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Introduction to Wikimedia Commons for WLA 2025 in Niger Delta

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[[Category:]]

  • Introduction
  • Goals
  • Contribution
  • Photo wishlists
  • Photo tour
  • Interactive upload session
  • Category system

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“Wikimedia Commons is a database of content that is licensed such that it can be reused outside of Wikimedia projects. Anyone can contribute materials that are in the public domain, Creative Commons-licensed or otherwise available for reuse and based on these contributions, Wikimedia Commons already has over 23.3 million media files available. You can search for items or browse through the available items by media type, subject, location, license, or author.”

http://guides.library.harvard.edu/wikipedia

  • What is Wikimedia Commons

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What is WIKIMEDIA…

Wikimedia is a global movement whose mission is to bring free educational content to the world.

Through various projects, chapters, and the support structure of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia strives to bring about a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.

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Wikimedia

a web-based encyclopedia

a dictionary

Free quote compendium

Free textbooks

Free content library

Free knowledge base

Free travel guide

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Aim of Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org

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  • … that makes available public domain and freely-licensed educational media content to all, and
  • … that acts as a common repository for the various projects of the Wikimedia Foundation.

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Wikipedia vs Commons

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Wikipedia

Wikimedia Commons

Free license

  • (CC BY-SA 3.0)
  • (many to choose)

Content Focus

Text

Media files

Items evolving

✓

(✓)

Project scope

Notability

Educational value

NPOV

✓

(✘)

Contributors

Everyone

Upload limited to registered users

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Possible contributions

Creation of media files:

  • photographs
  • diagrams
  • maps
  • Video
  • Audio
  • …

Organizing existing content

  • check license status
  • add maintenance templates
  • add categories
  • create/curate gallerie pages
  • …

Uploading free content from other sources:

  • Libraries and Archives
  • Flickr
  • Unsplash
  • Army.gov
  • …

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Uploading Photos/Files to Commons

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Adding Images or Files

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  1. Go to commons.wikimedia.org
  2. Select ‘Upload’

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Adding Images or Files

3. Select media files to share

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Adding Images or Files

4. Select ‘Continue’

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5. Select Copyright to release file

Adding Images or Files

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5. Select Copyright to release file

Adding Images or Files

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Adding Images or Files

5b. If not your own work, name the source and select the appropriate Creative Commons license or another reason why it is license-free or in the public domain

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Adding Images or Files

5c. If not your own work, and it is copyright protected, or you do not have any idea whether it is free to share, then do not upload the file

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Adding Images or Files

5d. If image was generated using AI, enter the name of the AI engine used and the prompt used in generating the image

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Adding Images or Files

6. Describe the image

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Adding Images or Files

7. Add categories (e.g Wiki Loves Africa 2025), metadata (optional), geographical info (also optional)

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8. Publish

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Photo list

https://tools.wmflabs.org/wikishootme

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requested_pictures

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:File_requests

  • Many different lists on different wikis with different structures, aims.
  • lists get updated very infrequent, same object can be on multiple lists, or has been uploaded long time ago

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Thank you for your time

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