Wikimedian in residence project

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Are you a museum, library, heritage organisation, archive, research group, or university that wants to share its collections with a wider public?

A Wikimedian in Residence project may be the right fit for your institution, offering professional guidance and financial support to help you make your collections more accessible to a wider audience. Funded by the Friends of Wikimedia Belgium Fund, the project helps your institution learn how to use Wikimedia platforms such as Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons to document and share its collections. Wikimedia Belgium and its volunteers provide guidance throughout the project.

Your institution is free to define the content and goals of the project. For example, the project may support collection management by creating a metadata model for Wikidata, increase the visibility of your collection by uploading media to Wikimedia Commons or strengthen relationships with target audiences and experts through Wikipedia writing sessions or partnerships with colleges and universities.

Each year, the Friends of Wikimedia Belgium Fund supports two or three projects proposed by cultural or educational institutions, depending on the financial and operational resources available. Established in 2019 to support selected initiatives of Wikimedia Belgium (WMBE), the fund is recognised by the King Baudouin Foundation and operates thanks to tax-friendly donations. In 2023, two projects were completed and in 2025, three projects were launched.

Projects typically run for six months and may receive up to €10,000 in funding from the fund. They must be linked to culture or heritage, include a social or educational dimension, and align with the objectives of Wikimedia Belgium and the King Baudouin Foundation.

Interested in developing a project with the support of Wikimedia experts? We invite your institution to submit a project proposal of up to five A4 pages, including a budget proposal. Please outline who you are, what the project aims to achieve and how you plan to organise it. Send your application, or any questions, to friends@wikimedia.be. Each proposal is reviewed and approved by the Committee of the Friends of Wikimedia Belgium Fund (FVV committee).

What can be funded?

The Friends of Wikimedia Belgium Fund supports Wikimedia initiatives proposed by Belgian cultural institutions through tax-friendly donations. The King Baudouin Foundation recognised the fund on 1 December 2019. Since then, donations have been collected and tax certificates issued. Donors include individuals, companies and institutions. Without its own legal personality, the fund is part of the King Baudouin Foundation. It is managed by the Committee of the Friends of Wikimedia Belgium Fund (FVV committee), which is independent from Wikimedia Belgium.

Since 2021 Wikimedia Belgium has invited institutions to submit projects to benefit from financial support. Funding for a Wikimedian in Residence project may cover the following:

A person to train and guide staff in the use of the Wikimedia platforms and tools to document the GLAM catalogue.
Small projects with a cultural, educational, heritage and/or social purpose, typically lasting around six months
Activities linked to Wikimedia platforms and compatible with their licenses.
Other project-related costs

Although co-funding by the cultural institution is not required, it is strongly encouraged by the Friends of Wikimedia Belgium Fund and is highly valued in project proposals.

Why support these projects?

Wikimedia Belgium works to provide access to free knowledge through the Wikimedia platforms for the benefit of cultural institutions and the general public. To help make these projects possible, Wikimedia Belgium encourages donations to the Friends of Wikimedia Belgium Fund, for which tax certificates can be issued.

These projects help cultural institutions to:

make better use of limited human resources
support Wikimedia Belgium, which does not have its own staff for these projects
support work that goes beyond one-off events or edit-a-th ons
create more impact over a longer period
encourage cooperation between institutions and the Wikimedia community
support museums and heritage institutions in working with Wikimedia
make collections and catalogues better known to the public
strengthen and sustain the Wikimedia community in Belgium

What can a Wikimedian in Residence do for your institution?

A Wikimedian in Residence project takes place within a museum, library, heritage organisation, archive, research group, university, or college. One or more staff members, sometimes on a part-time basis, work on documenting a collection through Wikimedia platforms. The project may also include training and guidance for staff and the public on how to use these platforms. Such projects are typically carried out in collaboration with Wikimedia Belgium. Wikipedians may also contribute, while respecting the aims of the project.

Similar projects have been successfully implemented by many institutions around the world, including the British Library, the British Museum, the Royal Library of the Netherlands, the National Archives, the Rijksmuseum, the Palace of Versailles, the Swiss National Library, and the Smithsonian Institution Archives. These projects often focus on a specific theme that fits the mission of the organisation.

A Wikimedian in Residence project might involve documenting part of the museum's collection on Wikidata and related Wikimedia platforms, digitising archives, uploading media files to Wikimedia Commons, writing articles on Wikipedia or training staff to contribute to Wikipedia. Possible activities include:

Improving collection management:
- creating a metadata model for Wikidata:
- defining which data elements can be exported from the collection management system (based on the rights of the museum/archive/institution);
- identifying the corresponding Wikidata properties;
- building the data model;
Reviewing similar projects carried out by other museums such as meemoo, Royal Library of the Netherlands, National Archives and Rijksmuseum of the Netherlands
Preparing the collection management system for the export
Checking which items are already in Wikidata
Exporting/importing data from the collection management system to Wikidata, possibly Wikimedia Commons, and Wikipedia
Linking the three systems together
Organising and facilitating Wikipedia writing sessions
Developing a strategy together with the institution
Documenting the procedure
Communicating about the project to the outside world
Involving schools or universities when appropriate

Partners and responsibilities

Summary of responsibilities
Partner	Responsibility
Institution	Submission of the project application
	Project setup and day-to-day follow-up
	Personnel administration
	Selection of staff
	Project and financial reporting
Committee Friends of Wikimedia Belgium Fund	Approval of the project
King Baudouin Foundation	Approval of the financial reporting
King Baudouin Foundation	Payment of invoices
WMBE, institutions, third parties	General guidance
Wikimedia volunteer community	Collaboration on content

Overview

Wikimedia Belgium: initiator
Friends of Wikimedia Belgium Fund: financing
King Baudouin Foundation: administration of the project grant
Cultural institution: implementation and reporting
Wikimedia community: collaboration

Responsibilities of your institution

The institution is responsible for setting up and managing the project, including content coordination and administrative support for the Wikimedian in Residence and the staff involved. This includes contracts, personnel files, social and tax administration, workplace regulations, insurance, office space, tools and financial and operational reporting.

Prepare and submit the project application
Manage personnel administration
- Pay salaries and other personnel costs
- Handle social security, income tax and other related obligations
- Arrange insurance of the Wikimedian in Residence
Provide workspace and equipment such as meeting room, laptops, scanner,...
Monitor the day-to-day progress of the project and support the staff involved
Deliver the agreed objectives and report on the results
Provide invoices or general ledger evidence to the King Baudouin Foundation

Responsibilities Friends of Wikimedia Belgium Fund

The Friends of Wikimedia Belgium Fund provides part of the financial contribution, once the project has been approved by its committee.

Evaluate and select the projects
Determine and validate the budgets
Approve the projects

King Baudouin Foundation's responsibilities

The King Baudouin Foundation pays the invoices, after delivery and validation.

Carry out the administration
Draw up contracts between the parties
Accept donations from citizens and companies on behalf of the Friends of Wikimedia Belgium Fund
Issue tax certificates to donors (citizens and companies)
Accept the projects
Validate and pay project invoices
Publish overall financial reports

Responsibilities Wikimedia Belgium (WMBE)

Wikimedia Belgium can support the project by providing guidance on the use of Wikimedia platforms:

Initiate the project
Create fundraising campaigns using website, banners, newsletters,...
Contact cultural institutions
Provide information about project requirements
Provide advice on Wikimedia platforms (conventions, documentation, tools)
Seek technical cooperation with third parties if additional expertise is needed (eg meemoo, other museums, WMNL, WMFR, Wikipedians with experience)
Act as an intermediary with the wider Wikimedia community

The Wikimedia community

Contribute voluntarily to the project

Conditions

The project must not already be funded by the King Baudouin Foundation.
The project must comply with the content policies and conventions of the Wikimedia platforms such as but not limited to:
- Neutral Point of View : all content must be written without bias
- Verifiability: any statement that could be challenged must be supported by a reliable and published source
- No original research: editors may not introduce their own analysis, interpretation or unpublished material
- Notability: Only material of general interest should be uploaded. Information of purely local relevance, such as the holding a printed book by a particular library, should remain in the library system. By contrast, broader or independently significant collection information may be suitable for publication, such as the existence of an original pencil drawing in the collection or archives of an institution
- Project-specific conventions:
  - Wikidata: structured data, statements must be referenced; emphasis on interoperability
  - Wikimedia Commons: respect of strict licensing rules (only freely licensed or public domain media)
  - Wikisource: fidelity to original texts without editorial rewriting
The project is supported for a maximum amount of 10.000 €.
The institution is free to provide additional funding or resources.

Avoidance of conflict of interest

The regular operations of Wikimedia Belgium are not funded by the Fund. The committee of the Fund, and Wikimedia Belgium are independent entities.

Call for projects!

Send your application to friends@wikimedia.be
What do we expect?
- A document with no more than five A4 pages (preferably PDF) including:
  - what is the project?
  - why do you propose the project?
  - what cultural, educational, social results can be expected?
- Administration:
  - who is responsible?
  - where will it be organised?
  - who will provide support?
  - what resources are available?
  - planning of the project
  - budget