Submissions:2025/Wiki Loves Monuments 2025 in the United States
This submission has been noted and is pending review for WikiConference North America 2025.
Title:
- Wiki Loves Monuments 2025 in the United States
Type of session:
- Lecture (15-30 min)
Session theme(s):
- Missing pieces, Future of Wikipedia
Abstract:
Wiki Loves Monuments is an annual photography campaign and contest that focuses on gathering photos of registered historical sites from all around the world. From the official "about us" page, "Cultural heritage is an important part of the knowledge Wikipedia collects and disseminates...An image is worth a thousand words, in every language at once and local enthusiasts can (re)discover the cultural, historical, or scientific significance of their neighborhood."
In the United States, we have rich landscape of historic sites for participants to photograph. The National Register of Historic Places is the main national register with over 80,000 listings. Beyond the national register, however, are hundreds of thematic and geographic registries on the national, state, and local levels that catalog thousands of additional historic sites. We also have a rich array of historic sites from indigenous history.
Wiki Loves Monuments also presents an interesting opportunity for recruitment. Several Wikimedia projects, including the English Wikipedia, have more or less stagnated in the number of active editors. Especially with the rise of AI and Wikipedia losing human traffic, more than ever do we need to tap into creative ways to bring on new Wikimedia contributors. Bringing photographers to contribute to Commons is one way to onboard new contributors in a fun and relatively easy manner. In fact, roughly 70%-90% of participants to Wiki Loves Monuments in the US each year are brand new registrants, making it an effective way to introduce people to contributing.
In this session, we will present and discuss Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States (which runs through the month of October). This will be an opportunity for participants to ask questions (and even upload photos!), as well as for us to discuss and plan collaborations with the various affiliates throughout the U.S.
Author name(s):
Wikimedia username(s):
- SuperHamster, Johnsearsmedia
Affiliated organization(s):
Estimated length of session
- 30
Will you be presenting remotely?
- I will present in-person
Okay to livestream?
- Livestreaming is okay
Previously presented?
- Yes, previous WCNAs
Special requests: