We’re excited to announce a new series of Coventry-specific Wikipedia editing events as part of the 2021 City of Culture. These events, led by experienced Wikipedia editors, are open to students, residents of the city, and anyone with interest in shaping Coventry’s representation on the world’s largest open educational resource, Wikipedia.org.
These events will be open to beginners and experienced editors alike, with help being offered to anyone who would like to learn how to contribute to Wikipedia. Help will be offered in a supportive, friendly environment to anyone hoping to improve their skills and share Coventry’s story.
What’s the format for the sessions?
Each session is delivered online and lasts roughly 3 hours, which will give you time to hear an introduction to Wikipedia, perhaps a short talk specific to Coventry and a suggestion of what articles you might contribute to during the session.
You won’t have to have your camera or mic on the entire time – for much of the session you can work independently, and there will be a time to gather toward to the end to show off what you’ve been working on.
For new editors, you’ll be able to get additional support in creating an account, using the editor, finding reliable sources and more during the session.
What will I write about?
Not sure what to write about or edit? We will suggest suitable topics related to the city such as
- Notable Coventrians
- Local buildings and landmarks
- Companies
- Historic events
- Artworks
- Something that matters to you!
You can improve existing Wikipedia articles or create entirely new ones. We’ll also provide suggested sources which can be cited and help you to chose topics which will meet Wikipedias guidelines for inclusion.
We’re especially keen to see contributions which improve the coverage of under-represented groups including women and ethnic minority groups on Wikipedia.
Not up for writing? There are other ways to contribute on the day including copy editing, fact checking, and adding citations to improve the quality of existing articles. You could even help by transcribing scans of old documents related to the city for Wikipedia’s sister project, Wikisource.
Dates, times and booking
Coventrypedia takes place over 6 sessions, and you’re welcome to come to as many as you’d like. These events are free to attend. You’ll be able to sign up to the events via Eventbrite using the links below. Later on, we’ll send you an online link to join the event on the day.
- Thu, 22 April – 2:00pm – 5:00pm – Book on Eventbrite
- Thu, 29 April – 2:00pm – 5:00pm – Book on Eventbrite
- Tue, 11 May – 10:00am – 1:00pm – Book on Eventbrite
- Thu, 13 May – 2:00pm – 5:00pm – Book on Eventbrite
- Sat 15 May – 2:00pm – 5:00pm – Book on Eventbrite
- Thu 20 May – 2:00pm – 5:00pm – Book on Eventbrite
Preparing for the event
Please ensure you have a device handy which is able to connect to the internet with and is easy to type on. We’d recommend laptops or desktops over tablets for the editing tasks you’ll perform during the session.
To save time at the events, please sign up for a Wikipedia account at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:CreateAccount before joining us (but don’t worry if you can’t; we can still help you on the day). Make sure you bring a note of your username and password to the event!
Contact
If you have any questions about the event, you can get in touch with our Wikimedian in Residence, Andy Mabbett:
Email: ad2775@coventry.ac.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pigsonthewing