2019:Multimedia knowledge/Describing files on Structured Commons: problems and opportunities

Description[edit | edit source]

In 2019, Wikimedia Commons is undergoing a major update: it is now possible to describe files on Wikimedia Commons with multilingual, structured, machine-readable data from Wikidata.

Structured Data on Commons produces new challenges for the Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata communities: how to describe media files properly, how to model the metadata ('ontology') around them? At the moment of submitting this proposal (early June 2019), the communities have brainstormed data modelling and ontology in an on-wiki properties table. Wikimania 2019 in August is a good opportunity to gather and to look at the current status of data modelling, to pinpoint the most urgent challenges and to brainstorm paths forward.

Session outcomes[edit | edit source]

At the end of the session, the following will have been achieved:

• This session produces a list of problems and opportunities around describing and modelling multimedia files in structured data
• Resolving as many problems/capture as many opportunities as possible
• Make a plan to resolve/capture any other problems/opportunities

Session leader(s)[edit | edit source]

• Sandra Fauconnier (Wikimedia Foundation)

Relationship to the theme[edit | edit source]

This session will address the conference theme — Wikimedia, Free Knowledge and the Sustainable Development Goals — in the following manner:

Multimedia is an important part of advancing several important themes in the Sustainable Development Goals:

1. Quality education -- searchable educational multimedia that can be discovered in any language strengthens the utility of mother tongues and mother tongue education on the internet. Much of the work that our communities do to preserve and capture culture are captured in Wikimedia Commons.
2. Peace, justice and strong institutions-- having a free and open environment for sharing multimedia in the global context, and the work that commons photographers do (like covering protests, cultural events, and public gatherings of different kinds), advances the transparency and access to information for everyone in the world.
3. Zero hunger and Good health and wellbeing -- well labeled information about the living world around us and the human experience advances the ways in which communities can share from and learn from the experiences of others.
4. Industry, innovation and infrastructure -- with structured data on Wikimedia projects in general, the Wikimedia movement contributes essential multilingual IT and knowledge infrastructure to the world.

Session type[edit | edit source]

The program design prioritises submissions which are future-oriented and directly engage the audience. The format of this submission is a:

• Workshop to identify and try to solve problem

Requirements[edit | edit source]

The session will work best with these conditions:

• Room: A room that allows for good brainstorming, probably with round tables of 8-10 people each

• Audience: 15-30 Wikimedia Commons community members, GLAM-Wiki volunteers and GLAM staff members

• Recording: Probably not very useful, as this will be more of a brainstorming session

Additional material[edit | edit source]

• General info about Structured Data on Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Structured_data
• Properties table for Structured Data on Commons (work in progress at the time of submitting this session): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Structured_data/Properties_table
• Etherpad from SDC modelling session in the Hackathon: https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/SDC_modelling_Wikimania2019
• Commons-related property proposal page: d:Wikidata:Property proposal/Commons