User:Iopensa/GLAM Wiki 2025 Empowering GLAMs
100,000 Open Cultural Institutions: How Can We Address All Cultural Institutions Around the Globe and Support Them to Implement Open Access and Collaborate with the Wikimedia Projects? The Case Studies of Italy and Argentina in the Frame of the Project "Empowering GLAMs", roundtable organised by Iolanda Pensa in collaboration with Angie Cervellera, Deborah De Angelis, Sarah Orlandi, GLAM Wiki, Lisbon, 30/10/2025.
DOI https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/EPZSR
GLAM Wiki 2025, sent 17/06/2025
Question | Our answer | Response Type |
---|---|---|
About You | ||
First name | Iolanda | (short answer) |
Lastname | Pensa | (short answer) |
Username | iopensa | (short answer) |
(short answer) | ||
In which country are you based? | Italy and Switzerland | (short answer) |
Role in the Wikimedia Movement | GLAM Wiki Community Member
National coordinator for GLAMs at Wikimedia Italia (volunteer) Researcher |
(Select one/Multiple)
|
Speaker bio; tell us about yourself. Describe your Wikimedia involvement, GLAM activities, and anything else you think is important for the audience to know about you. | Iolanda Pensa is a wikipedian and researcher. As a volunteer, she has been contributing to Wikipedia since 2006, she conceived and lead the project “Empowering Italian GLAMs” (2021-2024) and she is currently national coordinator for GLAMs of Wikimedia Italia; previously she organized in 2016 “Wikimania Esino Lario” and she was chair of Wikimedia Italia (2020-2024) Wikimania Steering Committee (2017-2025) and scientific director of WikiAfrica (2007-2011). Her job is senior researcher at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), where she is head of research in the “Culture and Territory” area at the Institute of Design; she is specialised in contemporary African art and public art in Douala and actively involved in the implementation of Open Science in Switzerland.
Angie Cervellera was born in Buenos Aires City, Argentina. She studied arts (Universidad Nacional de las Artes), cultural management (Universidad Argentina de la Empresa) and is specialized in museums (Universidad de Buenos Aires and Instituto Liderazgo en Museos). She has taken several courses on arts and curation, heritage, education and project management. She has experience working in public and private institutions as regards public and educational programs and cultural agenda coordination. Since 2020 she is in charge of the Culture and Open Knowledge Program at Wikimedia Argentina, where she develops activities with museums, archives, libraries, governmental entities and others related to production, preservation and dissemination of open knowledge in digital environments. International Council of Museums Argentina is part of the global network of ICOM national committees and works in collaboration with the international organization. It is a non-profit civil association that aims to promote museology and support museums and other cultural heritage institutions in Argentina. Deborah De Angelis is an attorney specializing in international copyright law, cultural heritage law, entertainment law, and new technologies. She serves as the Creative Commons Italian Chapter Lead and is the Italian coordinator for Knowledge Rights 21; she collaborates with Wikimedia Italy to support the legal challenges of Wiki Loves Monuments and OpenGLAM projects. In 2020, she worked as a legal advisor on copyright law for the Italian Minister of Culture. She was also the Italian regional delegate for the project on the right to research in international copyright law within the PIJIP group (American University, Washington College of Law). Since 2004, she has been a fellow at the NEXA Center for the Internet & Society. She is a member of the “Digital Cultural Heritage” working group of ICOM ITALIA and serves as a Councilor for ALAI, Italy, for the 2022-2025 term. On January 12, 2023, she joined Europeana’s Copyright Steering Committee and is a member of the Executive Board of AFEM (Association for Electronic Music) and Communia. |
(Long answer) - around 500 characters but not indicated in the form |
About the Proposal | ||
What's the title of your proposal? | 100,000 Open Cultural Institutions: How Can We Address All Cultural Institutions Around the Globe and Support Them to Implement Open Access and Collaborate with the Wikimedia Projects? The Case Studies of Italy and Argentina in the Frame of the Project "Empowering GLAMs". | (Short answer) |
What type of session is it? | Roundtable 45 min | (Select one)
|
Summary description/Abstract | The round table explores how Wikimedia affiliates in collaboration with ICOM and Creative Commons can address and engage all cultural institutions —museums, libraries, archives, theatres, and universities — in adopting open access policies and collaborating with the Wikimedia projects. It presents and compares two case studies: the project Empowering Italian GLAMs implemented in Italy since 2021 and its new edition in Argentina.
In Italy, the project developed a comprehensive methodology: building a national database of over 6,800 institutions on Wikidata, launching a coordinated communication campaign, and offering a tailored workflow to support cultural institutions in releasing content under open licenses. The results include a significant increase in institutional collaboration—from 5–10 institutions per year to over 300 in just one year. The project was implemented in collaboration with ICOM Italia (communicating and supporting the initiative by addressing museums), Creative Commons Italia (supporting the specific legal challenges of Italy) and the University of Turing (involved in monitoring and evaluating the project) and with the co-funding of Wikimedia Foundation. Argentina is now adapting and testing this model, engaging cultural institutions in collaboration of ICOM Argentina and through context-specific strategies. The round table will present the challenges, insights, and early results from Argentina’s implementation and discuss how this scalable approach can be adopted globally. Participants will exchange views on the infrastructure, partnerships, workflows and policy and legal conditions needed to enable the transformation of cultural heritage into open knowledge. The session aims to identify key steps and shared tools for a movement-wide effort to reach 100,000 cultural institutions worldwide, making open access a global standard in the cultural sector. |
(Short answer) - 500 characters (but they didn't tell us :(
I rewrote it: The roundtable explores how Wikimedia affiliates, ICOM, and Creative Commons can engage all cultural institutions—museums, libraries, archives, theatres, and universities—in adopting open access and collaborating with Wikimedia. It compares two case studies: “Empowering Italian GLAMs,” which contacted 4000 institutions and scaled from 10 to 300 institutions engaged in one year, and its adaptation in Argentina. The session discusses workflows, partnerships, and strategies for scaling globally. |
What are the related Wikimedia projects? | Wikidata
Wikimedia Commons Wikipedia |
(Select all that apply)
Wikipedia Wikibooks Wiktionary Wikiquote Wikimedia Commons Wikisource Wikiversity Wikispecies Wikidata Wikifunctions Media Wiki Wikivoyage Wikinews Meta-Wiki |
What level of experience is required to participate? | 1 | 1 - Everyone can participate in this session
2 - Some experience will be needed 3 - Average knowledge about Wikimedia projects or activities 4 - This session is for an experienced audience |
Have you lead this activity, or presented this session before? | No. The involvement of Wikimedia Argentina is new and started in 2025. It is the first time we present the opportunities and challenges of scaling the approach. | Yes/No |
(Workshop Logic) What methods or activities do you have planned for the workshop? | (long answer) | |
(Creative Logic) What methods do you have planned for the creative activity? | (long answer) | |
How does your proposal relate to the theme of "Resilience"? | Currently, the Wikimedia movement engages with GLAM institutions primarily through a one-to-one model—via direct relationships, Wikipedians in Residence, or initiatives such as GLAM on Tour. While this method has proven effective and impactful, it is not resilient or scalable at a global level. With hundreds of thousands of cultural institutions worldwide—including museums, libraries, archives, and others—this individualized approach excludes the vast majority, particularly smaller or less resourced institutions. It is also costly and often favors already well-connected or powerful actors.
To build a resilient and inclusive strategy, we must move beyond case-by-case interventions and create systems that can support the entire ecosystem of cultural institutions. This means developing low-barrier entry points accessible to all institutions, regardless of size or geographic ___location; establishing partnerships with cultural networks that can amplify impact; and designing workflows that are scalable, sustainable, and grounded in the principles of openness. A global approach also allows to address in a more effective way legal challenges. A resilient Wikimedia-GLAM collaboration model must empower institutions to act autonomously while remaining connected to a global movement for free knowledge. |
(long answer) - around 500 characters but not indicated in the form |
Which theme track does your proposal fit in? | Tools in practice | (select one)
|
What key words fit with your proposal? | Advocacy/Outreach
Engagement Infrastructure Open Access/Copyright |
(Select all that apply)
Advocacy/Outreach Archives Artificial Intelligence Community Engagement Community Organizing Decolonization Digitization Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) Heritage at risk Human Rights Indigenous/Traditional Knowledge Infrastructure Intangible Heritage LGBTQ+ Libraries Media donation Metadata management Museum Open Access/Copyright Pedagogy/Education Policy Public Policy Research Sustainability, environment, climate change Tangible Heritage Technology Visual knowledge Wiki Loves campaigns Wikimedian in Residence |
Please describe your session proposal in detail and include any relevant links for references. | The Wikimedia movement has long collaborated with Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAMs) through highly valuable one-to-one engagement models, such as direct partnerships, Wikipedians in Residence, and outreach events like GLAM on Tour. While these approaches produce tangible impact and foster deep, long-term collaborations, they are inherently limited in reach and scalability. The vast global landscape of cultural institutions — well over 100,000 museums alone, not to mention libraries, archives, theatres, and cultural centers — cannot be sustainably reached through individualized interventions. Furthermore, these models often privilege large, well-funded institutions, leaving behind smaller, under-resourced, or regionally dispersed cultural actors.
This roundtable takes up the urgent question: how can the Wikimedia movement develop a scalable, inclusive, and resilient model to engage cultural institutions around the world in the production and dissemination of open knowledge? The session will present and discuss the methodology and results of the Empowering Italian GLAMs project, an innovative initiative designed and implemented by Wikimedia Italia in collaboration with Creative Commons Italia, ICOM Italia, the University of Turin, and BAM! Cultural Strategies. Rather than focusing on one-off partnerships, the project developed a scalable workflow that can be replicated by institutions of all sizes. It focused on building institutional capacity, aligning open access with cultural missions, integrating Wikimedia platforms into institutional strategies, and fostering collaboration across professional networks. The project combined training, coaching, and hands-on experimentation with metrics, open licensing, and Wikimedia project editing — particularly Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikipedia. The project demonstrated not only the feasibility of engaging a wide range of institutions — museums of different sizes and typologies, often with limited digital experience — but also the long-term resilience of the model. Participating institutions showed increased interest in continuing collaboration with Wikimedia projects. The approach also created strong ties among partners, fostering cross-sector innovation that goes beyond Wikimedia itself. The roundtable explores how this model is now being adapted and tested in Argentina, with a localised strategy built by Wikimedia Argentina in dialogue with ICOM Argentina. This comparative case provides an opportunity to reflect on the contextual elements that shape the uptake of open access practices, as well as the core elements that can ensure resilience across diverse cultural , linguistic and legal settings. Discussion themes * Designing resilient models for Wikimedia-GLAM collaboration. * Shifting from one-to-one to network-based and system-level engagement. * Building institutional capacities for open access and Wikimedia project contribution. * Partnering with professional networks to embed openness in the cultural sector. * Adapting scalable workflows across regions (Italy and Argentina as case studies). * Addressing equity, sustainability, and autonomy in GLAM collaborations. Schedule * Brief presentations from project members involved in Empowering GLAMs (Italy and Argentina). * Reflections from participating institutions and professional partners (ICOM, CC). * Open discussion with session participants to explore replication potential in other countries and regions. This session is intended for Wikimedians, GLAM professionals, cultural policy researchers, open access advocates, and network builders interested in scaling impact while preserving contextual sensitivity and institutional empowerment. References * Empowering Italian GLAMs: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Empowering_Italian_GLAMs * Wikimedia Italia: https://www.wikimedia.it/musei - Tutta la cultura su wikipedia * Wikimedia Argentina: https://www.wikimedia.org.ar * Creative Commons Italia: https://creativecommons.it/ |
(long answer) |
What is the desired outcome -or- what do you hope participants will learn? | The roundtable aims to present a scalable workflow designed to engage cultural institutions in open access and Wikimedia collaboration. It will invite participants to critically assess its potential, explore its adaptability to different national contexts, and discuss how it can support a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable movement-wide strategy. | (long answer) |
How does your proposal relate to the Wikimedia Movement Strategy and its priorities:
|
Coordinate Across Stakeholders
Innovate in Free Knowledge -
|
Check box with short answer |
What is the primary language of your session?
Note on languages: Only the auditorium will have simultaneous interpretation between English and Portuguese for presentations and panel discussions. Keep in mind that your choice in language will influence who participates. You can consider co-hosting to cover more languages. |
English | (short answer) |
Are you planning to lead the session with anyone else? Co-presenters or other facilitators, for example. Please add their names here if so. | Angie Cervellera | (short answer) |
What special equipment or material needs do you have? | (short answer) | |
Do you have a preferred time of day? | Morning
Afternoon No | |
How much time do you need? | 45 | 45 or 75 Minutes |
Closing | ||
These questions are to certify your submission and other information. | ||
How did you hear about this conference? | Wikimedia blog Diff | (short answer) |
Have you applied for a scholarship to attend the conference? (This is for reference only) | No | Yes/No |
Lightning talks and panel discussions will be recorded. Do you allow that if your session is accepted for the program that any recording be made available under a CC BY 4.0 license after the conference? | Check box | |
Would you be interested in volunteering at the conference? | Check box | |
If you utilized any Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, beyond translation, grammar, or spelling corrections, to complete any part of this application, please copy and paste all the prompts you used below. Failure to provide your prompts may result in the revocation of your submission. This information will not be shared with the evaluators. | No | Check box |
I certify that the answers provided here are my own. | X | Check box |