We’re piloting resources and methods for centering the knowledge and expertise of marginalized communities in Wikipedia’s online knowledge repository. In partnership with Whose Knowledge?, pilot communities – including Dalits from India and the US, queer feminists from Bosnia and Herzegovena, and Kumeyaay Native Americans – have led the way in mapping their own knowledge to find critical gaps in Wikipedia, and then creating and improving related content to fill those gaps. Community organizers have powerful things to say about their truth and experiences working with the Wikimedia movement.
Dalit History Month Wikipedia edit-a-thon, image by Zhengan, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Dalit History Month
Equality Labs has been part of a collective organizing Dalit History Month for several years, with an aim to share the contributions to history from Dalits around the world. We’ve partnered to support Dalit organizers based in the U.S. and India to support mapping Dalit knowledge, compiling sources, and adding content to Wikipedia via several international edit-a-thons.
Dalit Knowledge Gaps on Wikipedia
Exploring Dalit History Month 2017
Partnering on queer and feminist knowledge production in Bosnia and Herzegovina, image by Dondolids CC-BY SA 4.0 from Wikimedia Commons
Queer Feminist Knowledge from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Okvir is a feminist LGBTQI group in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They have been collecting digital histories for a queer archive, beginning with stories from activists and others about the 1990’s war. We’ve partnered to support queer organizers in mapping their knowledge to fill gaps in Wikipedia.
Queer Bosnian Knowledge Gaps on Wikipedia
Workshopping Wikipedia with Kumeyaay organizers, image by Stan CC-BY SA 4.0 from Wikimedia Commons
Kumeyaay Indigenous Knowledge Production
The Kumeyaay-Wikipedia Initiative was developed through the efforts of Kumeyaay educators Michael Connolly Miskwish and Stan Rodriguez. We’ve been collaborating to map knowledge gaps and preferred sources for adding Kumeyaay knowledge to Wikipedia, and learn more about the tensions between indigenous knowledge and Wikipedia’s norms and values. The group is continuing to explore a range of topics today, from using Wikipedia in their classrooms, to documenting oral histories online.
Kumeyaay Knowledge Gaps on Wikipedia
Sources for Kumeyaay and California history
Learn More
Centering Marginalized Knowledge – A Wikimedia Learning Pattern
2017 Wikimedia Pilot Project Report
