Annual Report 2024/Story: Cultural and natural heritage under threat – active support to Ukraine, new networks and opportunities
In this story, we focus on how Wikimedia Sverige, through initiatives such as the Heritage Guard Network and collaborations with Wikimedia Ukraine, the Swedish National Archives and other actors, has taken a leading role in using the Wikimedia platforms for digital preservation of endangered cultural and natural heritage, especially in light of the war in Ukraine.
The Wikimedia movement has increasingly taken on an international leadership role in the digital preservation of endangered cultural and natural heritage. A clear example of this are the global photo competitions Wiki Loves Monuments and Wiki Loves Earth, which contribute hundreds of thousands of digital images of the world's cultural and natural heritage each year.
Wikimedia Sverige sees great value in this work and has therefore increasingly reflected on how the experiences from these initiatives can help strengthen the digital accessibility of cultural heritage. This has been done through, for example, projects such as Linked Open Cultural Heritage and FindingGLAMs, where we – supported by the Swedish Postcode Lottery Foundation and in collaboration with actors including UNESCO – have compiled global data on cultural heritage institutions and their collections. We have also supported other Wikimedia affiliates, such as Wikimedia Ukraine, in making cultural heritage data available on Wikidata. In a major upload project in 2023, we contributed nearly 100 000 new or improved items about Ukrainian cultural heritage monuments; an important prerequisite for effectively running Wiki Loves Monuments in the country.
However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has cast this work in an entirely new light. Even here in Sweden, it became evident that threats to cultural heritage, just like threats to human lives, are not theoretical but very real. As a result, Sweden has redirected large portions of its aid to support Ukraine, and in its bilateral Ukraine strategy, the protection of cultural heritage has been highlighted as a priority. Against this backdrop, Wikimedia Sverige has taken the initiative, and played a leading role, in two projects aimed at strengthening the use of the Wikimedia platforms for the digital preservation of endangered cultural and natural heritage using crowdsourcing.
The first pilot project, conducted in collaboration with Wikimedia affiliates in Poland, Georgia, and Ukraine, resulted in the establishment of the Heritage Guard Network. The network has explored the strengths and weaknesses of Wikimedia platforms for the digitization of cultural and natural heritage, as well as how we, together with volunteers and partners, can improve tools – particularly mapping tools – and methods for digital documentation. The project culminated in a final report presented at a conference in Warsaw in November 2024, and we have now applied for continued funding to implement the insights gained. The highlights include the need for better technical solutions, such as mapping tools, as well as more tailored educational materials.
The second pilot project began in late 2024, with most of the work to be done in 2025. This project is centered on Ukraine and on how we, in collaboration with Wikimedia Ukraine, can develop educational materials to support Ukrainian cultural heritage institutions in sharing their materials via the Wikimedia platforms. The project is being carried out together with the Swedish National Archives, the War Museum in Kyiv, and Wikimedia Ukraine.
These projects are important in themselves but also intersect with other areas we prioritize. They have attracted significant attention within the Wikimedia movement, with the project results being presented at events such as Wikimania in Katowice. Wikimedia Deutschland, Wikimedia UK, and the Wikimedia Foundation have expressed interest in participating, providing input, or benefiting from the insights gained. Additionally, the project was one of the first in the history of the RightsCon conference to highlight the digitization of cultural heritage from the perspectives of human rights and technology.
The Heritage Guard Network has also clearly demonstrated the potential for collaboration between national associations and hubs. Both the Content Partnership Hub initiative and the CEE Hub have been involved, showing how projects like this can foster greater coordination. See also Story: Thematic hub for content partnerships – extensive planning and preparations for 2025. It is also one of the few examples where several Wikimedia affiliates have jointly sought external funding – an important step to explore more revenue sources and create sustainable ways of working for both the global movement and its various hub initiatives.
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