July 2017 Wikithon announced

This July the Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery is teaming up with the Bodleian Library and the British Library for a WIKI-EDITATHON on the 7th July at St Catherine’s College, Oxford University

Do you feel discouraged by the culture of “alternate facts”? Do you still value evidence based information? If so, come and join us for a Wikieditathon taking place at St Catherine’s College on Friday 7th July, 11.00 – 15.00 ahead of the start of the 2017 OSFC. This workshop will provide you with all the skills and resources necessary to create new entries for and edit existing entries on the world’s most consulted encyclopedia.

The OSFC Wikipedia partnership was initiated with the BL two years ago and we have hosted four successful Wikieditathons in London. These events, held at the British Library, have provided training and support for Wikiediting with the aim of increasing (and improving) the volume of wiki entries about food, especially entries about women’s contributions to food and cooking culture (statistically 90% of wiki editors are men and this gender bias is reflected in Wiki content).

We are aware that in previous years a number of OSFC delegates have been unable to make the Wikiedits in London and so this year, for the first time, we are offering a Wikiedit workshop in Oxford ahead of the symposium.

We invite any contribution that helps improve the quality of Wikipedia’s food-related content more generally. In the longstanding tradition of the Oxford Symposium, we are especially interested in cultures and subjects that have been similarly overlooked due to overt or inadvertent prejudice. You can read about one of our previous Wikiediathons in this edition of the New Statesman. No prior experience is required (though experienced editors are welcome too) – just bring along a laptop.
Tea and coffee will be provided but please bring along a sandwich lunch.

Please contact Polly Russell at: polly.russell@bl.uk should you wish to register.
Knowledge is power! SO, let’s all share it…

Polly Russell, Carolin Young and Martin Poulter (team “Wiki-Food and (mostly) Women”)