From WLM to the official Heritage Inventory

Winner photography of the Catalan contest. Manel Pons. CC-BY-SA

Before the wikimedians asked for content to institutions, now institutions use wikimedian's content : A selection of 4,000 photographs of Wiki Loves Monuments will be gradually included to the Official Inventory of Architectural Heritage of Catalonia, after a review by its technicians.


It will also be the first time that material provided by Wikipedians becomes part of a public inventory managed by the Official Cultural Heritage Institution of the Government of Catalonia.

Delivery of the pendrive with 4,000 photos to the Director of Cultural Heritage
of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia. Amador Álvarez. CC-BY-SA

This collaboration, with the opening of the lists of monuments and technical advice from the Culture Department of our government on the one hand, and the organization of the contest by the wikimedians, has reached results difficult to achieve using traditional systems.

It is an example of new models of collaboration between government and citizens, in which new technologies and open licenses allow citizens to take an active role in creating useful content for the society and engage with the preservation of heritage and culture. GLAM institutions should start to think about doing similar projects.

At this moment, we all agree that Wiki loves monuments contest has been one of our most interesting projects ever.

Further reading: Official press release (in Catalan)