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As the 10th most-visited website on Earth, and the largest repository of human knowledge there is, school curriculums and even entire worldviews can be formed simply through reading Wikipedia.

However, when the city of Paris has more information contained in Wikipedia than the entire African continent, there is a significant risk of young Africans beginning to perceive home as a single story.

Further, an enormous amount of content on Wikipedia about African culture, languages, geography, and more, is written by Westerners. The inevitable lack of cultural context inherent in the everyday experiences of Africans can lead to stereotypingagain turning one small part of the African story into the whole story.

The WikiAfrica Education Program, founded by the Moleskine Foundation, is an effort to foster creativity and an interest in culture in African school curriculums by teaching students how to prepare and submit, as well as edit, articles on Wikipedia.

Since 2006, the WikiAfrica Program has led students contributing 40,000 submissions, including articles, and also audio clips, edits, photos, and more. Notably, many of the most detailed of these submissions were in African languages like Xhosa.

Co-founder of the Moleskine Foundation, Adama Sanneh, an Italian-born son of a Gambian/Senegalese father, understands that creativity creates culture, and culture is the force that changes society.

A self-professed nerdy kid drawn to culture, art, and philosophy during his childhood growing up outside of Milan, he started the Moleskine Foundation in an effort to try and galvanize Africans into changing power dynamics on the internetand in their daily lives.

We aim to inspire young people from the continent and beyond, and especially African language speakers, to transform themselves from passive knowledge consumers to active knowledge producers, says Sanneh, who then explained the startling information gap between Paris and Africa.

When we look at entries in African languages the situation is even more grim. So obviously the idea is to do something about it, and with this cultural and bottom up approach the idea is to really inspire young people to become knowledge producers, to talk about their surroundings, to talk about their knowledge, and especially to do it in their languages, he toldGNN.

Disenchanted by the traditional NGO-approach to development and aid in Africa, which made Sanneh feel he was on the wrong side of history, his work with Moleskine embodies the widely-held belief that African problems must be addressed by Africans, and that African history should be written forAfricans.

Theres so much misunderstanding around the African continent, says Sanneh.

In 2019, Moleskine Foundation teamed up with the Constitution Hill Trust in Johannesburg to put on a Wikipedia edit-a-thon called AfroCuration, wherefollowing a presentation on the history of the constitution of South AfricaSanneh and his team had 200 computers waiting for the students.

We had more than 300 young people coming together at Constitution Hill in the museum, so it was really inspiring and full of history, he said. They could chose among 100 different entries of heroes, various aspects of the Constitution, and then write those articles in their own languages, meaning isiZulu, Xhosa, Zenda, etc. They wrote more than 200 entries, in one day, on Wikipedia.

The great thing was that those entries, whether about Winnie Mandela (Nelsons second wife), or about specific moments in South African history, that were missing in their own language in the following month, those entries were seen collectively more than 250,000 times.

In another AfroCuration event, also at Constitution Hill, but with the AfroPunk Army Initiative, 12 Black, female South African historical figures essentially returned to the historical recordwith their names and deeds finally making it onto the internet.

Now you can find an article about Joy Seroke, whos a super-important figure in South African history in the fight against apartheid, and whos never mentioned, says Sanneh. Now you can find it on Wiki in isiZulu, Xhosa, Zenda.

The importance of the African languages to the WikiAfrica Education Program cannot be understated, because a culture cant fully express itself without its language. For example, Chinese Confucian theology would never be complete without Chinese words.

This was never more important than after the pandemic arrived, when virtually no information, guidelines, or policies were being translated into African languages. Sanneh saw a need, as well as an opportunity.

MORE: $14 Billion Raised For Great Green Wall to Continue Planting Trees Across Africa, Keeping Sahara From Destroying Villages

When we started the situation was very grim, there was only one article in Luba, or something like that, he told GNN. We launched a campaign to ask people to translate ten articles around COVID-19 that would allow the sparking of creative solutions.

In a couple of months we passed from one to more than 300 articles in more than 20 different African languages. That gave access to more than 300 million people when we look at the composition of the languages, he said.

RELATED: Weve Made Massive Progress Educating Girls Around the World in the Last 25 Years, Says Report

With the WikiAfrica Education Programn now working with schools across the continent to get Wikipedia skills into school curriculums, Sanneh has time to turn his attention to other projects.

Host of the Creativity Pioneers Podcast, which looks at how creativity can spark social change, not just in Africa, but all over the world, Sanneh interviews creatives, social activists, and morepeople like Uzodinma Iweala, the Nigerian-American novelist who wrote the bestselling novel Beasts of No Nation.

CHECK OUT: Nigerian Entrepreneur Invents Giant Solar-Powered Refrigerators That Cut Spoilage to Help Farmers Earn 25% More

You can find new episodes every Thursday, and get to know the entrepreneurs, artists, activists, and scientists that make Africa, in Sannehs opinion, the most creative continent around.

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Africans Are Being Empowered to Write and Edit Wikipedia Articles About Their Own Countries and Culture - Good News Network

Below is an excerpt from The Cohort, Poynters newsletter for women in media.Subscribe hereto get it in your inbox every two weeks.

At the beginning of 2021, I looked at my inbox and saw all the people who were not replying to my inquiries. I saw the applications I made and the recruiters who ghosted after filling their diversity quotas. I saw all the exhortations to training opportunities and fellowships, instead of capital investments and 401ks and health benefits.

And I tried to unravel those missing emails and trails to nowhere. What part of my network isnt strong enough? What opportunities did I not seize upon or not respond to correctly, or with enough confidence? Is there a typo in my resume?

It turns out, Ive spent much of my career pulling on all the wrong threads. The way women, and women of color in particular, are excluded from our industry is much more complicated than what is or isnt filling our inboxes.

Of course, I had plenty of riches in my inbox too. Not least of these are the powerful colleagues and leaders who support transformation in our industry, those who I consider my personal cohort. The last two years, with all their personal, professional and global disruptions, have been growing years for me. And now I have some seedlings poised to become great forests one day. Among them is the all-volunteer project Women Do News.

This exceptional group of volunteers has a simple mission: add more women journalists to Wikipedia. People of color are underrepresented and 90% of its contributors identify as male. The result is that on one of the most visited websites in the world arguably the most visited site that is not a search engine, social media or commerce less than 18% of English biographies are about women. The Wikipedia gender gap has been well documented and there are many groups doing essential work to make up for the sites biases. Following groups in other industries like Women in Red, Art + Feminism and Wikiproject Women Scientists has taught me a lot about how important journalism is in the way we understand the world.

The news industry functions like an economy in many ways. Our currency trust, reputation, belief in each others abilities is based on faith in the system which tells us who and what is valuable. Wikipedia is a magnification of that system and so, like in the real world, credit is disproportionately conferred onto men. That system of who gets to be credible, or in Wikipedias vocabulary, who gets to be notable, is at the heart of our work.

The lack of women journalists on Wikipedia is sometimes shocking. Among entries the Women Do News network has added so far are women who are pioneers for Asian Americans, who covered high-profile trials for 50 years, and who were the first women editors in their newsrooms. They have won Emmys and Murrows and Pulitzers but unlike men with similar credentials, they couldnt get that coveted prize of a Wikipedia page!

What is more shocking to me, though, is how many women journalists dont get interviewed, profiled or awarded, how many women journalists who have outsized impact on the world dont get obituaries when they pass. Through over a year of edit-a-thons, events and ongoing work, our network of about 300 people has nominated 224 journalists for entries so far. The work is slow; weve completed 28 new entries and improved 10. But many of these nominated women journalists who are clearly notable simply have not been written about or credited for their vital work well enough to support a Wikipedia entry.

Doing this work has exposed so much of how every small bias from having mostly male media critics to passing up a woman for a promotion gets magnified at the ecosystem level. What starts as discrimination, being given the wrong title or not included in a byline heck, even an ignored email or application bubbles up into systematic erasure of the contributions of many people. Social scientists call it symbolic annihilation, and the irony is that our own industrys lack of inclusion has helped drive so many of us out of the ubiquitous record that is Wikipedia.

Our aim is not just to get more women journalists onto Wikipedia; it is to get more women journalists into the magazine articles, business reviews, profiles and records of our lives. It is to get more women journalists into the history books. It is to get more women journalists that little Wikipedia box that comes with search results, that confers upon them an agreed sense of significance. It is to get more women journalists the currency they need to continue to transform our industry.

And that, I hope, will help make your inbox and mine look much more promising in the future.

Subscribe to The Cohortto access curated lists of mentors, get to know more about each columnist, and participate in an ongoing conversation amongst women in media, technology and news.

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Most women journalists in history haven't been 'notable' enough for Wikipedia. We're changing that. - Poynter

Each week, we search for the most exciting and thought-provoking shows, screenings, and events. In light of the global health crisis, we are currently highlighting events in person and digitally, as well as in-person exhibitions open in the New York area. See our picks from around the world below. (Times are all EST unless otherwise noted.)

JaTovia Gary, THE GIVERNY SUITE,detail (2019). JaTovia Gary. Courtesy of Paula Cooper Gallery, NewYork.Photo: Steven Probert.

1. When Did Video Become Art? On Surveillance at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

If youre looking for a compact primer on how video moved from its origins in TV broadcasts and security cameras into the art-historical canon, then tune in to the next edition of the Whitneys ongoing Art History From Home series. This week, artist, author, and lecturer Ayanna Dozier will use vital works by the likes of Andrea Fraser, JaTovia Gary, Jill Magid, and others to walk viewers through video arts complex relationship to our contemporary surveillance state, as well as how artists can use the medium to short-circuit the intrusive machinic gaze we now live under.

Price: Free with registration

Time: 6 p.m.

Tim Schneider

Kenny Scharfs Los Angeles studio. Photo courtesy of Kenny Scharf Studio.

2. Kenny Scharf Virtual Visit at RxART, New York

RxArt members can tune in for this virtual studio with Kenny Scharf, who will talk about projects such as his mural in the stairwell of thepediatric and adolescent psychiatric units at Kings County Hospitalin Brooklyn. The street artist-turned-blue-chip darling will chat with dealerDavid Totahtuning in from Scharfs permanent FUNUNDERWORLD installation at his New York galleryand RxArt founderDiane Brown.

Price:Free for Friends of RxART (membership is $100)Time:1 p.m.

Tanner West

Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

3. The Modern Portrait hosted by the Philadelphia Show

As part of a monthly series, New Conversations with the Philadelphia Show, University of Pennsylvania associate professor Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw and Philadelphia Museum of Art curator Jessica T. Smith highlight how 15 artists used portraiture to frame their perception of people and experiment with techniques, as well as to reflect on social issues.

Price:Free with registration.Time:5:30 p.m.6:30 p.m.

Eileen Kinsella

Courtesy of the Helsinki Biennial.

4. Helsinki Biennial Talks Lecture by Dr. Paul ONeill: The Biennial Impact at the Helsinki Biennial

Irish curator, artist, writer, and educator Paul ONeill will take a look at the worldwide proliferation of the art biennial over the past 20 years, with an eye toward covering everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask in the first virtual program for the inaugural Helsinki Biennial.

Price:FreeTime:9:30 a.m.11:30 a.m.

Tanner West

Mildred Thompson, Construction (c. 1973). Courtesy of Galerie Lelong.

5. Dialogues Expanding the Legacy of Mildred Thompson at Galerie Lelong, New York

In conjunction with its second solo exhibition of Mildred Thompsona previously overlooked Black artist of the Modernist eraThroughlines, Assemblages and Works on Paper from the 1960s to the 1990s, Galerie Lelong hosts the second event in its new Dialogues series, moderated byMelissa Messina, curator of the artists estate. The speakers include artist ADriane Nieves, founder of Philadelphias Tessera Arts Collective,and Lauren Jackson Harris and Daricia Mia DeMarr, founders of Black Women in Visual Art.

Price:Free with registrationTime:2 p.m.3 p.m.

Sarah Cascone

Image courtesy of The Shed.Clockwise from top left: Howardena Pindell, Heather Hart, Shani Peters, Tiona Nekkia McClodden. Photos: Nathan Keay; Heather Hart; Texas Isaiah; Chanel Matsunami Govreau.

6. Pindells Legacy: Artists/Activists/Educators hosted by the Shed

This is your last chance to catch an installment of Pindells Legacy, a series of online talks exploring the work of artist Howardena Pindell. The talk, moderated by The Shed assistant curator Adeze Wilford, will featurePindell alongside interdisciplinary artists Heather Hart, Shani Peters, and Tiona Nekkia McClodden. Pindells Legacy has run in tandem with Howardena Pindell: Rope/Fire/Water, a video project by the artist that was unrealized since the 1970s. Through a mix of personal anecdotes and historical data, Pindells first video in over 25 years explores racism, the history of lynching in the US, and the healing power of art. If youre in the New York area, you can catch the show in-person at The Shed through March 28.

Price:Free with registration.Time:6:30 p.m.

Katie Rothstein

Courtesy of A Blade of Grass.

7. Making Change Now: Contextualizing Cancel Culture, Hyper-Partisanship, and the Politics of Progress at a Blade of Grass, New York

After an organizational restructuring that winnowed the staff of A Blade of Grass to just onedirector Deborah Fisherthe nonprofit kicks off its new season of programming with community organizer and cultural worker Scot Nakagawa and racial justice and human rights expert Loretta J. Ross. The two will discuss the influence of the media and the ways in which it helps drive partisan divisions within society, and how peoples consumption of media shapes their beliefs.

Price:Free with registrationTime:6 p.m.

Sarah Cascone

Sandhya Kochar, Torkwase Dyson, Ann Hamilton. Photos by Gabe Souza and Calista Lyon.

8. Torkwase Dyson in Conversation with Ann Hamilton and Sandhya Kochar at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio

The Wexner continues its Diversities in Practice talk series with Torkwase Dyson, the museums residency award recipient, who will speak about her work with Ohio State art professorAnn Hamilton and architecture lecturer Sandhya Kochar.

Price:Free with RSVPTime:7 p.m.

Sarah Cascone

George Mumford, Nadia Hallgren. Photo by JJ Medina.

9. Lens Mix 4: Nadia Hallgren and George Mumford at FotoFocus, Cincinnati

FotoFocuss LensMix conversation series returns with filmmaker Nadia Hallgren and sports coach George Mumford, who will discuss overcoming professional boundaries facing African Americans to work with the likes of Michelle Obama and Kobe Bryant.

Price:Free with registrationTime:6 p.m.

Nan Stewert

Sophie Kahn, The Divers VI. Courtesy of the artist.

10. Sophie Kahn: Dematerialized on Mozilla Hubs

Nearly a year after lockdown cancelled her exhibition Dematerialized at the School of Visual Arts in New York, Sophie Kahn is finally debuting the show, albeit in dramatically altered form, staged in the world of VR. The artist has recreated both the physical space and the works themselves, which were 3-D printed sculptures based on scans of live models in different poses.You can book a virtual tour where Kahn will guide your avatar through the interactive 3-D experience, in which sculptures expand and levitate off their pedestals as you approach. (A VR headset is recommended, but optional, to experience the show.)

Price:Free with registrationTime:Opening, 6:30 p.m.7:30 p.m., and by virtual appointment

Sarah Cascone

Illustration by franzidraws. Courtesy of the Design Museum Everywhere.

11. Designs Role in Equity: Diversity in Action Preview Workshop at the Design Museum Everywhere, Boston

The Design Museum Everywhere is hosting a free workshop to preview its Diversity in Action training program, a three-month course hosted by its director of learning and interpretation,Diana Navarrete-Rackauckas with the aim of illustrating the role design plays in equity.

Price:Free with RSVPTime:1 p.m.2 p.m.

Nan Stewert

Through Saturday, March 6

Joyce Pensato: Fuggetabout It (Redux), installation view (2021). Photo courtesy of Petzel.

12. Joyce Pensato Fuggetabout It (Redux) at Petzel, New York

In 2011, Joyce Pensato was evicted from her East Williamsburg studio after 32 years. She turned her legal defeat into art, staging a critically acclaimed exhibition at Petzel featuring hundreds of paint-splattered objects from her former workspace. She showed the installation in two other iterations during her lifetime; now, her estate has worked with the gallery to stage a Redux version, accompanied by the late artistss eyeball paintings, based on characters such as Elmo and Felix the Cat.

Location:Petzel, 456 West 18th Street, New YorkPrice:FreeTime: TuesdaySaturday, 10 a.m.6 p.m.

Sarah Cascone

Saturday, March 6

Guests at the Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: Art + Feminism at MoMA. Photo by Manuel Molina Martagon, courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art.

13. The Met x Wikipedia Virtual Edit Meet-up: Womens History Month at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Met is one of 57 institutions around the world holding anArt+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon for Womens History Month. Edit-a-thons look to add information about women artists to the free online encyclopedia to boost efforts to bridge the gender gap in the art world. The Wikimedia NYC chapter will provide lists of artists and artworks, as well as training on editing and creating articles. Tune in on Facebook or YouTube to watch, or sign up on theWikipedia Meetup page.

Price:FreeTime:12:30 p.m.2:30 p.m.

Sarah Cascone

Jordan Kasey, Storm, 2020 Courtesy of Nicelle Beauchene Gallery

14. Jordan Kasey: The Storm at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York City

Nicelle Beauchene Gallery presents The Storm, Jordan Kaseys third solo show with the gallery. The show consists of eight new large-scale paintings with the artists signature figures that take up the entirety of the surface. The paintings depict slices of loneliness: a solo man with an umbrella, a figure lit up with lightning, which leaves the viewer to wonder if the storm is literal internal. Light and shadow is used to create the feeling that something is looming just out of view, giving each work a surreal, dreamlike quality.

Location:Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, 7 Franklin Place, New YorkPrice:FreeTime:TuesdaySaturday, 11 a.m.6 p.m.

Neha Jambhekar

Installation view Eric Standley: Songs for the Living, 2020. Courtesy of Dinner Gallery.

15. Eric Standley: Songs for the Living at Dinner Gallery

Made of scrupulously arranged layers of multicolor laser-cut paper, Eric Standleys intricate works bring to mind mandalas, Gothic architectural webs, and the delicate carvings common to Islamic prayer niches. Though newly made, Standley calls the work artifacts because, for him, the act of assembling them is akin to an act of discoveringas though the forms already exist out in the world, and he has happened upon them. Set against bright, geometric forms painted onto the gallery walls, the exhibition has the feel of a sanctum, a place with reverence for complexity, study, and moments of peaceful contemplation.

Location: Dinner Gallery,242 West 22nd Street, New YorkPrice: FreeTime: By appointment, TuesdaySaturday

Katie White

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Editors Picks: 15 Events for Your Art Calendar This Week, From Wikipedia Edit-a-Thons to a Virtual Visit With Kenny Scharf - artnet News

Olivia Papp 23

Features Editor

This Wednesday, Mar. 3, from 1:30 p.m. 2 p.m., Ann Plato Fellow in Anthropology and American Studies Amanda Guzman will deliver a lecture entitled Reframing (Our) Institutional Histories: Objects as New Sites of Representation to the Trinity community. Guzman graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Ph.D. in Anthropology (Archaeology). Guzman specializes in museum anthropology, while her research focuses on the history of collecting and exhibiting Puerto Rico at the intersection of issues of intercultural representation and national identity formation. Using the knowledge and experience she has gained from her work with collections, Guzman has been able to use teaching practices that privilege a more equitable, co-production of knowledge in the classroom through accessible engagement in cultural work.

According to the main coordinator of the Art + Feminism event, Mary Mahoney, Guzman is a great speaker for this particular event because she specializes in the field of museum anthropology and can speak on issues of representation in museums which is central to the theme of Art + Feminism. She is also a great speaker and is doing really exciting work at Trinity.

Art + Feminism is an international community which closes the information gap about gender, feminism, and the arts on the internet. An important element of this work is coordinating Wikipedia edit-a-thons that addressWikipedias documented gender bias, specifically in the arts. The Art + Feminism week at Trinity is a way to promote awareness of this community and the work this community does.

Professor Guzman will share her research in museum anthropology and use it to help us understand issues of representation in collections. The event itself speaks to the politics of knowledge creation and invites participants to first acknowledge and understand the disparity in coverage of women and non-binary artists on Wikipedia. It then welcomes volunteers to learn how to edit and contribute to pages of women and non-binary artists and organizations. The same kind of disparity in coverage of women and non-binary artists exists in museums and is influenced by issues of race, class, and gender, added Mahoney.

While this is a lecture that may attract specific fields of studies, such as American Studies and Anthropology, attendance across all academic fields is encouraged.

Art + Feminism speaks to the politics of knowledge creation. We all use Wikipedia all the time, for example, but perhaps dont examine the motivations, assumptions, or biases that influence who gets a page, what kinds of sources count towards proving someone notable enough to warrant one, and what information gets edited out by editors. Similarly, how do museums decide what artists to feature? What kinds of objects are worthy of display and why? This series of events invites everyone on campus to think about assumptions we make about things in our world that are made to appear natural and what role gender plays in shaping those assumptions, said Mahoney.

As part of the Art + Feminism Week, there is a culminating event called the all-day edit-a-thon. This event serves as a chance to close the information gap around gender, feminism, and the arts on the internet.

We will train volunteers to learn how to edit and contribute to pages of women and non-binary artists and organizations. Volunteers can start with our list of New England artists and organizations in New England, or they can choose any artist or organizations of interest. There is absolutely no experience necessary, and in fact we love introducing people to editing who have never edited before! Its easy and fun. The edit-a-thon will feature an hour-long performance break featuring community and Trinity artists. Our event site will also feature creative work from across campus that we are excited to share, noted Mahoney.

There will be several events, including Guzmans lecture on Wednesday, for Art + Feminism week offered by Trinity for this upcoming week. Typically, the events are held in person. However, this year, due to Covid-19, all events will be held virtually.

On Mar. 4, from 1 p.m. 2 p.m., a virtual tour featuring Feminist Art and Women Artists at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art will occur. This tour will be led by Adult and Academic Programs Manager Janna Israel. At 11 a.m. -4 p.m. on Mar. 5, the all-day Wikipedia edit-a-thon, which includes breakout rooms for new Wikipedia Editors, will begin. There will be Artist performances occurring during this time from 1 p.m. 2 p.m.. Finally, on Thursday, Mar. 25, from 1 p.m. 2:30 p.m., there will be a virtual workshop entitled Wikipedia and Open Pedagogy focusing on these issues.

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Previous How To Get Involved with Art + Feminism Week at Trinity - The Trinity Tripod

He appended a Covid-19 in popular culture section to the end of the article, which was left mostly blank, save for a few lines about the certainty of impending works of art that would reference the pandemic. Fellow editors immediately disputed the section, citing a lack of substance. I said, Just hang on, this is going to fill in, Wyatt said. If you think about the plague of the Middle Ages and how much literature and culture references the plague again now, this is a category we can create in advance because we know its going to fill out. And thats what happened. Indeed, it grew so big that it became its own article.

In his essay on Wikipedias relationship to breaking news, Brian Keegan notes the prodigious detail of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack article in the months following the event. There was even a list of the nearly 3,000 casualties by name, location, and civilian status. Editors started to argue that the fastidiousness was unbecoming of the traditional encyclopedia that Wikipedia was trying to emulate stylistically, and eventually portions of the entry disappeared.

That Wikipedia articles can spring into existence overnight, grow, and then contract again, reflects the peculiar vicissitudes of record-keeping in the digital age. Because the online encyclopedia is living and breathing, it is bound to the present. Gradually, as the community comes to understand [the pandemic] with a macro perspective, two, three, five, 10 years out, some of those subpages will be deleted, or theyll be merged, Stinson said. The Tourism in Zanzibar page, for instance, may one day forgo its Covid-19 reference, especially if theres a surviving, comprehensive article about the pandemics effects on global tourism.

Wikimedia archives all deleted pages, of course, which is why Stephen Harrison, writing in Slate, astutely observed that todays Wikipedia revisions [will] become a historical artifact for future scholars studying this period.

Continued here:
Wikipedia's Sprawling, Awe-Inspiring Coverage of the Pandemic - The New Republic