Women's History Month edit-a-thon at Figueres

Women editing Wikipedia at Museu de l'Empordà, Figueres.  (+ photos here)

WikiWomen's History Month is a wiki-coordinated program of distributed events and editathons focused on WikiProject Women's History, to be held throughout the world in celebration of International Women's Day and Women's History Month in March 2012.  This project is welcoming everyone, especially new Wikipedians and Wikipedian-wannabes looking to contribute on women in history.

In Catalonia, we joined the project, and we prepared a Wikipedia edit-a-thon in order to improve the biography of Ángeles Santos Torroella (Portbou, 1911). She is a living Catalan surrealist painter who is more than 100 year old!. This is what I call alive and kicking, and a good reason for an edit-a-thon. So, on March 24, a little but encouraged group of 8 Wikipedians coming from different cities of Catalonia attended the event. The activity took place in Figueres, the birthplace of Salvador Dalí.

Anna Capella, Museu de l'Empordà, Director

Anna Capella, Director of the Museu de l'Empordà (Empordà county Museum), generously helped us at the museum library with loads of documentation and good advises and a keynote about the artist's life. Museum professionals are a needed piece on this kind of projects, as they can give us the best existing resources about their local artists. Museum professionals expertise mixed with Wikipedia reach is the best cocktail to improve local heritage and artists.

We had some newbies, including a Grammar teacher and some art historians, who also came by and helped us. After a whole morning of typing and reading, the Wikipedia entry was 15 times bigger!!! We are now very proud of Ángeles Santos biography in Catalan. We are still working on it, and on the forthcoming weeks we will translate it to English and Spanish. Some French friends already offered themselves for translation, via Twitter. You are also invited to translate it to your own language!

Our edit-a-thon was one of the 2 European activities related to the project coordinated and leaded by the great Sarah Stierch. The other one was held in Warsaw a couple of weeks ago. Let's close the gender gap!