Det här är ett gästinlägg från Sanja Šain-Strömberg, lägerdeltagare, Wikimedian och konferensdeltagare sedan några år tillbaka. Åsikter och kommentarer som nämns nedan reflekterar inte automatiskt åsikterna från Wikimedia Sverige.
After the first regional conference for Wikimedia affiliates in Northern Europe in Stockholm 2018, the second one has taken place in the second largest Estonian city of Tartu.
About 30 participants from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Norway, Russia and Sweden spent three days together in the inspiring environments of the Natural History Museum and the Estonian Student’s Society Building, discussing the present and the future of Wikimedia of Northern Europe.
Between the discussions, our organizers passionately presented their city and its important role in the development of Estonian culture. Even taking a photo for the local newspaper was an opportunity for a small history lesson about a notable Estonian whose statue we surrounded.
Separated into veteran and rookie tracks, the participants got united in debating Wikimedia goals, projects, and expectations, and setting criteria for successful projects. Since many of the participants and organizers of the Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting (WikiNEM) were meticulously taking notes, the documentation page provides a detailed account of what a small group can achieve in only one weekend.
Although the working language was English, one could also hear a mixture of Scandinavian languages, amateur Russian and beginners’ Finnish.
In the end, some left with the promise to get involved in other content projects like Wiktionary or Wikidata, others decided to share their newly acquired knowledge about various handy tools with fellow Wikimedians back home, and many got inspired for new Northern collaborations.
Hopefully we will get to see yielded results at the next WikiNEM, which is planned to take place in Norway in 2020.