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.

Current Wikimedia Australia Residencies

Australia has several active residencies in 2023.

• Amanda Lawrence is at ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S). Read more about their work here.

• Bianca Valentino is a First Nations Wikipedian in Residence at State Library Queensland working on The Record: Australian Music On Wikipedia, a partnership between Wikimedia Australia and Australia Council for the Arts to increase the number of Wikipedia articles about Australian music.

• The University of Divinity hosts a Wikipedian in Residence to add content to Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikisource for the Australian Women in Religion project.

• ACMI has engaged a Wikimedian in Residence to expand Wikipedia content and integrate Wikidata content within the ACMI website.

Past Australian 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.

In 2022, James Gaunt was based at the Australian Music Vault adding content to Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons. Read more about their work here.

Examples of Wikimedia Resident and Scholar Programs around the world

• 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.

Guide to best practice for Partner Projects and Wikipedians in Residence

Consider and plan:

• Identify the goals for the project/resident
• On-wiki experience of resident  (training can be provided by WMAU)
• Confirm the format: duration, hours per week etc.
• Whether additional funding available from your organisation (or in kind support, eg, whether a designated workspace and/or computing or scanning equipment is available)
• Permissions for access to resources or collections
• Two way collaboration and information sharing between your organisation and WMAU
• Designate a key contact person within your organisation
• Create a plan for the WiR role, to identify the focus and success criteria with scope for adapting as the residency develops.
• Outline of broader engagement activities (eg, editathon, information sessions, training of staff/public, social media campaigns, media coverage, etc)
• Understanding of Conflict of Interest policies, and other related on-wiki policies. (desirable)

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.

Applying for a WiR or Scholarship Further information on Wikimedians in Residence and Scholars.

Our Scholarship Policy Policy for Australian scholarships to attend Wikimania or equivalent conference related to Wikimedia Australia's mission

Finding Funding Major and Minor funding rounds, volunteer support program, and research funds.

After reading that page, If you’re interested in hosting a WiR/Scholar, or interested in becoming one, please contact: contact@wikimedia.org.au