There are some exciting changes happening at Wikimedia Community Ireland. As some of you may have seen, we are in the process of hiring a new Irish Language Officer and our current ILO, Amy, will move into a community manager role. Unfortunately, these changes have come about as I (Sophie Fitzpatrick) will be stepping down from my role as Projects and Communications Manager in the New Year.
For the last two and a half years, it has been a huge privilege to work with such a dedicated community both here in Ireland and across the globe. My role at Wikimedia Community Ireland opened my eyes to just how powerful crowdsourced knowledge and digital communities can be. From continuing the WikiWomen legacy in collaboration with our Basque and Frisian partners, working with amazing colleagues at Wikimedia UK to organise Celtic Knot and getting to meet a whole new network of Wikimedians across the world, it has been a whirlwind experience that has left me inspired and amazed by what is possible.
It has also been amazing to engage with the Wiki photo contests and initiatives like Art+Feminism, whose organisers work tirelessly to coordinate events that span the Earth. I have also been so lucky to collaborate with GLAMS, particularly Trinity library who co-hosted our Wikimedian in residence from Japan, ADAPT and our Data-to-text collaboration, which won an award at the International Conference on Natural Language Generation, the National Library for co-hosting our Rising Voices Event and the National Gallery and Hunt Museum for jumping on board our mission to make the internet a more inclusive place. I also want to thank our University partners from all over Ireland who have welcomed me into their classrooms to teach students about Open Knowledge, digital activism and critical thinking around information.
Panel Discussion at Celtic Knot
It has also been a privilege working to promote and protect language diversity and particularly Gaeilge. Language is at the heart of heritage and an integral part of identity. It shapes how we see the world and thus our sense of self. It connects us to our past, binds communities together, and opens doors to the future. Wikimedia provides a powerful platform for language preservation and growth. Whether you’re creating articles in Cornish, Manx, Welsh, Dagbani, or Saami, you’re helping to safeguard linguistic diversity for future generations. I am looking forward to seeing Wikimedia Community Ireland move further forward in this direction.
Since joining the team, I have witnessed Wikimedia Community Ireland go through huge growth and thoroughly enjoyed building up our online presence and continuing to establish our reputation here in Ireland and in Europe as a leader in digital heritage and education. Thank you to the Wikimedia Foundation, especially Agnes, Chen and Cornelius who have been extremely supportive of our group. Thank you so much to my team, Shannon, Eugene and Amy, who have been encouraging and open minded to every idea that I brought to the table (no matter how outlandish!) since day one. Finally, to our fabulous volunteers, thank you for all that you do to continue to highlight Irish heritage and particularly our linguistic heritage in the digital realm. Community is at the heart of everything we do, and this group is living proof that it works!
I will be finishing up mid December, so my inbox is open if anyone would like to tie up any loose ends. After that, I will leave you in the capable hands of the Wikimedia Community Ireland team at info@wikimedia.ie
Beir bua & beannacht, Sophie
Art+Feminism Event at the National Gallery of Ireland
