Wikimedia editors from all across Europe will be convening in Malta for a Spazju Kreattiv public discussion tomorrow about documenting Maltese heritage through the collaborative encyclopaedia.

John Cummings, currently Wikimedian-in-residence at UNESCO, will be joined by speakers from Ireland, Denmark and Spain for the discussion titled Documenting Maltese Heritage through Wikipedia – added value or waste of time?

Aside from his current work with UNESCO, Cummings has also held similar roles at the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum in London, and has worked extensively with Wikimedia UK and various charity and public organisations (including Amnesty International and the Department of Culture, Media and Sports in the UK) to help them integrate their work within the Wikimedia movement.

Interest in documenting cultural work in Malta is at a critical juncture, with the country due to host the European Capital of Culture title next year.

The discussion will be chaired by the University of Toronto's Seamus Ross and other speakers include Xabier Cañas, who led a project documenting the Basque city of San Sebastian during its year as European Capital of Culture in 2016; Rebecca O’Neill, a member of Wikimedia Ireland and expert on citizen curation; and Birte Christensen Dalsgaard from the Digital Humanities Lab in Denmark.

They will be joined by a number of local cultural operators, including the project leader for Malta's new National Museum of Arts (MUŻA) Sandro Debono, the Institute for Tourism Studies' Vincent Zammit and digital media expert Velislava Hillman. 

The discussion will be held at Studio B, Spazju Kreattiv (St James Cavalier) tomorrow at 6pm. A hands-on Wikipedia editing session on the topic of art and cultural heritage in Malta will be held the following day. For more information visit www.wikimalta.org.