Wikipedia:GLAM/Welcome to Llwybrau Byw! - Living Paths!/Report

Aims
'''Living Paths! Llwybrau Byw! was a project which aimed to empower local communities''' with simple Wikipedia web-authoring skills in all coastal counties that border the Wales Coast Path. These new editors developed Wikipedia and WikiVoyage articles based on the path and surrounding area. It also aimed to support and encourage existing Wikipedians and inspire them to write in other languages.

As well as on-site training of local groups, the project also produced step-by-step guides on Wikipedia editing and creating Wikipedian articles.

The importance of the Welsh and English Wikipedia and the use of open content was recognised in 2011 by the Welsh Government, following direct consultation with Wikipedia Cymraeg with both the First Minister Carwyn Jones and the Minister responsible for IT, Digital Media, Education and the Welsh language: Leighton Andrews. Page 15 of the Government's Welsh Language, Technology and Digital Media Action Plan recently published states: Action Points: Develop the skills and confidence of Welsh speakers to create digital content by a) supporting the efforts of Wicipedia Cymraeg to train Welsh speakers and raise awareness with regard to adding Welsh language content to Wicipedia and b) exploring whether any Welsh Government investments in Welsh-medium technology could be licensed on a Creative Commons basis.

During the last two years we have had dialogue about Crown Copyright and open data sharing with Cadw, the Royal Commission, the National Library of Wales, the National Museum of Wales and Casgliad y Werin (The People's Collection of Wales). As a result of these talks thousands of images, documents and other files are now available to us for use on Wikimedia Projects.

The Project's main aims

 * 1) Inform, inspire and train champions in local communities to create rich local content
 * 2) Enhance the existing information currently available to the world
 * 3) Inform businesses within communities of the importance of local knowledge
 * 4) Inspire existing and new editors.

Indirectly, existing Wikipedians from all over Wales, Britain and the rest of the world will be inspired to contibute an estimated 3,000 new articles in different languages. The articles will relate to points of interest (such as communities) along or near the Wales Coast Path.

The main outcomes of the Living Paths Project were:

Lessons learned
The main problem that occurred was that standardised placenames do not exist. Three different databases were aquired, villages were checked manually and the best-fit chosen. A Twitter account was used to gather new users to double-check and edit the relevant page. This account also harvested a number of new trainees, and will be further developed in the next few months. Eventbrite was used to register trainees, as well as our own website. Looking back, the Eventbrite website was better, although it was monolingual (English) and therefore used in tandem with our own bilingual 'front'.

Looking back, I don't think that 12 months was enough to create the momentum needed; a logo was created for example, which with hindsight was not needed. We had to create our own training resources, videos and on-line step-by-stem instructions, and all this took a good chunk out of the 12 months.

The main statement made by the existence of the Project was 'Wales is here, we're different and we have Government backing for free and open information', and that would not have been possible without the backing of Wikimedia UK. In other words, we have to some extent changed the mindsets of people in Wales and all over the world. Wikipedia is Welsh and belongs to Wales as much as any other community!