London College of Communication is launching a Decolonising Wikipedia Network – aiming to recruit an army of staff and student 'knowledge activists' who will work to increase the visibility of under-represented artists, creatives and thinkers.
Students and staff who join the LCC Decolonising Wikipedia Network will learn to edit Wikipedia through a decolonial lens and will work with fellow knowledge activists to make Wikipedia more inclusive and diverse space, one article at a time.
In May, LCC held its first Wikipedia edit-a-thon, which resulted in nearly 100 edits of existing Wikipedia articles, including those for Chinese dancer and choreographer Yang Liping, and Nigerian sound and installation artist Emeka Ogboh.
The LCC Decolonising Wikipedia Network is facilitated by the LCC Changemakers, a group of students and alumni who are actively engaged with decolonising curriculum and knowledge production across the College and beyond.
Lucy Panesar, Progression and Attainment Project Manager at London College of Communication, and manager of LCC’s Changemakers group, said:
“Under British colonial rule, entire communities and nations suffered the loss or oppression of traditional knowledge. Even to this day, the white western elite dominates global understanding of what and how to know.
“Those colonised, their ancestors and diaspora, continue to be oppressed, marginalised and exoticised. Knowledge production systems that are intended to be democratic and inclusive, like Wikipedia, still maintain practices which can exclude and marginalise.
“The work to decolonise the curriculum is not just about reading lists but involves diversifying knowledge production itself. This allows different knowledge, and ways of knowing, to be visible and valued.
“The LCC Decolonising Wikipedia Network supports staff and students to play an active role in decolonising knowledge production and increasing the visibility and credibility of under-represented figures connected to our subject disciplines.”
The LCC Decolonising Wikipedia Network will operate on a voluntary basis, with no minimum or maximum commitment, so participants can contribute as little or as much as they like, or simply join to watch and learn.
Do you want to become a knowledge activist? Register for the LCC Decolonising Wikipedia Network.
If you have any questions, please email lccstudentchangemakers@arts.ac.uk.
