The collaborative writing of its contents produces a sort of patchwork of different voices, which represents a potential for diversity. In this digital fabric, how are our voices interweaved? How does this diversity of voices influence the network of subjects represented? Can it help to develop intersectional approaches and go beyond biases inherited from a long history of writing knowledge? The presence or absence of links between articles can help identify patterns of gender bias. As observed by a 2015 study, “women on Wikipedia tend to be more linked to men than vice versa”. Wikipedia pages are linked to other pages within the platform by different types of threads: blue for the links to existing pages, and red for the pages that have either been deleted or that are yet to be created. Red links are therefore making visible something that doesn’t exist on the encyclopedia, a hole in the fabric. They can also be taken as an invitation for other users to acknowledge that information is missing and to take action. Projects like Women in Red are using this feature to publish lists of women whose names are still in red, inviting us to activate them thus turning them blue.
After the introductory presentations, we would like to invite the participants to discuss these issues and start editing Wikipedia, weaving different articles together to create unprecedented connections.