The federal government’s National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is hosting a series of three “Edit-A-Thons” to “improve Wikipedia entries related to gender equality.” The collaboration is part of NARA’s “Amending America” initiative celebrating the 225th anniversary of the Bill of Rights. Meredith Stewart, NARA’s Innovation Hub Director, said that the ‘Gender Equality’ theme was designed to fit with the National Conversation on Rights and Justice at the National Archives location in New York City on October 21, 2016.
When asked how “updating” a non-governmental website fits with NARA’s mission, Stewart said, “Working with the Wikipedia community helps us to increase public engagement in our records and promote the widest possible use of our records on a platform devoted to open access.” Stewart noted that in May 2011, NARA “welcomed a Wikipedian in Residence” to improve public accessibility to NARA documents and “increase the understanding between the archival and Wikipedian communities.” NARA has hosted a number of Wikipedia-related events since 2011, including 2015’s WikiConference USA. The three October events will take place in New York City, Washington D.C., and online.
Specifically regarding the effort to “improve Wikipedia entries related to gender equality,” Stewart said:
More broadly, NARA’s “Amending America” programs aim to facilitate “discussion of how our ancestors sought to create a more just society and how we do so today,” highlight “how we have amended, or attempted to amend, the Constitution in order to form a nation that more closely mirrors our ideals,” and address “the tension between individual rights and collective responsibilities, a process that began with the Bill of Rights.”
