Your weekly photo from the world’s free media repository: 19 July
The original Beetle, constructed by the German automaker Volkswagen, was in production from 1938 until 2003. Convertible Beetles were usually nicer than their roofed counterparts. According to Wikipedia, the Beetle convertible was “generally more lavishly equipped than the sedan with dual rear ashtrays, twin map pockets, a visor vanity mirror on the passenger side, rear….
Designing ethically with AI: How Wikimedia can harness machine learning in a responsible and human-centered way
The past few years have seen an explosion of journalism, scholarship, and advocacy around the topic of ethical AI. This attention reflects a growing recognition that technology companies often fail to put the needs of the people who use machine learning (or “AI”) technology, and of society as a whole, ahead of their business goals.….
‘Bootcamp’ teaches India’s Wikimedia editors the intricacies of vector graphics
Have you ever tried zooming in on an image on your computer? Did you notice how the quality steadily got worse and worse? This is an unfortunate feature of “raster graphics,” the file formats that use a rectangular grid of pixels to make up an image, and present a particular problem for people making maps,….
Your weekly photo from the world’s free media repository: 12 July
The Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse is located in Hjørring, Jutland, Denmark, on the North Sea. Construction on it began in 1899; it was lit for the first time in 1900 and its light was extinguished for the final time in 1968. Today, the lighthouse is threatened by heavy coastal erosion in the area, which are bringing….
By digitizing venerable translations, they’re bringing the world’s literary history to Punjabi speakers
Imagine a world where you grew up in a world where the greatest literary works in history never existed. For many of the world’s language speakers, this can be their functional reality. Titles like these have either never been translated, or were translated decades ago and now hide in ancient paper-bound texts on dusty library….
Your weekly photo from the world’s free photo repository: 5 July
A long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) in Labuk Bay, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia. According to Wikipedia, the long-tailed macaque is native to Southeast Asia. Its social groups are controlled by females, and any male children depart after undergoing puberty. While this macaque “has a long history alongside humans[,] they have been alternately seen as agricultural pests, sacred….
A growing Wikimedia movement, with training and learning at its core
How do we make knowledge creation truly participatory for every community on our planet? The Wikimedia movement has been growing steadily, with more volunteers joining, and new affiliate groups created every year. Affiliates represent our movement at the local level and are charged with organizing activities and events to get people and organizations involved in….
Wikimedia and Outreachy: Technical internships are bridging the free and open source inclusion gap
At Wikimedia, technical internships aren’t reserved just for new college grads seeking work experience at the beginning of their professional lives. We invite individuals of any age and at any stage of their careers to learn and collaborate with technical staff members and volunteers. Throughout the year, our Developer Advocacy team partners with established programs….
Wikipedia’s annual conference, Wikimania, is coming to Stockholm
The annual conference behind Wikipedia, one of the world’s most visited and beloved websites, will take place in Stockholm from 14–18 August 2019. The event will bring together members of the global community behind Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia free knowledge projects: volunteer editors (Wikimedians) from around the world, museum and archival experts, leaders of….
What would your life be like #WithoutWikipedia?
For more than two years, the people of Turkey have been unable to access or participate on Wikipedia—what Ege, a high school student in the country, calls the “source of the sources.” And they’re not the only ones affected. Without Wikipedia, the rest of the world is missing the voices, perspectives, and knowledge of Turkey’s….
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