2025-08-08 –, NAIROBI (Ballroom 2) 🌐 💬
Language: English
You've heard of photowalks, now how about a smell-walk?
Smell walks are a way to record the smells in a particular area, at a particular time, by a particular person. Whilst Wikimedians are used to photowalks, this session will workshop how we can record information from a smellwalk using Wikimedia projects. I will introduce the topic, with ideas for how I think it could work, then we will do a short smell walk together - either in the venue or outside - and then we will return to the conference room and discuss whether the method works and potentially explore other ideas for the future.
Smell is one of the most deeply-rooted of human senses and for everyone with a sense of smell, is often one of the strongest and most memory-intensifying of the senses. Smells can be used to diagnose illnesses, to remind of places and experiences and can produce violent reactions. Smell is also difficult to archive, its perception can be unique to each of us, and whilst chemical component can be quantified, the subjective comparisons can be harder to record. For the Wikimedia movement, there is huge potential to record smell-related information, beyond articles on Wikipedias. Wikidata has the potential to be useful repository for smell-related data, and a 2024 property alteration means that comparison between smells (P5872) can now be made. This is great and this property is being used more to record smell-related data, but how else can we use our projects to record it?
This session uses the photowalk model, but turns it into a smell-walk - focussing on how we might use Commons to record images of distinctive smells along a route. This is very much an experimental and collaborative workshop. I hope it will bring together people interested in Commons and Wikidata, to think about how we can record the wonderful and varied odours of our world!
The session will involve a short introduction, an active smell-walk where we leave the room, followed by a workshop to add some of the results of the walk to Commons. For hybrid participants, be ready to undertake your own short smellwalk, at the same time as those present in Nairobi do so.
- How does your session relate to the event theme: Wikimania@20: Inclusivity. Impact. Sustainability?
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The Wikimedia movement is very image focused, this session supports including all the senses in our movement. This session revolves around sustainability, WMF has been supportive of its volunteers and workers' health, fostering a positive and support orientated work environment, through initiatives like flexible work engagement, well-being and mental health assistance. Therefore, this session seeks to strengthen the already existing work atmosphere and solicit for more opportunity to maintain the work force through regularized walk. This "Walk" shall be represented on the WIkidata and other Wikimedia projects, having participants moved round the conference hall environment, they shall be simulated on the "Walk" outcome.
- What is the experience level needed for the audience for your session?
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Average knowledge about Wikimedia projects or activities
- How do you plan to deliver this session? You will be asked to confirm this closer to the date in case of changes to the format.
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Hybrid, with some speakers in Nairobi and others dialing in remotely
- Should your session be selected for the program, do you agree to release your session and supporting materials on-wiki and on the eventyay platform under CC BY-SA 4.0?
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I agree
- What other themes or topics does your session fit into? Please choose from the list of tags below.
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Capacity building, Collaboration, Edit-a-thons, Storytelling
My name is Lucy and I learnt to edit Wikipedia in 2019. I routinely edit with Wikiproject Women in Red, and have now written a biography for a woman from every country in the world. I have also worked as a Wikimedian in Residence, both for the National Trust and for LEEDS 2023. From 2021 to 2023 I was on the NW Europe Grants Comittee and in 2024 I joined the Wikimedia UK Community Development Committee.
Having voluntarily aligned myself with Wikimedia Foundation as an editor, was able to create, edit upload and translate Articles to the required languages, specifically to Igbo; my mother language. I take pleasure in editing Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wiki quote, Wiki Commons, Wiki source and others. I 'm a Nigerian from Igbo Wikimedians User Group and Wikimedia User Group Nigeria. I have organized some Wiki projects and facilitated some trainings. I have presented conference papers during Wikimania and other conferences.
I wish to be in Nairobi for this year's Wikimania conference. Long live WMF !