Location

Online

Free training for creating and updating Wikipedia pages of biologists from historically marginalised communities across history, increasing content and images on experimental biology topics and translating pages to improve accessibility.

The Society for Experimental Biology (SEB), a learned society for animal, cell and plant biologists, is delighted to invite you to our first Online edit-a-thon, in collaboration with Wikimedia UK.

• Event summary

Dates: 2 independent sessions: Wednesday, 31st May 2023 – 1 pm to 5 pm (UK time) and Thursday, 1st June 2023 – 9 am to 1 pm (UK time)

Price: Free

Location: Zoom

Audience: anyone interested in the topic

More information: https://www.sebiology.org/centenary/online-edit-a-thon.html*

Questions: Email us at events@sebiology.org

• What is an Edit-a-thon?

According to Wikipedia’s page, “edit-a-thon is an event where editors of online communities such as Wikipedia […] edit and improve a specific topic or type of content. The events typically include basic editing training for new editors and may be combined with a more general social meetup.”

The SEB edit-a-thon, in collaboration with Wikimedia UK, will follow this format too. We will bring together any SEB member or supporter who would like to join in, provide training on editing or creating Wikipedia pages and/or adding images to Wikimedia Commons, and have a community effort to improve content and imagery.

Our joint aims will be to:

1. Demystify Wikipedia and encourage more scientists to become new Wikipedians
2. Add and improve pages of biologists from historically marginalised communities to enhance visibility and inclusivity (joining efforts with the Women in Red Project).
3. Increase content and images on experimental biology topics lacking on Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, respectively.
4. Utilise our international community to translate existing pages into different languages to make the content more accessible.

• When will it take place?

The SEB edit-a-thon, in collaboration with Wikimedia UK, will be entirely online. There will be two independent half-day sessions:

1. Wednesday, 31st May 2023 – 1 pm to 5 pm (UK time)
2. Thursday, 1st June 2023 – 9 am to 1 pm (UK time)

This way, we aim to maximise the number of people that can join us, considering our international community and the distinct time zones. You can always join both sessions if you like.

Each session will have the following agenda:

1. SEB introduction and housekeeping (5 minutes)
2. Inspirational talk with an invited speaker (15 minutes)
3. Icebreak/introductions (10 minutes)
4. Worklist introduction (5 minutes)
5. Wikipedia editing training (maximum of 1 hour)
6. Break (10 minutes)
7. Time to edit (1h 45 minutes)
8. Time to publish (30 minutes)

You can join the sessions at any time. Still, if you need to gain experience with Wikipedia editing, we recommend you join us for the training session, so you can arrive later and leave earlier as you see fit to your schedule.

Click here to check our event page on Wikipedia

• What support will I get?

1. Invited speakers will briefly discuss their Wikipedia editing experience to inspire you.

Invited speaker (session 1): Jess Wade

Invited speaker (session 2): Ewan McAndrew

2. A training session in collaboration with Wikimedia UK. will be held to teach you the basics and answer any questions you might have about Wikipedia editing.

The facilitators will deliver the training and be on hand throughout the session to answer any questions.

Meet the facilitators:

– Heidi Berg

– Dr Alice White

– Ian Watt

3. The space and support to meet other editors and discuss ideas for Wikipedia pages to work on.

• Why and how do I get involved?

You are welcome to join the edit-a-thon independently of your Wikipedia experience and/or career level. There are many reasons why you would want to join. Here is a few of them:

1. You are curious to learn more and contribute to Wikipedia
2. You want to make a difference in terms of diversity and inclusion in science (this is a great way to start)
3. You want to share your science with a wider audience
4. You have pictures of science setting, equipment, and resources that you want to make available for others to use
5. You want to make science content more accessible in a different language.

If that sounds like you, book your place now!

*if you book your ticket through Eventbrite, you do not need to book it on the SEB website.