Wikimedia Resident and Scholar Program
Wikimedia Resident and Scholar Program Australia
The Wikimedian in Residence (WiR) and the Wikimedia Visiting Scholars programs have been running internationally and in Australia since 2010. They were developed to support contributions and enhance access to quality research sources, expert knowledge and technical innovations through partnerships with universities, libraries, museums and other public institutions.
Residencies vary from institution to institution. A Wikimedian in Residence can work with staff, volunteers, students and the wider community to train in the Wikimedia projects, advocate for free sharing of knowledge, or help an organisation to share their collections openly.
The aim of these programs is to engage organisations to host editors, content creators, or community engagement professionals to work on Wikimedia related projects for a period of time - either in paid or voluntary positions.
Examples of Wikimedia Resident and Scholar Programs
- At Kansas City Public Library in 2021, Miranda Pratt became the first Wikipedian-In-Residence appointed by a US public library. They held regular editathons for library patrons to edit Wikipedia pages on subjects of their choosing.
- The University of Edinburgh was the first university in the UK to employ a university-wide Wikimedian in Residence in 2019. The WiR assisted in embedding Wikimedia projects into courses, including a project for students to translate Wikipedia articles into different languages.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art teamed with their WiR to put 375,000 images into the public-domain so they could be used on Wikimedia Commons in 2017. They hosted editathons to put the images on relevant Wikipedia pages.
- Dr Martin Poulter held transcribe-a-thons for his WIR at Oxford University libraries in 2016, where volunteers transcribed text from the libraries archives onto Wikisource, like this poem from Byron.
Read more examples about different Wikimedia residencies from around the world here.
Current Wikimedia Australia Residencies
Wikimedia Australia have two residencies in 2022.
Amanda Lawrence is at ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S). Read more about their work here.
James Gaunt is at Australian Music Vault July-September 2022. Read more about their work here.
Past Residencies
Wikimedia Australia’s past residencies have worked with the State Library of New South Wales, State Library of Queensland, Australian Paralympic Committee, and Museum of Perth.
Want to apply for a Wikimedia Resident or Scholar Programs?
We've put together everything you need to know to be part of these programs here. After reading that page, If you’re interested in hosting a WiR/Scholar, or interested in becoming one, please contact: contact@wikimedia.org.au