COVID-19 spurs innovations in Wikimedia video and virtual programming
In a show of resiliency and innovation, the global COVID-19 pandemic has spurred the Wikimedia community to employ new technologies for remote virtual collaboration. The efforts have ranged from the former Wikipedia Weekly podcast being re-energized as a video-oriented show and re-launched as a network of shows with multiple languages and participants, and a broad diversity of content, sending out live streams to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter/Periscope, special programming such as the Wikimedia New York City's COVID-19 Symposium from the chapter representing the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, to setting up a new videoconferencing system on Wikimedia servers (Wikimedia Meet) to running the first Wikimedia Remote Hackathon with an international volunteer group. The community has also utilized multiple videoconferencing platforms to hold virtual edit-a-thons, meetups and events, and a new Telegram discussion group with more than 120 participants (CROW, see below) has been established to exchange experiences and ideas.
The Francophone Wikimedia community, and other community members, have also been prolific users of the Twitch video network (fr:Wikipédia:Twitch) to demonstrate Wikipedia and Wikidata editing to a wider audience that might be more familiar with gaming and entertainment. Efforts like #1lib1ref, Wiki Loves Earth and Women in Red have all taken to the virtual and video spaces to engage new audiences.