• Albania report: International Roma Day Editathon in Albania and Kosovo, 2024
• Australia report: New images from Central Australia on Wikimedia Commons, Library Science WikiProject students edit Wikipedia & 1Lib1Ref in Australia and New Zealand
• Brazil report: Wiki Library Month
• Czech Republic report: 2023 became a promissing year for wiki-residents and partnerships in CR
• Kosovo report: International Roma Day Editathon in Albania and Kosovo, 2024
• Netherlands report: Informal GLAM hack session
• New Zealand report: Te Papa research expeditions and the Wikipedian at Large
• North Macedonia report: Climate Changes and GLAM
• Poland report: What’s up in GLAM-Wiki in Poland in April
• Spain report: SMALL GLAM SLAM
• Sweden report: 100 000 bildminnen; Metabase
• Switzerland report:
• UK report: Swiss GLAM Programme
• USA report: Heaven on Earth at last?
• Biodiversity Heritage Library report: BHL-Wiki Working Group April monthly highlights
• AvoinGLAM report: AI Sauna quick reflection
• Structured Data on Wikimedia Commons report: OpenRefine online courses in more languages, and certified trainers
• WMF GLAM report: OpenRefine course in three more languages and International Museum Day challenges
• Calendar: May’s GLAM events

Take a guess – what content gap in the Wikipedia articles on Lysol, the Great Depression in the United States, and the Black Panther Party is now filled, thanks to the work of Utah State University student editors? The answer might surprise you! You can now learn about the role of contraception in each subject’s histories.

These student editors may have channeled their research on birth control into unexpected areas of Wikipedia, but they weren’t the only students in Chris Babits’ History of Sexuality class who focused on adding information related to contraception to the online encyclopedia. Classmates also enhanced related pages including the Cornstock laws and Family planning in the United States. And until one Utah student jumped in, the Views on birth control in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints page was missing arguably the most relevant view: the church’s current stance on contraception. 

Just as real-world events can lead to spikes in readership of related Wikipedia articles, student editors can be motivated to work on topics that experience a peaked level of public interest, wanting to add information to the in-demand area of knowledge.

Babits’ students’ decision to explore the topic of contraception may have been influenced by the real-world interest in the information following a milestone decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. On June 24, 2022 the Supreme Court officially ruled to reverse Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion no longer exists. The decision undoubtedly drew attention to Wikipedia’s abortion article, which noted a significant jump in page views the following day, as well as to Wikipedia’s article on birth control, which nearly quadrupled in daily readership by June 25. 

So it should come as no surprise that Babits’ class, who’s collective edits on Wikipedia articles have been viewed nearly one million times, isn’t the only recent class in our Wikipedia Student Program to address knowledge gaps related to contraception. 

In fall 2023, three of Caroline Smith’s students at The George Washington University collaborated to create a new article on emergency contraceptives on college campuses, exploring the history, accessibility, and legislation of access at colleges and universities across the country. Their article explores the first time morning-after pills were sold in vending machines on a college campus at The Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, the spread of the concept to other institutions, and the related legislation.

This spring term, four of Smith’s students also worked together to create another new Wikipedia article to share the history of Julie, a healthcare company that markets a non-prescription emergency contraceptive pill. Julie launched their product in September 2022 in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade with a mission of removing stigmas around emergency contraception and increasing access for marginalized communities.

By filling in missing information for topics of public interest and need, student editors like Babits’ and Smiths’ can make tremendous impact through the Wikipedia assignment. Interested in learning more and getting started in your own class? Visit teach.wikiedu.org or reach out with questions at contact@wikiedu.org.

Imagine a room buzzing with ideas, keyboards clicking in unison, and a palpable energy that fuels creativity. This wasn’t your typical office scene; this was the heart of the Wikimedia Hackathon 2024 in Tallinn, Estonia, and I was lucky enough to be a part of it for a day.

For those unfamiliar, the Wikimedia Hackathon is an annual event that gathers tech wizards from around the globe to brainstorm and develop projects that improve various Wikimedia initiatives, including the one and only Wikipedia. This year, I arrived on the third and final day, eager to soak up the atmosphere and learn from the brilliant minds gathered there.

Hacking with a Purpose: Unveiling the Teams

The venue itself was impressive. A spacious hall with a massive set of TVs displaying the Wikimedia Hackathon logo instantly set the stage for an epic event. A few hours before my help desk shift, I decided to explore and get a feel for the ongoing projects.

My first stop was Team “Commons Impact Metrics.” These data whizzes were on a mission to develop a data pipeline to collect and document user data. Their project’s goal? To empower users with success and scalability. They’d all encountered similar projects in their day jobs, so they hit the ground running. Their biggest hurdle? The sheer volume of data – so much that it even crashed a team member’s PC! But these tech gladiators persevered, adapting their approach and focusing on a specific data category. Their motivations were clear: a chance to work on challenging projects, meet new people and contribute to something meaningful. They discovered the Hackathon through the Wikimedia Foundations, and with some members boasting a whopping seven hackathons under their belt, their experience and enthusiasm were infectious.

Innovation on the Agenda: Unveiling MediaWiki’s Track Stars

Next up was Team “MediaWiki Track.” Here, I met Cole White and P. Miazga, two members tackling a project focused on transitioning metrics to a more modern technological landscape. Their mission? To modernize the observability stack, a critical element for monitoring system performance. While they’d tackled similar projects before, this was their first foray into the world of MediaWiki. The challenge? Taking the initiative to develop a solution for a long-standing issue – the very reason they joined the Hackathon. Their discovery of the event? Through MediaWiki itself, unsurprising considering most of the team worked for the Wikimedia Foundation. This team exemplified the collaborative spirit of the event, highlighting their desire to connect with more MediaWiki contributors. Just like Team “Commons Impact Metrics,” these developers were veterans of similar events, and their key takeaways were meeting new collaborators and gaining valuable new knowledge.

From the Outside Looking In: A Volunteer’s Perspective

My quest for stories then led me to Olga Kortsagin, a volunteer who had dedicated her time to help desk duties throughout the event. This was her first foray into the world of Wikimedia, and her curiosity about Wikipedia’s inner workings piqued her interest in volunteering. Unlike the developers, Olga’s preparation involved minimal organization – a testament to the event’s seamless execution. Her takeaways? New knowledge and a newfound appreciation for the positive impact of the Wikimedia Hackathon. For anyone interested in similar experiences, Olga offered a glowing recommendation – volunteer and gain valuable knowledge and forge new connections within the Wikimedia community. Her overall experience echoed mine – positive, well-organized, and with a special shoutout to the Hilton chefs for her favourite shrimp salad!

The Takeaway: A Day Steeped in Inspiration

My brief time at the Wikimedia Hackathon 2024 was an energizing whirlwind. Witnessing the passion, expertise, and collaborative spirit of the developers and volunteers was truly inspiring. Whether it was the developers tackling intricate challenges or Olga’s dedication to supporting the event, everyone played a crucial role. The event left me with a newfound appreciation for the tireless efforts that go into maintaining and improving the vast knowledge base of Wikipedia and its sister projects.

For those attending next year, here are some golden nuggets:

• Be prepared to be challenged. The projects undertaken at the Hackathon are no walk in the park. But with the collaborative spirit and the support network, you’ll be well-equipped to overcome any hurdles.
• Come with an open mind. You’ll be surrounded by brilliant minds from diverse backgrounds. Embrace the opportunity to learn from each other and be receptive to new ideas.
• Network! This event is a goldmine for forging connections with fellow developers and volunteers who share your passion for knowledge and innovation.

The Wikimedia Hackathon 2024 was more than just a coding marathon; it was a testament to the power of collaboration. It was a melting pot of ideas, fueled by a shared purpose: to contribute to the betterment of a global knowledge base. If you’re a tech whiz with a passion for innovation and a desire to give back, the Wikimedia Hackathon is an event you won’t want to miss.

Beyond the Code: Unexpected Delights and Lasting Impressions

While the core of the Hackathon revolved around project development, there were also unexpected moments that added to the overall experience. One such moment was Olga’s enthusiastic endorsement of the Hilton chefs’ shrimp salad. It’s these little details that create a sense of community and camaraderie, reminding us that even amidst intense brainstorming sessions, there’s space for shared laughter and appreciation for creature comforts.

A Call to Action: Be Part of the Change

The Wikimedia Hackathon is a powerful example of what can be achieved when passionate individuals come together. It’s a celebration of open knowledge, collaboration, and innovation. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or simply someone with a desire to contribute, there’s a place for you at this remarkable event.

So, are you ready to be part of the change? Mark your calendars for the Wikimedia Hackathon 2025! Together, we can continue to build a world where knowledge is freely accessible to everyone.

Hello readers and writers of Diff. It’s been a while since we updated you all on improvements to Diff. Without further ado, here’s a few things we’ve been working on behind the scenes to make Diff easier use, more reliable, and more secure.

General

• Embedded videos from Wikimedia Commons works again
  • Note: in researching the issue that caused them to stop working we realized that users with the contributor role can’t embed HTML or iframes due to security concerns. Only editors and admins can. If you need to embed video from sites not listed here, please let us know and we can help.
    • Thanks to Theklan for pointing this out. T309101
    • For images, see our documentation.
• We hid some editorial notification settings for folks with the contributor role. Just so we don’t accidentally send notifications to folks that didn’t contribute to an article.
• We updated the Creative Commons license language in the publication workflow to reflect change to CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
• Posts in languages other than English were showing a 404 error in what seemed to be a random pattern. Nope, it wasn’t random. It was WordPress forgetting to update the URL. This is now fixed.
• We also fixed attachment pages returning a 404 and they now show proper attribution. How Creative Commons of us. 
• We disabled the AI Assistant on Diff. We like human, imperfect writing and the AI tool was making blog posts sound the same – and a little too grandiose!
• DiffBlog is now an interwiki prefix for links to Diff from Wikimedia wikis.
  • Thanks to Greg for helping make this happen.

Translations

• The translation workflow is now available for all posts regardless of the language. So you can translate from Spanish to Esperanto and Wayuuunaiki to Kiswahili!
• When using the translation interface the post content would sometimes be blank. This was due to the need for every user to have to click a tiny icon to make sure the content of a post was duplicated. This is now set as a default and translating Diff articles should be less confusing.
  • Translation strings need to be updated for this workflow, but that’s also possible now. We’ll work on updating these over time.

Calendar

• You can label events by region and search by region if the event organizer has added a region.
  • Thanks to Toni Ristovski for the suggestion.
• You can define a secondary language for events. So if the event is available in more than one language folks can be aware.
• Fixed the issue with not being able to filter or navigate the calendar due to security settings.

Upkeep

• Subscription emails should now list the actual author and not whoever published the post. Note: this may not work 100% as you’d expect when posts are published with guest authors.
• We’ve tightened security with some new settings for cross domain loading and embedding.
• We fixed an issue where if you were looking at a post in one language, navigated to the Diff homepage, and tried to view the English version of the site you would be stuck on the language of the last post you visited. The site now listens to you and will switch to English as expected.
  • Thanks to Eugene and others for making us aware of this issue!
• Various small bug fixes and software updates.

If you have any issues with the site, or have ideas for improving Diff, please do get in touch.

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The Wikimedia Endowment is delighted to welcome Mayree Clark as a new member of its Endowment Board. Mayree, a finance expert, will bring her extensive governance expertise to the Wikimedia Endowment, a nonprofit charitable organization providing a permanent safekeeping fund to support the Wikimedia projects in perpetuity.

Mayree Clark is a former director of the Stanford University Endowment. She brings a diverse background in investment banking, equity research, and investment management to the Wikimedia Endowment Board. Mayree spent over 20 years at Morgan Stanley, where she held various leadership roles, including deputy to the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of finance company MSCI. After leaving Morgan Stanley, Mayree joined the investment management industry and later founded Eachwin Capital, an investment management firm. She has served on the boards of Ally Financial, Taubman, and Deutsche Bank AG, contributing her expertise in risk management, governance, and corporate turnaround. Mayree is also involved in multiple philanthropic organizations and holds degrees from the University of Southern California and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. She has been a dedicated donor to the Wikimedia Foundation since 2007.

“Mayree’s dedication to the Wikimedia Endowment is palpable. She enriches our Board, as her financial expertise guides us forward, enhancing our collective mission of knowledge building, equity, and dissemination,” said President of the Wikimedia Endowment, Lisa Seitz-Gruwell.

With Mayree’s addition, the Endowment Board now has eleven members who all serve as volunteers; Board members are appointed for three years and may serve up to three terms.

Mayree’s appointment follows the recent release of the Wikimedia Foundation’s digital-first, interactive Annual Report and Endowment Report, spotlighting Wikimedia’s achievements and the vital role of donors. Emphasizing the theme “Knowledge is Human,” the reports honor the diverse individuals, including volunteers, staff, and donors, who contribute to the mission of making free, reliable knowledge accessible to everyone, everywhere.

“I am thrilled with the opportunity to play an active part in supporting this precious community and all that it brings to the world,” said Mayree Clark.

About the Wikimedia Endowment

Launched in 2016, the Wikimedia Endowment is a nonprofit charitable organization providing a permanent safekeeping fund to support the operations and activities of the Wikimedia projects in perpetuity. It aims to create a solid financial foundation for the future of the Wikimedia projects. As of December 31st, 2023, the Wikimedia Endowment was valued at $130 million USD. Endowment Board members are selected based on active involvement in philanthropic endeavors, prior nonprofit board experience, fundraising and investment expertise, and a strong commitment to the Wikimedia Foundation’s mission. They serve as volunteers. The Wikimedia Endowment is a U.S.-based 501(c)3 charity (Tax ID: 87-3024488).

The post The Wikimedia Endowment welcomes Mayree Clark as its newest Board member  appeared first on Wikimedia Foundation.

Open Foundation West recently hosted a workshop aimed at introducing community members to the world of Wikidata, and the event proved to be both engaging and impactful. Over the course of two days, participants delved into the intricacies of Wikidata & Wikidata Games, with a particular focus on practical editing skills. The second meet-up was led by Jesse Asiedu-Akrofi and supported by the Accra Hub led Paul Asare, the workshop provided attendees with hands-on experience using Wikidata games to edit and update information on wikidata

The second session during the new week happening online and in-person and it saw participants immersed in a series of Wikidata games, with a key focus on categories such as Person, Gender, and Occupation. Amidst the interactive sessions, questions arose regarding the necessity of utilizing Wikidata games. In response, organizers explained how these games streamline the editing process by offering a structured approach and facilitating access to items with edit issues.

In summary, the workshop not only introduced participants to the fundamentals of Wikidata but also equipped them with practical skills to navigate the platform effectively. By the end of the workshop, participants emerged equipped with the knowledge and skills to navigate Wikidata effectively, ensuring verifiability and contributing to the broader Wikimedia ecosystem. As Open Foundation West looks to future initiatives, the success of this workshop underscores the importance of continued engagement with Wikidata and active participation in community-driven events.

On March 13, 2024, the Code for Africa’s Wikipedia Alliance (AWA) hosted its 4th edition of the WiR bi-weekly webinar series titled “Adding Images to Wikipedia.” facilitated by Bukola James, the Community Coordinator for CFA-AWA. Eleven project leads and volunteers from Ghana, Nigeria, and Rwanda participated in the webinar. The goal of the workshop was to enhance the skills of Wikimedians in improving the visual appeal of Wikipedia articles by including relevant images.

                                                                              Webinar trainer and title slide

Key highlights

The session opened with a recap of the previous webinar on adding Wikilinks and Categories to Wikipedia articles and then explored the importance of adding images to Wikipedia articles to enhance user engagement, provide visual context, and enrich content.

Participants were first guided through the process of sourcing images from Wikimedia Commons, including how to effectively search for and select appropriate images while adhering to the Creative Commons licensing requirements. This foundational knowledge was crucial for participants to grasp the legal and ethical implications of image use on Wikipedia.

The webinar then provided a walk-through on the following features:

• Adding images on Wikipedia using a visual editor
• Adding meaningful captions
• Positioning images for optimal impact. 

Participants were also instructed on how to incorporate images, adjust captions and align images to enhance the article’s layout using the source editor. 

Additionally, attendees were instructed on how to use Wikimedia Commons Upload Wizard to upload images. This section of the training aimed to equip participants with the tools they needed to improve the Wikimedia Commons repository with a variety of eye-catching content, increasing the number of media files that can be used on Wikipedia articles.

The session also focused on introducing participants to the streamlined process of adding images to Wikipedia and Wikidata using the following tools:

• WikiShootMe: The utility of this tool was highlighted, demonstrating how it assists contributors in identifying Wikipedia articles and Wikidata items that require images based on geographical location, facilitating targeted and meaningful contributions.
• Exploring the functionalities of File Candidates, CC Search, and WDWP Tool to empower participants to discover and integrate relevant images to enhance the content quality of Wikipedia articles.

Benefits to participants:

By participating in the training session on adding images to Wikipedia, participants gained practical skills to contribute meaningfully to Wikipedia’s visual content landscape, which empowered them to continue in their roles as active contributors to Wikipedia’s visual content through initiatives like Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos (WPWP). Participants were also armed with the expertise to simplify the process of adding images by learning how to select and integrate relevant images to Wikipedia articles using on-wiki and off-wiki tools such as WikiShootMe,WDWP, File Candidates, and CC search, making the content more accessible and comprehensible. Additionally, having mastered how to select and add images to Wikimedia Commons for a global audience, webinar attendees can contribute to a shared open repository of multimedia resources accessible worldwide. 

Conclusion

The session concluded with a Q&A session emphasising the importance of continuous practice and participation in campaigns like Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos (WPWP). This encouragement aimed to motivate participants who are new to adding images to Wikipedia articles to practise what they have learnt, thereby contributing to the richness and diversity of Wikipedia’s visual content.

For those interested in revisiting the session or those who might have missed it, the recorded version is available on the community programmes page.  Test your knowledge on our academy Africa site and register for the upcoming AWA Bi-weekly webinar and immerse in our vibrant community. To stay abreast of our initiatives, complete this form, and let’s shape the future together!

Welcome to the first installment of our series, “Introduction to Wikidata and Wikidata Games Competition,” presented by the Accra Hub lead, Paul Asare aka YawTuba from Open Foundation West Africa. In this session, we embarked on a journey into the realm of Wikidata, guided by the expertise of Stephen Dakyi aka NanaYawBotar. From unraveling the basics to diving into practical editing, our exploration promises an exciting venture into the world of structured data.

Understanding the Basics: The session kicked off with an engaging presentation led by NanaYawBotar, with the assistance of YawTuba. Together, they educated us on the fundamental concepts and terminology of Wikidata, laying a solid foundation for newcomers and seasoned editors alike. As we delved into the slides, the audience was captivated by the wealth of knowledge unveiled before them. However, amidst the excitement, a common question lingered: how do we translate this newfound knowledge into actionable insights? 🤔

Following the comprehensive overview, NanaYawBotar seamlessly transitioned into the practical aspect of Wikidata editing. For many attendees, this marked their first encounter with the interface of Wikidata, offering a glimpse into the intricate web of structured knowledge. From explaining what Q IDs is, to understanding labels, statements, properties, and values, every facet was diligently explained, ensuring a holistic understanding of the editing process.

Armed with newfound knowledge, it was time to put theory into practice. YawTuba facilitated a real-time item structuring session, providing a curated list for the OFWA editing community to tackle on Wikidata. As participants immersed themselves in the task at hand, a palpable sense of engagement permeated the virtual space. From novices to seasoned editors, everyone contributed to the collective endeavour, enriching the Wikidata ecosystem one edit at a time.

Reflecting on the event, each attendee walked away with valuable insights and experiences. For some, it was the thrill of learning something new from the presentation slides, while others found solace in the simplicity of NanaYawBotar’s techniques during the hands-on session. Regardless of individual perspectives, one thing remained clear: Wikidata is a vast repository of knowledge waiting to be explored, and with the right guidance, anyone can become a proficient editor.

As we conclude our inaugural session, we extend our gratitude to YawTuba Open Foundation West Africa for spearheading this initiative and to NanaYawBotar for his invaluable expertise. With each passing session, may we continue to unravel the mysteries of Wikidata, fostering a community-driven approach to knowledge dissemination. Until next time, let the journey into the depths of structured data continue.

 Back in January, I discovered a stored XSS vulnerability in core MediaWiki (T355538; CVE-2024-34507). Essentially by setting a specific edit summary when editing a page, you could run javascript (And take over the account of anyone viewing the edit summary, for example on the history page or recentchanges)

MediaWiki core is generally pretty good when it comes to security. There are many sketchy extensions, and sometimes there are issues where an admin might be able to run javascript, but by and large unauthenticated XSS vulns are fairly rare. I think the last one was CVE-2021-44858 from back in 2021. The next one before that was CVE-2017-8815 in 2017, which only applied to wikis configured to have a site language of certain languages (e.g. Serbian and Chinese). At least, those were the ones I found when looking through the list. Hopefully I didn't miss any. In any case, finding XSS triggerable by an unprivleged attacker in MediaWiki core is pretty hard.

So what is the bug? The proof of concept looks like this - Create an edit with the following edit summary:

[[Special:RecentChanges#%1b0000000|link1]] [[PageThatExists#/autofocus/onfocus=alert("xss\n"+document.domain)//|link2]]

This feels a bit random at first glance. How does it work?

The edit summary parser

Whenever you edit a page on MediaWiki, there is a box for your edit summary. This is essentially MediaWiki's version of a commit message.

Very little formatting is allowed in this summary. A major exception is links. You can link to other pages by enclosing the link in [[ and ]].

So this explains a little bit about the proof-of-concept - it involves 2 links. But why 2? It doesn't work with just 1. What is with the weird link targets? They are clearly abnormal, but they also don't look like typical XSS. There are no < or >, there aren't even any unclosed quotes.

Lets take a deeper look at how MediaWiki applies formatting to these edit summaries. The code where all this happens is includes/CommentFormatter/CommentParser.php.

The first thing we might notice is the following line in CommentParser::preprocessInternal: "// \x1b needs to be stripped because it is used for link markers"

In the proof of concept, the first part is [[Special:RecentChanges#%1b0000000|link1]], where %1b appears. This is a good hint that it has something to do with link markers, whatever those are.

Link markers

But what are link markers?

When MediaWiki makes a link, it needs to know whether the page being linked to exists or not, since missing pages use a red colour. The most natural way of doing this is, when encountering a link, to check in the DB whether or not the page exists.

However, there is a problem. When rendering a long page with a lot of links, we have to do a lot of DB lookups. The lookups are simple, but still on a separate (albeit nearby server). Each page to lookup involves a local network request to fetch the page status. While that is happening, MW just sits and waits. This is all very fast, but even still it adds up a little bit if you have say 500 links on a page.

The solution to this problem was to batch the queries. Instead of immediately looking up the page, MW would put a small link marker in the page at that point and carry on. Once it is finished, it would look up all the links all at once, and then do another pass to replace all the link markers.

So this is what a link marker is, just a little marker to tell MW to come back to this spot later after it figured out if all the links exist. The format of this marker is \x1B<number> (So \x1B0000000 for the first one, \x1B0000001 for the second, and so on). \x1B is the ASCII escape character.

Back to the PoC

This explains the first part of the proof of concept: [[Special:RecentChanges#%1b0000000|link1]] - the link target is a link marker. The code has a line:

                                // Fix up urlencoded title texts (copied from Parser::replaceInternalLinks)
                                if ( strpos( $match[1], '%' ) !== false ) {
                                        $match[1] = strtr(
                                                rawurldecode( $match[1] ),
                                                [ '<' => '&lt;', '>' => '&gt;' ]
                                        );
                                }

Which normalizes titles using percent encoding to use the real characters. Thus the %1B gets replaced with an actual 0x1B byte sequence. The code did try and strip 0x1B characters earlier, but at that point, it was still just %1b and did not match the check.

We now have a link with a link marker inside of it. An important note here is that Special:RecentChanges is not a normal page. It is a special page. MediaWiki knows it exists without having to consult the database, so it does not get the link marker treatment. This is important because we cannot use it as a fake link marker if it gets replaced by a real link marker.

At this stage after inserting link markers, the proof of concept becomes the following string:

<a href="/w/index.php/Special:RecentChanges#\x1B000000" title="Special:RecentChanges">link1</a> \x1B0000000

The second link

The \x1B0000000 is a stand in for [[PageThatExists#/autofocus/onfocus=alert("xss\n"+document.domain)//|link2]].

The replacement at the end is a normal replacement, and everything is fine. However there are now two replacements - there is also the replacement inside the link: href="/w/index.php/Special:RecentChanges#\x1B000000"

This is the fake link marker that we contrived to get inserted. Unlike the normal link markers, this is inside an attribute. The replacement text assumes it is being inserted as normal HTML, not as an attribute. Since it is a full link that also has quotes inside it, the two layers of quotes will interfere with each other.

Once the replacements happen we get the following mangled HTML for our proof of concept:

<a href="/w/index.php/Special:RecentChanges#<a href="/w/index.php/Test#/autofocus/onfocus=alert(&quot;xss\n&quot;+document.domain)//" title="Test">link2</a>" title="Special:RecentChanges">link1</a> <a href="/w/index.php/Test#/autofocus/onfocus=alert(&quot;xss\n&quot;+document.domain)//" title="Test">link2</a>

This obviously looks wrong, but its a bit unclear how browsers interpret it. A little known fact about HTML - /'s can separate attributes so long as no equal signs have been encountered yet. After the browser hits the second " mark, it thinks the href attribute is closed and that the remaing is some additional attributes. The browser essentially parses the above html as if it was:

<a href="/w/index.php/Special:RecentChanges#<a href=" w="" index.php="" Test#="" autofocus onfocus="alert(&quot;xss\n&quot;+document.domain)//&quot;" title="Test">link2</a>" title="Special:RecentChanges"&gt;link1</a> <a href="/w/index.php/Test#/autofocus/onfocus=alert(&quot;xss\n&quot;+document.domain)//" title="Test">link2</a>

In other words, an <a> tag, that has an attribute named autofocus and an onfocus event handler. On page load, the link is automatically focused, which triggers the javascript in the onfocus attribute to run, allowing the attacker to do what they want.

Take aways

I think the major take aways is that running Regexes over partially parsed HTML is always scary. We've had similar issues in the past, for example T110143.

The general pattern we've used to fix this and similar issues, is make sure the replacement token has special characters that would be mangled if it appeared in an unexpected context. Concretely, we added " and ' to the token, which would get escaped if placed in an attribute, and thus no longer matching and no longer being replaced.

More generally though, I think this is a good example of why even a minimal CSP policy would be helpful.

CSP is a complex standard, that can do a lot of things and has a lot of pieces. One of the things it can do, is disable "unsafe-inline" javascript. This means javascript from attributes (like onfocus) and javascript URLs. Usually this also includes inline <script> tags without a nonce, but that part is optional. A key point here, is this also generally means you cannot execute javascript via .innerHTML anymore, which is a fairly common vector for XSS via javascript.

Normally disabling unsafe-inline would be part of a broader effort to secure javascript, however its possible to take things a step at a time. This vulnerability would have been stopped just by disabling event attributes. A surprising portion of MediaWiki & extension XSS vulns [Excluding boring - an admin can change something in an unsafe way issues] involve just html attributes (or javascript: urls), which is a web feature that nobody really needs for legit reasons and is generally considered bad practise in normal usage. Even the most minimal CSP policy might really help MediaWiki's overall security posture against XSS vulns.

For more info about the vulnerability, please see the original report at https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T355538.

As part of our efforts to preserve and promote the cultural and environmental heritage of Yapatera, a village in the Chulucanas district, Province of Morropón, Piura, we hosted an impressive photo walk and mass upload to Wikimedia Commons, on December 9 and 10, 2023.

Our goal was to document Yapatera’s heritage (cultural landscape), including biodiversity, rural life and Afriodescendant culture. This was all organized by the Tourism specialist and consultant Samanta Calle, as part of her doctoral thesis on Cultural Tourism and Development, which she has been developing in the small towns of Cruz Pampa – Yapatera since 2022.

Challenges and cultural treasures

The towns of Cruz Pampa – Yapatera stand as a cultural and agricultural treasure, producing highlighted crops such as rice, limes, and mangoes, among others, as well as raising cattle: sheep, cows and pigs. This community lives and breathes life and tradition.

It is, however, not without its challenges. Problems arising from inadequate environmental management such as deforestation, mismanagement of solid waste and public health issues, affect the population’s well-being. Cruz Pampa has about 900 homes, many of which still lack adequate plumbing, and solid waste removal is still a persistent issue.

Cruz Pampa – Yapatera is a melting pot of Afro-descendant culture, it being home to the largest Afro-descendant population of Perú and of Piura. Here we see living practices of oral traditions such as cumanana, a practice of friends reciting verses in a contest-like manner, declared to be part of the nation’s cultural heritage. Among these living practitioners of the cumanana we can mention “El Gordo [Fat] Guardado”, Noemi Cornejo, Isidoro “Flaco [Skinny] García”, and Fernando Barranzuela, among others. Here, we also see dances such as baile tierra or golpe tierra, tondero and the Afroyapateran language.

This community is also home to touristic treasures such as the bathing pools of the La Pilca rivers, Yapatera Hill, ceramics by master artist Carlos Zapata and the mango festival celebrated every January. There’s the former Sugar factory—industrial heritage from the age of large plantations and slavery—which is expected to be formally proclaimed as National heritage soon.

In spite of its cultural and environmental importance in the Chulucanas and High Piura region, the community of Cruz Pampa-Yapatera faces challenges such as land invasion, putting their future plans and rooted cultural values at risk.

Community involvement

The december photo walk was designed by Samanta Calle, along with the local population. They called for people in the neighborhood who wished to become hosts on the photo walk, and they selected people with expertise and previous experiences in showcasing their cultural manifestations and hosting visitors, while also incorporating people new to these activities.

After that, Samanta Calle designed preliminary contents for the community to discuss and decide, from their own perspective, what to present in which activities during every stage of the walk. This is how they arrived at the decision to incorporate both of the main sectors of the town(Cruz Pampa and La Hacienda) as well as their cultural identity elements, as well as natural spaces. The end result was a photo walk in the form of a living tourist route ranging from dance, oral tradition, history, landmarks, architecture, gastronomy,  and nature.This experience can still be offered by the Cruz-Pampa population, as well as local tourist operators, to new visitors; creating a new income source for the population.

As for the participants of the photo walk itself, they were selected based on an interdisciplinary approach. Fifteen people were selected—students, lecturers or staff at the National University of Frontera, members in local civil societies and collectives such as Peru Women Birders Piura, Tallapoma de Sol y Luna, COLITUR Piura, Turismo Perú Norte, León de Yapatera, Takeras Criollo, El Palenque Association of Afroyapateran Artisans, CAYSA Sports Club, José Pintado Berru Middle School, Vivero Una Casa un Jardín, San Sebastián Religious Committee, Yapateran House of Culture, Cultural association of Afro-Peruvian Dances, Alma Yapaterana, El Fogón de la Abuela Chicherio La Petro de Julio, La parcela de Kike y Nino. There were also members of local public entities such as local staff from iperú and local government.

Cultural landscape route

Photo walk day 1: Saturday, December 9th

Visit to the Cruz del Norte Church Square. Located at the northern Piura neighborhood known as “la Mangachería” [colloquial name for a house for slaves], because here was where the first liberated slaves established themselves in 1846.

Visit to Loma de la Cruz (Hill of the Cross). Our first stop in Yapatera was the first erected cross that gave a name to Cruz Pampa. From here we took panoramic pictures and observed the most emblematic elements of the town and its cultural landscape. Recitation of comananas by Juan Manuel “El Gordo” [“Fat”] Guardado.

Recitation of cumananas, by Fernando Barranzuela Junior, and demonstration of the baile tierra dance at the “El León de Yapatera” restaurant. Hosts: Luzmila Carrasco, Lilian León, and Fernando Barranzuela Junior.

Liturgy at the Church of St. Sebastian. In honor of the town’s patrons: “Chabaquito” (St Sebastian) y “Señor de la Piedad” [“Lord of Piety”].

Visit to “Una casa, un jardín” [“One house, one garden”] greenhouses. Local entrepreneurship aiming to create more natural environments and beautification of the town. This is one of several projects already up and running.

Yapatera House of Culture. The House of Culture is defined as an inter-cultural museum. There we talked and shared in the knowledge of Afrodescendant peoples in the world, in Peru and in Yapatera. Hosts: Abel Alzamora and the Cultural Organization of Afro-Peruvian Dances.

Former Sugar Factory. This building has been recognized by the Afro-Peruvian Working Group at the Republic’s Congress as worthy of memory, history and Afro culture in order to know the history of the Yapatera Hacienda [Plantation-Estate].

Copús tasting. Typical regional dish of Piura, made with several kinds of meat, tubers and plantains, cooked while buried in a clay pot. 

Carlos Zapata Ceramics Workshop. Practical demonstration of ceramics techniques, as well as how it represents elements of its local identity.

Friendly match with the CAYSA Sports Club. CAYSA is an acronym standing for Cooperativa Agraria de Yapatera S.A. [Agrarian Cooperative of Yapatera S.A.].

Dance demonstrations: marinera and tondero. Both kinds of dances have an Afro-cultural component in their development.

Photo walk day 2: Sunday, December 10th

Visit to La Pilca, a specific part of the Yapatera River where the people gather to bathe and swim. Its name comes from the large rocks carried by the river [“pirca” or “pilca” refers to a low wall made of rubble]. Local species of reeds and birds are easily found here.

We closed the tour with a visit to the Mausoleum to Fernando Barranzuela Zevallos. Don Fernando was a consummate decimista [composer of décimas], poet, songwriter, historian of Yapatera and writer. His son, Mr. Fernando Barranzuela, was a reciter and writer of cumamanas in a variety of types and themes, as well as writer looking to preserve the history of Yapatera.

After all was said and done, a total of 174 images about the Afro-Yapateran cultural heritage were uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. Moreover, we promoted the strengthening of the local photographer community, so that it engages and aims to promote the natural and cultural heritage of the Piura region.

In sum, this photo walk not only added to the documentation of the cultural and environmental heritage of Yapatera, but also served as an opportunity to raise awareness and empower the local community in their protection of their unique heritage. Every single picture helped strengthen the link between the Yapateran population and their valuable cultural heritage, creating thus a visual testament to their identity and history.

Visit the Wikimedia Commons Category

Lede picture belongs to Elchirafoto CC-BY-SA-4.0

Get to know more about Cruz Pampa Yapatera in the following video

The call for candidates for the 2024 Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees selection is now open from May 8, 2024 – May 29, 2024 at 23:59 UTC. The Board of Trustees oversees the Wikimedia Foundation’s work, and each Trustee serves a three-year term. This is a volunteer position.

This year, the Wikimedia community will vote to fill four (4) seats on the Foundation Board in August 2024. You can see the timeline of the full selection process here.

Traits

Wikimedia is a global movement and seeks candidates from the broader community. Ideal candidates are thoughtful, respectful, community-oriented and align with the Wikimedia Foundation mission. Candidates should think about what experiences and perspectives they will bring to the Board.

The Board would like to find perspectives and voices that are essential but underrepresented in our movement. Accordingly, all candidates will be asked to include statements in their application that speak to their experiences in the world and in the movement and share how those experiences have equipped them to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Trustees commitment

Trustees serve a three year term and can serve up to three consecutive terms. The expectation is that Trustees serve on at least one of the Board’s committees. The time commitment is about 150 hours per year, excluding travel. This time is not evenly spread throughout the year. The time is concentrated around meetings.

Trustees requirements

English is the language of business for the Board. Candidates must be fluent in written and spoken English. Previous experience serving on a collective decision-making body, especially Boards or committees, and significant experience in Wikimedia (or equivalent) movement building and organizing are expected from candidates.

Apply

Candidates from all projects and communities who meet the criteria to become a Wikimedia Trustee are welcome to apply. Could you – or someone you know – be a good fit to join the Wikimedia Foundation’s Board of Trustees? Encourage them to run for election. Candidates can find information and submit their nomination on the candidate application page. If you want to learn more about the role of Trustees or have questions, refer to this candidate resources page.

Community questions for candidates

All community members, including affiliates, are invited to submit questions for the Board of Trustees candidates to answer. From the list of questions, the Election Committee selects 5 questions for candidates to answer, which the candidates are expected to answer. The selected questions may be a combination of what’s been submitted from the community, if they’re alike or related. Questions can be submitted between May 8 – June 12 at 23:59 UTC. Learn more about how to submit your questions on this Meta-wiki page.

Are you passionate about sharing knowledge and exploring the possibilities of open collaboration? If so, we invite you to submit a session at the Wiki Student Summit 2024!

We’re excited to announce that the Call for Submissions for the Wiki Student Summit 2024 is officially open! Share your ideas and expertise with fellow Wikimedians from diverse backgrounds until May 31st. Whether you have insights to offer or a project to showcase, join us at our annual gathering in July 2024 at Arusha.

This year’s session proposals can take various formats, including lectures, panels, workshops, lightning talks, roundtables, and posters. Additionally, we’re introducing a new session format – Demonstrations. During a Demonstration, presenters will guide participants through the methods of working with a tool, a workflow, or a program. Each session will have enough dedicated time, allowing for ample interaction and discussion.

The Wiki Student Summit is an event aimed at uniting Wikimedians in Tanzania and beyond. It’s an opportunity to collaborate, learn, and grow within the Wikimedia community. This year, our summit will be held in Arusha, from 16th to 18th July 2024, organized by Open Space Tanzania in collaboration with Open Knowledge Tanzania and all Wikimedia Communities in Tanzania. Join us for three days of inspiration, knowledge exchange, and networking!

Don’t miss out on this chance to contribute to the Wiki Student Summit 2024. Submit your session proposal today and be part of a transformative experience!

In the last few weeks I have stumbled on various little bits during Wikipedia edits that I thought were worthy of airing! One of them was a re-realization of the boon and the curse of iron and steel. It starts with something I heard a few years ago by economist Sashi Sivramkrishna and others who were following the trail of Buchanan Hamilton in Mysore (listen to the talk here) and they were apparently impressed by the impact of iron production particularly on the destruction of forests in southern India. And last week I found a Wikipedia entry that someone from Parangipettai had written as a draft and which had been left languishing. I went and ensured that it got moved from a draft version to a mainspace entry - it was on the Porto Novo Iron Works, one of the first large-scale iron smelting enterprises in India. The venture, started by a J.M. Heath, did not last long, one of the big factors being the lack of coal for smelting, and he had to make do with charcoal. In a few years, he ran out of charcoal, after depleting the forests of several districts nearby, and the factory had to move to the west coast near Calicut (Beypore). The first director general of forests Dietrich Brandis also noted the role of iron smelting in deforestation. 

Now to Josiah Heath, who is a real character and it is quite a surprise to see that the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography does not even have an entry for him, and there appears to be no available photograph of him (at least online). Heath sent out skins of various animals to the Zoological Society of London and there is a species of bat named after him. More interestingly it seem the fishing cat was described based on a specimen that he sent from India - which it would appear from all likelihood to have come from the Parangipettai region - more likely Pichavaram (wonder if the species still exists there). He also collected a specimen of a Eurasian Griffon Vulture from the same region. Heath apparently was impressed by traditional ukku (better known as Wootz steel) steel-making near Salem where he was initially posted and he seems to have discovered an important factor which he patented. It involved the use of carbon and manganese and he made money initially by distributing packets of his mixture - and later made the mistake of giving its composition. The steel makers of Sheffield, England quickly started using his technique and decided not to pay him any royalty - and he died in poverty. Of course today we could ask whether he actually stole the idea from traditional Indian blacksmiths and whether it could have been patented at all in the first place or of the numerous other injustices involved in all of this. 

Herr Meves

In another Wikipedia-related iron-connection, I found a little-known ornithologist who now has a Wikipedia entry (Wilhelm Meves). Meves was a German pharmacist turned ornithologist - and he decided to treat the brown feathers of lammergeiers with hydrochloric acid and tested them for iron and found that the colour was largely due to iron oxide. He found that this coating was on the outer surface and that the inside of the feathers was largely iron free. He suggested that the birds were bathing in iron-rich waters. Meves worked in Stockholm and mostly wrote in German but some of his findings made their way into the Ibis in English - thanks to John Wolley. And it seems both T.C. Jerdon and A.O. Hume were careful readers of Meves' works. Jerdon was aware of the bleating sound of snipes being produced by air-flow induced vibrations of the outermost tail feather. And Hume even repeated Meves' chemical analysis on his lammergeier specimens from Shimla and confirmed the presence of iron. Hume however noted that neither he nor any of his "intelligent native sportsmen" had ever seen a lammergeier bathe in water and suggested that the red staining may be derived from the blood of dead animals. Hume's original text (emphasis mine):

Anyway, it seems that India's large iron-deposits have a habit of lying in regions rich in biodiversity and ethnic diversity often on ancient tribal lands. It is little wonder that the steel industry barons are involved in disempowering tribal peoples or paying governments to water down environmental laws. I was truly surprised by the amount of work from around the world on related topics.

• Goucher, C.L. (1981). Iron is iron ’til it is rust: Trade and Ecology in the Decline of West African Iron-Smelting. The Journal of African History. 22(2):179-189. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0021853700019393 
• Siran Liu, Thilo Rehren, Dashu Qin, Jianli Chen, Wenli Zhou, Marcos Martinón-Torres, Xin Huang, Wei Qian (2019). Coal-fuelled crucible lead-silver smelting in 12th-13th century China: A technological innovation in the age of deforestation. Journal of Archaeological Science 104:75-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2019.01.004
• The impact of ancient iron mining and smelting on the landscape balance on Elba Island, Tuscan Archipelago, Italy - Fabian Becker, Raphael A. Eser, Philipp Hoelzmann, Brigitta Schütt (2019). The environmental impact of ancient iron mining and smelting on Elba Island, Italy – A geochemical soil survey of the Magazzini site. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 205 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2019.04.009
  
• Iles, L. (2016). The Role of Metallurgy in Transforming Global Forests.. J Archaeol Method Theory 23:1219–1241 https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10816-015-9266-7

Someday I ought to visit Parangipettai and Pichavaram! 

I recently learned about a new book titled “Tamil Computing” by Dr. R. Ponnusamy. It sparked my own long-held desire to write a book on Malayalam Computing, which friends have encouraged me to publish. I am still not convinced that a “printed book” is a good idea to present this topic yet. Not to mention the amount of time it require for such initiatives. So, I was intrigued by this book promptly purchased a copy from amazon.

Greetings! We are excited to declare that the scholarship applications for the Wiki Student Summit 2024 have officially commenced! This presents an excellent chance for participants enthusiastic about Wikimedia, who are keen to effect positive change within their communities, to participate.

About the Summit

The Wiki Student Summit 2024 is a national gathering of students, educators, and Wikimedia enthusiasts. The theme for this year’s summit is “Beyond Borders: Collaborating for Positive Change”. We aim to foster collaboration and innovation among students from different parts of the world, encouraging them to contribute to Wikimedia projects and use them as tools for education and empowerment.

Scholarship Categories

We understand that not everyone has the resources to attend the summit, and we believe that financial constraints should not be a barrier to participation. Therefore, we are offering two categories of scholarships:

1. Full Funded: This scholarship covers transport to and from the event, meals during and after the event, accommodation during the event, and registration to the event.
2. Partial Funded: This scholarship covers transport to and from the event, meals during the event, and registration to the event.

How to Apply

To apply for a scholarship, you will need to fill out the Scholarship Application . The form includes sections on your personal information, involvement with Wikimedia, and your understanding of the event theme. Each scholarship category has specific questions to understand your needs better.

Important Dates

The scholarship application process open on 05 May 2024 and will close on 20 May 2024. We encourage you to apply early to ensure that your application is considered.

Final Thoughts

We are excited to read your applications and learn about your contributions to Wikimedia. Remember, the goal of these scholarships is to enable as many students as possible to attend the Wiki Student Summit 2024 and contribute to our mission of free knowledge for all.

So, what are you waiting for? Apply now and join us in making a positive change beyond borders!

March 30th, 2023, will go down in history for us as African Wikimedians. On this day the Baraza was launched, setting us on a journey that exemplified the importance of our shared values, bringing us closer together despite our diverse backgrounds. 

The inaugural ‘Afrika Baraza’ marked a significant milestone, revolutionizing the way we connect, celebrate, and collaborate as Africans. This past year we brought together over 500 African Wikimedians, and looking back this was the type of discussion, debates, and discourse around pertinent issues in the movement that we have never had so authentically before. More directly, the Afrika Baraza delivered the Africa Agenda and facilitated many other crucial conversations geared towards empowering African Wikimedians to engage in the movement.

The Baraza has become a catalyst for collaborative and impactful change across the African region.

“The Afrika Baraza has been instrumental in bringing the African community together beyond the Indaba conference. Such a  platform is crucial now more than ever to drive forward the forthcoming continental agenda.”

Reda Benkhadra

The name ‘Baraza’ is Swahili for a public forum or gathering where a community often gathers to deliberate on issues and, for a community that thrives in amplifying and documenting our local languages, we couldn’t have chosen a better name! A catchy, authentic, and vibrant name indeed, that creates a sense of ‘belonging’ in our African context.

The Journey – Impact of Regional Convenings 

The birth of the Afrika Baraza underscores the power of collaboration between the Wikimedia Foundation and volunteers, exemplifying the success of regional convenings like Wiki Indaba. The strategic discussions initiated at Wiki Indaba 2022, paved the way for the birth of Afrika Baraza, ensuring sustained community engagement beyond the annual event.

“The formation of Baraza has not only shown how essential it is to collaborate with the communities we strive to support, but also our commitment to proactively assist communities or regions when they seek our help. While taking into account the diverse needs of each region within the movement.”

Felix Nartey

“The Baraza has opened up a vital space for dialogue that extends beyond the WikiIndaba conference. It has also helped WISCOM with a regular communications channel to be actively engaged with the needs of the community.”

Bobby Shabangu

Achievements

Central to Afrika Baraza’s impact is the development of the Africa Agenda — a comprehensive document addressing critical issues and providing recommendations for a sustainable Wikimedia movement in the African continent. This collective effort highlights the community-first approach maintained by the Baraza Working Group, which continually seeks feedback and input from all stakeholders.

“One of the amazing gifts the Africa Baraza gave us is the Africa Agenda. This agenda will not only enable the Wikimedia Foundation to better navigate its African community but will also help institutions outside the Wikimedia movement to know how to work with the Africa Wikimedia communities, as I have seen how these non-Wikimedia institutions like the African Union struggle to understand how to work with the movement in Africa.”

Ceslause Ogbonnaya

The ripple effect of Afrika Baraza is evident in the emergence of similar regional convenings like Wiki Causerie, further enriching the movement’s diversity and reach. By providing language support for Arabic, English, French, and Swahili at the Afrika Baraza, we ensure the utmost inclusivity for participants across the continent.

Collaboration 

The support from the Foundation’s Movement Communications and Community Growth Teams, including vital translations, has ensured Afrika Baraza remains inclusive to Africa’s Francophone and Arabic communities.

Comprising community representatives that include two representatives from the Wiki Indaba Steering Committee (WISCOM), other members of the community with virtual production expertise and regional language diversity, and Foundation staff. The Baraza Working Group exemplifies the collaborative spirit driving our shared goals. Together, we continue to shape and strengthen the Wikimedia movement in Africa, guided by the principles of inclusivity, collaboration, and collective action.

“Afrika Baraza has demonstrated that indeed when people with a common goal come together great things are bound to happen! I’m immensely grateful for the dedicated community leaders who collaborated in shaping the vision of the Baraza. It’s also worth noting that the establishment of the Working Group, which continues to serve as the cornerstone of this initiative, has been pivotal.”

Winnie Kabintie

The feedback and appreciation we continue to receive from the wider community on the impact of the Baraza, keeps providing a sense of reflection and direction for the Baraza. Here are some more community voices:

“Africa Baraza has been empowering young people to lead and participate. The working group for instance has youth representation. An experience that  stood out is during the Africa Baraza session at the 2023 Wiki Indaba conference in AgadirMorocco, where a young member of the working group, Derrick Ndahiro, led the African community in captivating discussions around the Africa Agenda,”

Eupemia Uwandu

“Ce n’est plus un secret pour personne. L’avenir du mouvement Wikimedia en Afrique passe maintenant par Africa Baraza. Africa Baraza est la plateforme virtuelle qui l’ensemble du mouvement en Afrique et essaie de proposer des solutions aux problèmes communs qui touchent nos communautés. Un élément encore très intéressant avec Africa Baraza est qu’elle se force de prendre en compte la diversité linguistique et en particulier le Français où nous voyons de plus en plus les communautés francophones s’y impliquer,”

Abel Mbula

“Africa Baraza is and has been a cross-pollination platform for me. It has really been an instrumental platform to inform on what is happening around Africa and how I can improve my community back at home. My aspiration is to see it grow in a learning space where we can all learn and share ideas” 

Martin Hipangwa 

Aspirations for the Future

In 2024 we are focusing on the implementation of the Africa Agenda and a plan to host a virtual WikiIndaba 2024 pre-conference as we celebrate 10 years of WikiIndaba. The Baraza Working Group will constitute an Implementation Committee that will oversee the execution of the agenda. 

In continued unity and collaboration, African Wikimedians will shape the Wikimedia movement in Africa, guided by our shared values. Together, as we celebrate one year of Afrika Baraza, we eagerly anticipate the transformative journey ahead.

Long Live Afrika Baraza!

🕑 1 hour 3 minutes

Viktor Schelling is the Senior Principal MediaWiki Developer at Pegasystems.

Links for some of the topics discussed:

• Pegasystems Wikipedia article
• Wikibase Solutions
• FlexForm MediaWiki extension
• Open CSP

By Lucy Moore, Archeologist, Curator and Wikimedian

“Mmmm! Inhale that fresh vintage aroma!” is a sign that welcomes buyers and browsers to the vintage shop Blue Rinse in Leeds. It struck a chord with me, as I’ve been thinking a lot lately about smell and culture, in particular how data about smell can be represented in a database like Wikidata.

This train of thought started early in 2024, at an event in York that is part of a research project at the university called ‘Bespoke, Open, Collaborative Approaches to Heritage Documentation’. It brought together heritage workers and researchers to think creatively about documentation in that sector. During the day I was chatting with people about how recording sensory information, like the smell of an object, could, and perhaps should, be part of museum records. Like a good Wikimedian, I turned to Wikidata to see how it recorded examples of ‘things smelling like other things’, and to my surprise a property for ‘smells of’ was absent. 

Why was I surprised you might be thinking? Why would most people want to record how objects might smell or taste? We’re not (usually) licking things when we visit museums. I have definitely heard people talk about a ‘museum smell’. When I worked as a museum curator, I also used smells in a few exhibitions to bring topics more to life for visitors.

What captures my imagination, especially when you think about smell, is that as a sense it is both intensely personal, and also something shared. I began to think about all the cultures represented in museum collections, but also across the Wikimedia movement and started to imagine what potential there might be to represent this way of understanding the world on Wikidata.

So what smells connect what objects? How can we ‘follow our noses’ to find common scents in cultural data? Once the topic was raised lots of people in our Wikimedia family had suggestions. From the sculpture 5318008 by artist Tasha Marks (it smells of human breast milk!), to Agatha Christie-inspired ways to detect poison through scent, new smell-horizons opened with each conversation. The natural world is full of nose-surprises too. Did you know that a binturong smells of popcorn? Or that jasmine tea smells of otter poo (or is it the other way around)?

Whilst pondering these relationships and questions, I saw that  XLab– The Cultural Heritage Informatics Collaboratory at Carleton University in Ottawa was due to run a conference on futures in heritage informatics along with a ‘book sprint’ on the topic. This looked like a great opportunity to talk to others thinking creatively about data. With funding from Wikimedia UK partly covering my costs, I was able to travel to Canada and take part in the workshops, discussions and book revision in person. Being able to participate in events like these is really important for researchers. At Carleton I spoke with lots of people working at their digital humanities centre, the XLab, and attended a celebration of their public history graduates’ work too. It exposed me to new ideas, and has helped me to shape how I’m thinking about smell and data. I’m now revising the chapter I have written for the book, and am looking forward to sharing wider ideas about linked open sensory data elsewhere. I’m also collecting “things that smell like other things” so drop a message on my talk page!

The post Smelling data at the XLab – The Cultural Heritage Informatics Collaboratory appeared first on WMUK.

Authenticate seamlessly with Google, Microsoft, GitHub, and more.

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Your wiki administrators can configure SSO and other authentication options via our MediaWiki admin panel.

Single Sign-On (SSO) streamlines your workflow by eliminating the need to manage multiple passwords, reducing both the hassle and the security risks associated with password management. By consolidating login credentials through trusted providers, SSO minimizes the likelihood of security breaches and simplifies access, enabling you to focus more on productivity and less on administrative tasks. This integration offers a more streamlined, secure login experience across various platforms.

Additionally, with our new OAuth 2.0 Server support, you can use your wiki as an identity provider, allowing login to other applications with your ProWiki accounts.

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25/04/2024-01/05/2024

Mapping

• ivanbranco discussed the mapping of trees on OpenStreetMap, emphasising the importance of using detailed tags for leaf type, leaf cycle, and species to improve the utility and accuracy of the map, and presented resources and tools to assist in the accurate tagging of tree data.
• Lucas Longour presented a project to prioritise updates to OpenStreetMap by focusing on the ages of points of interest. The project uses a web tool to input locations, fetches data using the Nominatim API to derive bounding box coordinates, and generates queries to the Overpass API to identify points of interest such as restaurants and hotels.
• The following proposals are waiting for your comments:
  • a tagging scheme to further describe industrial works, factories, or plants which are tagged man_made=works
  • biosafety_level=* to tag a laboratory’s biosafety level.
• Voting is underway on the open=* proposal until Tuesday 7 May. This proposal originally suggested the use of opened=* but has been changed to make it more grammatically correct.

Community

• [1] Bryce Cogswell has updated his list of OpenStreetMap users who map every day, highlighting Aurimas Fišeras, who has been mapping continuously for over 10 years, with other users also maintaining long streaks of daily contributions.
• Pieter Vander Vennet has created a puzzle to help learn the names of neighbourhoods in Ghent, Belgium, by adding them to OpenStreetMap, then using MapComplete to create a custom theme and exporting the map as a PNG. The background uses a modified style sheet from Protomaps.
• The French Free Software and Digital Commons Mission interviewed ► Delphine Montagne, an OSM and Wikipedia contributor. She shared her passion for open-source software and the digital commons, and how they are used as part of her job as an engineer in geographic information sciences at the University of Pau, France. From May 2024, she will be in residence for a year at the URFIST ► (Regional Training Unit for Scientific and Technical Information) in Lyon, France, to train civil servants on Wikipedia projects.
• FargoColdYa discussed the potential of AI-generated changeset comments in OpenStreetMap, suggesting that AI could generate concise comments based on edit locations and feature types, saving users time and allowing them to focus on more complex tasks. Implementation challenges such as resolving disputed boundaries and managing technical resources remain significant.
• OpenStreetMap India has highlighted the Rosedale Garden Complex, in Kolkata, in their #NicelyMappedIndia series. Community members are encouraged to suggest or showcase well-mapped locations via the OpenStreetMap community forum under the ‘Showcase NicelyMappedIndia Places‘ topic.
• rtnf tooted that a very rewarding aspect of contributing to OpenStreetMap is the unexpected joy of seeing where your contributions will appear next.

OpenStreetMap Foundation

• OpenStreetMap US is looking for two full-time remote employees; a programme coordinator and a mid-senior level geospatial software engineer.

Events

• Médecins Sans Frontières is organising ► a mapathon in Potsdam, Germany, to support humanitarian efforts by mapping areas that are not yet covered by digital maps. No previous experience is required and the event is open to everyone.

Education

• Dr Raquel Dezidério Souto, president of the IVIDES Institute, delivered a keynote lecture at the 19th Latin American Free Software Install Fest Rio 2024 on creating a web map with uMap and OSM data. In her diary she mentioned ► the collaborative mapping pilot project, which she is developing with a group of mappers from YouthMappers UFRJ, on the theme of disaster risk reduction while using uMap.

Maps

• OpenStreetMap Belgium has updated its base maps, which are now available in three languages. These updates are part of an effort to improve usability for projects that require map tiles. The style includes minor adjustments to better highlight local features. The community is invited to contribute further customisation of the map style to represent local elements such as specific Belgian icons.

OSM in action

• Eurogamer reported that Pokémon Go has introduced Wigglet, a new creature, which is primarily spawning in the game’s beach biomes (specifically, any OSM objects tagged as natural=beach and natural=coastline) according to a fan-made tool. The tool uses OpenStreetMap data to help players locate potential Wigglet spawning sites, even in inland areas that are tagged as beaches in the map data.
• Rtnf explored the complexities of local toponyms in OpenStreetMap, discussing the challenge of mapping ‘forgotten’ or unofficial local names that are still in active use despite not being recognised by official maps and address systems.

Open Data

• OpenCage has released address-formatting, an open database of the various address formats used in territories around the world.

Licenses

• The city of Erlangen, Germany, is now offering ► open government data and geodata under the CC0 licence.

Software

• The EveryDoor 5.0-beta1 release includes new features such as Estonian opening hours and a drawing mode for field notes that are synchronised with JOSM, which users are encouraged to test. The production release is expected next week, and there are plans to create a tutorial video on how to use the new mode. Further details and instructions for other editors can be found on the OpenStreetMap Wiki on the GeoScribble page.
• The OSMChina community will be collaborating with Tsinghua University’s TUNA ► Association to participate in OSPP, a summer camp sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences , aimed at encouraging students to contribute to open-source projects during the summer break. They plan to develop an easy-to-use public transportation editor ► . This project is recruiting students up till Monday 3 June at 7 am (UTC). Currently the project’s documentation is only available in Chinese, but students from outside of China will also be considered.

Programming

• AlexSpritze showed ► how you can display your mapping history in overpass turbo.
• Kraina AI has released QuackOSM, an open source tool for reading OpenStreetMap PBF files using DuckDB.
• RicoElectrico presented ‘Road Watcher’, a Python bot that monitors changes to road classifications in OpenStreetMap to help manage contentious edits and notify users of changes to road classifications via Discord, demonstrating the bot’s utility in preventing edit wars.
• Andy Townsend is looking for volunteers to test and review the new guide to manually build a tile server on Ubuntu 24.04, to catch any bugs before it is officially released.

Releases

• MapTiler has released OpenMapTiles version 3.15.

Did you know …

• … Amanda McCann has developed the ‘osm-mapping-party-before-after’ tool? This enables users to visualise the changes made to a certain OpenStreetMap region over time, useful as a before-and-after comparison of the progress made during a mapping party campaign, providing valuable insights into the impact of collaborative mapping efforts.
• …that the JOSM ContourMerge plugin helps OpenStreetMap users to streamline map editing by merging multiple strings of lines, such as contours, into a single object? This tool is particularly valuable for simplifying complex shapes, reducing data redundancy and improving the clarity of the map’s visual elements.
• … Strubbl has written ► an easy-to-follow tutorial for the map-machine renderer? It describes how to generate maps using the map-machine renderer, written by Sergey Vartanov (aka Enzet).The tutorial gives instructions on how to install Docker, covers cloning the repository, building the Docker image, and explains in great detail the commands required to generate the map.
• … there is a list of TV series that are either about OpenStreetMap or use OpenStreetMap and have given credit?

OSM in the media

• The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s repair work on the Johnson’s Pond Dam is still ongoing, with further inspections required despite some progress. The Warwick Post article on the subject includes an OpenStreetMap visualisation to show the effect of water level changes in the area.
• Matt Forrest noted that both OpenStreetMap and OSRM are explicitly referenced in the American TV series Super Pumped, which chronicles the rise and fall of former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, who was ultimately ousted in a boardroom coup.

Other “geo” things

• This study has used OpenStreetMap data to conduct a spatial analysis of damage to critical civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip during the Israeli military campaign from 7 October to 22 November 2023. The analysis reveals the significant effect on essential services and the wider humanitarian situation, highlighting the usefulness of OpenStreetMap in crisis mapping and damage assessment.

Upcoming Events

Where	What	Online	When	Country
Essen	FOSSGIS-OSM-Communitytreffen 2024 Nummer 20		2024-05-03 – 2024-05-05
Bogotá	FLISoL Colombia 2024 – Bogotá – Mejorando el mapa de tu casa		2024-05-04
Bogotá	FLISoL Colombia 2024 – Bogotá – Aprovechando las fotos de tu ActionCam (GoPro)		2024-05-04
Bogotá	FLISoL Colombia 2024 – Bogotá – Vuelo de drones con propósito.		2024-05-04
Bochum	OSM-Workshop		2024-05-05
臺北市	OpenStreetMap x Wikidata Taipei #64		2024-05-06
Rio Paranaíba	Capacitação em Mapeando Colaborativo – Editor JOSM (Youthmappers UFV)		2024-05-08
	Missing Maps London Mapathon		2024-05-07
	Encontro OSM Brasil (online)		2024-05-08
Berlin	OSM-Verkehrswende #58	✓	2024-05-07
Bruxelles – Brussel	Notes meetup		2024-05-08
Lorain County	OpenStreetMap Midwest Meetup	✓	2024-05-09
München	Münchner OSM-Treffen		2024-05-08
Stuttgart	Stuttgarter OpenStreetMap-Treffen		2024-05-08
Potsdam	191. Berlin-Brandenburg OpenStreetMap Stammtisch		2024-05-09
	Forum governance team meeting		2024-05-09
Rio de Janeiro	Oficina de mapeamento de waterways no OpenStreetMap – YouthMappers UFRJ		2024-05-10
	OSMF Engineering Working Group meeting		2024-05-10
Mainz	OpenStreetMap-Stammtisch Mainz		2024-05-11
	SotM Asia 2024 monthly meeting		2024-05-11
Zürich	163. OSM-Stammtisch Zürich		2024-05-13
Grenoble	Réunion groupe local Grenoble : Panoramax – L’alternative libre pour photo-cartographier les territoires		2024-05-13
San Jose	South Bay Map Night	✓	2024-05-15
Karlsruhe	Stammtisch Karlsruhe		2024-05-15
Zagreb	State of the Map Croatia 2024		2024-05-16 – 2024-05-17
	[Online] Map-py Wednesday		2024-05-16
Salt Lake City	OSM Utah Monthly Map Night		2024-05-17
Hannover	OSM-Stammtisch Hannover		2024-05-16

Note:
If you like to see your event here, please put it into the OSM calendar. Only data which is there, will appear in weeklyOSM.

This weeklyOSM was produced by MatthiasMatthias, SeverinGeo, Strubbl, TheSwavu, barefootstache, derFred, euroPathfinder, mcliquid, rtnf.
We welcome link suggestions for the next issue via this form and look forward to your contributions.

Art history professor Kate Dimitrova has taught three classes with Wikipedia, but it wasn’t until she enrolled in a Wiki Scholars course that she became a more dedicated Wikipedia editor – and found exhilaration, fulfillment, and empowerment in the process.

“I find immense satisfaction in knowing that I am improving an article with accurate and current scholarship,” said Dimitrova, an expert in late medieval and early Renaissance tapestries at the University of San Diego. “In many ways, serving as a Wikipedia editor is like being a super publisher – I can make significant changes instantaneously to a range of subjects and topics for which I have subject expertise – making measurable and meaningful content.”

For Dimitrova, the professional development course designed for pre-modern European art experts was a chance to connect with a new network of scholars, professors, museum curators, and librarians, and to engage with scholarship in a new, incredibly impactful way.

“I truly think that editing on Wikipedia (either editing a current article or creating a new article) is a form of public scholarship that has far-reaching influence, particularly to readers who are outside the walls of academia,” said Dimitrova. “Although I have published a co-edited volume in the field of medieval art history, my contributions to Wikipedia have the potential to make an even greater educational and scholarly impact, in part because the audience is larger and I can also create content on a relatively short timeline.”

Dimitrova’s assessment of Wikipedia’s scholarly impact is supported by research, including studies shared by recent Wiki Education Speaker Series panelist Neil Thompson which highlight how the site can influence the content in academic publications.  

To get started on Wikipedia, Dimitrova explored Stub-class to C-class articles from geographic regions that intersected with her research and teaching interests: Flanders, France, Spain, and Italy. As she began to edit the article on the Pastrana Tapestries, she quickly found herself “tumbling down a rabbit hole”, exploring other linked pages including one featuring 15th century leading tapestry dealer Pasquier Grenier, a name Dimitrova has repeatedly encountered throughout her three decades of research.

“I was dismayed by the sheer lack of sources and inaccurate information about him,” said Dimitrova, who changed course to enhance Grenier’s Wikipedia article. “I learned a lot of intriguing facts about him during my deep dive: he was a dealer not just in tapestries, but also in wine! Who knew!?”

Just as a hyperlinked page brought her to working on Grenier’s article, linked pages within the tapestry dealer’s article led her to editing other related articles, where she took pleasure in providing valuable and precise descriptions of works of art within her areas of expertise.

Although she has now completed her Wiki Scholars course, Dimitrova continues to work in her sandbox and edit on Wikipedia today, emphasizing its crucial role as a source of free, open access knowledge and underscoring the importance of Wiki Education trainings like Wiki Scholars courses and the Wikipedia Student Program for changing misperceptions of Wikipedia in academia.

“Academia’s long-propagated mistrust of Wikipedia as a viable academic source continues and students are still often advised not to use it,” Dimitrova explained. “However, I think that as more and more scholars and students alike become trained editors, they typically realize that Wikipedia’s system of ‘checks and balances’ is quite rigorous.”

Dimitrova expressed deep gratitude for Wiki Education’s Will Kent for his impactful instruction of the course, as well as for the course sponsor, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, highlighting its vital support of pre-modern European art scholars as they work to contribute to the field.

Remote companies have to work harder at everything.

The effort goes beyond “remote-friendly”—you need remote culture.

But once you have a remote culture, it’s hard to imagine going back. After nine years of working remotely, the only thing I miss about working in person is seeing people’s messy desks.

Why desks matter

Loneliness is a problem for remote workers—video chats are a terrible substitute for happy hour.

Plus, in person, you get to see people’s desks—it’s fun—it’s how you get to know people.

And I know other people think it’s fun, too: we remoties share our pictures of our workspaces all the time. Everyone should share their workspaces (here’s mine circa 2016).

My desk

This is my messy office as of today. (No cleaning and no judgments 🥹 allowed when sharing your workspace.)

Some things of note in this picture in no particular order:

• The desk and stuff on it
  • Ikea Markus chair and Trotten standing desk
  • My laptop—Framework 13 AMD
  • Vortex Race 3 Keyboard with Cherry MX clear switches
  • Logitech ERGO rollerball mouse
  • Ugmonk analog – the most straightforward productivity system I’ve found.
  • Field notes expedition edition – “I’m not writing it down to remember it later, I’m writing it down to remember it now.”
  • Endless recorder notebook – this notebook is slowly supplanting my Leuchtturm1917.
  • Micron 08 pens
  • Elgato wave mic arm with a cheapo Amazon Basics microphone. When you spend all day in meetings, it’s important to sound good.
  • Nikon D610 with 24–70mm f/2.8 lens for video calls
    • The camera sits atop a Manfrotto 244 Variable Friction Magic Arm attached to the desk via Manfrotto super clamp – see how many magic arms you spot on the International Space Station (answer: bunches)
  • The small red things in the foreground are USB data blockers—USB adapters with the data lines removed. I usually keep these in my travel bag.
  • The white cube is an ODISTAR Desktop Vacuum Cleaner.
  • dretec timer, for when I have the will to pomodoro.
  • Post-Its®. So many Post-Its.
• On the shelf
  • Perplexus maze ball held in place by a third-hand kit for soldering
  • My trusty ThinkPad X230
  • Lots of old notebooks and thank you cards
  • On the top shelf are some posters and essential reminders: “DON’T BECOME BITTER AND JADED” and “DON’T LET ADULTHOOD CORRUPT YOU.”
• My overflowing homelab rack
  • Startech 6U wall mount
  • Mikrotik hEX RB750Gr3 5-port Ethernet Gigabit Router
  • Ubiquiti edgeswitch 16
  • Synology DS212—yes, from 2012(!), it’s still kicking thanks to 2×6TB Western Digital Red NAS HDDs.
  • Gigabyte mini PC – 16GB RAM, 1TB NVMe, balancing precariously atop the Synology. The PC runs a handful of VMs: PiHole, HomeAssistant, Grafana, and Prometheus.
  • 2×Raspberry Pi 3B+s doing not much of anything
  • CyberPower CPS1215RMS Rackmount Surge Protector
  • $6 clamp work light with a $60 hue bulb bouncing light off a Neewer 43 in. reflector to light my video calls
• On the floor
  • Home Depot homer bucket, storing my Weaver arborist throw weight and line which is crucial for my job as an engineering manager.
  • A trash can with a lot of dryer sheets
  • An old dog bed

None of these are affiliate links since no one would want to be affiliated with this mess.

On my Wikipedia user page, I keep a list of the Online Communities courses I’ve taught. The capstone project for the course is to make a significant contribution to Wikipedia—the students then reflect on the experience relative to what they’ve learned about online community.

I first taught this in 2014! That’s about a decade of working with the great people at Wiki Edu on 15 courses and ~200 articles. (Thank you Helaine, Brianda, Ian, Sage, Shalor, Adam, and Ryan.) Here are a handful of the excellent contributions from this semester:

• 2023 Paris bedbug infestation
• Bengals’ & Chiefs’ rivalry
• The Mamba Mentality: How I Play
• Chinese New Year customs in Singapore
• Body doubling
• Snapchat dysmorphia
• Undecuple meter

18/04/2024-24/04/2024

Mapping

• Clay_C discussed the process of mapping pipelines using US government data, specifically from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. He outlined a detailed workflow for using JOSM to download and map pipelines within specific US counties, thereby increasing the accessibility and utility of the data for OpenStreetMap projects.
• Wikimedia Italia has published ► a short tutorial on how to start contributing to OpenStreetMap.
• The proposal for shop=tortilla is up for discussion.
• The proposal to set the key open=* is in the voting phase until Tuesday 7 May.

Mapping campaigns

• OpenStreetMap Belgium is hosting a mapathon on Wednesday 8 May, at 7 PM in the Muntpunt Café, Brussels, with an aim of reducing the number of open map notes in Belgium.

Community

• Branko Kokanovic shared a detailed guide to optimising the use of the Insta360 ONE RS 1-inch camera for capturing and uploading street-level imagery to Mapillary, including tips on camera handling, video splitting, and improving GPS tracking accuracy using software solutions such as Geoapify for map matching. The images can also be uploaded to Panoramax.
• Now that the call for contributions has closed, the State of the Map France 2024 is opening ► their platform for managing proposals for speakers and presentations using the ‘Pretalx’ software.

OpenStreetMap Foundation

• The OpenStreetMap Foundation’s Communications Working Group has provided an update on how to request support for social media posts or other communications. They have provided a detailed template for submissions aimed at streamlining the process of promoting community stories and events on OSM’s official social media channels.

Events

• FOSSGIS e.V. is currently seeking locations for the 2026, 2027, and 2028 FOSSGIS conferences. Interested parties have until Sunday 30 June to submit their applications via email, as detailed in their Call for Location document.
• The IVIDES Institute will be hosting ► an online workshop on the mapping of waterways in OpenStreetMap on Friday 10 May, at which Séverin Ménard (UN Mappers/UNGSC) will be participating. The call for registration is open ► and details can be found on the event page.
• The State of the Map US 2024 will be held at the University of Utah 6 to 8 June. Registration is now open and the conference programme has been announced.
• Swiss OpenStreetMap will hold a presentation and discussion on the upcoming report from the SBB and BAV (Bundesamt für Verkehr) on use of OpenStreetMap on Thursday 2 May from 5 to 6 pm.

Education

• Anne-Karoline Distel showed, in a short video, how you can support OpenStreetMap by capturing public notes.
• The IVIDES Institute held ► an event on importing points of interest into OpenStreetMap. Dr. Raquel Souto commented ► about this workshop in her diary, saying that she included, as an example, a subset of the 2022 Brazilian Demographic Census’ official data.

Maps

• The Agroecology map currently shows and describes 541 locations worldwide where ecological principles are being applied to agroecosystems. The same information is also available through an Android app.
• bopjesvla has developed Tiny World Map, a world map designed specifically for web applications that prioritise offline functionality and operate efficiently with limited bandwidth.
• Christoph Hormann explored potential future trends in map design within OpenStreetMap, critiquing the OpenStreetMap Foundation’s historical and current map rendering strategies. Hormann highlighted the challenges and limitations of the transition to vector tiles, which reduces operational costs but shifts a significant amount of data processing to the user side, potentially complicating map design and data management. The discussion also highlights the tension between technological efficiency and creative control over map design.

OSM in action

• Jacek Gęborys has created several maps visualising the accessibility of railway stations in various major cities. He used QGIS with OpenStreetMap as a source for the stops, in particular with the Overpass API, which allows you to automate the fetching of data and GraphHopper for calculating isochrones.
• The Russian OSM community has noticed that the mobile application lessy.app is using OSM data rendered in the style of Yandex.Maps.
• euroPathfinder and Barthwo, two active mappers, took part in the seminar ‘Route 3.0 and OpenStreetMap’ at the invitation of the Saarland Tourist Board ►. In their blog post euroPathfinder briefly presented ► Thomas Froitzheim’s seminar, in which Saarland tourism experts were trained to check the correct mapping of hiking and cycling tour routes in OSM. The tools used were uMap, BRouter Web, GPX Viewer and WayMarkedTrails.

Programming

• Rtnf has archived the OpenStreetMap help website before its planned shutdown.

Releases

• GraphHopper version 9.0 has been released. It comes with an improved GPX export, updated translations, many bug fixes, more route hints, and conditional access information.
• Aerosoft and Thera Bytes have launched a new PC farming simulation ‘Global Farmer‘, which lets players build farms anywhere in the world using OpenStreetMap data, incorporating real agricultural parameters and challenges.
• Roland Olbricht has announced the release of Overpass Version 0.7.62, including newly completed documentation on the user_touched filter and museum (attic) data, along with a detailed component overview for local server instances.

Did you know …

• … about the tools that allow you to select a bounding box, on a reference map, through a visual interface?
• … that the OpenStreetMap wiki has an A to Z to help you figure out how to tag objects?
• … that the Changelog page, on the the OSM wiki, documents recent changes to tagging strategies, listing new tags that have been added, modified, or deprecated?
• … that it is possible to create a city map with the help of OSM data? No? MyOSMatic is the solution for you!
• … that you can generate a specially styled OpenStreetMap-based map for the purpose of surveying an area by utilising RenderMyMap?

OSM in the media

• [1] ZDNet reviewed ► Panoramax, the digital commons platform, sponsored by IGN and OpenStreetMap France, which offers a free alternative to services such as Google StreetView. It features nearly 18 million terrain view photos contributed by various entities and aims to provide an open, decentralised system for sharing geolocated, ground-level photos under free licences that can be used for various applications, including urban infrastructure management.

Other “geo” things

• Wikidata’s ‘Coordinate Me 2024’ is an international competition taking place in May that encourages participants to improve or create new Wikidata items that have a coordinate location property, focusing on a variety of countries to improve global data coverage.
• swissinfo.ch explored the significant contribution of Swiss cartography and a Swiss entrepreneur, Samuel Widmann, to the development of Google Maps. It highlights Switzerland’s long tradition of detailed and accurate mapmaking, which laid the groundwork for the creation of global geodatabases and ultimately influenced modern digital mapping technologies. The story also details how Swiss innovations in map accuracy and aesthetics were crucial before Google acquired Widmann’s company, Endoxon.
• Google Maps is rolling out new features with the intention of addressing the common concern of locating charging stations, which are of interest to the owners of electric vehicles.
• Pierre Blanchet, from Meteory, has developed a machine learning model to monitor hedges across France by using aerial imagery.
• An article on TradingView explained the concept of mapping on a blockchain and discusses its potential to improve the accuracy, privacy, and security of geographic data compared to traditional GPS systems by using decentralised methods of data verification and storage. The article does not include the obligatory xkcd cartoon.
• ORBIS, the Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World, is an interactive tool hosted by Stanford University that simulates the logistics of travel and communication in ancient Rome. It allows users to calculate travel times and costs across various routes and modes of transportation, such as roads, rivers, and seas, based on historical data and geographic models.
• Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (Current height data Netherlands) provides an interactive viewer of detailed topographic data covering the Netherlands with approximately 950 billion measurements. This tool allows users to explore a high-resolution point cloud of the Dutch landscape, offering visualisation options such as height, intensity, reflections, and feature classification.

Upcoming Events

Where	What	Online	When	Country
Aachen	5. Treffen Aachener Stammtisch 2.0		2024-04-25
Potsdam	Radnetz Brandenburg Mapping Abend #6		2024-04-25
	OSMF Engineering Working Group meeting		2024-04-26
Prishtinë	Kosovo TomTom Editing Party		2024-04-26
Bengaluru	OSM Bengaluru Mapping Party		2024-04-27
	OpenStreetMap visual impaired accessibility initiative – kickoff (online)		2024-04-27
Fianarantsoa	State of the Map Madagascar		2024-04-28 – 2024-04-29
Brno	Missing Maps Mapathon at the Department of Geography		2024-04-29
Fianarantsoa	OSM Africa April Mapathon – Map Madagasikara		2024-04-30
San Jose	South Bay Map Night	✓	2024-05-01
Dresden	OSM-Stammtisch Dresden		2024-05-02
Essen	FOSSGIS-OSM-Communitytreffen 2024 Nummer 20		2024-05-03 – 2024-05-05
Bochum	OSM-Workshop		2024-05-05
臺北市	OpenStreetMap x Wikidata Taipei #64		2024-05-06
	Encontro OSM Brasil (online)		2024-05-08
	Missing Maps London Mapathon		2024-05-07
München	Münchner OSM-Treffen		2024-05-08
Lorain County	OpenStreetMap Midwest Meetup	✓	2024-05-09
Bruxelles – Brussel	Notes meetup		2024-05-08
Stuttgart	Stuttgarter OpenStreetMap-Treffen		2024-05-08
Rio de Janeiro	Oficina de mapeamento de waterways no OpenStreetMap – YouthMappers UFRJ		2024-05-10
Mainz	OpenStreetMap-Stammtisch Mainz		2024-05-11
	SotM Asia 2024 monthly meeting		2024-05-11
Zürich	163. OSM-Stammtisch Zürich		2024-05-13
Grenoble	Réunion groupe local Grenoble : Panoramax – L’alternative libre pour photo-cartographier les territoires		2024-05-13

Note:
If you like to see your event here, please put it into the OSM calendar. Only data which is there, will appear in weeklyOSM.

This weeklyOSM was produced by MatthiasMatthias, Strubbl, TheSwavu, barefootstache, derFred, euroPathfinder, mcliquid, renecha, rtnf.
We welcome link suggestions for the next issue via this form and look forward to your contributions.