Wiki Loves Puglia, the local initiative of Wiki Loves Monuments: the largest photography contest in the world organized every year by Wikimedia Italia volunteers.

It started there thirteenth edition in Italy of Wiki Loves Puglia, local initiative of Wiki Loves MonumentsThe Apulian edition fits into the international context of Wiki Loves Monuments, the largest photography contest in the world organized every year by Wikimedia Italia volunteers, which involves professional and amateur photographers to document Italian monuments on Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia and sister projects. The photos of Wiki Loves Monuments 2024 will enrich the online encyclopedia and promote the diffusion of Italian culture in the world.

The initiative was presented this morning, at Palazzo di Città, in the presence of the Councilor for Culture Paola Romano, by the vice president of Wikimedia Italia Ferdinando Traversa, with the regional coordinator for Puglia of Wikimedia Italia Francesco Moro, the president of theKaleidos Association and regional delegate of the Italian Federation of Photographic Associations Tiziana Rizzi and the head of institutional communication of Pugliapromozione Gino Lorenzelli.

Wiki Loves Puglia, which today sees the start of its sixth edition, is organized by Wikimedia Italia together with the Kaleidos cine-photographic association of Bari, with the patronage of the Puglia Region, which this year is joined by the patronage of ANCI, ICOM Italia (International Council of Museums) and AIB (Italian Library Association).

Thanks to the contest participants and the volunteers of the collaborative projects the Apulian edition is among the most attended: some of the photographs of Wiki Loves Puglia (Polignano storm, Brindisi – Verdi Theatre – detail of the facade, All pink and A different chimney) they conquered the entire podium of the national ranking in 2020, sixth place and the FIAF award, while in 2023 two Apulian photographs obtained second and third place in the national selection for all monuments.

The protagonists of the competition this year will be the places of culture in Italy (museums, archives and libraries) whose photos will enrich the online encyclopedia and promote the diffusion of Italian culture throughout the world.

“We have reached the sixth edition of Wiki Loves Puglia, an initiative that has grown over the years as have its organizers who, I like to remember, we met by chance a few years ago in a middle school in our city, the Duse school in San Girolamo – Paola Romano made her debut -. This competition gives everyone the opportunity, both non-specialist photographers and professionals, to choose a place in our Puglia and give us their opinion. personal perspective on the beauty of our territory. This year there is an even more significant involvement of the schools because we want to accompany the students in the discovery of the art of photography. It seems to me an excellent way to enter the month of September, it is a good sign for the future”.

“This competition has grown more and more in recent years – Francesco Moro continued -. The photos of Puglia in the national competition receive notable placings and this gives us great satisfaction. Uploading photos of the monuments of Puglia to Wikipedia allows us to to make these places known to a wider audience, thanks to the visibility that platforms like Wikipedia and Wikimedia offer. Photographs uploaded to Wikipedia are often used by the Google search engine and appear among the first images viewed, thus helping to promote our cultural heritage throughout the world”.

“Wiki Loves Monuments is an international initiative involving more than 50 countries around the world. In Italy it has been organized since 2012 and this year it includes 11 local competitions – Ferdinando Traversa declared -. It is a photography contest connected to Wikipedia because enriches its photographic database with high quality images of Apulian monuments, allowing us to enhance and promote our cultural heritage, making it accessible to a global audience. The photographs, uploaded with a free license, become part of the Wikipedia photographic archive and can be freely reused, promoting the spread of knowledge and the discovery of the beauties of our territory”.

“The Italian Federation of Photographic Associations sponsors the competition at a national level, while we, as the delegation of Puglia, sponsor the Puglia edition – Tiziana Rizzi highlighted -. The Kaleidos association deals with the promotion of photographic culture in all its forms and has made its knowledge available since the first edition of Wiki Loves Puglia. FIAF will organize online workshops open to all aspiring photographers offering technical and compositional notions to improve the aesthetic quality of the photographs. The aim is not only to create aesthetically pleasing images, but also to give a documentary sense to the photography, placing the monument in a social context and creating a relationship between the people who live in the city and the monument itself. It is not just about representing the architectural lines but also about telling something through photography”.

“The Regional Tourism Agency believes and invests in photography, which has a fundamental importance in promoting the image of Puglia – Gino Lorenzetti concluded -. This is also why we are proud to support an initiative like Wiki Loves Puglia which is born from the bottom and is part of a competition in which our region has excelled at a national level in recent years. The photographs of Wiki Loves monuments have increased our collection of photographs that we suggest photographers and journalists use to represent our places”.

How to participate
The competition takes place entirely online, simultaneously all over the world, from September 1st to 30th. Participation in the competition is free. and is open to all: those who wish to participate can do so for free by uploading their photos via the web app (http://app.wikilovesmonuments.it/).

The jury will select 10 winning images for the regional competition. Automatically all images uploaded by users will also participate in the national competition and, if awarded, will represent Italy in the international ranking of the competition.

The award ceremony for Puglia will be held on December 20th at the Aula Magna of the University of Bari Aldo Moro. The traveling exhibition of the winning photographs of the competition will then begin, and will visit several cities in Puglia until 2025, starting with Bari; the exhibition from last year will instead visit Cisterino from September 14 and Sammichele di Bari in October. All other dates will be announced through the competition's social media channels.

The wikigites
During Wiki Loves Puglia, photographic walks are organised to discover the cultural and artistic heritage of the Apulian cities, in collaboration with local photography clubs or municipalities. Participation in wikigite is free and open to all those who, camera in hand, want to rediscover and document cities.

The appointments:
· September 14, morning: San Pietro Vernotico

· September 14, afternoon: Cisternino

· September 21, morning: Monte Sant'Angelo: morning wikigita, afternoon Wikipedia writing workshop (editathon).

All the updated information on the competition, the appointments and prizes will be made available on wikimedia.it/puglia and on the Facebook and Instagram pages Wiki Loves Puglia.

Wiki Loves Puglia, the local initiative of Wiki Loves Monuments: the largest photography contest in the world organized every year by Wikimedia Italia volunteers

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