Brazilian scientists have a marathon editing Wikipedia entries

On the International Day of Fight for Women’s Rights, celebrated this Wednesday, March 8, the French Embassy in Brazil and the French Alliance promote, this Wednesday (8), the Desbravadoras event, focusing on women focused on for science and technology, a way of knowing and appreciating its contribution throughout history and, currently, for its important discoveries, its pioneering spirit and courage to explore new paths. From 6 pm onwards, a conversation wheel will be broadcast on YouTube by the French Alliance Brazil. The theme is Visibility x Recognition of women in science, with Marcele Oliveira, Maria Augusta Silveira Netto Nunes, Nina da Hora and Zaika dos Santos. Mediation by Katia Chalita. The events are broadcast on the main streaming platforms in French and in Portuguese. The program began in the morning with the holding of Editatona – Wikitathon, a marathon edition of entries from the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia, in partnership with the association Wiki Movimento Brasil, for the creation of new pages on Brazilian scientists. The objective is to give visibility to women in science and technology who are authors of considerable achievements and still do not have an article on the site, such as scientists Andreia Coutinho and Zelia Ludwig and mathematician Eliza Maria, the first black woman to have a doctorate in the area. in the country, some of which will be covered at the event. In an interview with Agência Brasil, the Community manager of Wiki Movimento Brasil, Érica Azellini, explained that there is no accurate survey of the number of Brazilian women with entries on Wikipedia. “What we do know is that there is a structural deficiency in the representation of women’s biographies in different areas of knowledge, compared to male peers. This is because Wikipedia, in general, reflects dominant models of knowledge representation. information entered on Wikipedia needs to be associated with a reliable and verifiable source. And by the Matilda Effect itself [que esconde as mulheres cientistas e atribui seus feitos a homens, ato descrito pela sufragista do século XIX Matilda Joslyn Gage], including, women are less mentioned in sources that we consider reliable, such as scientific articles and appearances in consolidated media vehicles, which, consequently, contributes to their invisibility in the free encyclopedia as well.” According to Azellini, the importance of thematic marathons is that they encourage a sense of community in contributions and raise awareness about topics of interest. “Although the editing work is essentially voluntary and can be done individually, Wikipedia has important community spaces and events such as editathons bring a sense of welcome and engagement very positive, especially when organized with institutions that have values ​​aligned with ours.” The manager highlighted that there is no definition on the number of new pages that should be created, since there are “hundreds of entries about women in different areas of knowledge that can be improved, translated or created from scratch. That is, even after the event we will still have a lot to work on”. According to Wiki Movimento, Wikipedia is one of the ten most accessed websites in the world and has thousands of volunteer editors, who contribute daily to the elaboration of its contents. To improve the representation of women on the site, Wiki Movimento Brasil organizes these events. Exhibition The generative art exhibition Women in Science – Looking at the Future was inaugurated today at the event. visionary spirit of women in science, bringing together artists Isabel Miranda, Brenda Freires and Likidah. There are 12 unpublished works of digital art, of the NFTS type, encrypted on web 3.0 and with print and metaverse visualization, proposed by Zaika dos Santos, scientist from data, curator and multi-artist. Zaika participated in a conversation circle with the theme “Visibility x Recognition of women in the sciences”, about the role of women in areas where men are predominant, together with Brazilian researchers and scientists from different areas: Marcele Oliveira, Maria Augusta SN Nunes, Nina da Hora and editors of Wiki Movimento Brasil, with mediation by Katia Chalita, president of the French Alliance of Rio. The chat will deal with the gap between the contributions of women in science and technology and the visibility of their work, and will evaluate the possible paths for greater inclusion, representation and appreciation of their role in these areas, in addition to combating the Matilda Effect, which refers to the prejudice in recognizing the contributions of women in research, whose work is often attributed to their male colleagues, with their studies and names often forgotten. The second season of the Mentes Pesquisadoras podcast was also launched, by the French journalist Clémentine Spiler, which discusses Portuguese and French-speaking women who have marked and still mark the history of science. The ceremony was attended by the municipal secretary of Policies and Promotion of Women in Rio de Janeiro, Joyce Trindade, and virtual participation by Brigitte Collet, ambassador of France in Brazil. The activities take place in the auditorium and on the stairs of the Aliança Francesa in Botafogo, with live transmission, starting at 6 pm, of the conversation wheel on YouTube from the Aliança Francesa Brazil. *Intern under the supervision of Akemi Nitahara

Agência Brasil