Wikimedia chapters/Reports/Wikimedia District of Columbia/Activity report (Q2 2012–2013)

This is a copy of the Wikimedia DC Activity Report for the Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2012–13. The original can be found at http://wikimediadc.org/wiki/Activity_report_(Q2_2012–2013).

This report describes the activities of Wikimedia District of Columbia from January 1, 2013 through March 31, 2013. During this time, Wikimedia DC collaborated with institutions in the region to hold edit-a-thons and workshops.

Academic and educational outreach

Digital Humanities Winter Institute Edit-a-Thon

Wikimedia DC collaborated with the Digital Humanities Winter Institute at the University of Maryland in College Park to organize an edit-a-thon on January 8.

D.C. Historical Society Edit-a-Thon

Wikimedia DC and the D.C. Historical Society hosted an edit-a-thon on March 23. Around thirty people attended the event, which featured a behind-the-scenes tour of the Historical Society's Kiplinger Library. Nineteen articles on Washington history were created or improved, including several articles on DC establishments. The event was covered in the Washington Post.

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  Attendees on a tour of the Historical Society archives
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  Edit-a-thon in progress

Cultural outreach

The Civil War and American Art Edit-a-Thon

The Civil War and American Art edit-a-thon at the Smithsonian American Art Museum was held on February 15. Exhibition curator Eleanor J. Harvey gave a special tour of the Civil War and American Art exhibition. Thirteen new articles on art history were created at the edit-a-thon, and 21 additional articles were improved, including one article on the French Wikipedia.

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  Participants at the edit-a-thon
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  Edit-a-thon in progress
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  Edit-a-thon in progress
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  Edit-a-thon in progress
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  Edit-a-thon in progress
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  Edit-a-thon in progress
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  Edit-a-thon in progress

Women in the Arts Edit-a-Thon

The Women in the Arts edit-a-thon was held at the Archives of American Art on March 29. Thirty people attended, including Wikipedians, archivists, and museum staff. The edit-a-thon was preceded by an introductory presentation on editing Wikipedia, followed by a presentation by curatorial staff on the different items in the archives. During the event, ten news articles on women in the art were created, and 26 additional articles were improved.

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  Participants at the edit-a-thon
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  Presenters at the edit-a-thon

Government outreach and engagement

Legislative Data Workshop

The Cato Institute hosted the Legislative Data Workshop on March 14 and 15, and several Wikimedia DC representatives participated; in addition, Wikimedians throughout the country attended the event with the aid of travel stipends offered by Cato and the Wikimedia Foundation. The first day of the workshop featured a presentation by Pete Forsyth on the basics of editing Wikipedia, followed by an edit-a-thon and reception. The second day was an all-day strategy session on improving coverage of the legislative data on Wikipedia, with breakout groups discussing reaching out to Wikipedians, standard article formats for bills of Congress, and semi-automated solutions for updating content on Wikipedia. Wikimedia DC is continuing to work with Cato on legislative data.

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  Jim Harper of the Cato Institute addresses the audience
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  Workshop in progress
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  Workshop in progress
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  Workshop in progress

Wiki Loves Capitol Hill

Wikimedia DC held its first Wiki Loves Capitol Hill training session on March 30 at Wikimedia DC's office. The event was a training session for volunteers interested in discussing the values and objectives of the Wikimedia movement with Congressional staffers, not to advocate for or against legislation or candidates. The following week, four volunteers held discussions with representatives of nine Congressional offices.

Public outreach and education

Wikimedia DC held a social meetup at Capitol City Brewery on February 28, as well as a dinner meetup on March 9 at Guapo's Mexican Restaurant in Tenleytown following the Annual Membership Meeting.

A special thanks goes to Dthomsen8, who pitched in to help clear the 1,800-article assessment backlog at WikiProject Indigenous Peoples of North America.