Executive Officer report 2023/24
Executive Officer's Report for the AGM 2024
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Wikimedia Australia: Highlights of the Past 12 Months
Good afternoon everyone, and thank you for being here today. Reflecting on the past 12 months, I’m proud to share some of Wikimedia Australia’s significant achievements that showcase the strength of our community and the impact of our work. None of this would be possible without the hard work and dedication of our incredible volunteers, strategic direction from the Board, and our amazing staff, committed partners and supporters.
Partnerships and Collaborations
Over the past year, we’ve established 4 successful new collaborations with a range of organisations through our Partner Projects grants (some pictures are on the slides).
- Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Australian New Zealand Society of Indexers (ANZSI)
- Environment Centre Northern Territory (ECNT)
- Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Victoria
- Biodiversity Heritage Library Australia (BHL)
These partnerships have resulted in new content as well as building skills and capacity in people and organisations with a long term view, and essential for the sustainability of the movement in Australia. This Friday, 20 September we will be closing for Round 3 of our Partner Projects funding opportunity, and we’re looking forward to selecting some exciting new projects.
As always some unique opportunities arose so we also partnered with - APNIC (Asia Pacific Network Information Centre) and received grant funding to deliver a digitisation project which is in the initial stages, and focuses on preserving a remarkable collection documenting the startup of Australia’s internet access in the late 80’s early 90’s. Additionally, Alice trained staff at Alice Springs Public Library to digitise their images from Central Australia and share them on Wiki Commons.
We continue to sustain and grow our 5 long term partnerships with
- Franklin Women
- National Gallery of Australia - Know My Name exhibition and initiative (NGA)
- State Library of Queensland (SLQ)
- Australian Library & Information Association (ALIA) (peak body for Libraries)
- Art + Feminism
Almost all of these partnerships have relied on the incredible experience and generosity of our volunteers in both upskilling new people and providing expertise to support successful outcomes.
Moving on to look at growth in Regional and International Engagement
A personal highlight, is our continued collaboration with the ESEAP region, through attendance at the ESEAP conference in Kota Kinabalu, and in developing the ESEAP Hub. While we are working through many challenges with establishing the Hub, the conference was a success in bringing diverse communities across the region together, enabling greater knowledge sharing and strengthening relationships. It was wonderful to see so many young editors experiencing their first Wiki conference and being warmly welcomed to the ESEAP community.
Focussing back in Australia now and our WikiCon 2024 preparations
We can’t wait to welcome everyone to WikiCon in Adelaide on 23 November, which is set to bring together contributors from across the country. This year’s conference theme is "Power of community, diverse voices" with a First Nations focus. This opportunity is for our community to share knowledge and skills face-to-face. The long term goal is to have an exciting annual WikiCon that moves around the various states and territories. This will enable everyone to participate, share perspectives and ideas, learn new skills, and as a community we can continue to shape the future of free knowledge in Australia.
Supporting Education through Wikipedia
Our work with Australian universities is continuing to develop, particularly with projects like the initiative at CSU and La Trobe University to demonstrate how Wiki projects can enhance student communication skills. We also virtually-hosted our first Masters Student on Work Placement from Charles Sturt University who piloted a Guided Learning task, a method of using Wikipedia in High School classrooms.
Events and Community Growth
We are proud of the continued growth of our editing workshops and events across the country. During 2023-24 we hosted 54 of our own events, but were invited guest speakers at 18 other events (covering a wide range of other organisation events, seminars, webinars and conferences) making a total of 72 events, with 941 people in attendance or participating, Some of these events gain significant media coverage and raise the profile of Wikimedia Australia and Wiki projects. While we don’t always gain a large number of long term editors (an issue every affiliate is trying to tackle), the positives are that we reach a hugely diverse range of people, who go away with a far better understanding and appreciation of Wikipedia which they are likely to share with others.
Grants and Scholarships
We’ve successfully offered a range of scholarships and volunteer small grants to support local initiatives, helping our community members attend global and regional events like Wikimania and ESEAP conferences. These opportunities are key in building capacity and ensuring Australian voices are heard in international Wikimedia discussions.
In summary, we’ve made significant strides in expanding our outreach, working collaboratively with like minded partners, and strengthening the Wikimedia Australia community. I want to say a huge thank you to Alice and Ali, for their hard work and commitment. Once again a huge thank you to our volunteers and the Board for your ongoing support. As we enter the third year of our funding and strategic plan we’re excited to continue building on the momentum.
See our Dashboard for WMAU projects, events and residencies in 2023/2024: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/wikimedia_australia_202324/programs
I look forward to what we’ll achieve together in the future.
Thank you!