A Wiki Day at SA Museum: From Photos to Facts
On April 12, 2025, Wikimedia Australia hosted a meetup at the South Australian Museum, where attendees participated in a hands-on workshop titled Wiki Day at SA Museum: From Photos to Facts. Led by Dr. Mike Dickison, a seasoned Wikipedian and Wikimedian at Large for Aotearoa New Zealand, the event aimed to empower participants to contribute meaningfully to Wikimedia projects.
The event was initiated by the South Australian Museum partner project 2024-2025, led by Museum digital transformation leader Adam Moriarty which aims to increase the visibility of the South Australian Museum's research and collections.
What was achieved
Throughout the day, participants explored the Wikimedia Commons workflow, learning how to take photos and turn them into valuable contributions on Wikidata and Wikipedia. The workshop included practical tips on:
- Organising and uploading images to Wikimedia Commons, which involved creating new categories.
- Enhancing and creating entries on Wikidata, including the addition of relevant images.
- Utilising uploaded images to improve Wikipedia articles.
- View the statistics dashboard
Mike Dickison's expertise was invaluable as he guided both seasoned editors and newcomers alike, helping them sharpen their skills and deepen their understanding of how their contributions to Wikimedia projects help increase open knowledge.
Resources
Mike and the participants were able to share and collect variety of resources throughout the day including:
- Freedom of Panorama information
- WikiShootMe: a tool to show Wikidata items, Wikipedia articles, and Commons images with coordinates, all on the same map.
- moveClaim: Wikidata tool to move or copy a statement from one entity to another (see your Gadgets settings).
- DuplicateReferences: Wikidata tool to add a link to copy references and add them to other statements on the same item (see Gadgets settings).
- Gallery Tag: Help page on creating image galleries in Wikipedia
- CropTool: CropTool is a tool for cropping and rotating images from within Commons (Tools menu)
- Example of a Gallery or Page on Wikimedia Commons, compared with a Category
- Volunteer Response Release Team who respond to emails created by the Release Generator; use this to get people to release their work under an open licence
- Here is Mike's boilerplate text he uses when generating copyright releases, and a blog post on the process
- The handout for the workshop, The Commons Workflow, is available on Commons.
The workshop concluded with lunch and a feedback session, where participants had the opportunity to share their thoughts and express interest in future Wikimedia initiatives. The event not only enhanced participants' skills but also provided an opportunity for the Adelaide editing community to get to know one another and connect with Wikimedia Australia staff and initiatives.