Create 2016/Wikipedia Cuba: Challenges and Opportunities: Submissions:2021/Editing seems too hard

Title

Wikipedia Cuba: Challenges and Opportunities

Theme

Outreach

Academic Peer Review option

Yes

Type of submission

Presentation

Author

Anne Nelson

E-mail address

anne.nelson@gmail.com

Username

anelsona

Affiliation

Columbia School of International and Public Affairs

Abstract

Last spring I led a graduate research project to survey the digital landscape in Cuba. It resulted in a Wikischolars site published online by e Columbia University https://ict4cuba.wikischolars.columbia.edu/Project+Overview, as well as in a report by the National Endowment for Democracy http://www.cima.ned.org/publication/cubas-parallel-worlds-digital-media-crosses-divide/ The findings suggest a ripe opportunity for engagement with the Wikipedia community. Cubans have lived with many online restrictions based on censorship and antiquated infrastructure. The government has blocked various international sites in the past and tried to follow the Chinese model of parallel domestic clones. (Cuba's domestic version of Wikipedia, for example, is EcuRed, built on MediaWiki software and heavily weighted towards pro-government content.) But the landscape is changing rapidly, thanks to Obama's diplomatic initiatives, Google's technological forays, and Cuba's own vibrant hacker culture. This talk will describe the Cuban online community and its user behavior, and discuss how its unique characteristics will influence the future of Wikipedia content creation in Cuba.

Length of presentation

20-30 minutes

Special schedule requests

none

Preferred room size

I don't know

Will you attend WikiConference North America if your submission is not accepted?

No, and I will need funding.

Interested attendees[edit source]

If you are interested in attending this session, please sign with your username below. This will help reviewers to decide which sessions are of high interest. Sign with four tildes. (~~~~).

1. --Jbmurray (talk) 16:01, 31 August 2016 (EDT)
2. Gamaliel (talk) 21:42, 1 September 2016 (EDT)
3. Add your username here.