MEDIA RELEASE

From Aotearoa to the world:
Kiwi Wikipedia editors gain global recognition

A group of New Zealanders who edit Wikipedia articles have been officially recognised as a chapter of the international Wikimedia Foundation.

Wikipedia, the 7th most-visited website on the internet, is hosted by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation based in San Francisco. The foundation isn’t responsible for the content you read in Wikipedia articles however – that is written and maintained by a community of over 120,000 volunteer editors across the world. 

New Zealanders are doing their bit too, with over 400 volunteers across the motu. A number of these dedicated editors have joined forces to form Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand, or WANZ, a group which provides support to people and organisations to improve and increase contributions to Wikipedia and related projects.

To become a chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation, members needed to run as a user group of active editors with well-documented activities for at least two years before they could apply.

Local editors and WANZ members include people like Tamsin Braisher in Dunedin, who created a new Wikipedia article every single day for a year to help combat gender bias on the site, Siobhan Leachman in Wellington who was awarded Wikimedia Laureate in 2023 and works tirelessly to make scientific knowledge as open and connected as possible, and Axel Downard-Wilke in Golden Bay (then Christchurch), who led the battle to get macrons on Wikipedia.

With WANZ President Victoria Leachman – who successfully led the group to this achievement – currently on sabbatical, the committee are fortunate to have knowledgeable editor Lisa Maule as Acting President.

“The committee is very proud of the efforts of volunteer New Zealand Wikipedians over the years that have led to this organisational milestone” shared Lisa. 

“Chapter recognition gives us a clear mandate from the Wikimedia Foundation to keep building and growing our networks and projects throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.”

Funding from the Wikimedia Foundation enables projects that support the Foundation’s mission in Aotearoa New Zealand: To empower and engage people to collect and develop educational content under a free licence, so it can be shared and reused freely. This includes providing training to new editors, supporting experienced editors to continue to grow and develop their skills, running workshops and events, developing projects to address gaps and bias, and advocating for open access of knowledge.

Projects such as the Wikipedian at Large help to develop Wikipedia content and engagement in communities across the country, while a Wikimedian in Residence position at Auckland Museum supports the museum’s successful engagement with Wikimedia projects, including their efforts to increase coverage of local knowledge as a resource for the new Aotearoa New Zealand Histories Curriculum.

“We are grateful for the support we receive from the Wikimedia Foundation, and look forward to extending our connections with the East and Southeast Asia and Pacific region, and across the international Wikipedia movement. 

“It’s onwards and upwards from here for open and accessible knowledge contributed by the diverse groups of people living in Aotearoa New Zealand.”

Left to right: Tamsin Braisher, WANZ acting president Lisa Maule, and Siobhan Leachman. Image by Jonny Knopp / Peanut Productions for Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons