2025:Program/Wiki Loves Broadcast: Creative Commons Video Edit-a-thon

Session title: Wiki Loves Broadcast: Creative Commons Video Edit-a-thon

Session type: Workshop - 85 minutes

Track: GLAM

Language: en

🎥 Session recording: https://www.youtube.com/live/-kU4brAaXO8?feature=shared&t=7573 🎥

Please bring your laptops to this session!

Public broadcasters produce high-quality educational content, yet much of it remains inaccessible due to restrictive licensing. **Wiki Loves Broadcast (WLB)** aims to change this by working with public broadcasters to release content under free licenses like CC BY-SA 4.0. This workshop will introduce participants to WLB’s mission and provide hands-on experience in integrating freely licensed public broadcasting content into Wikipedia. Attendees will learn how to find relevant videos, understand the criteria for embedding them, and actively contribute by adding videos to articles. Through collaborative editing, participants will enhance Wikipedia’s multimedia content while exploring the impact of audiovisual material in knowledge sharing.

Description

Public broadcasters produce high-quality educational content, yet much of it remains inaccessible due to restrictive licensing. Wiki Loves Broadcast (WLB) is an initiative dedicated to changing this by working with public broadcasters to release content under free licenses like CC BY-SA 4.0, making it available for everyone. This benefits educators, students, and the Wikimedia community by enriching Wikipedia with well-researched, fact-based audiovisual material. In recent years, WLB has successfully helped bring thousands of freely licensed videos to Wikimedia Commons, improving Wikipedia articles on a wide range of topics and reaching millions of viewers. In this workshop, you will not just learn about the project but also actively contribute to it. You will have the opportunity to work with freely licensed public broadcasting content and integrate it into Wikipedia articles. You will explore how to find relevant videos, learn the criteria for integrating them, and contribute to making high-quality educational content accessible across different language versions of Wikipedia. Rather than just discussing the impact of freely licensed public broadcasting content, you will directly improve Wikipedia by adding relevant videos to articles. At the end of the session, you and your group will share your findings and experiences, offering insights into how audiovisual content can be effectively used across different language communities. This workshop is also an opportunity to connect with other Wikimedians from around the world, building a stronger global network of contributors who can help expand Wiki Loves Broadcast in their home communities. By the end of this session, you will not only understand the value of Wiki Loves Broadcast but will have actively contributed to its mission. Whether by embedding videos, sharing insights, or joining the network for future collaborations, you will play a role in bringing freely licensed public broadcasting content to Wikipedia.

How does your session relate to the event theme, Wikimania@20 – Inclusivity. Impact. Sustainability?

Sustainability Wiki Loves Broadcast (WLB) contributes to sustainability by ensuring that valuable public broadcasting content is preserved and reused long-term under free licenses. By making high-quality audiovisual materials openly accessible, we extend their lifespan and maximize their educational value. Impact The project strengthens Wikipedia’s role in combating misinformation and disinformation by providing well-researched, fact-based media content. Engaging with public broadcasters and political allies helps advocate for free knowledge policies while also increasing the reach and visibility of freely licensed broadcasting content. It also offers a very concrete example of the need for protection of the Wikimedia model. Inclusivity WLB fosters inclusivity by making public broadcasting content accessible across languages and regions, even in countries without public broadcasters. Freely licensed videos enhance accessibility, particularly for those who struggle with text-based content. Additionally, WLB expands the Wikimedia movement’s GLAM partnerships and supports cultural heritage preservation—illustrated by projects like Czech Radio’s free bell sound archive. Furthermore, by making Wikipedia more multimedia, it enhances young people’s participation in the project. Through international collaboration, WLB continues to shape a more inclusive, impactful, and sustainable future for open knowledge.

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

Everyone can participate in this session

Resources

• https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1gk1Cj1cxXSzKF-qipkWOiA9esBTMatog/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100743833243083175029&rtpof=true&sd=true
• https://wikimedia.eventyay.com/talk/media/wikimania2025/submissions/YZUBYJ/resources/WikiLovesBroadcast-5.svg_kgIBNRR.png

Speakers

• Janosh / New York-air

I am an active contributor to Wikipedia and the broader Wikimedia movement, with a focus on youth engagement, international collaboration, and content partnerships. Since joining the German **Young Wikipedians (JWPs)** in 2017, I have worked to strengthen youth participation in Wikipedia, helping to build a supportive network for young contributors. I am also involved in organizing and improving the **"Jugend editiert"** sessions, an initiative aimed at connecting and supporting young editors in Berlin.

Beyond youth engagement, I contribute to the **Wiki Loves Broadcast (WLB)** project, which promotes the release of public broadcasting content under free licenses. Since 2021, I have been part of the team expanding partnerships with broadcasters, and I am now leading the internationalization of WLB to make it a globally scalable initiative.

Additionally, I occasionally upload images to Wikimedia Commons and contribute to Wikipedia articles. I regularly participate in Wikimedia events, including Wikimania and German WikiCon.

I am always interested in exchanging ideas with other Wikimedians – feel free to reach out!

Oh and by the way I also do a lot of stuff in real life which often takes up my time.

• Michele Failla

I work at Wikimedia Europe (WMEU) as Senior EU Law & Policy Advisor. I have a Law & Economics background and I also hold a Master in European Political Studies. My job is to ensure that Wikimedia projects and the Wikimedia movement are preserved when a new piece of legislation is passed. We do our best to ensure that lawmakers widely understand the Wikimedia model and respect its functioning and values. In this sense, I closely work with the Foundation's public policy team and the European national chapters, including Italy, France, Germany.

I am passionate about protection of fundamental rights - such as freedom of expression, privacy & access to information -, media law & policy, EU law, democratic theories & e-democracy, new technologies, cooperative projects, degrowth & the commons. In my free time, I sometimes contribute to Wikipedia.

• Lucy Iwuala

Iwuala Lucy is a language professional and Wikimedia contributor with expertise in Indigenous language advocacy, digital literacy, and cultural heritage preservation. A co-founder of Igbo Wiki Fan Club, Alvan and Imo State University under the Igbo Wikimedians User Group, where she organizes workshops and mentorship initiatives to promote Igbo language and content on Wikimedia projects. She is passionate about championing women’s digital literacy and community resource development. She is currently a member of the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Grant Committee, Member of ComCom, Member of the Afrika Baraza Working Group where she plays significant roles in the Production Team. Her engagements also extend to managing the social media channels of the International Wiki Loves Monuments campaigns and Wiki Loves Ramadan as well as contributing to global discussions on underrepresented languages.

• Sadik Shahadu

Sadik is a certified Wikipedia trainer, journalist, and brand ambassador for the Curationist Foundation. He is also the executive director and co-founder of the Dagbani Wikimedians User Group, a young not-for-profit organization based in Ghana and working to support the 16 Mabia languages on Wikimedia and the internet at large.

Outside Wikimedia, he serves on the advisory board of the UNESCO 'Open Education for a Better World' program. He was a Mozilla Open Leader X fellow, a MozFest wrangler mentor, and a former ambassador for the Mozilla festival. Sadik is passionate about open-source technology, open data, and open education resources (OER).

As a digital language activist, he works with individuals and organizations interested in digitizing indigenous languages and cultures on the Internet.