Wiki Loves Monuments Q&A during Wiki Indaba 2023 in Agadir, Morocco.
Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM) is an annual international photographic competition held during the month of September, organised worldwide by Wikipedia community members with the help of local Wikimedia affiliates across the globe. Participants take pictures of local historical monuments and heritage sites in their region, and upload them to Wikimedia Commons. The aim of event is to highlight the heritage sites of the participating countries with the goal to encourage people to capture pictures of these monuments, and to put them under a free licence which can then be re-used not only in Wikipedia but everywhere by everyone.
The first Wiki Loves Monuments competition was held in 2010 in the Netherlands as a pilot project. The next year it spread to other countries in Europe and according to the Guinness Book of Records, the 2011 edition of the Wiki Loves Monuments broke the world record for the largest photography competition.[3] In 2012, the competition was extended beyond Europe, with a total of 35 participating countries.[4] During Wiki Loves Monuments 2012, more than 350,000 photographs of historic monuments were uploaded by more than 15,000 participants. In 2013, the Wiki Loves Monuments competition was held across six continents including Antarctica and had official participation from more than fifty countries around the world. The 2016 edition of WLM was supported by UNESCO and saw 10,700 contestants from 43 countries who submitted 277,000 photos.[5][6]
History
Infographic showing the actual behind-the-scenes workflow
Wiki Loves Monuments is the successor to Wiki Loves Art, which was held in the Netherlands in 2009. The original WLM contest for "Rijksmonuments" (Dutch for "national monuments") encouraged photographers to seek out Dutch National Heritage Sites. The Rijkmonuments include architecture and objects of general interest recognized for their beauty, scientific, and/or cultural importance. Such locations as the Drenthe archeological sites, the Noordeinde Royal Palace in The Hague, and the houses along the canals of Amsterdam were part of the more than 12,500 photographs submitted during the first event.[7]
This success generated interest in other Europe countries, and through a collaboration with the European Heritage Days, 18 states with the help of local Wikimedia chapters participated in the 2011 competition,[8][9] uploading nearly 170,000 images by its conclusion. The Guinness Book of Records recognizes the 2011 edition of Wiki Loves Monuments as the largest photography competition in the world with 168,208 pictures uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by more than 5,000 participants.[3] In total, some 171,000 photographs were contributed from 18 participants countries of Europe. Germany, France and Spain contributed the highest number of photographs. Photo from Romania won the first international prize, whereas Estonia secured second and Germany third position in WLM 2011.
In 2013, the Wiki Loves Monuments competition had the official participation of more than fifty countries from all six continents including Antarctica. Among the new participant nations were Algeria, Chine, Azerbaijan, Hong Kong, Jordan, Venezuela, Thailand, Taiwan, Nepal, Tunisia, Egypt, the United Kingdom, war-torn Syria and many others. In total, some 370,000 photos were contributed from more than 52 participating countries. Germany, Ukraine, and Poland contributed the highest number of photographs. Switzerland won the first international prize, whereas Taiwan secured second and Hungary third position in the 2013 edition of WLM.
The 2014 version of the contest saw more than 8,750 contestants in 41 countries across the globe, who submitted more than 308,000 photographs. Pakistan, Macedonia, Ireland, Republic of Kosovo, Albania, Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq made their debut in 2014. In Pakistan, more than 700 contestants from across the country submitted over 12,000 photographs.[12]
The 2015 edition saw more than 6,200 contestants participating from 33 countries, with over 220,000 photo submissions throughout the month of September.[13]
The 2016 edition of WLM was supported by UNESCO and saw 10,700 contestants from 43 countries who submitted 277,000 photos.[14]
In the 2017 edition, 52 countries participated and nearly 245 000 photographs were obtained. The following year, 2018, the number of participating countries rose to 56 countries that donated more than 257 000 photographs. In the 2019 edition, the list of participating countries dropped to 48 and almost 213,000 images were collected.
In 2020, the competition was convened with some changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, being held in some countries in October or November instead of its traditional September venue.10 Despite the difficulties, participants from 51 countries donated more than 230,000 photographs.[15]
A man cycling outside the wall of the Grand Palace, Bangkok
Spin-offs
Wikipedians attending Wiki Loves Monuments in Erfurt
Several spin-offs based on Wiki Loves Monuments are organised within the Wikimedia movement locally and internationally. They generally follow the basics of Wiki Loves Monuments and mostly differentiate in their scope and changes in some of the rules.
In spring 2013, a photographic competition called Wiki Loves Earth (Ukrainian: Вікі любить Землю) was organised in Ukraine with a main focus on taking photographs of the natural heritage sites in Ukraine and subsequently uploading them on Wikimedia Commons.[18]
A few months later, Wikimedia Sweden and Europeana initiated a photographic competition with the name Wiki Loves Public Art aiming to increase the number of photographs taken from public artworks.[19] The project was organised in five countries and resulted in more than 9,250 photographs uploaded.[20]
In autumn 2013, the photographic competition Wiki Loves Cultural Heritage (Macedonian: Вики го сака културното наследство) was organised in North Macedonia, broadening the scope of Wiki Loves Monuments to include cultural heritage in any form, both tangible and intangible, including monuments, heritage sites, dishes, outfit, tapestries, crafts, dances and other elements of traditional culture.[21]
A spelling bee is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty. To compete, contestants must memorize the spellings of words as written in dictionaries, and recite them accordingly.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003.
The Ukrainian Wikipedia is the Ukrainian language edition of the free online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. The first article was written on January 30, 2004. As of January 2024, the Ukrainian Wikipedia has 1,303,332 articles and is the 14th largest Wikipedia edition.
Images of England is an online photographic record of all the listed buildings in England at the date of February 2002. The archive gives access to over 323,000 colour images, each of which is matched with the item's listed designation architectural description.
The Eurovision Young Musicians, often shortened to EYM, or Young Musicians, is a biennial classical music competition for European musicians that are aged between 12 and 21. It is organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and broadcast on television throughout Europe, with some countries holding national selections to choose their representatives for the contest.
A photomarathon is a photography competition in which participants must take a series of photographs on predetermined subjects in a set period of time, typically 12 to 24 hours. On most competitions, part of the rules is that photos should be handed in "straight out of camera" -with no post-editing or production allowed. Photos are typically judged using criteria that combine photographic technique and creativity in interpreting the theme.
The Eurovision Young Musicians 2008 was the fourteenth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held at the Rathausplatz in Vienna, Austria on 9 May 2008. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), musicians from seven countries participated in the televised final. This was the second time that the competition was held on an open-air stage and was the beginning of the annual Vienna Festival. Austria and broadcaster ORF previously hosted the contest in 1990, 1998 and 2006.
Wikimedia Commons is a media repository of free-to-use images, sounds, videos and other media. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation.
The Great Driving Challenge was a 2009 online reality show and marketing program created by Hindustan Motors Limited, in India, where the top three finalists or couples got an opportunity to drive a Mitsubishi Cedia Sport. It ran from June through August 2009.
Miss International Queen is the world's biggest beauty pageant for transgender women. The pageant was conceived in 2004 and named the largest and most prestigious by CNN original American documentary television series This Is Life with Lisa Ling aired on 26 November 2017.
The Eurovision Young Musicians 2014 was the seventeenth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held outside the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, on 31 May 2014. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), musicians from fourteen countries participated in the televised final. This was the fifth time that the competition was held on an open-air stage. Germany previously hosted the contest in 2002.
Wiki Loves Earth (WLE) is an annual international photographic competition held throughout May and June, organised worldwide by the Wikipedia community members with the help of local Wikimedia affiliates across the globe. Participants take pictures of local natural heritage and scenic landscape in their countries and upload them to Wikimedia Commons.
Armenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Fly with Me" written by Lilith Navasardyan, Levon Navasardyan, Avet Barseghyan and David Tserunyan. The song was performed by Artsvik, who was selected through the national final Depi Evratesil organised by the Armenian broadcaster Public Television of Armenia (AMPTV) to represent Armenia in the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. The national final involved 75 contestants and took place over three months. Two contestants ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 24 December 2016 where a jury panel and a public televote selected Artsvik as the winner. The song "Fly with Me" was selected internally and later presented to the public on 18 March 2017.
Dronestagram is a photo sharing community dedicated to drone photography. The site that has been described as "Instagram for drones. The site launched in July 2013 by Eric Dupin and is owned by his company Dronescape. The project is based in Lyon, France. There is also a dronestagram iOS app.
The Eurovision Young Musicians 2018 was the nineteenth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians contest. It was hosted by the United Kingdom, for the first time since the inaugural contest in 1982. This edition was a co-production between the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the Edinburgh International Festival and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as host broadcaster. Musicians representing eighteen countries with EBU membership participated in the contest, with Albania making their debut alongside seven returning countries, while Austria decided not to participate for the first time.
Amit Nimade is an Indian photographer known for his works in fine art photography.
Miss Chennai was a city beauty pageant in Chennai, India, which operated under the parent organization VIBA between 1999 and 2009. The competition's first winner was Trisha Krishnan, and several of the participants from the pageant went on to make a career in the film industry.
Wiki Loves Folklore (WLF) is an annual international photographic competition held during the month of February, organised worldwide by Wikimedia community members with the help of local Wikimedia affiliates and Wikipedians across the globe. Participants take pictures of local folk culture and intangible heritage in their region, and upload them to Wikimedia Commons. The aim of event is to document folklore traditions around the world with a goal to encourage people to capture media of their local Folk culture, and to put them under a free licence which can then be re-used not only in Wikipedia but everywhere by everyone.
The Wiki Science Competition (WSC) is a global science photography competition for students, researchers, and others to contribute freely licensed high-quality, well-sourced images and other media to Wikimedia Commons.
Yevhen Samuchenko is a Ukrainian travel photographer and photo artist.
↑ (in French) Virginie Malbos, Le monumental concours de Wikimédia, dans Libération, 9 September 2011, consulted 22 August 2012. "The operation had taken place last year in the Netherlands, and was concluded by the arrival of 12,500 new royalty-free photos."
↑ (in Italian)Bologna su 'Wiki loves monuments' La raccolta delle foto più belle, dans Il Resto del Carlino, 11 août 2012, consulté le 22 août 2012. "In 2011, the competition has also increased, with the participation of 18 European countries that helped with 170,000 images, and now has the support, among others, the Council of Europe and the European Commission."
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
