thesswiki project

A thoroughly revolutionary idea that’s going to leave a legacy in the city and put it in the global info map, the thesswiki project aims to digitalize Thessaloniki’s history and culture through its own citizens, who are asked to write articles collaboratively through Wikipedia’s openly editable model and provide links designated to guide the user to related pages with additional information.

This is a project that intertwines the digital with the physical world with educational, cultural, touristic and electronic government extensions.

Organized by the Municipality of Thessaloniki as a part of Dimitria 2015 with contribution from the Greek Wikipedia Community User Group, the project begun in April, with educational seminars and webinars, already available at thesswiki.com.

Thesswiki project will reach its climax with the organizations of Editathlon in September 26. Citizens and friends of the city from Greece and abroad will meet and write entries about Thessaloniki’s culture and history.

A huge inspiration will be drawn from the city’s museum collections, which are offering open source digital content for the realization of the project and have allowed its free distribution through WikiCommons and Wikipedia. On that day, QR code tiles will be placed in specially designated city spots, allowing users to receive date on their mobile devices through Wikipedia. Participants will be also offered guided tours in the museums.

With all that in mind, it’s clear that the project will be an exemplar form of crowdsourcing, designed to promote the citizen’s intellectual interests and to encourage cultural dialogue through collaboration and interaction, so that the Dimitria Festival can be shaped through the contribution of its very audience.

In collaboration with the Museum of Byzantine Culture

Starting point for QR codes pastings: New City Hall, 16:30