Wikipedie:Wikiexpedice/2016/Wikiexpedice Slezsko/en

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Wikiexpedition Silesia was the first Wikiexpedition to take place in the Czech territory. It was associated with Wikiexpedition Opole, because part took place in the Opole Voivodeship, Poland. The first part was supported by Wikimedia Czech Republic (WMCZ) within its Mediagrant, the second part by Wikimedia Poland.

Overview

Dates: 22. – 26. October 2016
Participants: Aktron (organiser), Juandev
Transport: by car
Regions: the districts of Opava and Bruntál (Low and High Ash Mountains), and further on Kędzierzyn-Koźle in Poland

Results

Photos: 1822
Unique usage: 523 (29 %)
Price for photo: 1.9 EUR

Gallery

Whole gallery: commons:Category:Mediagrant III:Wikiexpedice Slezsko

We take pictures of villages, so they are mainly cottages
And farms
Also family houses
Churches
Statues
We are documentarists, so also public transport
Houses
Behold! In this village have a radar
Here leads Osoblažka
Aktron chose the right time for the fall colors
Aktron's favorite vistas
Sometimes we stop in the countryside
Jesenik in the fog
Which then looks like this
Until it's thick, it could be sliced
Houses in a row, containers in a row
I have you!
Windmill
But also industrial, it is Horní Nový Dvůr
There are many villages called Horní (Upper). Horní Životice (Upper Životice) old bus stop
And a new stop
Aktron can add color and drama to his photos
Which I can do sometimes also
Sometimes we record a short video
We do not always wish
This is Damascus
Everywhere monuments of liberation
See you at Neptune
Autumn
Fire station
In wood
Here…
…the belts of the liberator’s tank are emerging
Autumn again
And blue sky
And the tastes of a recent past
And so on and so on, we go on

Report and findings

Wikiexpedition Silesia was held at the end of October 2016 in the Moravian-Silesian Region in the districts of Opava and Bruntál, i.e. the Low and High Ash Mountains, and continued across the border to Poland's Opole and Silesian Voivodeship (Wikiexpedition Opole). Participants arrived at their place in their own car – in the evening of 22^nd October wee took some photos of Opava and the whole event started on the following day. One day we always took pictures around the town (Opava, Bruntal, where we slept) driving in the circle, the next day we took pictures on the way to the next town. In preparation, we made our own maps, where we marked the villages in color on the map. Green photographed, orange not so good photograph coverage and red not photographed at all. In addition, we had a point output in the Wikidata map and made written lists of what was to be shot and actually shot on that day. These tools then helped us in identifying photos, along with online tools for determining the photographer's position by typing the address.

Photographed from morning to evening, always by agreement. After the event was modified for a while. Accommodation and transport were covered by WMCZ from Mediagrant (MG). We also used the experience we gained during a one-day photoshoot at the MG. We found that it is better to take more pictures even at the cost of longer riding. We photographed the villages either by passage or by radial scattering in different directions, returning back to the car. The period of the year was well chosen, nature played in autumn colors, only at the eastern foothill of Ash Mountains we were surprised by strong fog with poor visibility. So we shot a few villages in a heavy fog.

The villages of several kilometers of length in the mountains were problematic and the boundaries of the villages at the adjoining urban areas, where there are several villages in a row in the valley of the brook or consist of houses scattered in the mountain landscape. In such an environment it is necessary to log your location and then insert it into the EXIF of the photos in order to find out exactly where the photo was taken. It is a pity that the technique for measuring the direction of photography is not available. One would have to buy or borrow an expensive camera.

Breakfast was delaying us right at the event. For the next time, it would be good to have breakfast at the accommodation. Internet connection was also variable in accommodation facilities. You could deal with your own mobile internet. We reduced the time to get in and out of the car by keeping the same clothes – but this led to driver colds and health problems. Better have two drivers and try functional clothes.

Originally, there were also ideas that they would shoot something on the way back and forth. The driver disagreed, and it turned out justified on Sunday's journey back. We cannot count on the fact that if the journey time is four hours, it really will be four hours. There may be a number of complications on the way and most of the time there are also: fuel, oil, health break, column, detour, etc. The fact that traveling far and raising the cost of the event can be easily eliminated by increasing the number of photos. In our case, it was EUR 0.2 / km, which is the standard Mediagrant standard. Similar expeditions by others usually reach 0.67 euros.

Certainly the next time more participants, but a maximum of four per car. We tried in Poland, where we were three. In the Czech rural environment, where there are rather small and medium villages, 2 to 3 participants would be enough to take pictures of villages. Others can take pictures of something else according to their interest and needs (protected areas, larger cities, etc.). The speed of shooting does not depend only on the length of the day, but mainly on the organization of the event itself.

It is a matter of consideration for other participants to make a list of protected monuments to be found in cities and larger municipalities. The question remains whether to promote itself to the public. The main goal is to illustrate Wikipedia – to map the territory. PR is certainly doing this inside the movement to ensure the flow of new and experienced volunteers and finance. One photographer would help with PR, take pictures, put pictures on FB, write before, during and after the event on the blog. Nevertheless, in the future, we will also try PR in the region.

IT assistance would also be useful. Wikiexpedition is not only the event itself but also preparation and processing. This can be time-consuming due to the backwardness of Wikimedia Commons. Something can be speeded up by better practices, but something not. I recommend to program facilitating tools or to help prepare tools when preparing the event.

To sum up, even though we work almost professionally, there is still much to learn and improve. For example, have a list of villages as they are named on Wikipedia, better communication, or set up basic but simple rules for participants.

In media

Wikimedia Poland Blog: Polscy i czescy wikipedyści wyruszyli na wyprawę dokumentującą miejscowości Śląska (pl)
Wikimedia Czech Republic Blog: Česko-polská Wikiexpedice pořídila pro Wikipedii několik tisíc fotografií Slezska (cs)
Printed brochure Wikiexpedice 2.0
Wikimedia Foundation Blog: Czech–Polish ‘Wikiexpedition’ ends with over three thousand photos of historic Silesia (en)
Mention at the Polish conference Zlot Zimowy 2019

Shortly about the Polish part

The Polish part called Wikiekspedycja Opolska (Wikiexpedition Opole) immediately followed the Czech one and brought similar results. 1828 photos with 26 % usage and 0.15 EUR/photo. It was funded by Wikimedia Poland and a we were joint by Polish Wikimedian Travelarz. Photographed in Opole and partially Silesian Voivodeship. The event showed that the Polish countryside differs in size and structure of municipalities and there is still much to learn.

Road sign for the beginning of the village
Fellow Travelarz took pictures of railway stations that have articles on Polish Wikipedia
A typical power line pole is concrete with holes
Many houses are unplastered
The firehouse is in almost every village and is referred to as OSP
Many road signs have a yellow background
There are usually five or more chapels in one village
On the road
The villages are large and many people live there