Wikimedia chapters/Reports/Shared Knowledge/General report 2017
This is an annual overview of the activities and achievements set out by Shared Knowledge in the annual plan for 2017, spanning from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017. The report uniformly concludes the activities conducted in 2017.
Financial overview
editYou can also see our General financial report for 2017.
Aims set for the 2017 grant in general
edit| Area | Measures of success |
| General |
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| Administration |
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| Education |
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| GLAM |
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| Community |
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2017 activities
edit- See: Annual plan 2017
- Education Programme
- Lectures about Wikipedia
- Wikipedia 16
- Wikiexpeditions
- Geoexpediotions
- Agroexpediotions
- Veloexpeditions
- Wiki Camp
- Editing contests
- Editing days
- Editing weekends
- Edit-a-thons
- Photohunts
- WikiWine
- Wiki Loves Food
- Exhibition: "Brazil though photographs" / Macedonian-Brazilian Photographic Cooperation
2017 achievements
editProject metrics
| Project metrics | Target outcome | Achieved outcome | Explanation |
Education Programme
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The activities of the Education Programme were carried out at the Josip Broz - Tito Grammar School. Twelve lectures and workshops were given to the pupils at the Josip Broz - Tito Grammar School. The pupils at the Josip Broz - Tito Grammar School were given assignments to edit articles on physical topics and all of the articles created or improved as part of the programme have come from this collaboration.
Outcome is below our project level due technical reasons, as physics classes were much smaller in 2017. | |
Lectures about Wikipedia no specific outcome was targetted |
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The concept of the project was changed from giving lectures to a large audience to organising interactive educational seminars for a smaller crowd. This seminar was organized prior to an edit-a-thon with psychology students but it was open with an open call for application to the larger audience. The number of the participants / people reached was higher than the previous year. | |
Wikipedia 16
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The most valuable contributors and members of the Wiki community discussed all important aspects of the ongoing projects on Wikipedia of Shared Knowledge and the Wikimedia movement in general. | |
Wikiexpeditions
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At the end, five expeditions were carried out, while the expedition for the Pijanec area was moved to be conducted in 2018, due bad weather in the autumn. Yet, this project continue to fill articles with images and research material, along helping mapping of many objects on WikiData. | |
Geoexpeditions
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The outcome was targetted unrealistically high. Note: All of the articles for the geographical places that have been created have also been created in WikiData. | |
Agroexpeditions
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The outcome was targeted unrealistically high. | |
Veloexpeditions
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The outcome is below targeted level, as many images still wait to be used in articles, that is plan to be done during February. | |
Wiki Camp
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Wiki Camp have been carried out for the first time this year and included introduction to expeditions and editing activities to the participants. | |
Editing competitions
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5 editing competitions were organized. Although we have successful stories of comeback of some inactive users to be back on Wikipedia thanks to our editing challenges, we did not achieve our goals for this activity. | |
Editing days
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10 editing days were held. Although we have successful stories of comeback of some inactive users to be back on Wikipedia thanks to our editing challenges, we did not achieved our goals for this activity. | |
Editing weekends no specific outcome was targetted |
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This editing activity have been carried out for the first time this year. | |
Edit-a-thons
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The outcome was targetted unrealistically high to reach the projected number of participants and newly registered users, although the planned number of held edit-a-thons was achieved. | |
Photohunts
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6 photohunts were approved and conducted, however 2 were conducted by one long-term very experienced contributor, while the other 4 photohunts were conducted by newly registered users with аaccompany of friends who haven't registered due to the unfamiliarity for more detailed work in Wikipedia. | |
Wiki Wine
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 Achieved
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3 expeditions were conducted | |
Wiki Loves Food
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Wiki Loves Food competition lasted for 30 days. | |
Exhibition: "Brazil though photographs" / Macedonian-Brazilian Photographic Cooperation no specific outcome was targetted |
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This exhibition within it's program included Editing day and Edit-a-thon. |
- Overall assessment
Education Programme
The Education Programme included activities carried out in the Josip Broz - Tito Grammar School for the third consecutive year. The pupils studying the course in physics were trained how to edit Wikipedia and were given assignments to write articles on topics in physics. The project was satisfactory in terms of the number of lectures and workshops organised as well as in the number of participants and the quality of articles edited. These activities have significantly contributed towards reducing the content gap in physics and astronomy on the Macedonian Wikipedia and some of the articles were promoted to good or even featured articles. At the end of the year, the school was granted with technical equipment - hardware casing for desktop computer.
Lectures about Wikipedia
The project came up by the end of the year prior to an edit-a-thon with psychology students but it was open with an open call for application to the larger audience. The seminar went successfully with twelve participants who were active in the discussions during the presentations and received certificates for participation. The topics covered during the seminar were about Wikipedia in general, its vision and mission, Wikipedia Zero, the basics of editing Wikipedia, free licences and copyright and uploading images on Wikimedia Commons, the activities of Shared Knowledge and the Wikimedia movement in general. The event took place in the National and University Library "St. Clement of Ohrid", institution with which is signed partnership since 2016. The number of the participants / people reached was higher than the previous year and it went successful paving the road for the forthcoming project "Lectures Across Cities" which will be carried out jointly with American Corners Macedonia which will be the host of such educational events in 2018.
Wikipedia 16
To mark the 16th anniversary of the founding of Wikipedia (Wikipedia 16), Shared Knowledge held a series of events in honour of this occasion. The second and important purpose of the events was to familiarise the public with the movement and its values, and invite them to participate. Thee main event included Wiki meeting with the most valuable contributors and members of the Wiki community who discussed all important aspects of the ongoing projects on Wikipedia of Shared Knowledge and the Wikimedia movement in general.
Wikiexpeditions
Following its strong and successful start in the previous year, the project continued with five Wikiexpeditions to the Kozjačija and Sredorek, Bojmija, Poreče, Reka and Kavadarci Municipality. In its third year, the project saw more detailed level of coverage and promotion on the social networks through a fan page created on Facebook which draws significant attention in the public. This year Wikiexpedition resulted with 1,315 images uploaded (88,95% used in articles) and 400 new or improved articles.
Geoexpeditions
Geoexpeditions were organised for the first time with the goal of visiting mountainous areas and valleys aiming to cover, explore and photograph the various geographic landmarks in the relevant areas, such as peaks, ridges, topographic areas, passes, falls, forests, plateaus, rivers, brooks, streams, tributaries, waterfalls, lakes, as well as specific native (and endemic) flora and fauna. By this activity we aimed to discover as much as possible unknown or less known geographical locations and features in Macedonia on remote places with difficult access. Considering that the main aim of the Geoexpeditions in 2017 were caves and mountain peaks, we definitely achieved the aimed goal as we have compled the year with 8 caves and speleological features and 26 mountains and peaks as well as 7 rivers, 9 lakes, 2 swamps and 7 villages. Geoexpeditions this year were conducted with a close collaboration and support from mountaineering club "Transverzalec", professional speleological club "Zlatovrv" and with experienced hikers and scholars (professors & researchers) which gives the opportunity to expand the cooperation of Wikipedia with different groups of science, dispute and society. Four main Geoexpeditions were conducted as well as dozen additional visits on the field research.
Agroexpeditions
Agroexpeditions is project by Shared Knowledge akin to the Wikiexpeditions, but dedicated to documenting the agriculture of Macedonia as one of its most important industries and its close ties to the nation's past and present. This year we started to conduct this project for the first time. Members of the Agroexpedition project visited specific regions of agricultural significance, in 2 main expeditions and several other visits throughout the period of sowing, plowing, ripening and harvesting of the crops. This year we have achieved the following result of 245 images uploaded (81,94% used in articles) and 35 new or improved articles.
Veloexpeditions
This is the second year in which we realized in this project. Аpart from the several visits this year in the second weekend in August 2017, user Ehrlich91 along with four other cyclists headed to the area Ǵavat-Kol, small remote area with villages around Bitola, second most populous town in Macedonia. Area contained various villages that has no single photograph on Wikimedia Commons, and that was main purpose of the first organized group Veloexpedition to take images from small villages, old churches and nature beauties. During this veloexpedtition were visited and photographed seven different villages, along with many churches and other cultural and natural sights which resulted in 82 uploaded distinct photographs on Wikimedia Commons from two participants on the Veloexpedition.
Wiki Camp
During the extended weekend on the occasion of the Independence Day of Macedonia from 8 to 10 September, Shared Knowledge had organized its first "Wiki-Camp" which took place in the village of Brajcino in Prespa region. The camp was attended by 15 young people from several towns in Macedonia, who through mutual acquaintance and socializing had the opportunity to get acquainted and trained for editing articles on Wikipedia in Macedonian language, uploading and licensing pictures on the Commons Wikimedia, as well as the way of conducting expedition and field research in the scope of geography, nature, agriculture, cultural heritage, architecture and archaeology, whereby visits were made to the villages of Brajcino and Ljubojno and their surroundings where the particiopants have taken 160 photographs that are available for free use.
Editing competitions
After the successful results in filling content gaps in the previous years, five contests, including CEE Spring 2017, were organised during the course of the year. The topics of the contests covered Villages in Aegean Macedonia, Africa, Wikification improving of articles, Volcanoes and CEE Spring 2017. With the editing competitions, we are joining forces to create as many articles as possible within a certain longer time period. A jury then decides the winners, who are awarded. This year we ended up with 719 newly created and 132 improved or 851 articles edited in total.
Editing days
The editing days were introduced with the goal of writing articles on a pre-selected underrepresented topic during a 24-hour period (CET) on the Macedonian Wikipedia. Unlike the edit-a-thons, A total of ten editing days were assigned during the course of the year, with some of them commemorating holidays and recent events and some of them being part of initiatives of other communities of Wikimedians. The topics that the participants in the editing days were editing on included "Time periods in 15th century", "Pantomime", "Rivers in Macedonia", "Currencies", "Footballers of Atletico Madrid", "Footballers of Real Madrid", "Food", "Moons of Jupiter", "St. Clement of Ohrid" and "Formula 1 circuits".
Editing weekends
With our editing days, we encouraged Wikipedians to devote more of their free time in writing on relevant topics for the duration of a given weekend. Considering that this year we organized 10 editing weekends where 156 articles were created or improved. We chose the topics to be current and linked with our other projects and ongoing events thus for the editing weekends in this year we dedicated the topics: "Astronomy", "Stadiums", "Faberge eggs", "Eurovision", "Girro d'Italia", "Equations", "Beer", "Brazil" in order to create and improve articles for the QR-codes on the images on the exhibiton "Brazil through photographs"; "Mayors of the municipalities in Macedonia" in order to create and improve articles due to the Local elections for mayors and councils held in October and "Vegetables" in order to use as much as possible of the pictures uploaded within the contest Wiki Loves Food 2017 in Macedonia.
Edit-a-thons
The edit-a-thons aim to increase community spirit in working towards a common goal on a certain topic that has been agreed as being of importance. Quality is improved both by covering missing topics and by extending existing articles. This year we held 4 edit-a-thons on the topics: "Mother Tereza" in partnership with the Memorial house dedicated to her, "Architecture" as a second time in partnership with the architecture studio and newsportal, as well as regarding that this type of activity is organized somewhere outside with a group of newly registered or less skilled and familiar users we used the chance to incorporate the last 2 edit-a-thons within a larger weekend events. Therefore topics of the edit-a-tons were: "Brazil" - which was held one day after the opening of the exhibition "Brazil through photographs" and the second one was "Psychology" where we held a lecture on editing articles on Wikipedia as well as for all other Wikimedia projects such as Wikimedia Commons etc. in the conference hall of the National Library on the day before the Psychology edit-a-ton.
Photohunts
The aim of this project encourage individuals with interest in topics to take initiative in formulating their own expedition plans, thus widening coverage of content, widening the community and promoting innovation within it. Also, we see the Photohunts as a chance to find and recruit new members and volunteers who will participates on the Expeditions and all other Wikimedia projects. This year we approved 6 photohunts. Two were approved to an experienced user and contributor while the rest 4 of the participants were females and two of them are semi-professional photographs who participated in the "Wiki Loves Food 2017" competition, one girl as a contestant and the other one as a member of the jury. The results on the end of the year were 629 images uploaded (71,37% used in articles) and 103 new or improved articles
Wiki Wine
After the successful completion of the Wiki Wine project in the previous year in 2017 we continued the WikiWine including the traditional spirit drinks. In August, we have started our first phase of the project WikiWine and other spirits, whereas we visited the biggest winery in Strumica region „Grozd Strumica“ in southeastern Macedonia. We had opportunity to make photos of different variety of wines, as Muscat, Chardone, Vranec and the famous Macedonian spirit „Mastika“, that is special and most renown product of this winery which is famous throughout Macedonia and the Balkans. The project continued during the grape harvesting and autumn months with visit of several other wineries and distilleries. Тhe project continued in September, where we visited several villages in Skopje region with vineyards and is planning to visit another winery by the end of the month. During this month several visits have been made in Skopje wine region and "Vinoskop" wine festival. Also, our new volunteer member Elena Lushkoska, has visited several wineries in the Tikvesh region, which is one of the most renown wine regions in Macedonia and the Balkans. Thus the project has successfully been completed with 10 newly created and 15 improved articles.
Wiki Loves Food
Following the preparations during the previous month, on the 1st of November, we opened Wiki loves photographic contest, that we decided to focus on the food, especially on traditional Macedonian and regional dishes and cuisines. In previous years, Shared Knowledge have organized Wiki Loves Earth and Monuments photographic contest with significant success and this year it was decided that Shared Knowledge will organize Wiki Loves Food competition for the first time, which is in fact only the second Wiki Loves Food contest organized world wide, after its establishment by Wikimedia India in 2015. The contest was completed with 915 images uploaded by 67 registered contestants. Also, for this competition we made a instructional video-tutorial which will be used further in the future in all other activities where newly registered members should upload images and files on Wikimedia Commons. On the 16th of December, after a period of preparations, together with Slow Food Vodno , we held the award ceremony for the Wiki Loves Food photographic contest. The Wiki Loves Food photographic contest attracted significantly large attention in the public thus several media outlets reported from the competition. The competition itself went excellent resulting in 916 uploaded images from 67 registered competitors who covered 100 different traditional dishes from the Macedonian and regional cuisines. This topic, traditional cuisine, led us to the collaboration with the Slow Food organization whose members wholeheartedly helped us in the promotion and judging of the contest as well as the organization of the award ceremony which at the same time was celebration of their Terra Madre day. The event was attended by around 70 people among which the winners and the other authors of the 10 best photographs who got their images printed in large format as well as a gratitude certificate for participation in the contest. Following the positive outcome there will be signing a memorandum of cooperation and other joint project activities with Slow Food in the next period.
Exhibition: "Brazil though photographs" / Macedonian-Brazilian Photographic Cooperation
Macedonia-Brazil photographic collaboration is a project of Shared Knowledge which is organized as an exhibition of the winning photographs of Wiki Loves Contests in Brazil and Macedonia. An exhibition of images from Brazil is held in Macedonia, while at the same period in Brazil is held an exhibition with pictures from Macedonia. All of the images have printed QR-codes with links to the articles in Wikipedia and the program of the exhibition includes events of our other projects such as edit-a-thons, lectures etc. The project emerged as a result of the contacts established by Toni Ristovski on the Wikimedia Conference in Berlin in April 2017 and it was not primarily included in the Annual Plan for 2017. On 13 October 2017, on the occasion of marking the establishment of diplomatic relations between Macedonia and Brazil, a two-weeks long photographic exhibition titled "Brazil through pictures: In front of the eyes of the Macedonian public" was officially opened in Skopje. The event was part of the photographic collaboration between Shared Knowledge and Wiki Education Brazil with the goal of promoting the cultural and natural heritage of both countries through photographic exhibitions. Over 40 visitors were briefly introduced about the Wikimedia projects and the idea beyond the photographic collaboration, which was followed by a presentation of a geopolitical analysis of the development of relations and cooperation between Macedonia and Brazil. Afterwards, the audience had the opportunity to see 20 images depicting cultural and natural heritage of Brazil, much of which were winning photographs from the previous editions of Wiki Loves Earth and Wiki Loves Monuments in Brazil. The images were displayed with QRpedia codes, enabling the visitors to easily navigate to Wikipedia articles about the topics depicted. There were also two editing challenges, an editing weekend and an edit-a-thon, as side events that attracted editing content on topics related to Brazil. Considering the positive outcome of this activity we will continue with this kind of project in the future.
Established partnerships
editIn 2017, Shared Knowledge has established partnerships with the following institutions and organisations:
- National Institution Memorial house of Mother Teresa — memorandum of collaboration was signed on 20 February 2017