Wikidata Tour Down Under (2016)

Andy Mabbett visited Australia for three weeks in February 2016. He toured the country (and subsequently visited Jakarta, Indonesia) presenting about Wikidata, and discussing Wikimedia's GLAM collaborations. He also attended a number of meetups, for more informal discussions.

Melbourne

There were be three Wikimedia-related sessions as part of the VALA2016 conference. VALA — Libraries, Technology and the Future Inc. is an independent Australian based not-for-profit organisation that aims to promote the use and understanding of information technology within libraries and the broader information sector. [1]

There was also be a meetup, open to all, on the evening of the Wednesday of the conference

• Tue 9 Feb 2016: Wikidata 101 (part of the 'P-Plate Series')
• Wed 10 Feb 2016 Melbourne Meet-up #32 RMIT, Swanston St, Melbourne. 5.30pm for 6.00pm. 6.00-7.00pm Wikidata presentation; 7.00pm onwards: social
• Thu 11 Feb 2016:
  • Boot Camp: WikiData hands-on
  • Boot Camp: GLAM WikiBomb

Wikimedia Australia were at Booth 50 in the Exhibition Hall, Tuesday to Thursday.

Contact pru.mitchellwikimedia.org.au for questions about Melbourne events.

Sydney

The tour included two events in Sydney.

• Fri 12 Feb 2016 2.30-4.30pm State Library of New South Wales
  • What is Wikidata?
  • Why does the GLAM sector need to know about this?
  • Who verifies the quality of Wikidata?
  • How can my organisation contribute?

This Wikidata hands-on event for SLNSW staff was also open to Wikimedians, other GLAM sector staff and interested members of the public.

• Sat 13 Feb 2016 Sydney Meet-up Powerhouse Museum Cafe. 2pm Meet at the Cafe, Level 3. Followed by optional self-guided visit to the Museum. Entry cost $15/$8.

Canberra

• Sun 14 Feb 2016 Travel
• 15-16 Feb 2016 ORCID conference. Andy is ORCID's Wikipedian in Residence
• Wed 17 Feb 2016: National Library of Australia
  • 6pm: Wiki meetup at King O'Malley's Irish Pub in Civic. Wikipedia:Meetup/Canberra/February 2016

Contact pru.mitchellwikimedia.org.au for questions about Canberra events.

Perth

• Thur 18 Feb 2016: Travel.
• Fri 19 Feb 2016: Wikidata Tour 2016 mini conference, State Library of Western Australia = 09:30-14:00 - open event: Registration for this event
• Sat 20 Feb 2016 Perth meetup #24 - Wikidata workshop for experienced contributors at SLWA 13:00 - open event
• 21st-23rd Feb 2016 working with current projects - closed discussions
• 24th Feb 2016 GLAM discussions - closed discussions, evening ALIA talk
• 25 Feb 2016 depart to give talks in Indonesia

Contact Gnangarrawikimedia.org.au for questions on Western Australian events.

Resources

• See /Resources

Outcomes

• VALA conference session video (accessible to conference attendees only)
• ALIA-WA blog post
• Wikidata makes Wikipedia a database. Let the fun begin - article by Mark Pesce, in The Register
• GLAM newsletter
  • Australia report
  • Wikidata report
• Donation of 30 'Alexander Street' accounts to the Wikipedia Library (resulting from a discussion at the VALA exhibition)