Wiki Loves Asian Cuisines
Wiki Loves Asian Cuisines is an initiative to improve the collection of images of Asian cuisine on Wikimedia Commons. We want more people to upload photos that are not just beautiful but also high-quality and informative, with clear explanations of the dishes.
Upon several searches in Wikimedia Commons, we have found that there is a big opportunity to improve the number and the quality of Asian Cuisine images in Commons. There are numerous high-quality images of Asian Cuisines in Wikimedia Commons, but a proportionate number of them lead to a "promotional" website of the uploader, and then those without promotional purposes, lack quality and explanation. Although there are some good photos, they are rather small numbers.
We aim for this competition to increase the uploads and quality of the images on Asian cuisines. Not merely just through uploads, but also through a thorough explanation of the dishes.
If we look at Google SEO on Asian Food/Asian Cuisine, often the images cover multiple dishes instead of singling out specific dishes to tell viewers what the dish is about. If one wants to learn, they have to be redirected to the uploaders’ website. This is a gap where this contest will be beneficial. We can use this opportunity to redirect internet users to the Wikimedia Commons to view images of high-quality Asian cuisine images and increase traffic to Wikipedia when they want to learn further about the dishes.
Expected impact and outcomes
[edit ]We see that this competition also has the potential to create a significant and multifaceted impact to address existing gaps in Wikimedia Commons and contributing to the broader goals of knowledge accessibility and cultural representation. This competition directly tackles the underrepresentation and quality concerns surrounding Asian cuisine images on Wikimedia Commons. Although some high-quality images exist, they are either tied to promotional content or lack sufficient explanatory details which limits their educational value. By encouraging participants to upload not just visually appealing photos but also well-documented and contextually rich images, the competition will improve the overall standard of content on Commons on Asian Cuisines. This, in turn, provides a more authentic and educational resource for users seeking information about Asian cuisines in Wikipedia.
Planned activities
[edit ]To kickstart this initiative, a photography competition will be held. The planned activities for this project are structured to make sure that it is successful and align with the objectives of improving the quality and quantity of Asian cuisine images on Wikimedia Commons. The summary of the planned main activities is as below:
- Pre-competition planning stage
- We begin by reaching out to Wikimedia communities and affiliates in Asia to promote the competition and encourage their participation through discussion page in Meta-wiki. Partnerships with Wikimedia affiliates will also be established to amplify the initiative’s reach and impact, especially in this beginning stage. These are to help spread awareness on promoting the competition and improve numbers of participants.
- Launch of the competition
- This competition will be launched with a public announcement on Wikimedia platforms and relevant social media channels. A dedicated project page will be created on Meta-Wiki, providing comprehensive details about the competition, submission guidelines, and evaluation criteria. Promotion will focus on encouraging a wide range of participants, including Wikipedians, photographers, food enthusiasts, and even cultural advocates. A targeted outreach campaign will be conducted, with multilingual promotional materials to accommodate participants from various regions.
- Capacity-building workshops (tentative)
- To support participants, we have a series of online workshops and webinars planned to be organized. These sessions will cover topics such as advices on photography techniques, cultural sensitivity, and how to properly upload and document images on Wikimedia Commons. Collaboration with experienced Wikimedia contributors and professional photographers will ensure high-quality guidance.
- Community engagement and submissions
- Throughout the competition period, participants will be encouraged to engage with their local communities by photographing regional dishes and documenting their cultural significance. Online discussions will foster interaction and maintain enthusiasm among contributors. Participants will also be encouraged to provide detailed descriptions of the dishes, especially when it comes to the name of the dishes. This shall help direct traffic from Wikimedia Commons to Wikipedia when readers wants to gain more information about the dishes.
- Evaluation and recognition
- After the competition ends, all submissions will be reviewed and evaluated based on predefined criteria, including image quality, cultural representation, and the richness of documentation of the images. A jury panel (with cultural diversity knowledge, photography expertise) will select winners. Prizes will be awarded to top 5 contributors to recognize their efforts and motivate future participation.
- Post-competition analysis and report
- The final stage will involve analyzing the outcomes of the competition and its impact on Wikimedia Commons. Insights gained from the project will be shared through a report on the Meta-Wiki page and presentations at relevant Wikimedia and educational conferences. Follow-up activities will include exploring long-term partnerships to sustain contributions in this niche area. We hope that this competition will be a yearly activity that can be done to enhance Asian cuisine contents in Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
[edit ]We welcome everyone to provide any comments in our discussion page on any insights or ideas to improve this initiative.