Critical issues presentations/Cross-border cooperation in the DACH region
- Submission no. 9
- Title of the submission
Cross-border cooperation in the DACH region
- Author of the submission
- Claudia Garad
- Raimund Liebert
- Country of origin
Austria; Austria
- Topics
other, Projects
- Keywords
- community support
- cross-border collaboration
- strategic partnerships
- Wikimedia affiliates
- Abstract
One Wikipedia - many communities: contributors of the the German-language Wikipedia mainly come from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the so-called DACH region. Contributors from the three different countries often integrate their slight language differences (German German, Austrian German, Swiss German) into their work on Wikipedia or other Wikimedia projects. Especially among the smaller Austrian and Swiss communities there is often a strong awareness regarding cultural differences between the three countries. For this reason there are activities and projects for the German-language Wikipedia as a whole as well as such which are mainly directed at the respective communities of the three nations.
Over the last few years the three DACH-chapters have intensified their collaboration, especially regarding community work and joint projects, in order to provide efficient support structures for our volunteers. The cooperation comprises joint access resources (e.g. photography equipment or tools for photography contests), common events (e.g. WikiCON) or material (e.g. brochures or giveaways), skill transfer activities (e.g. photography workshops) for the communities of the German-language Wikipedia but also sister projects, such as Wikimedia Commons or Wiktionary. The aim is to exploit synergies, foster cross-border collaboration on projects and to shape easy and transparent access to required resources across borders.
The presentation highlights opportunities and challenges of cross-border cooperation between communities and chapters that vary in size and structure and showcases specific examples and important learnings. The session targets volunteers and staff members who plan or already conduct cross-border cooperation activities for their communities as well as everyone who wants to learn more about initiatives from the German-speaking wikiverse.
- Result
Not accepted