2023:Program/GLAM, Heritage, and Culture/N8PAAK-Comparing Cultural Landscapes: Approaches to GLAM Projects in Argentina and Germany

From Wikimania

Title: Comparing Cultural Landscapes: Approaches to GLAM Projects in Argentina and Germany

Speakers:

Rainer Halama - Wuselig

I was born in the Swabian Region of West Germany in 1957 I was ripped from this idillic life in 1970, when my father took his family of three to India where he was in charge in setting up a joint-venture company for the production of radio parts in Coimbatore. As a thirteen year old I experinced the full culture shock. I went to boarding school in Kodaikanal at an American Highschool that just at this time was in the transition period from beeing a school for the kids of American missionaries to the renowed International School that it is today. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodaikanal_International_School). The unique learning experince there, the international diversity of the student and teacher body and the integration of the local enviroment, history and culture into the school curiculum probably made me the Wikimedian I am today. After three years my father was asssigned to Singapore. There I graduated from Singapore American School in 1974. In Singapore I was already old enough to roam about the city on my own, or travel with friends from School or on official School excursions up the west and east coast of West-Malaysia and to Sumatra. Returning to Germany I experienced reverse culture shock. I only learned about the concept of TCKs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_culture_kid) years later. I finished my German Secondary School, did my military service and studied Generals Economics at Tübingen University, with a two semester stint at the State University at New York followed by a three month trip through the USA and Canada, mostly hitch-hiking. I worked in diverse jobs as Export Manager, Key Account Manager, Sales Manager, tried running an independant sales-representation for a while. Married late, divorced soon, got a depression, found Wikipedia. Trying to illustrate my own articles, I found back to my old hobby photography. As a photographer I become involved in the Wiki loves.. Contests and also in Jury and organization work for these. Mainly via Wiki loves Monuments I also got into touch with the GLAM community. And trying to perfect the description and categorisation of my uploads, I got involved in Wikidata. I have organized local meetups, GLAM-events and aespecially at the later ones was dissapointed that they were mostly one-time highlights, with for the most part, no continuity, or built up of lasting relationships with these institutions. I asked myself, wether we as Wikimedians, for all the effort the institutions put in regarding, time and human ressources, really gave anything back to the institutions. Did we just click photoes of their exhibits and dump them in Commons, or where these photos of any use for future research in AND outside of the Wikiverse? Wonderful projects, like Coding da Vinci have evolved in the meantime. If we manage to also cooperate accross our own projects, transfer that know-how into the GLAM-Institutions, demonstrate to the institutions, that by collaborating with us, they can broaden their outreach and also find new research tools via structured data, we still can accomplish a lot. This is my goal as a “Kulturbotschafter”. Today I live in a stable relationship with a partner that doesn’t do any active editing, but found a niche as juror in Wiki loves … contests and is very tolerant ans supportive of all the time I put into Wikimedia projects. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/2016_06_25_-Wikimania_2016-086%28cropped%29.jpg (Marco Calvo, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Juan - BugWarp

I’m passionate about all Wikimedia projects, but I work mostly in Commons, Wikidata and Wikipedia. I study aerospace engineering, and while that’s a topic I cover a lot on my volunteer work I’m also very passionate about sports and animation. I’ve done several photographic coverage of sports events in my native Argentina (most notably the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics) to enrich the Wikimedia projects, and I’ve written and improve articles about key figures of the animation industry. If I had to pick a project between those three, I’ll probably stick to Commons, it’s a pleasure to take my camera while on vacation and photograph new places that aren’t available on the project yet, it has also made me discover places I’ll never knew about before joining the project. Since February 2019, I’m the Wikimedian in Residence at the National University of La Plata where I upload to Wikidata the profiles of all the scholars and researchers from the University, all of this to benefit from the use of the Scholia tool. Finally, at the beginning of 2022 I became a Board Member of Wikimedia Argentina as a member of “Comisión revisora de cuentas”. Ever since, I’ve been participating in the monthly meetings of the board, providing my insights and comments for the benefit of the chapter. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BugWarpenWikimania2019.jpg (Ezarate, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Pretalx link

Etherpad link

Room: Room 324

Start time: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 11:15:00 +0800

End time: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 11:25:00 +0800

Type: Lightning talk

Track: GLAM, Heritage, and Culture

Submission state: confirmed

Duration: 10 minutes

Do not record: false

Presentation language: en


Abstract & description[edit source]

Abstract[edit source]

This presentation explores the differences in carrying out GLAM projects in Argentina and Germany. The comparison focuses on the approaches, challenges, and opportunities faced by the volunteers and staff on their respective countries in preserving and promoting their cultural heritage. By analyzing the distinct cultural landscapes, this presentation sheds light on the diverse strategies employed by GLAM institutions to address the unique needs of their communities.

Description[edit source]

The presentation takes a comparative approach to examine the diverse strategies, challenges, and opportunities that volunteers and staff from both communities have faced while carrying out the same objective of preserving and promoting their cultural heritage. From an outsider’s point of view, the work and final results may seem similar However, the differences between the two become more striking when viewed from the inside. The internal workings of GLAM institutions in each country are shaped by unique historical, cultural, and institutional factors that impact their approach to preserving and promoting cultural heritage. These differences can manifest in diverse strategies, priorities, and outcomes, which demonstrate the crucial role of internal contexts in shaping GLAM projects.

Further details[edit source]

Qn. How does your session relate to the event themes: Diversity, Collaboration Future?

The presentation is relevant to the event themes of Diversity, Collaboration, and Future. It highlights the diversity of approaches, emphasizes the importance of collaboration, and offers insights into the future of GLAM projects in cultural heritage preservation.

Qn. What is the experience level needed for the audience for your session?

Everyone can participate in this session

Qn. What is the most appropriate format for this session?

  • Tick Onsite in Singapore
  • Empty Remote online participation, livestreamed
  • Empty Remote from a satellite event
  • Empty Hybrid with some participants in Singapore and others dialing in remotely
  • Empty Pre-recorded and available on demand