This 10-minute presentation will explore how the migration to a Hyku-based platform enabled DigitalGeorgetown to transition out of a rigid hierarchy into a work-centered model due in large part to additional linked metadata fields on the new platform. I will discuss how we’re using certain fields to flatten the hierarchy and how facets are being used by an archivist to help enhance her searches. I will give a second example of how the linked metadata has changed things for stakeholders in one of our continuously growing collections.
Women across Africa remain underrepresented in digital knowledge spaces, including Wikimedia projects. Beyond the lack of content, communities also face gaps in structured data that make it difficult to discover, connect, and improve information about African women.
This lightning talk explores how Wikidata can serve as a practical, community-driven tool for addressing these visibility and discoverability gaps. Drawing from my experience as a Wikimedia volunteer working on initiatives focused on African women's representation, I will share how tools such as Wikidata Query Service and PetScan can help communities identify subjects, examine existing data, and uncover opportunities for further documentation.
Rather than presenting Wikidata solely as a technical platform, the session will highlight how volunteers can use linked data to transform scattered information into more connected and discoverable knowledge.
The talk will conclude with practical approaches that other communities can adopt to improve the representation of underrepresented people and regions in open knowledge.
