Submissions:2025/20,000 WikiPortraits Later: Lessons from around the Globe
This submission has been noted and is pending review for WikiConference North America 2025.
Title:
- 20,000 WikiPortraits Later: Lessons from around the Globe
Type of session:
- Edit-a-thons or Workshops (30-120 min)
Session theme(s):
- Missing pieces, Future of Wikipedia
Abstract:
Since WikiPortraits was formed in early 2024, its photographers have uploaded over 20,000 photos, which have been used on over 10,000 articles across more than 150 language Wikipedias. These photos are used on articles that receive upwards of 100 million views per month — or over a billion views per year. WikiPortraits has covered the Nobel Prizes, Venice Film Festival, Jaipur Literature Festival, American Academy for the Advancement of the Sciences, SXSW, and many other significant cultural events.
While WikiPortraits initially started as a small group of volunteers covering signature events around the world, it is now expanding and scaling to different events and a global network of photographers, both new and old to the wikimovement. Over the last year, WikiPortraits photo coverage has included scientists, oncologists, comic book artists, writers, peace activists, journalists, business executives, military heroes, and inventors. We have recruited college students, retirees, professional photographers, comedians, writers, and others to take photos, from Italy, France, Iran, New Zealand, Germany, Brazil, Canada, Austria, the United States, Dubai, Spain, and other countries.
We will be hosting WikiPortraits organizers and photographers for a panel and discussion on lessons learned, including stories of victories, roadblocks, and learnings.
The WikiPortraits organizers are also interested in discussing with the community many of the organizers' own internal debates. How should we measure impact? Should we prioritize high quality photos on the most viewed articles on all of Wikipedia; adding photos to existing biographical articles that have no photos; or catalyzing the creation of new articles from photos. Also a pressing question: how do you balance the big tent philosophy with keeping a quality bar for photography?
Next, we would like to ask other Commons photographers what software tools WikiPortraits should try to build for the larger community: galleries, streamlined uploading, collaborative uploading. We are also interested in talking with other Commons photographers who already have been taking photos about what they have learned in their own regions, to better pass to our new volunteers.
This session will be helpful to people who want to become a WikiPortraits contributor, regional organizers who want to support local photographers with credentialling, contributors who already have experience with photography and event coverages, editors interested in policy around getting existing photos cleared for Commons, and people who just like spirited discussions around the role of images on Wikipedia.
Author name(s):
Wikimedia username(s):
- SuperHamster, Jenny8lee, Fuzheado
Affiliated organization(s):
- WikiPortraits
Estimated length of session
- 60
Will you be presenting remotely?
- I will present in-person
Okay to livestream?
- Livestreaming is okay
Previously presented?
- Yes, WCNA and Wikimania
Special requests: