GLAM/Newsletter/August 2024/Contents/Poland report

This Month in GLAM – Volume XIV, Issue VIII, August 2024

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Poland report

What's up in GLAM-Wiki in Poland

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GLAM Global Meetup

On August 6, 2024, during Wikimania preconference day, the GLAM Global meetup at the Silesian Museum in Katowice brought together around 40 participants from various countries. This initiative for GLAM-Wiki enthusiasts aimed to explore collaboration opportunities within the global GLAM-Wiki community, share knowledge, and address the technical needs of those working at the intersection of cultural heritage and Wikimedia.

The Polish team actively participated in the event. Kamila Neuman, Open Culture Manager at Wikimedia Poland, co-led the morning session, Connecting Minds: Empowering GLAM-Wiki Professionals, which focused on improving collaboration within the global GLAM network. Participants shared projects, challenges, and brainstormed solutions to enhance communication and knowledge-sharing.

In the afternoon session on technical tools, Kasia Makowska, Open Science Manager worked alongside international colleagues to address key challenges like tool reliability and metadata management on the basis of outcomes of the CSI project.

It was a pleasure to be part of the organizing team, which included Susanna Ånäs (AvoinGLAM), Michelle van Lanschot (Wikimedia Nederland), Gorana Gomirac (Wikimedia Serbia), Andrew Lih (Smithsonian), Jamie Flood (National Agricultural Library & Wikimedians of Indiana), Angie Cervellera and Mauricio V. Genta (Wikimedia Argentina).

Working together to make this meetup a success was a great experience.

If you want to know more about the outcomes of the GLAM Global meetup, please read the event follow-up written by Michelle.

Engagement of GLAM-Wiki Partners at Wikimania Katowice

We are delighted and honored that our key partner, National Museum in Krakow (MNK), contributed to the Wikimania 2024 program with two important events.

The first one was the Key Partner session: Culture and Science Directors' Panel. The panelists included Alicja Knast – General Director of the National Gallery in Prague, Dr. hab. Agnieszka Turska-Kawa – Vice-Chancellor of the University of Silesia, and Prof. Dr. hab. Andrzej Szczerski – Director of the National Museum in Krakow. The session, moderated by Daria Cybulska, Director of Programmes and Evaluation at Wikimedia UK, focused on the concept of openness, its application in cultural and scientific institutions, and the leadership required to implement it.

Alicja Knast emphasized the importance of openness in museums and the challenges of providing space for debate in art institutions, while Dr. hab. Agnieszka Turska-Kawa pointed out that in the world of science, openness, especially in the form of open access to publications, can help build trust within the academic community and in relationships with the broader public.

Prof. Andrzej Szczerski, Director of the National Museum in Krakow, which is a GLAM Wiki partner of Wikimedia Poland, highlighted the significance of openness for established institutions like museums, which are often seen as hierarchical and elitist. He noted that despite these stereotypes, openness is crucial for sharing knowledge with a wider audience. Collaboration with Wikipedia has been a significant step for the National Museum in Krakow in disseminating knowledge and making its collections accessible to the public. Thanks to the digitalization of collections and the partnership with Wikimedia, the museum has seen a significant increase in public engagement. Szczerski stressed that openness allows museum institutions to reach a larger audience and transform their role from traditional guardians of heritage to active participants in the global exchange of knowledge.

As the leader of a large institution, Prof. Szczerski also emphasized the need to strike a balance between authority and openness, as seen in the collaboration between the National Museum in Krakow and Wikipedia. He highlighted that openness in museums, especially those of canonical significance like the MNK, is essential for ensuring their contemporary function in the dynamic world of digital knowledge.

The panel concluded with the idea that openness, though full of challenges, offers great opportunities for collaboration, trust-building, and creating a shared space for dialogue, especially at the intersection of culture, science, and Wikimedia's open knowledge ecosystem.

The second event was the Key Partner session: Wiki-Matejko: The Digitized Artist. Collaboration Between Wikimedia Poland and the National Museum in Krakow.

Joanna Szytuła from the National Museum in Krakow and Agata Stadnicka, a Wikipedian in Residence, presented their cooperation with Wikimedia Polska. They highlighted the museum’s efforts to make its vast collection accessible to the public through open digital portals and Wikipedia. This collaboration, which began in 2021, aims to align the museum’s mission of preserving and promoting Polish art with Wikipedia’s goal of sharing free knowledge.

The main focus of the presentation was the editing initiative WikiMatejko, dedicated to Jan Matejko, one of Poland's most renowned painters. The project led to the creation and improvement of numerous Wikipedia articles, including translations, media uploads to Wikimedia Commons, and contributions to Wikidata. The museum’s commitment to social responsibility, accessibility, and sustainability was emphasized, as the project enabled both the museum’s staff and public contributors to engage with its rich collections.

The speakers also addressed the challenges of motivating museum employees to contribute to Wikipedia. The project continues to evolve, with plans to expand similar activities in the future, focusing on other Polish artists.

We were also pleased to host our other GLAM partners who joined the Wikimania conference: the National Museum in Poznań, Warsaw National Museum, and the Museum of Photography in Krakow. We appreciate our partner's engagement and eagerly anticipate our upcoming initiatives.

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