies; the target will be for 12 organisations to have developed a strategy as a result of this project.

Do you have any goals around participation or content?

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Helping a participant during the 2017 NZ Insect Cards workshop.

The last three Wikipedia edit-a-thons I ran were:

  • NZ Species (2016) at the National Museum Te Papa in Wellington, which had 15 attendees and 7 remote attendees (almost all new editors), created 20 articles, and improved 19
  • Women in Science (2017), hosted in Wellington by the Royal Society Te Apārangi, had 33 attending (2 remotely), created 22 biographies, and improved 15
  • NZ Insect Cards in Auckland (20 new editors, 2 experienced admins, 67 articles created or improved).

Based on these results, reasonable targets for public edit-a-thons/workshops, assuming at least one per temporary residency or one a month, are:

  • Total participants: 300
  • New users: 250
  • Pages created or improved: 575
  • Over 75% of participants satisfied or very satisfied, with over 50% interested in meetups or further events

In addition, I would aim to organise at least two editor meetups in each of the four main centres, with at least eight Wikipedians attending on average.

The newly-created Wikipedia New Zealand Facebook group has only a dozen members: the goal would be to have at least 200 active NZ members after a year.

Project plan

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Activities

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Each placement will be 2–6 weeks (longer by arrangement). Hosting organisations will be required to supply a workspace, access to their network or access to a computer with same, and a venue with wifi for public events. During each placement, as well as running Wikipedia and Commons training for staff and helping the organisation develop a Wikimedia strategy, we have provisionally agreed on the following projects:

Otago Museum

Auckland Museum

  • Organising a panel and discussion with Māori and Wikipedians on the future of Māori-language Wikipedia, and the Māori content on English-language Wikipedia.
  • Arrange the uploading of biology type specimen photographs to Commons, for volunteers to incorporate into or create species pages in a targeted edit-a-thon.

Landcare Research Entomology

  • Help Landcare release the Des Helmore archive of insect line drawings into Commons, as well as their backlog photographic archive, under a CC-BY-SA license.
  • Organise an Insects edit-a-thon to add these to Wikipedia and Wikidata.
  • Run a Wikidata workshop with scientists to discuss the benefits and obstacles towards moving NZ taxonomic output from Wikispecies to Wikidata.

NZ Geographic

  • Develop a plan and recruit volunteers to release available photos from NZ Geographic’s archives to the Commons.
  • Run a targeted edit-a-thon on Kauri dieback disease to support a recent magazine feature on the subject, which lamented that the disease had no Wikipedia page (since rectified).

Ministry of Culture and Heritage

  • Work with the group responsible for Te Ara, the online Encyclopedia of New Zealand, to determine how it and Wikipedia can complement each other; this would involve updating their Creative Commons policy from its current CC-BY-NC state to support re-use of their text and images.
  • Create a Wikiproject and editing event based on the list of people considered but not selected for the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.

Forest and Bird

  • Run targeted edit-a-thons on F&B’s high-priority environmental topics (such as penguin conservation, Maui dolphins, or the Mackenzie Country), using current publications and references, experts on hand, and photos that could go Wikimedia Commons.
  • Work with the project to digitise back issues of Forest and Bird magazine under a Creative Commons license, helping staff and volunteers find ways of sharing this archive in Wikimedia projects.

Department of Conservation

  • Working with the photo library to transfer all Creative Commons-licensed images and metadata to Commons for general public use.
  • An edit-a-thon to update the TCS Threat Classification template and apply it to all listed NZ species on Wikipedia, using current TCS categories and up to date references.
  • Working with individual species recovery groups to help them sort out publications, information, and photos of their species, and bring articles on iconic NZ species up to Good Article or Featured Article status.
  • Training DOC staff in Wikidata, including how to maintain listings of every individual of endangered species like takahē and kākāpō.

Zealandia

  • Facilitating release to Commons of a huge collection of photos taken by Zealandia volunteers.
  • Creating Wikiproject Zealandia – a To Do list of all the sanctuary's flora and fauna – and recruiting an editing team of volunteer guides and Victoria University Māori/Pacific Island students; the most industrious editors to be rewarded with exclusive tours and encounters with kiwi and other threatened species.
  • Developing a Wikimedia strategy to act as a model for other NZ Mainland Island sanctuaries and organising improvement of articles of general relevance, such as Pest-exclusion fence and Ecological island.

Nelson Provincial Museum

  • Recruiting and supporting local Wikipedians to add images from the museum collections to Nelson/Tasman-related pages and create new articles.

Similar projects will be developed as additional institutions and organisations offer to host me as a Wikipedian. In addition, I’ll run a Wikipedia introductory workshop, tailored to the subject matter, at no fewer than three professional meetings or conferences during the year.

Follow-up will be built into every Wikimedia event. Currently I survey all edit-a-thon participants for feedback, and ask them for permission to use their edits when calculating analytics. These surveys also ask if they’re interested in attending further events or attending face-to-face meetups; those who agree will now also be invited to join the Wikipedia NZ Facebook group. I will maintain an opt-in MailChimp email list, used only for geographically-appropriate event and meetup notifications; general discussion will happen in the Facebook group or at meetups.

Budget

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Support
For one year of living expenses and accommodation around New Zealand

  • US$40,500 (NZ$55,000)

Travel
To approximate the vehicle travel for one year of travelling almost the entire length of New Zealand and back, I’ve used the mileage Auckland–Dunedin return (3000 km) plus two ferry crossings (NZ$400), x 2 to allow for side trips, at a NZ public service mileage rate of NZ$0.73/km

  • US$3,827 (NZ$5,214)

Conference registration
To enable attending and presenting at at least three conferences in the course of the year.

  • US$880 (NZ$1,200)

Swag
Wikimedia Store pens, pencils, buttons, and pins to use as event prizes and helper rewards

  • US$200 ($NZ271)

Community engagement

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As a side-effect of my various Wikimedia activities, I seem to have become the most well-known Wikipedian in NZ, and – as there’s no chapter in NZ – the public face of Wikimedia by default. I’m certainly not the most experienced editor in the country, but am good at dealing with the media – my high point was an long interview with NZ’s foremost radio broadcaster and interviewer Kim Hill in 2016, for Wikipedia’s 15th birthday, in which I had an opportunity to explain how Wikipedia works, its history, and its future; possibly the most in-depth media coverage the Wikimedia Foundation has ever had in New Zealand. I’ll continue working in this way, arranging radio, newspaper, and TV publicity of Wikipedia events and institutional projects during the course of the year.

Social media outreach will be directly through Twitter, the Wikipedia NZ Facebook group, and notices on Wikiproject NZ noticeboard and other Wikiproject groups; indirect social media will be through the various feeds of host institutions.

I will present on the "Wikipedian at Large" project at the National Digital Forum meeting at Te Papa in Wellington, the main venue for GLAM sector projects in NZ. I’ll also arrange at least two other conference presentations/workshops, similar to those I gave to the 2016 Curators’ Hui and the 2017 Science Communicators of NZ conference.

Get involved

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Participants

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Dr Mike Dickison (User:Giantflightlessbirds)
I'm a biologist and museum curator, and have taught graphic design, IT skills, and science writing for over 20 years. I first became interested in Wikipedia for education at the University of Canterbury, and since 2014 I've been active in running edit-a-thons, teaching Wikipedia workshops, and promoting Wikimedia tools as part of an outreach strategy for the museum and science community. I actively promote open science and Creative Commons access to collections in the GLAM sector. For the last two years I've organised Wikipedia support for the Critter of the Week project, a collaboration between Radio NZ and the Department of Conservation.

  • Volunteer I would be happy to assist Mike both virtually and in person with any edit-a-thons he organises. I would also be keen to attend any meetups organised in my city and to assist and support new volunteers on their editing journey. Ambrosia10 (talk) 04:06, 1 February 2018 (UTC)
  • Volunteer I would also be able to support edit-a-thons and support new volunteers (as I previously did at the women in science meetup). As one of the de facto coordinators of the New Page Patrol project on the English Wikipedia, I can help out a lot with discussing topic notability and suitability with new editors. Insertcleverphrasehere (talk) 11:23, 1 February 2018 (UTC)
  • Volunteer I also am happy to assist both virtually and in person with edit-a-thons and meetups. I am an experienced Wikipedian and administrator based in Auckland and willing to travel within the upper North Island.-Gadfium (talk) 21:52, 1 February 2018 (UTC)
  • Volunteer I would like to attend many edit-a-thons to assist as an experienced editor. I will be following the progress via my watchlist and I will participate in Talk page discussions on any topic. Tayste (talk) 20:30, 6 February 2018 (UTC)
  • Volunteer I would like to be involved virtually or in person if possible. I have attended 2 edit-a-thons virtually (organised by Mike and others) and have collaborated with Mike to raise awareness of Wikipedia through editing pages linked to the Critter of the Week project mentioned above. I am keen to support new editors in increasing their knowledge of Wikipedia editing. Markanderson72 (talk) 02:09, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
  • Volunteer I would like to attend any local edit-a-thons and would be happy to help organise local meetups or other support as needed. Drsjnz (talk) 21:28, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
  • Volunteer I would like to assist with and attend edit-a-thons, both virtually and in person. I have attended two edit-a-thons (one virtually, one in person) and one Wikipedia training session run by Mike. He is the person who inspired me to start editing Wikipedia in the first place. StellaMcQ (talk)
  • Volunteer I would be interested in attending and assisting with edit-a-thons. I have attended edit-a-thons run by Mike and led workshops for Museum staff on Wikimedia. I would be very keen in assisting with local meetups and being part of the follow up surrounding edit-a-thons to encourage editor retention and continued interest in Wikimedia. Susan Tol (talk) 19:35, 11 February 2018 (UTC)
  • Volunteer I'm keen to help at an Auckland insect editathon event. I co-organised the NZ playing cards insects editathon in December 2017, which successfully engaged a group of undergraduate and postgraduate students, professional entomologists, academics and interested members of the public. We even had a father and son come along to learn how to create pages in Wikipedia! Mike is the perfect person to lead this Wikipedia program – he's passionate about increasing public knowledge about New Zealand's lesser known fauna. Weevilwonder (talk) 21:37, 12 February 2018 (UTC)
  • Volunteer I have helped at Wellington events and will help at future events. Sabine's Sunbird (talk) 08:45, 15 February 2018 (UTC)
  • Volunteer Keen to help where I can, more than likely virtually. Sirpottingmix (talk) 07:11, 22 February 2018 (UTC)
  • Volunteer I am happy to assist both virtually and in person with edit-a-thons and meetups. I am an experienced Wikipedian and administrator based in Christchurch. I have attended previous meetups in Christchurch to assist the organisers of the events. Schwede66 (talk) 22:39, 7 March 2018 (UTC)
  • Volunteer Really support Mike's project and I would be pleased to assist both virtually and in person with edit-a-thons and meetups where I can. I've attended one of Mike's meet-ups in the past and really enjoyed myself. Einebillion (talk) 23:35, 11 March 2018 (UTC)
  • Volunteer - having met Mike in Bali at the ESEAP conference, as well as listened to the presentation made there, I would gladly follow materials and try - virutally, as a non admin, to try to keep up maintenance of items being created on wp en - up to scratch, (noting that my user name can be found on a lot of NZ category talk pages)... - I support what he is doing and hope we can see him in Australia soon. :JarrahTree (talk) 10:22, 20 May 2018 (UTC)
  • Volunteer I am able to help run suffrage related events. Speggle22 (talk) 23:44, 26 July 2018 (UTC)

Community notification

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Endorsements

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Do you think this project should be selected for a Project Grant? Please add your name and rationale for endorsing this project below! (Other constructive feedback is welcome on the discussion page).

  •   Support. Mike is correct when he states that New Zealand is under represented in Wikimedia projects. I also believe that if successful with this grant application he can help rectify this. Mike is well known throughout the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) sector in New Zealand as a Wikipedian and is well placed to both educate and inspire New Zealand based organisations and individuals to share their knowledge and content with the various Wikimedia projects. I attended one of his workshops when I was first attempting to edit Wikipedia and his support and encouragement has ensured my continued enthusiastic participation with English Wikipedia, Wikicommons and Wikidata. New Zealand is in dire need of more editors as well as Wikipedians in residence. If successful, this proposal has the potential to show organisations the benefits of collaboration with the Wikimedia Foundation and the various projects it oversees. Not only would the Wikimedia projects benefit from this collaboration, the organisations themselves would benefit as the visibility of their content would improve. Most importantly, New Zealanders would have easy access to, and the ability to reuse, information and content that currently is difficult or impossible to find online. I therefore wholeheartedly support this application. Ambrosia10 (talk) 04:01, 1 February 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. New Zealand projects are very underrepresented. I recently took it upon myself to work on the Treaty of Waitangi, and got it to good article status, but it had languished for 15 years as a sub-C class article (as a Top-importance NZ article). There are many other such articles that need the support of a community that we simply don't have in New Zealand. Editors in New Zealand are fractured and uncoordinated, and there simply are not enough of us. Edit-a-thons and other such outreach is incredibly important to the future of New Zealand coverage on wiki, including someone to negotiate release of many of the high quality copyright free image collections held by museums around the country onto Commons. Mike is well respected in the right circles, and an amazing guy to work with (having met in person). If successful, this proposal would help develop coordination among New Zealand Wikipedians and improvement of content on New Zealand topics in the long term. I therefore support the nomination as well. Cheers, Insertcleverphrasehere (talk) 11:23, 1 February 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. New Zealand articles are often poorly developed: over half of all assessed articles are stub class, and over half of articles rated as Top importance by Wikiproject New Zealand are C class or less.(Source) Mike has a great ability to get new users involved in Wikipedia. I've attended one of Mike's workshops and was impressed with his presentation and helpfulness to the participants. This grant will enable Mike to significantly boost the New Zealand editing community.-Gadfium (talk) 21:48, 1 February 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. I support this nomination as a number of New Zealand articles will be greatly improved through this project and wiki editing events held around the country will encourage new editors, in turn enriching more New Zealand related wikipedia articles. Furthermore, if this grant was successful, an active New Zealand Wikipedia group would be of great benefit, not only for support for new editors but a space for experienced editors to find solidarity. Thanks, Speggle22 (talk)
  •   Support. Mike's been around New Zealand wikipedia for awhile and seems to be very good at organising events for newbies. He and I organised a 2014 event for en:Wikipedia:GLAM/National_Digital_Forum (prior to all his efforts above) and he's a natural. Since then, of course, he's stepped up to developing and running workshops by himself and his knowledge of wikipedia editing and norms has matured. Not sure I can commit to much editing, because at the last event of his I attended (en:Wikipedia:Meetup/Wellington/Women in Science) I committed to a large piece of work (writing BLPs of every female professor in the country) that isn't finished yet (see here for progress). Stuartyeates (talk) 03:53, 2 February 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. I've met Mike at a couple of edit-a-thons he organised. He is very friendly and knowledgeable, and obviously has a passion for Wikipedia and the creation of open knowledge. I think this initiative sounds like a great idea, and should help to improve New Zealand Wikipedia articles for a relatively small financial sum. Please help him and help New Zealand by funding this proposal. Cheers Ballofstring (talk) 19:58, 2 February 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. I am a new editor, but currently I have two large writing projects occurring over the same time period and therefore have little time to give to editing wikipedia. However, Mike's edit-a-thon was a great idea, and brought a range of wiki-editors together to work on a specific project. More of these events on a regular basis would greatly improve NZers contribution to wiki pages. Carabidave (talk) 05:12, 6 February 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. This is a great idea - There is so much work to do on NZ topics. The flora and fauna articles for example are either missing or stubs. Information in museums and other organisations is often not digitized or not Creative Commons, so is not able to be on Wikipedia. This project should help to increase the awareness of Wikipedia throughout NZ. Markanderson72 (talk) 01:51, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. I met Mike at the Women in Science edit-a-thon and also at an informal get-together at a café a few months later. His teaching style is very accessible and I learnt heaps about how Wikipedia works. I started one bio then and later published it, and have since published two more, one of which made the Did you know page in December 2017. The edit-a-thon made me realise how under-represented NZ women are on Wikipedia, in all fields. As a writer of children’s non fiction books, I’m also interested in getting NZ institutions on board with Wikipedia to make images more easily accessible. Mike’s proposal sounds well worth supporting and I would love to support it and to help out as time (and my still beginner’s knowledge of Wikipedia) allows. ~Pippipip (talk)
  •   Support. I attended the NZ Insect Cards edit-a-thon that was led by Mike. He was a good tutor and organiser and would make a very good Wikipedian at large. Nurg (talk) 10:01, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. Mike is one of the biggest advocates for Wikipedia I know of in NZ, he's put a lot of personal time and effort into running edit-a-thons and getting more editors on board. New Zealand is grossly under-represented on Wikipedia and by getting numerous institutes on board, this grant would go a long way to boosting the number of editors and institutes invested in adding and updating NZ entries on Wikipedia. Additionally, having someone able to coordinate regular meet-ups would build on the momentum of edit-a-thons and keep people involved. Drsjnz (talk) 21:28, 7 February 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. I still remember the very first time I used Wikipedia. In high school, trying to find the taxonomic classification of broad beans, then later - researching my study animal Diloma aethiops (back then it was known as Melagraphia aethiops!). But NZ endemic species didn’t have much of a presence on Wikipedia back then. This article wasn't created until 2008! It would have been a useful place to start my research, esp the reference section. So, on the behalf of struggling high school biology students past, I think this is an awesome thing and I really hope that @Wikimedia see the importance of supporting this project. I can think of no better person than Mike to lead this project successfully. ~Ana Claasen (Neurula) 11 February 2018 via Twitter
  •   Support. Many of New Zealand's significant historical figures and events are lacking in high quality pages. The Kate Sheppard and the Treaty of Waitangi articles have only recently received some much needed attention. Mike Dickison serves as an excellent teacher and ambassador for Wikimedia. He has provided guidance to me at edit-a-thons as well as during a residency as a Wikimedian at Auckland Museum. Through further work he could build on what he has already helped start, forming a greater profile for Wikimedia and GLAM collaborations. Susan Tol (talk) 19:29, 11 February 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. I co-organised the NZ Insect Playing cards Wikipedia edit-a-thon in 2017 with Mike and was so impressed by his vast knowledge of Wikipedia and the gaps that need to be filled in NZ. Mike trained a group of students, academics, professional scientists and members of the public how to create and edit Wikipedia pages, and has since organised a meetup to continue the momentum he created among the attendees. Mike is well-known as the public face of Wikipedia in NZ and is the perfect person to lead this program to fill a series of important gaps in the Wikipedia pages in NZ. Weevilwonder (talk) 21:41, 12 February 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. Mike has put a great deal of time and effort into improving New Zealand Wikipedia pages and encouraging New Zealanders to do the same. The problem this proposal addresses, the underrepresentation of New Zealand information on Wikimedia sites, is very real and limits the usefulness of Wikimedia to New Zealand readers. As I scientist, I feel this gap keenly when dealing with NZ's rich natural history. Although our biota has been the subject of a great deal of research, most of this work is currently locked away in pay-walled scientific literature or large compendiums held by government agencies. Given Mike's own experience with natural history, and his plan to work with key government agencies and academic departments, this project increase the amount of natural history information available to New Zealanders, both through his own work and through the work of new editors he will help to develop. David j winter (talk) 01:30, 19 February 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. I'm a former professional conservation advocate, for NZ's largest conservation charity. In my opinion, Mike is is among our most talented and qualified natural historians and communicators, and would bring his unique mix of experience and skills to this role. His interest in documenting and sharing with people the state of little forgotten corners around New Zealand and the creatures that live there is demonstrated over and over again in his communication on social media and voluntary work for Wikipedia, as well as natural history curation in his working life. I wish him the best with this grant, and hope that he succeeds. I am absolutely confident that allowing him a year to focus on this work through Wikipedia will add value. — Claire. 22:25, 25 February 2018‎ (UTC)
  •   Support. NZ is a corner of the wikiverse where it is HIGH TIME for some proactive WMF investment - it is the Emerging Community par excellence. This proposal has a very high chance of success, not merely in terms of project goal 1, but more importantly (in my opinion) in terms of goals 2 and 3 - the establishment of a self sustaining network. Crucially also, all of the 'key players' in the NZ wikiverse are supportive of this activity - both from those in the volunteer editing community and the GLAM sector - demonstrating that this is not a solo-effort or divorced from the desires of the community. While the WMF has traditionally shied away from grant funding for Wikipedian in Residence projects - for reasons which I support and understand - this is not merely the funding of a person to be a WiR but a much more thoroughgoing plan to 'bootstrap' the self-sustainability of the entire NZ community and is the first and necessary step for any eventual KiwiPedia UserGroup/Chapter formation. I know that Mike has also been looking into how this project could support the Maori Wikipedia - a project which I think would have HUGE potential for growth and increasing the diversity of knowledge and communities (not dissimilar to the way the Welsh and Saami communities have been supported in the UK and Norway). However, this is probably in the 'too hard basket' for the moment, and justifiably so, but should be kept 'on the radar' nonetheless. Wittylama (talk) 10:23, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support I have never been there, but I have friends who spend half the year there (summers) and their pictures always blow me away. When I look on Wikipedia I find almost nothing about any of the places, flora&fauna or other things they are experiencing. I have tried to help with some of the GLAM stuff but with no first-hand knowledge I am always left with more questions after each attempt. So yes, we need to invest in this, and the number of aspects it can cover is huge. Jane023 (talk) 09:19, 6 March 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. I have not met Mike in person, but he is obviously rather prominent within the Wiki community and known outside of it. Mike has a track record of getting things done, and successfully working with the GLAM community and volunteers. It is therefore only logical to support his grant application. Most of my editing is done "on my own", and it would be much more effective if I could share my knowledge more widely with others and guide them. Mike could be the perfect person to create the environment that gives me exposure to both organisations and individuals, and this multiplier effect is what could be a real plus for the overall Wikimedia project. Schwede66 (talk) 22:45, 7 March 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. Mike has been great at raising the profile of Wikipedia and New Zealand content, both in the mainstream media and via Twitter. Fully support this project. Smd49 (talk) 02:42, 10 March 2018 (UTC)
  •   Strong support Interesting, sensible, and much needed. Regards, Krishna Chaitanya Velaga (talk — mail) 08:37, 10 March 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support I am the Collections Head at the Nelson Provincial Museum. Nelson Museum fully support this project and will offer residency to Mike and/or his team should this project be successful. We agree with the premise of this project: that knowledge about Aotearoa/New Zealand is scant on Wikipedia. As a Museum, we have amassed a great deal of information about regional events, places and figures of historical significance. This project will give us and our community the tools to share this knowledge on wiki. Personally I have worked with Mike as part of the National Digital Forum and found him to be professional, enthusiastic and very knowledgeable regarding Wikipedia editing. — Meredith Rimmer 09:24, 12 March 2018 (NZT)
  •   Support. I have had the pleasure of meeting Mike on a number of occasions in our capacities of Curators of Natural Science. Otago Museum supports the Wikipedian in Residence program, provided its bid is successful. Wikipedia offers a modern accessible platform to disseminate information, share knowledge and enhance discoverability of information important to the collection and our region. Dunedin is a hub of biodiversity, history and scientific research and the Otago Museum anticipates there will be keen interest from the wider community in engaging with such a program taking place here. — Emma Burns 11:54, 12 March 2018 (NZT)
  •   Support. I have known Mike through my profession for some years and I've found him to be a vibrant supporter of Wikipedia in New Zealand. He is strongly encouraging of those looking to try editing for the first time. I'm excited by his project and I think that, if this is approved, he will make a significant impact to the presence of Wikipedia in New Zealand. This is a small country and the enthusiastic support of individuals such as Mike have a larger impact and influence over the community than in other nations. Einebillion (talk) 12:41, 12 March 2018 (NZT)
  •   Support. Mike has much improved the standard of articles about New Zealand, working in a volunteer capacity, and so I'm excited to see what would come about if he devoted his attention and energy to this full-time. Many articles about New Zealand flora and fauna are sorely out-of-date, non-existent, or lacking in information. I’m the editor of New Zealand Geographic magazine, which has a large online archive of applicable information. We would be happy to support Mike with our office facilities in Auckland if he were to become a Wikipedian at Large. — Nzgeographic 17:05, 12 March 2018 (NZT)
  •   Support Slowking4 (talk) 00:13, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
  •   Strong support Many of Mike's positive contributions to NZ wikipedia content including encouraging more NZ wikipedia editors and improving quality as well as adding content has been well said by others so I won't repeat. I have no doubt making him NZ Wikipedian at Large is a positive development in NZ and will raise the profile of NZ wikipedia projects. I haven't said this before but thank you Mike for all you've done to date. Linnah (talk) 13:11, 12 March 2018 (UTC)
  •   Strong support Mike is an enthusiastic supporter of Wikipedia, I will be very pleased to have him at my institute (Manaki Whenua - Landcare Research). Although the scientists (even the old ones) are computer literate they will certainly benefit from his direct involvement. There are also projects such as uploading copyright free images that frankly will not happen without him. Onco p53 (talk) 07:24, 13 March 2018 (UTC)
  •   Support. Mike has been a stalwart in increasing awareness of our lesser known species in New Zealand through his work on Wikipedia to create and improve pages to represent their status. He remains the backbone of the "Critter of the Week" segments that feature weekly on Radio New Zealand, due to his diligence and constant quest for accuracy in finding information on NZ native flora and fauna. He would be an asset to the Department of Conservation during his Wikipedian at Large work, as we refine our approach to science communication. Nicola Toki
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