Submissions:2016/Wikipedia Cuba: Challenges and Opportunities

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Revision as of 17:35, 31 August 2016 by Anelsona (talk | contribs) (Cuba has been a latecomer to the digital revolution, but now diplomatic openings and technological advances present new opportunities. This talk will describe Cuba's unique landscape and offer ideas for engagement.)
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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.

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