Welcome to the Wikimedia Community Ireland April Newsletter. We hope you all have come alive with spring and are ready for some exciting updates.
This month brought an exciting exchange with Wikimedia Italy and the University of Bari that was filled to the brim with culture both Italian and Irish which is very much alive in the area! We also launched our Wiki Loves Folklore Art Commission with Aoife Cawley and are delighted to invite you to an exciting event on April 30th at the National Gallery of Ireland for some feminist digital activism!
We are also happy to share our draft Strategic Plan which will guide our work from 2025-2030. We will be voting on this document as a community at our next meeting on May 27th at 6pm. More information found below.
Read on to register for the free event at the National Gallery and to find out what else we have been up to.
Art+ Feminism at the National Gallery Digital Activism Workshop on April 30th
We are delighted to collaborate with the National Gallery’s Library & Archive department for an Art + Feminism Edit-a-thon on April 30th from 10 a.m.
This collaboration is aimed at creating an increased presence online for womxn artists whose stories are currently underrepresented on the Wikimedia platforms. We are inviting interested people to come and join us for a morning to receive training in how to contribute to Wikimedia pages and then use the Library & Archives resources to research specific female artists and update their information so that they have an increased and accurate online presence.
Those participating should bring a fully charged laptop (if this is a challenge we can see what we can do to assist). Tea & coffee will be served at a break. This event is free of charge, but if those booking find that they cannot attend we would appreciate notice as spaces are limited.
Places are limited so secure your spot here.
Calling on our Community to sign the Petition to Make the Internet Safer for all —especially young LGBTQ+ people.
I want to take this opportunity to call upon our Wikimedia Community Ireland members to sign this petition that is being run by belongto.org who are calling on the Irish government to hold social media platformsand the Tech companies that run them accountable and demands for stronger online safety laws that better protect LGBTQ+ youth and other vulnerable groups.
This isn’t usually something I would include in our newsletter, however, with recent events I think it is more important than ever to demonstrate our support. Although Wikipedia and its sister projects is not a social media platform, crowd-sourced knowledge means social interactions happen online. Thus we need to align ourselves with all efforts towards making the digital space a safer and more inclusive place for all. Please consider signing the petition here.
Image via Belongto.org
Join us at our next Community Meeting to Vote on our Strategy for 2025-2030
We are delighted to invite community members, new and existing or anyone who is interested in getting involved in our work, to join us for our online Community meeting on Tuesday, May 27th at 6 pm.This is a time for us to share any news and updates, and for us to discuss all things Wikimedia as a community, bring your ideas, challenges and feedback!
At our next meeting we will also be voting on our Strategy Paper which will guide our work in the coming years. You can read the strategy ahead of the meeting on Wikimedia Commons here. Have your say, it’s not to be missed!
RSVP here to attend, and we will send you the link. Find more information here.
NoNameIsLeft, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aoife Cawley Art x Wiki Loves Folklore
Wikimedia Community Ireland partnered with artist Aoife Cawley for Wiki Loves Folklore 2025. We commissioned her to create a series of images that vividly depict Irish folk traditions. These artworks are now freely accessible on Wikimedia Commons, enriching the repository of Ireland’s intangible cultural heritage.
Aoife Cawley, a printmaker and textiles artist from County Kildare, has a deep-rooted passion for folklore, mythology, and history. Her work seamlessly blends traditional medieval art forms with contemporary techniques, resulting in pieces that are both bold and evocative. Some of you may know her from the Celtic Knot Conference last September, where she lead a printing session for attendees.
The collaboration between Wikimedia Community Ireland and Aoife Cawley not only enriches Wikimedia Commons with authentic representations of Irish folklore but also underscores the importance of preserving intangible cultural heritage. By making these images freely available, the project invites global audiences to engage with and appreciate Ireland’s rich cultural
Find out how to use the images here. And, yes they are open access, so free to use with attribution to the artist!
Wiki Loves Earth Launches on May 1st!
Happy Earth Week from Wikimedia Community Ireland!
We’re also gearing up for Wiki Loves Earth 2025, launching on May 1st!
Wiki Loves Earth is a global photo competition that celebrates protected natural areas and helps document the impact of climate change. By contributing your photos to Wikimedia Commons, you’re not just sharing Ireland’s natural heritage—you’re supporting open knowledge and climate awareness.
We’re calling on photographers, nature lovers, and citizen scientists to capture images of Irish flora, fauna, landscapes, and marine life. Together, we can fully illustrate Irish natural heritage on Wikipedia.
This year we will continue to collaborate with Wikimedia UK to extend the contest to include Northern Ireland. We are also excited to share a new category to celebrate our Wiki Muir Project which will see a special award for the best marine themed photograph.
Get your cameras ready—and stay tuned for how to get involved very soon!
Wikimedia Community Ireland x Wikimedia Italy at the University of Bari
Amy, our Irish Language Officer, travelled to Bari in southern Italy on 12 April 2025 to build upon our connections with the University of Bari and Wikimedia Italy. There were multiple visits to GLAMs, lots of cultural exchange, and a meetup with local Wikipedians who all visited the Accademia della Lingua Barese “Alfredo Giovine” which is maintained by Felice, Alfredo Giovine‘s son.
During the visit, she also delivered lectures on the history of the Irish language and collaborated with hosts on a Wikipedia workshop in which students translated articles about Irish history and culture into Italian. A Wikisource session saw participants publish a thirteenth-century Irish poem (Giolla Bríghde Mac Con Midhe) online, and there were multiple Irish music sessions.
The strong interest shown by the students has already sparked plans for a return programme in 2026, marking an important step in forging lasting connections between the Wikimedia communities of Ireland and, in particular, the Puglia region of Italy.
A full blog post and report will be published soon!
Nuacht ón Oifigeach Gaeilge
Haigh a chairde Vicí,
Mar is gnách, bhí an mhí seo gealgháireach agus gnóthach againn, lán d’imeachtaí nua agus deiseanna iontacha don phobal. Táimid ag leanúint ar aghaidh ag cur leis an obair seo le fuinneamh agus le fonn daoine nua a mhealladh chuig Vicipéide.
Turas go Bari, san Iodáil
Ar an 12ú Aibreán 2025 chuaigh mé go Bari i ndeisceart na hIodáile chun obair le hOllscoil Bari agus Wikimedia Italy. Thug mé cúpla léacht faoi stair agus teanga na Gaeilge, agus rinneamar ceardlann Vicipéide; chruthaigh na mic léinn ailt Iodáilise faoi stair nó cultúr na hÉireann, aisthrithe ó Bhéarla. D’oibrigh an ghrúpa Wikisource agus chuir siad dán ón 13ú haois ar líne. Bhí suim mhór ag na mic léinn sa teanga agus sa chultúr Éireannach, agus tá plean againn filleadh in 2026 le tuilleadh gníomhaíochtaí. Bhí an turas seo ina chéim mhór chun nasc láidir a chothú idir pobal Wikimedia na hÉireann agus pobal na hIodáile, go háirithe i bPuglia.
Beidh blag níos faide agus níos mionsonraithe agam ag teacht air seo!
Ceardlann WikiSource (WikiSource Workshop) lé dán ón 13ú hAois
MeithealWiki: Togra Nua
Táimid ag eagrú cruinnithe míosúla. Beidh an chéad chruinniú eile i gceann coicíse – bígí réidh! Cuirfear an t-eolas amach an tseachtain seo chugainn.
Cláraigh don liosta ríomhphoist chun na cuirí go léir a fháil.
Rising Voices & Global Voices: Deis Comhoibriú go hIdirnáisiúnta
Tá áthas orainn a fhógairt go bhfuil deontas ó Global Voices bronnta orainn chun ceardlanna áitiúla a chomh-eagrú le Rising Voices. Díreoidh na ceardlanna ar ghníomhaíocht dhigiteach do theangacha dúchais, mionteangacha, nó teangacha gan in acmhainní. Úsáidfear gnéithe den trealamh “Digital Initiatives for Indigenous Languages” a d’fhorbair Rising Voices & UNESCO. Faoi láthair tá orainn an siollabas a chur le chéile, agus é a chur in oiriúint don chomhthéacs Éireannach.
Coinnigh súil air – tiocfaidh tuilleadh eolais faoi na ceardlanna seo go luath!
Don’t forget to RSVP to attend our meeting on Tuesday May 27th at 6pm. Interested in getting involved with Wikipedia editing or digital activism, but not sure where to start? Drop us an email if you would like to get involved!
Sophie Fitzpatrick, via Wikimedia Commons
