Navigating the World of Wikidata for Research, Science and Cultural Heritage

Join us for an enlightening workshop at Maastricht University, led by Olaf Janssen, the Wikimedia coordinator for the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the national library of the Netherlands.

This session, a collaborative effort between The Plant and Maastricht University Library, aims to explore the potential of Wikidata across various domains of knowledge.

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Workshop Overview

Wikidata is a free, collaborative, multilingual database, collecting structured open data for anyone in the world to use. It also plays a crucial role in supporting Wikimedia projects, such as Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons. Over the last 12 years it has strongly increased in popularity among the scientific and GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) communities.

This 2.5-hour workshop offers a comprehensive introduction to Wikidata, blending theory with practical, hands-on experience. Participants will delve into the following areas:

• Understanding Wikidata: Learn about the mechanics and community ethos behind Wikidata, uncovering how it functions both technically and socially.
• The relevance of Wikidata: Explore the pivotal role of Wikidata in supporting research, science, and global knowledge sharing, highlighting its benefits and diverse applications.
• Contributing to Wikidata: Gain practical skills in contributing to Wikidata (with a focus on the topic of UM professors from past and present), empowering you to enrich this vast repository of open data.

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Who Should Attend?

This workshop is tailored for academics, researchers, and anyone interested in working with Wikidata and in the intersection of open data, research, and science. Whether you are new to Wikidata or looking to deepen your understanding, this session will provide valuable insights into leveraging it for your work.

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Practical Information

• Date and Time: Wednesday, 29 May 2024, 13:30 – 16:00
• Location: The Plant (Maastricht University-FASoS Grote Gracht 76, Room 0.10)
• To make optimal use of time, participants are requested to create a Wikidata account in the weeks before the workshop. See https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount
• Please bring your own laptop for the hands-on portion of the workshop.
  

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Workshop Leader

Olaf Janssen is the Open Data & Wikimedia Coordinator at the KB, the national library of the Netherlands. His role has been instrumental in stimulating and facilitating collaboration between the collections, knowledge, open data and staff of the KB on the one hand, and the projects of the Wikimedia movement, such as Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata on the other. He is also active as a volunteer within the community. Feel free to contact Olaf via olaf.janssen@kb.nl

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Registration

Please register via Qualtrics to indicate if you would like to attend. We look forward to having you join us!