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Wikimedia:About Outreach wiki
4
1227
277138
276498
2026-07-05T23:20:48Z
~2026-38250-16
57876
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wikitext
text/x-wiki
Welcome to the '''Wikimedia Outreach-Wiki''' (often shortened to '''Outreach-Wiki''' or simply '''Outreach'''), a wiki for coordinating outreach and collaboration initiatives between Wikimedians and outside partners.
It was launched on 28 October 2009, with its first major initiative being the [[Bookshelf Project]]. There was a reorganization in 2011, with the first [[Main Page]] and a renewed [[Bookshelf]].
A [[GLAM]] portal was established in 2011 as well, and an [[Education]] portal was later active from 2019 to 2023. [[GLAM/Model projects]] also historically spawned several pages beyond GLAM such as [[Edit-a-thon]]. The project's flagship for the last several years has been the [[GLAM/Newsletter]].
[[Category:Communication]]
Tes5
62vlbk8zqizd7b3ko0seiluzzzb8iyn
277139
277138
2026-07-05T23:21:15Z
~2026-38250-16
57876
/* */
277139
wikitext
text/x-wiki
Welcome to the '''Wikimedia Outreach-Wiki''' (often shortened to '''Outreach-Wiki''' or simply '''Outreach'''), a wiki for coordinating outreach and collaboration initiatives between Wikimedians and outside partners.
It was launched on 28 October 2009, with its first major initiative being the [[Bookshelf Project]]. There was a reorganization in 2011, with the first [[Main Page]] and a renewed [[Bookshelf]].
A [[GLAM]] portal was established in 2011 as well, and an [[Education]] portal was later active from 2019 to 2023. [[GLAM/Model projects]] also historically spawned several pages beyond GLAM such as [[Edit-a-thon]]. The project's flagship for the last several years has been the [[GLAM/Newsletter]].
[[Category:Communication]]
=Test=
704 - United States of America?
Candy Crush Saga Wiki: Tasty Sugar Track Edits Currently Out Of Control (TST), Most Edits were made on 6/23, No New Episodes Will Be Released on 6/24, False?.
2:6 - 6:15, 130 days, (6:11+ to fill out).
*6:16, 6:17, 6:18, 6:19, 6:20 (?)
*6:21, 6:22, 6:23, 6:24, 6:25 (?)
*6:26 (?)
*6:27 (?)
*6:28 (?)
*6:29 (?)
*6:30 (?)
*7:1 (?)
*7:2 (7:3)
''7:4''
*202 6525, Pot with Fork and Spoon, Bags with Sunglasses.
*202 6526, Baskets, Tobacco Stuff or Socks.
*202 6527, Food Shopping like Cola Bottles, Cans, Cordial and Others.
*202 6528, Socks, Pairs of Shoes, Dressing Gowns.
*202 6529, Towels, Cubes with Things.
*202 6530, Cloths, Flowers Frisun or Soap.
*202 6531, Food Shopping like Party Pies, Waters and Others.
*202 6601, Pairs of Boots, Pillow or Podiatrist.
*202 6602, Plates or Pans, Grated Cheese or Baskets.
*202 6603, Forks, Pans and Other Kitchen Tools.
*202 6604, Cups, Cordial Jug or Strawberry Milk.
*202 6605, Food Shopping like Cans of Coca Cola, Waters, Cordials or Pile of Sauce.
*202 6606, Purses, Lu Papers or Paper Towels.
*202 6607, Candles, Statues or Pizza Boxes.
*202 6608, Cups, Blankets and Others.
*202 6609, Food Shoppibg like Cola Bottles, Sour Cream and Onion Chips or Cans.
*202 6610, Towels, Cloths, Soap or Containers.
*202 6611, Nachos, Apple N Raspberry Codrial or Stationary.
*202 6612, Basket, Electric Bed with Instructions or Paint.
*202 6613, Aerobar, Birthday Cake or Packet of Candles.
Current, 202 6614. ($#!+).
*202 6615. (Ancient Sturcturez, Ruins or Buildings).
''2026616''
45oexx5oncuqap4vtmjg29i5h4v0yqj
277140
277139
2026-07-05T23:21:30Z
~2026-38250-16
57876
277140
wikitext
text/x-wiki
Welcome to the '''Wikimedia Outreach-Wiki''' (often shortened to '''Outreach-Wiki''' or simply '''Outreach'''), a wiki for coordinating outreach and collaboration initiatives between Wikimedians and outside partners.
It was launched on 28 October 2009, with its first major initiative being the [[Bookshelf Project]]. There was a reorganization in 2011, with the first [[Main Page]] and a renewed [[Bookshelf]].
A [[GLAM]] portal was established in 2011 as well, and an [[Education]] portal was later active from 2019 to 2023. [[GLAM/Model projects]] also historically spawned several pages beyond GLAM such as [[Edit-a-thon]]. The project's flagship for the last several years has been the [[GLAM/Newsletter]].
[[Category:Communication]]
=Test=
705
Candy Crush Saga Wiki: Tasty Sugar Track Edits Currently Out Of Control (TST), Most Edits were made on 6/23, No New Episodes Will Be Released on 6/24, False?.
2:6 - 6:15, 130 days, (6:11+ to fill out).
*6:16, 6:17, 6:18, 6:19, 6:20 (?)
*6:21, 6:22, 6:23, 6:24, 6:25 (?)
*6:26 (?)
*6:27 (?)
*6:28 (?)
*6:29 (?)
*6:30 (?)
*7:1 (?)
*7:2 (7:3)
''7:4''
*202 6525, Pot with Fork and Spoon, Bags with Sunglasses.
*202 6526, Baskets, Tobacco Stuff or Socks.
*202 6527, Food Shopping like Cola Bottles, Cans, Cordial and Others.
*202 6528, Socks, Pairs of Shoes, Dressing Gowns.
*202 6529, Towels, Cubes with Things.
*202 6530, Cloths, Flowers Frisun or Soap.
*202 6531, Food Shopping like Party Pies, Waters and Others.
*202 6601, Pairs of Boots, Pillow or Podiatrist.
*202 6602, Plates or Pans, Grated Cheese or Baskets.
*202 6603, Forks, Pans and Other Kitchen Tools.
*202 6604, Cups, Cordial Jug or Strawberry Milk.
*202 6605, Food Shopping like Cans of Coca Cola, Waters, Cordials or Pile of Sauce.
*202 6606, Purses, Lu Papers or Paper Towels.
*202 6607, Candles, Statues or Pizza Boxes.
*202 6608, Cups, Blankets and Others.
*202 6609, Food Shoppibg like Cola Bottles, Sour Cream and Onion Chips or Cans.
*202 6610, Towels, Cloths, Soap or Containers.
*202 6611, Nachos, Apple N Raspberry Codrial or Stationary.
*202 6612, Basket, Electric Bed with Instructions or Paint.
*202 6613, Aerobar, Birthday Cake or Packet of Candles.
Current, 202 6614. ($#!+).
*202 6615. (Ancient Sturcturez, Ruins or Buildings).
''2026616''
g8amrx1gzoulu1vxuffou2ju27q507j
277141
277140
2026-07-05T23:21:43Z
~2026-38250-16
57876
277141
wikitext
text/x-wiki
Welcome to the '''Wikimedia Outreach-Wiki''' (often shortened to '''Outreach-Wiki''' or simply '''Outreach'''), a wiki for coordinating outreach and collaboration initiatives between Wikimedians and outside partners.
It was launched on 28 October 2009, with its first major initiative being the [[Bookshelf Project]]. There was a reorganization in 2011, with the first [[Main Page]] and a renewed [[Bookshelf]].
A [[GLAM]] portal was established in 2011 as well, and an [[Education]] portal was later active from 2019 to 2023. [[GLAM/Model projects]] also historically spawned several pages beyond GLAM such as [[Edit-a-thon]]. The project's flagship for the last several years has been the [[GLAM/Newsletter]].
[[Category:Communication]]
=Test=
705 - Video
Candy Crush Saga Wiki: Tasty Sugar Track Edits Currently Out Of Control (TST), Most Edits were made on 6/23, No New Episodes Will Be Released on 6/24, False?.
2:6 - 6:15, 130 days, (6:11+ to fill out).
*6:16, 6:17, 6:18, 6:19, 6:20 (?)
*6:21, 6:22, 6:23, 6:24, 6:25 (?)
*6:26 (?)
*6:27 (?)
*6:28 (?)
*6:29 (?)
*6:30 (?)
*7:1 (?)
*7:2 (7:3)
''7:4''
*202 6525, Pot with Fork and Spoon, Bags with Sunglasses.
*202 6526, Baskets, Tobacco Stuff or Socks.
*202 6527, Food Shopping like Cola Bottles, Cans, Cordial and Others.
*202 6528, Socks, Pairs of Shoes, Dressing Gowns.
*202 6529, Towels, Cubes with Things.
*202 6530, Cloths, Flowers Frisun or Soap.
*202 6531, Food Shopping like Party Pies, Waters and Others.
*202 6601, Pairs of Boots, Pillow or Podiatrist.
*202 6602, Plates or Pans, Grated Cheese or Baskets.
*202 6603, Forks, Pans and Other Kitchen Tools.
*202 6604, Cups, Cordial Jug or Strawberry Milk.
*202 6605, Food Shopping like Cans of Coca Cola, Waters, Cordials or Pile of Sauce.
*202 6606, Purses, Lu Papers or Paper Towels.
*202 6607, Candles, Statues or Pizza Boxes.
*202 6608, Cups, Blankets and Others.
*202 6609, Food Shoppibg like Cola Bottles, Sour Cream and Onion Chips or Cans.
*202 6610, Towels, Cloths, Soap or Containers.
*202 6611, Nachos, Apple N Raspberry Codrial or Stationary.
*202 6612, Basket, Electric Bed with Instructions or Paint.
*202 6613, Aerobar, Birthday Cake or Packet of Candles.
Current, 202 6614. ($#!+).
*202 6615. (Ancient Sturcturez, Ruins or Buildings).
''2026616''
knau32jcfj0noph7finev31o64xu8jd
277142
277141
2026-07-05T23:21:59Z
~2026-38250-16
57876
277142
wikitext
text/x-wiki
Welcome to the '''Wikimedia Outreach-Wiki''' (often shortened to '''Outreach-Wiki''' or simply '''Outreach'''), a wiki for coordinating outreach and collaboration initiatives between Wikimedians and outside partners.
It was launched on 28 October 2009, with its first major initiative being the [[Bookshelf Project]]. There was a reorganization in 2011, with the first [[Main Page]] and a renewed [[Bookshelf]].
A [[GLAM]] portal was established in 2011 as well, and an [[Education]] portal was later active from 2019 to 2023. [[GLAM/Model projects]] also historically spawned several pages beyond GLAM such as [[Edit-a-thon]]. The project's flagship for the last several years has been the [[GLAM/Newsletter]].
[[Category:Communication]]
=Test=
705 - Video Cameras
Candy Crush Saga Wiki: Tasty Sugar Track Edits Currently Out Of Control (TST), Most Edits were made on 6/23, No New Episodes Will Be Released on 6/24, False?.
2:6 - 6:15, 130 days, (6:11+ to fill out).
*6:16, 6:17, 6:18, 6:19, 6:20 (?)
*6:21, 6:22, 6:23, 6:24, 6:25 (?)
*6:26 (?)
*6:27 (?)
*6:28 (?)
*6:29 (?)
*6:30 (?)
*7:1 (?)
*7:2 (7:3)
''7:4''
*202 6525, Pot with Fork and Spoon, Bags with Sunglasses.
*202 6526, Baskets, Tobacco Stuff or Socks.
*202 6527, Food Shopping like Cola Bottles, Cans, Cordial and Others.
*202 6528, Socks, Pairs of Shoes, Dressing Gowns.
*202 6529, Towels, Cubes with Things.
*202 6530, Cloths, Flowers Frisun or Soap.
*202 6531, Food Shopping like Party Pies, Waters and Others.
*202 6601, Pairs of Boots, Pillow or Podiatrist.
*202 6602, Plates or Pans, Grated Cheese or Baskets.
*202 6603, Forks, Pans and Other Kitchen Tools.
*202 6604, Cups, Cordial Jug or Strawberry Milk.
*202 6605, Food Shopping like Cans of Coca Cola, Waters, Cordials or Pile of Sauce.
*202 6606, Purses, Lu Papers or Paper Towels.
*202 6607, Candles, Statues or Pizza Boxes.
*202 6608, Cups, Blankets and Others.
*202 6609, Food Shoppibg like Cola Bottles, Sour Cream and Onion Chips or Cans.
*202 6610, Towels, Cloths, Soap or Containers.
*202 6611, Nachos, Apple N Raspberry Codrial or Stationary.
*202 6612, Basket, Electric Bed with Instructions or Paint.
*202 6613, Aerobar, Birthday Cake or Packet of Candles.
Current, 202 6614. ($#!+).
*202 6615. (Ancient Sturcturez, Ruins or Buildings).
''2026616''
t81u1907is0arxk4vcbhbx2fkgxoj2n
277143
277142
2026-07-05T23:22:27Z
~2026-38250-16
57876
/* Test */ All done
277143
wikitext
text/x-wiki
Welcome to the '''Wikimedia Outreach-Wiki''' (often shortened to '''Outreach-Wiki''' or simply '''Outreach'''), a wiki for coordinating outreach and collaboration initiatives between Wikimedians and outside partners.
It was launched on 28 October 2009, with its first major initiative being the [[Bookshelf Project]]. There was a reorganization in 2011, with the first [[Main Page]] and a renewed [[Bookshelf]].
A [[GLAM]] portal was established in 2011 as well, and an [[Education]] portal was later active from 2019 to 2023. [[GLAM/Model projects]] also historically spawned several pages beyond GLAM such as [[Edit-a-thon]]. The project's flagship for the last several years has been the [[GLAM/Newsletter]].
[[Category:Communication]]
=Test=
705 - Video Cameras
Candy Crush Saga Wiki: Tasty Sugar Track Edits Currently Out Of Control (TST), Most Edits were made on 6/23, No New Episodes Will Be Released on 6/24, False?.
2:6 - 6:15, 130 days, (6:11+ to fill out).
*6:16, 6:17, 6:18, 6:19, 6:20 (?)
*6:21, 6:22, 6:23, 6:24, 6:25 (?)
*6:26 (?)
*6:27 (?)
*6:28 (?)
*6:29 (?)
*6:30 (?)
*7:1 (?)
*7:2 (?)
*7:3 (7:4)
''7:5''
*202 6525, Pot with Fork and Spoon, Bags with Sunglasses.
*202 6526, Baskets, Tobacco Stuff or Socks.
*202 6527, Food Shopping like Cola Bottles, Cans, Cordial and Others.
*202 6528, Socks, Pairs of Shoes, Dressing Gowns.
*202 6529, Towels, Cubes with Things.
*202 6530, Cloths, Flowers Frisun or Soap.
*202 6531, Food Shopping like Party Pies, Waters and Others.
*202 6601, Pairs of Boots, Pillow or Podiatrist.
*202 6602, Plates or Pans, Grated Cheese or Baskets.
*202 6603, Forks, Pans and Other Kitchen Tools.
*202 6604, Cups, Cordial Jug or Strawberry Milk.
*202 6605, Food Shopping like Cans of Coca Cola, Waters, Cordials or Pile of Sauce.
*202 6606, Purses, Lu Papers or Paper Towels.
*202 6607, Candles, Statues or Pizza Boxes.
*202 6608, Cups, Blankets and Others.
*202 6609, Food Shoppibg like Cola Bottles, Sour Cream and Onion Chips or Cans.
*202 6610, Towels, Cloths, Soap or Containers.
*202 6611, Nachos, Apple N Raspberry Codrial or Stationary.
*202 6612, Basket, Electric Bed with Instructions or Paint.
*202 6613, Aerobar, Birthday Cake or Packet of Candles.
Current, 202 6614. ($#!+).
*202 6615. (Ancient Sturcturez, Ruins or Buildings).
''2026616''
pf2b9eqp7tpzbfjy1w8goawq2cpbglu
277146
277143
2026-07-06T02:31:45Z
MathXplore
46133
Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/~2026-38250-16|~2026-38250-16]] ([[User talk:~2026-38250-16|talk]]) to last revision by [[User:Koavf|Koavf]]
276498
wikitext
text/x-wiki
Welcome to the '''Wikimedia Outreach-Wiki''' (often shortened to '''Outreach-Wiki''' or simply '''Outreach'''), a wiki for coordinating outreach and collaboration initiatives between Wikimedians and outside partners.
It was launched on 28 October 2009, with its first major initiative being the [[Bookshelf Project]]. There was a reorganization in 2011, with the first [[Main Page]] and a renewed [[Bookshelf]].
A [[GLAM]] portal was established in 2011 as well, and an [[Education]] portal was later active from 2019 to 2023. [[GLAM/Model projects]] also historically spawned several pages beyond GLAM such as [[Edit-a-thon]]. The project's flagship for the last several years has been the [[GLAM/Newsletter]].
[[Category:Communication]]
9j3mzpuavjefdxudb4wdeddjeuql68x
Wikimedia:Sandbox
4
2239
277135
277099
2026-07-05T18:02:34Z
Koavf
485
Protected "[[Wikimedia:Sandbox]]": The sandbox should generally be editable by anyone, but it's not a space for random nonsense. I'm hoping that this will help sort term. ([Edit=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 18:02, 12 July 2026 (UTC)) [Move=Allow only autoconfirmed users] (expires 18:02, 12 July 2026 (UTC)))
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{{Sandbox header/en}} <!-- Please leave this line alone! -->
4mce0etbkwwymu1wvbirplszszo71bq
Main Page/ha
0
58845
277152
276658
2026-07-06T09:19:50Z
Maiakwai4u
57879
277152
wikitext
text/x-wiki
<div style="background-color: whiteSmoke; padding: 20px; border-bottom-left-radius: 6px; border-bottom-right-radius: 6px; border-top-left-radius: 6px; border-top-right-radius: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">[[File:¿Qué_es_Wikipedia%3F.ogv|thumb|300px|right|"Mecece Wikipedia?" vidiyo acikin harshen Spanish tare da fassara a harsuna da dama.]]
<span style="font-weight: bold; color: #404040; font-size:60px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Bayyanawa. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; color: gray; font-size:25px;">Ta hanyar Wikimedia.</span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
font-weight: normal; color: #404040; font-size:18px; line-height: 1.3;">
Riskar aiyukan wiki na a matsayin Riskar mabanbantan ayyukan haɗin gwiwa da kungiyoyi da dama. Ta kasance Kundin matattarar kyawawan ababen koyi, kuma inda ake gudanar da ayyukan da aka nufa yinsu ga mutane, zuwa cibiyoyin al'adu, ko kuma zuwa shirye-shiryen ilimi.
Manufar mu shine mu ɗauki kuma mu taimake sabbin Wikimedians dan gina alaƙa mai ƙarfi tare da abokan hulɗar daga cibiyoyin ilimi da al'adu. Muna neman taimakon kun wurin zamar da wannan manhaja babba, mai kyau, kuma mai amfani sosai. Akwai abubuwa da dama da za'a yi.</div>
</div>
<br />
;[[Special:MyLanguage/GLAM|GLAM]]<br />
:Wannan manhaja na aiki ne tare da galleries, ɗakunan karatu, ma'adanai da gidajen tarihi dan kawo kayayyakin al'adu kan yanar gizo.<br />
;[[:m:Special:MyLanguage/Education|Karatu]]<br />
:Ƙofar Karatu ta Wikimedia na haɗa mutane dake amfani da manhajojin Wikipedia da ire-iren ta acikin karantarwa a duk faɗin duniya.<br />
{{clear}}<br>
<languages />
{{noexternallanglinks}}
[[Category:{{Text by language}}]]
4tjid2ybsy6g92bh9gqxmox4h780o7s
Translations:Main Page/1/ha
1198
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272314
2026-07-06T09:19:49Z
Maiakwai4u
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Bayyanawa.
mgz1ddgw4f065iri1k5je7cazmcebp4
GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Contents/France report
0
72757
277155
277004
2026-07-06T09:34:58Z
DMontagne en résidence
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|#1lib1ref Recap and International Archives Week|By [[User:DMontagne en résidence|DMontagne en résidence]], [[Daieuxetdailleurs|Daieuxetdailleurs]]}}
=== #1lib1ref: A record number of references in France! ===
[[File:1lib1ref PSL 2026.jpg|thumb|#1lib1ref at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris.]]
This #1lib1ref session set a new record, with more than 4,000 references added. Many institutions across France took part. A total of 130 people participated, either in teams or individually.
=== International Archives Week ===
“International Archives Week” (June 8–14, 2026), organized jointly by 16 institutions in France (departmental archives, municipal archives, national archives, and archival services in higher education), was a success:
* Contributions and introductory workshops (held internally or open to the public) brought together at least 70 contributors,
* More than 3,300 media files were uploaded to Wikimedia Commons: signatures of notable figures, postcards and old photographs, leaflets and posters, handwritten documents, and architectural plans and drawings
* 7 new articles were created on Wikipedia, over 1,000 pages were edited, and 217 references were added.
All of these efforts support the open access to archival content and the dissemination of historical heritage!
[https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/services_d'archives_en_France/Semaine_des_archives_2026_(Juin_2026)/home More informations here].
<gallery>
Photographie de Mme Cantrel.png|Photograph of Mrs. Cantrel in the album of exhibitors and subscribers at the 1867 World's Fair.
Carte postale de Sablet (vue générale).jpg|Postcard from Sablet (Vaucluse, France).
Signature de Julien Havet.jpg|Signed by Julien Havet.
Atlas général de Paris - Plan cadastral du quartier du Faubourg Saint-Germain.tif|Map of Faubourg Saint-Germain (Paris, France).
</gallery>
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
k8ururgcdhdt6dpozt1lhf5uq2ioyjz
GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Contents/UK report
0
72764
277158
277067
2026-07-06T10:07:05Z
MartinPoulter
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add image
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Ninth Good Article from Khalili partnership|By [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]]}}
=== Khalili Foundation ===
[[File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art qur 0614 fol 2b-3a.jpg|thumb|right|[[:w:en:Amanat_Khan_Shirazi#Amanat_Khan's_Quran|Amanat Khan's Quran]]]]
There are '''six new articles''' with connections to the Khalili Collections this month, and an additional '''15 million image views''' due to images on the front page of English Wikipedia.
I added a new article on the Mughal calligrapher [[:w:en:Amanat Khan Shirazi|Amanat Khan Shirazi]], mentioning his Quran manuscript that is in the Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. There were already short articles in Persian and in German, but this is much more comprehensive and was written from scratch rather than a translation. The article passed Did You Know review, and is yet to be scheduled for the front page.
[[File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art cal 0133.2.jpg|thumb|right|Calligraphic arrangement of the 99 Names of God, recently added to the Names of God in Islam article]]
The English Wikipedia article on [[:w:en:Yabu Meizan|Yabu Meizan]] passed Good Article review, becoming the ninth GA from this project. Only about half a percent of articles have the GA badge, which is awarded after a detailed review that examines neutrality, sourcing, and other criteria. Two volunteers were involved in the review process, which identified some places where sourcing could be improved and more detail could be added. After I made the requested improvements, the article passed review and was added to the showcase in the [[:w:en:Wikipedia:Good articles/Art and architecture#Artists_and_art_organizations|Art & architecture section]]. A volunteer translated a short summary of the Yabu Meizan article [[:en:fa:یابو_میزان|into Persian]].
[[:w:en:Palermo Quran|Palermo Quran]] and [[:w:en:Isfahan Quran|Isfahan Quran]] both appeared in the Did You Know? section of the English Wikipedia's home page, with images. This resulted in just under 15 million image views. The attention resulted in some translations: Palermo Quran was translated into Turkish and Spanish, while Isfahan Quran was translated into Persian and Spanish. I wrote [https://www.khalili.foundation/2026/06/12/quran-manuscripts-on-wikipedia/ a news item for the Khalili Foundation] about my improvements to several Quran-related Wikipedia articles.
[[File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage Arc.pp-0254.2.jpg|thumb|right|The Great Mosque in 1880, photographed by [[:w:simple:Muhammad Sadiq (photographer)|Muhammad Sadiq]]]]
I "translated" the Muhammad Sadiq (photographer) article [[:w:simple:Muhammad Sadiq (photographer)|into Simple English]]. This involved lots of careful re-writing, first using the [https://hemingwayapp.com/ Hemingway tool] to identify sentences that were not Simple English (nearly all of them), then re-writing, then checking again with Hemingway, then doing further passes to shorten sentences and use more simple words. This is the '''[[:w:en:Wikipedia:GLAM/Khalili#New_articles_created_relating_to_the_Khalili_Collections|104th new article]]''' created by this partnership and the second in Simple English. As well as adding Sadiq's photographs to his own article, I added them to the Simple English article about the Masjid al-Haram.
[[File:WMUK 25 15-041.jpg|thumb|right]]
Other articles where Khalili Collections images have been added (not a complete list): [[:w:en:Names of God in Islam|Names of God in Islam]] (English), [[:w:sl:Samarkandski Koran|Samarkand Kufic Quran]] (Slovene).
Martin Poulter and Waqas Ahmed attended Wikipedia's 25th birthday party in London, where Martin was presented with a Silver Jubilee award "for outstanding contribution to open knowledge", presented by Jimmy Wales.
The Commons Analytics server reports '''3,476,711 image views''' for June. This ''excludes'' the views for the two images that spent 24 hours on the front page.
=== Heading 2 ===
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Ninth Good Article from Khalili partnership|By [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]]}}
=== Khalili Foundation ===
[[File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art qur 0614 fol 2b-3a.jpg|thumb|right|[[:w:en:Amanat_Khan_Shirazi#Amanat_Khan's_Quran|Amanat Khan's Quran]]]]
There are '''six new articles''' with connections to the Khalili Collections this month, and an additional '''15 million image views''' due to images on the front page of English Wikipedia.
I added a new article on the Mughal calligrapher [[:w:en:Amanat Khan Shirazi|Amanat Khan Shirazi]], mentioning his Quran manuscript that is in the Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. There were already short articles in Persian and in German, but this is much more comprehensive and was written from scratch rather than a translation. The article passed Did You Know review, and is yet to be scheduled for the front page.
[[File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art cal 0133.2.jpg|thumb|right|Calligraphic arrangement of the 99 Names of God, recently added to the Names of God in Islam article]]
The English Wikipedia article on [[:w:en:Yabu Meizan|Yabu Meizan]] passed Good Article review, becoming the ninth GA from this project. Only about half a percent of articles have the GA badge, which is awarded after a detailed review that examines neutrality, sourcing, and other criteria. Two volunteers were involved in the review process, which identified some places where sourcing could be improved and more detail could be added. After I made the requested improvements, the article passed review and was added to the showcase in the [[:w:en:Wikipedia:Good articles/Art and architecture#Artists_and_art_organizations|Art & architecture section]]. A volunteer translated a short summary of the Yabu Meizan article [[:en:fa:یابو_میزان|into Persian]].
[[:w:en:Palermo Quran|Palermo Quran]] and [[:w:en:Isfahan Quran|Isfahan Quran]] both appeared in the Did You Know? section of the English Wikipedia's home page, with images. This resulted in just under 15 million image views. The attention resulted in some translations: Palermo Quran was translated into Turkish and Spanish, while Isfahan Quran was translated into Persian and Spanish. I wrote [https://www.khalili.foundation/2026/06/12/quran-manuscripts-on-wikipedia/ a news item for the Khalili Foundation] about my improvements to several Quran-related Wikipedia articles.
[[File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage Arc.pp-0254.2.jpg|thumb|right|The Great Mosque in 1880, photographed by [[:w:simple:Muhammad Sadiq (photographer)|Muhammad Sadiq]]]]
I "translated" the Muhammad Sadiq (photographer) article [[:w:simple:Muhammad Sadiq (photographer)|into Simple English]]. This involved lots of careful re-writing, first using the [https://hemingwayapp.com/ Hemingway tool] to identify sentences that were not Simple English (nearly all of them), then re-writing, then checking again with Hemingway, then doing further passes to shorten sentences and use more simple words. This is the '''[[:w:en:Wikipedia:GLAM/Khalili#New_articles_created_relating_to_the_Khalili_Collections|104th new article]]''' created by this partnership and the second in Simple English. As well as adding Sadiq's photographs to his own article, I added them to the Simple English article about the Masjid al-Haram.
[[File:WMUK 25 15-041.jpg|thumb|right|Martin receives the Silver Jubilee award]]
Other articles where Khalili Collections images have been added (not a complete list): [[:w:en:Names of God in Islam|Names of God in Islam]] (English), [[:w:sl:Samarkandski Koran|Samarkand Kufic Quran]] (Slovene).
Martin Poulter and Waqas Ahmed attended Wikipedia's 25th birthday party in London, where Martin was presented with a Silver Jubilee award "for outstanding contribution to open knowledge", presented by Jimmy Wales.
The Commons Analytics server reports '''3,476,711 image views''' for June. This ''excludes'' the views for the two images that spent 24 hours on the front page.
=== Heading 2 ===
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<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Ninth Good Article from Khalili partnership|By [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]]}}
=== Khalili Foundation ===
[[File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art qur 0614 fol 2b-3a.jpg|thumb|right|[[:w:en:Amanat_Khan_Shirazi#Amanat_Khan's_Quran|Amanat Khan's Quran]]]]
There are '''six new articles''' with connections to the Khalili Collections this month, and an additional '''15 million image views''' due to images on the front page of English Wikipedia.
I added a new article on the Mughal calligrapher [[:w:en:Amanat Khan Shirazi|Amanat Khan Shirazi]], mentioning his Quran manuscript that is in the Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. There were already short articles in Persian and in German, but this is much more comprehensive and was written from scratch rather than a translation. The article passed Did You Know review, and is yet to be scheduled for the front page.
[[File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art cal 0133.2.jpg|thumb|right|Calligraphic arrangement of the 99 Names of God, recently added to the Names of God in Islam article]]
The English Wikipedia article on [[:w:en:Yabu Meizan|Yabu Meizan]] passed Good Article review, becoming the ninth GA from this project. Only about half a percent of articles have the GA badge, which is awarded after a detailed review that examines neutrality, sourcing, and other criteria. Two volunteers were involved in the review process, which identified some places where sourcing could be improved and more detail could be added. After I made the requested improvements, the article passed review and was added to the showcase in the [[:w:en:Wikipedia:Good articles/Art and architecture#Artists_and_art_organizations|Art & architecture section]]. A volunteer translated a short summary of the Yabu Meizan article [[:en:fa:یابو_میزان|into Persian]].
[[:w:en:Palermo Quran|Palermo Quran]] and [[:w:en:Isfahan Quran|Isfahan Quran]] both appeared in the Did You Know? section of the English Wikipedia's home page, with images. This resulted in just under 15 million image views. The attention resulted in some translations: Palermo Quran was translated into Turkish and Spanish, while Isfahan Quran was translated into Persian and Spanish. I wrote [https://www.khalili.foundation/2026/06/12/quran-manuscripts-on-wikipedia/ a news item for the Khalili Foundation] about my improvements to several Quran-related Wikipedia articles.
[[File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage Arc.pp-0254.2.jpg|thumb|right|The Great Mosque in 1880, photographed by [[:w:simple:Muhammad Sadiq (photographer)|Muhammad Sadiq]]]]
I "translated" the Muhammad Sadiq (photographer) article [[:w:simple:Muhammad Sadiq (photographer)|into Simple English]]. This involved lots of careful re-writing, first using the [https://hemingwayapp.com/ Hemingway tool] to identify sentences that were not Simple English (nearly all of them), then re-writing, then checking again with Hemingway, then doing further passes to shorten sentences and use more simple words. This is the '''[[:w:en:Wikipedia:GLAM/Khalili#New_articles_created_relating_to_the_Khalili_Collections|104th new article]]''' created by this partnership and the second in Simple English. As well as adding Sadiq's photographs to his own article, I added them to the Simple English article about the Masjid al-Haram.
[[File:WMUK 25 15-041.jpg|thumb|right|Martin receives the Silver Jubilee award]]
Other articles where Khalili Collections images have been added (not a complete list): [[:w:en:Names of God in Islam|Names of God in Islam]] (English), [[:w:sl:Samarkandski Koran|Samarkand Kufic Quran]] (Slovene).
Martin Poulter and Waqas Ahmed attended Wikipedia's 25th birthday party in London, where Martin was presented with a Silver Jubilee award "for outstanding contribution to open knowledge", presented by Jimmy Wales. This award is for Martin's wiki career since 2011, including volunteer work, his post at the Bodleian Libraries, and present work with the Khalili Foundation.
The Commons Analytics server reports '''3,476,711 image views''' for June. This ''excludes'' the views for the two images that spent 24 hours on the front page.
=== Heading 2 ===
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<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Contents/Memory of the World report
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|New articles|By [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]]}}
''This is the twentieth monthly report of the [[:meta:UNESCO Memory of the World project|ongoing work to improve the representation of the UNESCO Memory of the World international register on Wikimedia projects]]. This is supported and fully funded by the Khalili Foundation, with the involvement of UNESCO and Wikimedia UK.''
=== New articles ===
[[File:Dīwān_Lughāt_al-Turk_(original).jpg|thumb|right|Dīwān ul-Lughat al-Turk, subject of a new article in Slovene Wikipedia]]
# Mongolian Wikipedia now has [[:mn:ЮНЕСКО-гийн Дэлхийн дурсамж хөтөлбөр|a short overview article]] of the Memory of the World programme.
# Slovene: [[:w:sl:Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk|Dīwān ul-Lughat al-Turk]]
# Afrikaans [[:w:af:Hemelskyf van Nebra|Nebra Sky Disk]]
=== View statistics ===
The Massviews tool reports '''3,222,478''' views in June on English Wikipedia pages that link to the Memory of the World International Register.
Image view statistics: the Commons Analytics server reports '''149,661,281''' views of images related to the register. Due to imperfect image tagging, this is only roughly accurate.
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|New articles|By [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]]}}
''This is the twentieth monthly report of the [[:meta:UNESCO Memory of the World project|ongoing work to improve the representation of the UNESCO Memory of the World international register on Wikimedia projects]]. This is supported and fully funded by the Khalili Foundation, with the involvement of UNESCO and Wikimedia UK.''
[[File:Dīwān_Lughāt_al-Turk_(original).jpg|thumb|right|Dīwān ul-Lughat al-Turk, subject of a new article in Slovene Wikipedia]]
=== New articles ===
# Mongolian Wikipedia now has [[:mn:ЮНЕСКО-гийн Дэлхийн дурсамж хөтөлбөр|a short overview article]] of the Memory of the World programme.
# Slovene: [[:w:sl:Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk|Dīwān ul-Lughat al-Turk]]
# Afrikaans [[:w:af:Hemelskyf van Nebra|Nebra Sky Disk]]
=== View statistics ===
The Massviews tool reports '''3,222,478''' views in June on English Wikipedia pages that link to the Memory of the World International Register.
Image view statistics: the Commons Analytics server reports '''149,661,281''' views of images related to the register. Due to imperfect image tagging, this is only roughly accurate.
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|New articles|By [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]]}}
''This is the twentieth monthly report of the [[:meta:UNESCO Memory of the World project|ongoing work to improve the representation of the UNESCO Memory of the World international register on Wikimedia projects]]. This is supported and fully funded by the Khalili Foundation, with the involvement of UNESCO and Wikimedia UK.''
I have done some work this month updating and improving the draft paper about the MoW open data set. That work is ongoing.
[[File:Dīwān_Lughāt_al-Turk_(original).jpg|thumb|right|Dīwān ul-Lughat al-Turk, subject of a new article in Slovene Wikipedia]]
=== New articles ===
# Mongolian Wikipedia now has [[:mn:ЮНЕСКО-гийн Дэлхийн дурсамж хөтөлбөр|a short overview article]] of the Memory of the World programme.
# Slovene: [[:w:sl:Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk|Dīwān ul-Lughat al-Turk]]
# Afrikaans [[:w:af:Hemelskyf van Nebra|Nebra Sky Disk]]
=== View statistics ===
The Massviews tool reports '''3,222,478''' views in June on English Wikipedia pages that link to the Memory of the World International Register.
Image view statistics: the Commons Analytics server reports '''149,661,281''' views of images related to the register. Due to imperfect image tagging, this is only roughly accurate.
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Contents/AvoinGLAM report
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery packed heights=180>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build permanent cross-border cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
9go140v4o5nisgk8gzndytmnp66luat
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=180>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build permanent cross-border cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
kv3juejze7im8c7hccypvk2p41ind0o
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build permanent cross-border cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build permanent translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build permanent translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
9jswqu19f5thq3uic4g4axsv0pdfffe
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Oulu Löyly May the Source Be With You.png|May The Source Be With You
File:Makery at Oulu Löyly.png|Makery publications
File:May the Source Be With You image.png|May the Source Be With You illustration
File:Oulu Löyly SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation.png
</gallery>
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build permanent translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Oulu Löyly May the Source Be With You.png|May The Source Be With You
File:Makery at Oulu Löyly.png|Makery publications
File:May the Source Be With You image.png|May the Source Be With You illustration
File:Oulu Löyly SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation.png
</gallery>
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:OuluLöyly.jpg|Sauna raft Kesän sauna at the Oulu Sauna Festival
</gallery>
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build permanent translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly May the Source Be With You.png|May The Source Be With You
File:Makery at Oulu Löyly.png|Makery publications
File:May the Source Be With You image.png|May the Source Be With You illustration
File:Oulu Löyly SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation.png
</gallery>
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
<gallery mode="packed" heights="250">
File:OuluLöyly.jpg|Sauna raft Kesän sauna at the Oulu Sauna Festival
</gallery>
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build permanent translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:May the Source Be With You image.png|May the Source Be With You implementation journey
File:Oulu Löyly May the Source Be With You.png|May The Source Be With You
File:Makery at Oulu Löyly.png|Makery publications
File:Oulu Löyly SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation.png
</gallery>
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
<gallery mode="packed" heights="250">
File:OuluLöyly.jpg|Sauna raft Kesän sauna at the Oulu Sauna Festival
</gallery>
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build permanent translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
sqlx7fmlnms14bnkfq7mzwni6xkt78a
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:May the Source Be With You image.png|May the Source Be With You implementation journey
File:Oulu Löyly May the Source Be With You.png|What? – So what? – Now what?
File:Makery at Oulu Löyly.png|Makery publications
File:Oulu Löyly SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation.png|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation
</gallery>
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
<gallery mode="packed" heights="250">
File:OuluLöyly.jpg|Sauna raft Kesän sauna at the Oulu Sauna Festival
</gallery>
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build permanent translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:May the Source Be With You image.png|May the Source Be With You implementation journey
File:Oulu Löyly May the Source Be With You.png|What? – So what? – Now what?
File:Makery at Oulu Löyly.png|Makery publications
File:Oulu Löyly SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation.png|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation
</gallery>
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
<gallery mode="packed" heights="300">
File:OuluLöyly.jpg|Sauna raft Kesän sauna at the Oulu Sauna Festival
</gallery>
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build permanent translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
36pt4ugpss9cxzb8vhxjgvd753d1amf
277130
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2026-07-05T17:30:37Z
Susannaanas
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277130
wikitext
text/x-wiki
<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
<gallery mode="packed" heights="300">
File:OuluLöyly.jpg|Sauna raft Kesän sauna at the Oulu Sauna Festival
</gallery>
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:May the Source Be With You image.png|May the Source Be With You implementation journey
File:Oulu Löyly May the Source Be With You.png|What? – So what? – Now what?
File:Makery at Oulu Löyly.png|Makery publications
File:Oulu Löyly SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation.png|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation
</gallery>
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build permanent translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
j4t8265evoxxtq074dmp1rvycmis9ap
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
<gallery mode="packed" heights="300">
File:OuluLöyly.jpg|Sauna raft Kesän sauna at the Oulu Sauna Festival
</gallery>
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:May the Source Be With You image.png|May the Source Be With You implementation journey
File:Oulu Löyly May the Source Be With You.png|What? – So what? – Now what?
File:Makery at Oulu Löyly.png|Makery publications
File:Oulu Löyly SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation.png|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation
</gallery>
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build sustained translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
<gallery mode="packed" heights="300">
File:OuluLöyly.jpg|Sauna raft Kesän sauna at the Oulu Sauna Festival
</gallery>
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:May the Source Be With You image.png|May the Source Be With You implementation journey
File:Oulu Löyly May the Source Be With You.png|What? – So what? – Now what?
File:Makery at Oulu Löyly.png|Makery publications
File:Oulu Löyly SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation.png|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation
File:ORLA questionnaire.png|ORLA questionnaire
</gallery>
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build sustained translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
7tz6hcf29hflzlpqki2alp4b1x2iofo
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Susannaanas
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wikitext
text/x-wiki
<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
<gallery mode="packed" heights="300">
File:OuluLöyly.jpg|Sauna raft Kesän sauna at the Oulu Sauna Festival
</gallery>
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], where more than ten temporary saunas along the Oulu River kept conversations going late into the bright summer evening.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:May the Source Be With You image.png|May the Source Be With You implementation journey
File:Oulu Löyly May the Source Be With You.png|What? – So what? – Now what?
File:Oulu Löyly SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation.png|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation
File:ORLA questionnaire.png|ORLA questionnaire
</gallery>
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build sustained translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
<gallery mode="packed" heights="300">
File:OuluLöyly.jpg|Sauna raft Kesän sauna at the Oulu Sauna Festival
</gallery>
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival] where more than ten temporary saunas lined the Oulu River alongside performances and program, such as sauna discussions in the form of '''Naked Truth dialogues''' — a Finnish-Estonian format based on the [https://www.timeoutdialogue.fi/whats-timeout-about/ Erätauko] constructive dialogue method, where the equality and informality of the sauna bench make for unusually honest conversation.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:May the Source Be With You image.png|May the Source Be With You implementation journey
File:Oulu Löyly May the Source Be With You.png|What? – So what? – Now what?
File:Oulu Löyly SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation.png|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation
File:ORLA questionnaire.png|ORLA questionnaire
</gallery>
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build sustained translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
doz8f7rempijssf3t6cdomd7mypm6nx
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
<gallery mode="packed" heights="300">
File:OuluLöyly.jpg|Sauna raft Kesän sauna at the Oulu Sauna Festival
</gallery>
=== What came out ===
==== Think & do with mind & body ====
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival] where more than ten temporary saunas lined the Oulu River. The sunny evening hosted a rich program of activities such as '''Naked Truth sauna dialogues''' — a Finnish-Estonian format based on the [https://www.timeoutdialogue.fi/whats-timeout-about/ Erätauko] constructive dialogue method brought to the equalizing environment of the sauna.
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:May the Source Be With You image.png|May the Source Be With You implementation journey
File:Oulu Löyly May the Source Be With You.png|What? – So what? – Now what?
File:Oulu Löyly SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation.png|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation
File:ORLA questionnaire.png|ORLA questionnaire
</gallery>
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build sustained translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
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<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Is the sauna still hot?|By [[User:Susannaanas|Susanna Ånäs]]}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Oulu Löyly letterhead.png
</gallery>
=== Sauna & sun ===
[[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]] was the newest iteration of open cultural heritage -related workshops AvoinGLAM has created. The work started with events organized together with Finnish heritage institutions in the series of Hack4FI – Hack Your Heritage hackathons in 2012–2018.
Covid-19 stopped the 2020 Hack4FI only a day before the launch, giving rise instead to [https://hack4openglam.okf.fi/ Hack4OpenGLAM] online hackathons in the context of the Creative Commons Global Online Summits in 2020–2021.
[[m:AI Sauna|AI Sauna]] in 2024 started the current sauna-related tradition. It gathered open knowledge advocates, Wikimedia developers, Finnish cultural heritage institutions and researchers to discuss the effect of AI on open cultural knowledge while also exploring the possibilities offered by it.
Oulu Löyly tapped again to the physical power of sauna and sun to bring people together, this time asking how the heritage of even the smallest and most vulnerable communities can survive and remain accessible in the current technological and political climate.
=== What went in ===
These themes and topics nurtured our collaborative work:
==== Culture as a global public good ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Brigitte Vézina - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Brigitte Vézina
File:Matti Hakamäki - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Matti Hakamäki
File:Sanna Marttila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Sanna Marttila
</gallery>
The underpinning policy question was how culture can be established as a foundational dimension of society. What conditions are needed to ensure that access to cultural heritage, participation in cultural life, and the benefits of knowledge remain open, inclusive, and sustainably safeguarded over time?
'''Brigitte Vézina''' ([[ccorg:|Creative Commons]]) focused her talk [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage|''Closing the gap in equitable access to heritage'']] on the barriers that prevent access to public domain heritage online — legal restrictions, paywalls, and cultural heritage laws being misused to extend copyright. She called for international policy action through UNESCO around the [https://openheritagestatement.org/ Open Heritage Statement], framing openness as a structural principle for cultural heritage governance.
'''Matti Hakamäki''' ([https://kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi/en/ Finnish Folk Music Institute]) in his presentation [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality|''The Culture Goal – From Necessity to Reality'']] on [https://culture2030goal.net/ ''Culture2030Goal''] made a complementary argument: that without a dedicated culture goal in the post-2030 UN sustainability framework, other goals on climate, poverty, and social equity cannot be fully achieved, because all of them require shifts in cultural behaviour to succeed.
These perspectives were further grounded in the discussion hosted by '''Sanna Marttila''' ([https://en.itu.dk/ IT University of Copenhagen]), that drew out practical questions of access, participation, and the responsibilities of institutions, governments, and technology companies toward culture as a public good.
==== Heritage at risk ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Mikael Hiltunen - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Mikael Hiltunen
File:Jan Ainali - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Jan Ainali
File:Renata Ávila - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Renata Ávila
</gallery>
'''Mikael Hiltunen''' ([https://hanaholmen.fi/en Hanaholmen]) in his [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Hanaholmen_Heritage|keynote]] presented the [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/hanaholmen-heritage Hanaholmen Heritage program] and [https://hanaholmen.fi/en/events/hanaholmen-heritage-conference conference], a Nordic–Baltic policy initiative on cultural heritage preparedness in the face of conflict, hybrid threats, and geopolitical disruption. He argued for recognizing cultural heritage as critical infrastructure, expanding digitisation as both a preservation and counter-disinformation tool, and establishing a shared Nordic-Baltic cloud for storing heritage materials.
The framing was extended by '''Jan Ainali''' ([https://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sweden]) in a [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Heritage_at_Risk|discussion]] connecting preparedness to open infrastructures and volunteer-driven documentation efforts such as [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/ Wiki Loves Monuments] — and raising the risk that digitization without open licensing simply creates new silos.
The pre-event conversation chaired online by '''Renata Ávila''' ([https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation]) echoed similar concerns. It explored the [https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future-5e23968b170e ''Knowledge as Critical Digital Infrastructure''] initiative by Open Knowledge Foundation and [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]], and framed open knowledge and the digital commons as essential infrastructure for democratic resilience in the context of geopolitical instability, platform dependency, and AI-related risks. The discussion is further documented by Renata in [https://blog.okfn.org/2026/06/24/open-knowledge-and-critical-infrastructure-a-nordic-conversation/ ''Open Knowledge and Critical Infrastructure: a Nordic Conversation''].
==== Sovereign governance of digital heritage ====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Connor Benedict - Oulu Löyly speaker.png|Connor Benedict
File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|Tove Ørsted, Daniel Antal, Deepesha Burse, and Connor Benedict
</gallery>
The [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Resilience|panel discussion]] hosted by '''Connor Benedict''' ([[m:Content Partnerships Hub|Content Partnerships Hub]]) on community resilience opened with examples of heritage brought into the open:
* '''Tove Ørsted''' ([https://www.aalto.fi/fi Aalto University]) introduced the university’s century of architectural measurement drawings, now digitised and used to rebuild burnt homes and churches.
* '''Daniel Antal''' ([https://reprex.nl/ Reprex] / [[m:Wikimédia Magyarország|Wikimedia Hungary]]) presented his work connecting Livonian, Udmort, and other small Finno-Ugric communities to materials held about them in Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian collections.
* '''Deepesha Burse''' ([https://www.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland]) shared her work helping a Nigerian community document election violence on a Wikibase instance.
The panel asked who decides what gets saved — often already determined without communities knowing, with materials sitting in outside institutions, described in foreign languages, and out of reach for those they concern. Visibility alone is not enough: data must be structured, usable, and governable by communities themselves.
On AI, there was broad agreement that generative systems flatten cultural nuance and put under-represented knowledge at particular risk, making community control over reuse, backed by provenance and structured data, the most promising direction on offer.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Sofie Veramme Oulu Löyly interview.png
</gallery>
'''Sofie Veramme''' ([https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl Werkplaats immaterieel erfgoed]) was interviewed for the Oulu Löyly podcast by '''Niina Holappa''' ahead of the event. Her core argument is that data about communities must come from those communities, and that people need to understand what happens to their data online — including the ability to change, opt out, or remove it. She references the [https://www.fairdata.fi/tietoa-fairdatasta/fair-periaatteet/ FAIR] and [https://www.gida-global.org/careprinciples CARE] principles as practical frameworks for this, and highlights the tension between the static nature of data and the living, changing nature of intangible heritage. The podcast will be continued and published later this year.
==== Equipping the cultural commons ====
Oulu Löyly brought together a set of initiatives around a shared vision: that open, federated infrastructure could form the foundation of a genuine cultural commons, where even small and under-resourced communities can contribute their heritage materials on equal terms. The '''Open Culture Fair''' highlighted initiatives ranging from tech to artwork demonstrations and workshops.
'''Jouni Tuominen''' ([http://helsinki.fi/ University of Helsinki]) presented the [https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/ ECHOES European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage] (ECCCH) and the [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] EU project. Together with [https://www.europeana.eu/ Europeana], the [https://www.dataspace-culturalheritage.eu/en Common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage], and the [https://eosc.eu/ European Open Science Cloud] (EOSC), ECCCH represents Europe's growing infrastructure for discovering, sharing, and collaborating around cultural heritage data — connecting heritage institutions, researchers, and communities across borders.
'''Deepesha Burse''' (Wikimedia Deutschland) presented [https://wikiba.se/ Wikibase] and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem — [https://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia], [[d:Wikidata:Main_Page|Wikidata]], and [[c:Main_Page|Wikimedia Commons]] — a globally maintained open infrastructure for linked data, images, and knowledge, freely available for anyone to build upon.
The [https://echolot-eccch.eu/ ECHOLOT] project brings these two worlds into direct connection through a federated model: institutions and communities can maintain their own interoperable knowledge bases while contributing to a shared network, without surrendering control or depending on a centralised system, and publish simultaneously to Europeana and Wikimedia platforms with provenance and rights metadata embedded.
'''Jan Ainali''' offered a live demo of [https://www.commonsdb.org/ CommonsDB] for making the rights status of materials verifiable and trustworthy as they travel across systems.
'''Johan Kylander''' presented Finland's national long-term digital preservation services at [https://csc.fi/en/ CSC — Finland's IT Center for Science]. Such infrastructure represents a further opportunity for communities: the computing capacity for sovereign, community-accessible hosting already exists, but bringing it within reach of smaller actors requires political willingness to fund it as shared public infrastructure.
Beyond the infrastructure initiatives, the Open Culture Fair also featured a rich mix of projects, workshops, and demonstrations. Connor Benedict presented the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Content Partnerships Hub|Wikimedia Content Partnerships Hub]]. '''Vertti Luostarinen''' showed [https://peacemachine.eu/ Layers in the Peace Machine], an immersive installation at Oulu City Hall using open-source AI and community memories. '''Lù Chén''' shared her work pluralising the [https://nokiadesignarchive.aalto.fi/ Nokia Design Archive] through social remembering. '''Hanna Sipos''' facilitated a workshop on the valuation of AI art. '''Ewen Chardronnet''' presented [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery's] publications on art, science, and technology. '''Andrew Paterson''' hosted the first in-person meeting of the [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] network, and Matti Hakamäki conducted a [[m:Oulu_Löyly/Documentation#Culture_Goal_2030_%E2%80%93_from_need_to_reality:_the_opportunities_and_practical_use_of_SDG_18_on_the_ground|hands-on session on Culture as Sustainable Development Goal 18]].
==== North is OK ====
Oulu Löyly brought new energy to Nordic and Baltic collaboration. It marked the launch of [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North], a new initiative bringing together open knowledge organizations from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, and Sweden to collaborate and share resources.
The event also coincided with the [[m:Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026|Wikimedia Northern Europe Meeting 2026]], and brought the participants together for a joint webinar and meetup.
To top it all off, at the opening of Oulu Löyly, Wikimedia Finland announced that Finnish Wikipedians had been honored with the [https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/state-award-for-public-information-conferred-to-seven-contributors-to-community-relevant-information State Award for Public Information]. Congratulations, Finnish Wikipedia!
<gallery mode="packed" heights="300">
File:OuluLöyly.jpg|Sauna raft Kesän sauna at the Oulu Sauna Festival
</gallery>
=== Think & do with mind & body ===
The first day of the '''Open Culture Fair''' with talks, demos and workshops concluded at the [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival] where more than ten temporary saunas lined the Oulu River. The sunny evening hosted a rich program of activities such as '''Naked Truth sauna dialogues''' — a Finnish-Estonian format based on the [https://www.timeoutdialogue.fi/whats-timeout-about/ Erätauko] constructive dialogue method brought to the equalizing environment of the sauna.
=== What came out ===
Next morning, the participants of the '''Think & Do''' organized in groups based on shared concerns about heritage at risk. Each group then worked to agree on a shared mission statement and agreed on the output.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Oral-to-Written|Oral-to-Written]] project addressed how fluent speakers of Saami and other under-resourced languages can contribute knowledge without needing to be fluent writers, surfacing language trauma, trust, and technical barriers as equally important as infrastructure.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#May the Source Be With You|May the Source Be With You]] group took up the reuse question directly, proposing transparency mechanisms — provenance, attribution, and bot identification — so that communities and institutions can trace how their openly shared materials are used, including by AI systems. Open cultural heritage depends on infrastructure that communities can actually use.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities]] project examined how small community organizations can build and sustain archives with low-cost, low-threshold tools — mapping practical “slots” of infrastructure rather than imposing institutional systems.
The [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#ORLA - Open Resource & Learning Assistant|ORLA — the Open Resource & Learning Assistant]] group created a self-assessment tool to help institutions identify their next steps toward open access. The working prototype was built using Claude.
ORLA combines the self-assessment tool with an AI-powered bot that guides users toward relevant resources and can help generate a project plan for moving from closed to open collections. The self-assessment works independently without additional services, while the bot requires an API key. Both are available on GitHub.
[[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Open Latitudes|Open Latitudes]] is an ongoing one-year transdisciplinary network exploring solar-human relations across the Nordic and Baltic region, connected to the [https://liepaja2027.lv/en/ Liepāja 2027 European Capital of Culture] program. The network brings together organizations working with local archives, community art, open knowledge, and environmental themes — including [https://www.pikene.no/ Pikene på Brøn] from Norway, [https://imagininggodzilla.fi/ Imagining Godzilla] from Finland, [https://www.makery.info/en/ Makery] from France, and a knitwear design project by Kerolaina Bula from Latvia. The case example at Oulu Löyly asked how open knowledge and heritage can be part of contemporary and hybrid arts production, with each partner exploring connections to Wikimedia platforms and Creative Commons licensing.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:May the Source Be With You image.png|May the Source Be With You implementation journey
File:Oulu Löyly May the Source Be With You.png|What? – So what? – Now what?
File:Oulu Löyly SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation.png|SPECS for Low-Tech Infra for Communities documentation
File:ORLA questionnaire.png|ORLA questionnaire
</gallery>
==== Our recommendations ====
We have pulled together a set of recommendations that are hosted in the original version of the [https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/ blog post in the Open Knowledge Finland blog]. They encapsulate what was discussed but may be refined over time to better reflect all discussions.
🛡️ Treat open knowledge as critical infrastructure
📚 Support culture and heritage in order to nurture resilient societies
🤝 Build sustained translocal cooperation
🕸️ Design federated, interoperable knowledge systems
☁️ Invest in sovereign, open cloud infrastructure
📝 Secure heritage custodians flexible reuse rights
⚖️ Strengthen culture's place in global policy
==== Documentation ====
All presentations and work is documented on the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page. It includes
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Talks|Talks]] and [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Discussions|discussions]] with links to presentations and recordings. The captions of the recordings have been proofread, so they can be watched in other languages as well.
* [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Think & Do|Think & Do projects]] with links to slides, recordings of the presentation, project pages on wiki and additional resources.
* The recordings are published on AvoinGLAM’s [https://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam YouTube channel]. Subscribe to stay updated!
* Openly licensed [[m:Oulu Löyly/Documentation#Photos|photos]] may be added to the joint Google photo album or a [[c:Category:Oulu_Löyly_photos|Wikimedia Commons category]].
* The [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Pinboard|Pinboard]] and the podcast are works-in-progress. There was not enough time to create a representative collection of works highlighting these questions on the Pinboard or interview enough people to produce the podcast series. We intend to continue work with them outside the event documentation. They will be linked from the [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Oulu Löyly/Documentation|Documentation]] page when the time is right, and the podcast videos will feature on [http://www.youtube.com/@avoinglam AvoinGLAM’s YouTube page].
=== Thank you! ===
Oulu Löyly was organized by [[m:Special:MyLanguage/AvoinGLAM|AvoinGLAM]] and [http://www.okf.fi/ Open Knowledge Finland] in partnership with [[ccorg:|Creative Commons]], [http://wikimedia.fi/ Wikimedia Finland], [http://wikimedia.ee/ Wikimedia Eesti], [http://wikimedia.se/ Wikimedia Sverige], [https://wikitongues.org/ Wikitongues], and [https://anaraskielaservi.fi/ Anarâškielâ servi].
Special shoutout to the team who made the event happen: Sophea, Juliaana, Niina, Joy, Liisi, Marja, Tea, Teemu, Tochi, Tove, and Susanna and the Oulu2026 volunteers!
[https://www.norden.org/en/nordic-council-ministers The Nordic Council of Ministers] supports the [https://www.okf.fi/ok-north/ OK North] network initiative and its partners [http://www.opendenmark.dk/ OpenDenmark], [http://www.creativecommons.no/ Creative Commons Norway], [https://okee.ee/ Open Knowledge Estonia], [https://okfn.se/ Open Knowledge Sweden] ja [https://www.creativecommons.se/ Creative Commons Sweden] from the [https://www.nkk.org/en/demos/ Demos] program.
Thank you for collaboration, [https://okfn.org/en/ Open Knowledge Foundation], [https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu-central-library-saari Oulu Central Library Saari], [https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestival/ Oulu Sauna Festival], [https://kanresta.fi/en/restaurants/cafe-tarina/ Cafe Tarina], [https://uleaborg.luckan.fi/ Luckan Uleåborg] and [https://greensoul.fi/ Green Soul Catering].
The event was made possible with support from the [[foundationsite:|Wikimedia Foundation]].
Oulu Löyly was part of the official program of [https://oulu2026.eu/en/ Oulu2026 – Cultural Capital of Europe] and the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Archives Week].
<nowiki>#</nowiki>oululoyly #oululöyly #oulu2026 #IAW2026
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<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Exhibition, International Archives Week Panel|By [[User:Medea7|Medea7]]}}
=== Exhibition ===
[[File:ARTISTIC INTELLIGENCE 25 years of Wikipedia exhibition in Bern.jpg|thumb|ARTISTIC INTELLIGENCE exhibition]]
The exhibition Artistic Intelligence at the Glaab Gallery in Berne shows three artistic approaches for deconstructing machines and turning the development into humanity.
Each artist selected a theme around intelligence production and pointed out an important aspect. <br>
'''Fake News'''<br>
The artist María Linares worked with the faces of authoritarian politicians. She prompted their faces with Bias reflecting their different appearances depending on skin and hair colour. To develop deep fakes with a tool that is based on social Bias is done within a few minutes. Boundaries are shifted and truth appears negotiable.<br>
'''Mapping the skin'''<br>
The artist Cornelia Roessler worked with the mapping of skins. The skin is the interface to the outside world. She layered different skins on top of each other. The so created pattern becomes a prototype for a fabric. The work shows how we all are vulnerable through our skin. Sharing experiences makes us stronger together.<br>
'''Social Conditions'''<br>
The work “Taking Over” by Sandra Becker reflects how robots take all our space. When recording the robot everyone jumped away – out of fear or as a perceived necessity because the robot looks like a dog. At this stage it seems sweet but considering that robots are used in the military there is a huge danger to the development of giving technology more space than humans and nature. To keep humans in the centre we need to have barriers for machines.<br>
[[File:Opening of Exhibition Artistic Intelligence.jpg|thumb|Celebrating Wikipedia 25]]
All artworks can be found on [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Artistic_Intelligence Wiki Commons].
The banana sculpture with three videos adds a surreal element to the space making the message lighter and easier to perceive. Machines cannot breathe. They do not feel emotions. Their input comes from all the knowledge that ever was created on earth in more than two thousand years. Artistic practice can shape intelligence in a way that it is serving humanity.
The project was part of the activities for celebrating 25 years of Wikipedia.
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[[File:Symbol of Justice.jpg|thumb|left|A symbol to represent justice]]
=== International Archives Week Panel ===
The recording can be watched [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IAW_Panel.webm#%7B%7Bint%3Afiledesc%7D%7D here].
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Exhibition, International Archives Week Panel|By [[User:Medea7|Medea7]]}}
=== Exhibition ===
[[File:ARTISTIC INTELLIGENCE 25 years of Wikipedia exhibition in Bern.jpg|thumb|ARTISTIC INTELLIGENCE exhibition]]
The exhibition Artistic Intelligence at the Glaab Gallery in Berne shows three artistic approaches for deconstructing machines and turning the development into humanity.
Each artist selected a theme around intelligence production and pointed out an important aspect. <br>
'''Fake News'''<br>
The artist María Linares worked with the faces of authoritarian politicians. She prompted their faces with Bias reflecting their different appearances depending on skin and hair colour. To develop deep fakes with a tool that is based on social Bias is done within a few minutes. Boundaries are shifted and truth appears negotiable.<br>
'''Mapping the skin'''<br>
The artist Cornelia Roessler worked with the mapping of skins. The skin is the interface to the outside world. She layered different skins on top of each other. The so created pattern becomes a prototype for a fabric. The work shows how we all are vulnerable through our skin. Sharing experiences makes us stronger together.<br>
'''Social Conditions'''<br>
The work “Taking Over” by Sandra Becker reflects how robots take all our space. When recording the robot everyone jumped away – out of fear or as a perceived necessity because the robot looks like a dog. At this stage it seems sweet but considering that robots are used in the military there is a huge danger to the development of giving technology more space than humans and nature. To keep humans in the centre we need to have barriers for machines.<br>
[[File:Opening of Exhibition Artistic Intelligence.jpg|thumb|Celebrating Wikipedia 25]]
All artworks can be found on [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Artistic_Intelligence Wiki Commons].
The banana sculpture with three videos adds a surreal element to the space making the message lighter. The banana unites all three positions to one sculpture. <br>
Machines cannot breathe. They do not feel emotions. Their input comes from all the knowledge that ever was created on earth in more than two thousand years. Artistic practice can shape intelligence in a way of shaping humanity.
The project was part of [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_CH/Jubilee_2026/en/Calendar the activities for celebrating 25 years of Wikipedia]. It was the beginning of the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/International_Archives_Week_2026 International Archives Week] reflecting archives that were developed by artists.
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=== International Archives Week Panel ===
[[File:Symbol of Justice.jpg|thumb|left|A symbol to represent justice]]
The theme given by the [https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/iaw2026/ International Council of Archives] was on justice in archives. From transitional justice and lived experience to community empowerment the theme is rather complex. Looking into non-sovereign contexts and focussing on shared heritage our panel presented four perspectives. At first the different definitions on justice have been presented. The second perspective showed how archiving works and what questions are coming up during the process. Explaing the way of decionmaking and reflecting underrepresented groups was leading to the next perspective of creating personal archives. Working with and in archives has knowledge suprises and a lot to discover for oneself.<br>
The recording can be watched [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IAW_Panel.webm#%7B%7Bint%3Afiledesc%7D%7D here].
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<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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== 2026-07-06 ==
<div class="mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left" lang="en">[[File:Nuvola apps important.svg|25px|alt=Warning icon]] Please stop your disruptive editing. If you continue to [[:m:en:Wikipedia:Vandalism|vandalize]] <span style="white-space:nowrap">Outreach Wiki</span>, you may be blocked from editing. </div><!-- Glow-vandalism3 @ 1783305134346.5s --><nowiki></nowiki> [[User:MathXplore|MathXplore]] ([[User talk:MathXplore|talk]]) 02:32, 6 July 2026 (UTC)
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Finnish-Swedish cooperation|By [[User:Ainali|Ainali]]}}
=== Oulu Löyly ===
[[File:Oulu Löyly Resilience panel.png|thumb|The panel on resilience.]]
Wikimedia Sverige was a partner for [[m:Oulu Löyly|Oulu Löyly]], a think and do festival in northern Finland with a theme of heritage and culture. Jan Ainali joined in on a discussion about Heritage at risk and Connor Benedict led a panel on Resilience. The [[m:CommonsDB|CommonsDB]] project was showcased on the open culture fair.
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<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Tools, tech, and Wikimania|By [[User:Conbene|Conbene]]}}
=== Hello GLAM Wiki community! ===
On 23 June, we hosted our [[meta:Event:Global GLAM call 2026-06-23|monthly Global Call]], packed with great presentations and discussions — and for the first time, with simultaneous interpretation in French, Arabic, and Swahili! 🎉
Quick reminder: you can suggest agenda topics or request interpretation (or anything else!) at any time using the forms on the [[meta:GLAM|Meta-wiki pages]].
Here's what we covered this month; watch the recording now!
* 🇫🇷 Wikimania Hackathon & Team Challenges — a preview of what's coming up in Paris later this July.
* 🏥 GLAM Tool Hospital — a brand-new community portal dedicated to maintaining the essential tools and infrastructure that keep the GLAM ecosystem running. Go take a look!
* 🕶️ VR Heritage App from Pakistan — a really cool demo showing how virtual reality is being used to bring heritage to life.
* 📊 Event Registration Tool — a handy way to track engagement and impact across Wikimedia movement activities.
=== What's next? ===
Our next [[meta:Event:Global GLAM call 2026-07-28|Global Call is set for 28 July]], right after Wikimania. If you're heading to Wikimania in person, keep an eye out for the many GLAM-related sessions — you can filter for them in the Eventyay schedule. And don't miss the Community Meetup on 23 July at 13:30 local time; hope to see you there:
https://wikimedia.eventyay.com/wm/wikimania2026/talk/B9EPAT/
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<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Tools, tech, and Wikimania|By [[User:Conbene|Conbene]]}}
=== Hello GLAM Wiki community! ===
On 23 June, we hosted our [[meta:Event:Global GLAM call 2026-06-23|monthly Global Call]], packed with great presentations and discussions — and for the first time, with simultaneous interpretation in French, Arabic, and Swahili! 🎉
'''Quick reminder:''' you can suggest agenda topics or request interpretation (or anything else!) at any time using the forms on the [[meta:GLAM|Meta-wiki pages]].
=== Here's what we covered this month; watch the recording now! ===
* 🇫🇷 '''Wikimania Hackathon & Team Challenges''' — a preview of what's coming up in Paris later this July.
* 🏥 '''GLAM Tool Hospital''' — a brand-new community portal dedicated to maintaining the essential tools and infrastructure that keep the GLAM ecosystem running. Go take a look!
* 🕶️ '''VR Heritage App from Pakistan''' — a really cool demo showing how virtual reality is being used to bring heritage to life.
* 📊 '''Event Registration Tool''' — a handy way to track engagement and impact across Wikimedia movement activities.
=== What's next? ===
Our next [[meta:Event:Global GLAM call 2026-07-28|Global Call is set for 28 July]], right after Wikimania. If you're heading to Wikimania in person, keep an eye out for the many GLAM-related sessions — you can filter for them in the Eventyay schedule. And don't miss the Community Meetup on 23 July at 13:30 local time; hope to see you there:
https://wikimedia.eventyay.com/wm/wikimania2026/talk/B9EPAT/
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
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Created page with "<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/July 2026/Header}}</noinclude> {{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|GLAM Labs Futures 2026|By [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]]}} == Wikimedia Spain at GLAM Labs Futures 2026 == [[File:GLAM Labs Futures 2026 17.jpg|thumb|250px]] Wikimedia Spain took part in [https://www.glamlabs.io/events/glam-labs-futures-26 GLAM Labs Futures 2026], an international event held on 25 and 26 June at the [https://efi.ed.ac.uk/ Edinburgh Futures Institute], which b..."
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/July 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|GLAM Labs Futures 2026|By [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]]}}
== Wikimedia Spain at GLAM Labs Futures 2026 ==
[[File:GLAM Labs Futures 2026 17.jpg|thumb|250px]]
Wikimedia Spain took part in [https://www.glamlabs.io/events/glam-labs-futures-26 GLAM Labs Futures 2026], an international event held on 25 and 26 June at the [https://efi.ed.ac.uk/ Edinburgh Futures Institute], which brought together professionals and researchers from galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) to discuss the future of innovation labs in the field of digital heritage.
Representing Wikimedia Spain were Gustavo Candela, who was part of the organising team for the event ([https://www.ua.es/ University of Alicante] and a member of the Wikimedia Spain Board of Directors), and Rubén Ojeda (project manager at Wikimedia Spain), both of whom spoke at various sessions.
The event began with a key question that shaped the course of the sessions: how can GLAM Labs remain relevant and sustainable in a context characterised by artificial intelligence, data infrastructure and resource constraints?
The event took place at a pivotal moment for initiatives of this kind, characterised by advances in artificial intelligence, the consolidation of new data infrastructures and the need to rethink the sustainability of digital cultural projects.
=== A programme featuring leading international voices ===
The programme brought together some of the leading international voices in the fields of GLAM Labs, digital research and open knowledge infrastructures, cementing the event’s status as a key forum in this field.
The keynote sessions were led by Melissa Terras ([https://www.ed.ac.uk/ University of Edinburgh]) and Tim Sherratt ([https://timsherratt.au/ historian and hacker]), two key figures in the field of digital humanities, cultural data and experimentation with digital collections.
Alongside them, the event was attended by leading international figures such as Abigail Potter ([https://www.loc.gov/ Library of Congress, USA]), Alba Irollo ([https://www.europeana.eu/en Europeana]), Katrine Hofmann ([https://www.kb.dk/en Royal Library of Denmark]), Mahendra Mahey ([https://www.tlu.ee/en University of Tallinn]), Olga Holownia ([https://netpreserve.org/ Internet Preservation Consortium]) and Sally Chambers ([https://www.dariah.eu/ DARIAH-EU] and the [https://www.bl.uk/ British Library]), amongst others, who offered different perspectives on the development of cultural laboratories in Europe and the Americas.
=== Digital Heritage Laboratories in Transition ===
[[File:GLAM Labs Futures 2026 11.jpg|thumb|250px]]
Over the course of the two days, the debate highlighted that GLAM Labs are currently undergoing a process of redefinition. These spaces, which in many cases began as experimental initiatives, have established themselves as hubs linking research, technology and cultural heritage, but now face the challenge of ensuring their long-term sustainability.
Sustainability was one of the central themes of the programme. The discussions addressed the need to explore new organisational models, funding strategies and ways of integrating the laboratories into the permanent structures of cultural institutions, thereby avoiding their dependence on temporary projects.
=== Data, artificial intelligence and cultural infrastructure ===
Another key focus of the event was the impact of data infrastructures and artificial intelligence on the cultural heritage sector.
The sessions examined how open science initiatives, European cultural heritage data hubs and technological platforms are transforming the way in which digital collections are described, linked and reused. In this context, GLAM Labs are emerging as key spaces for experimenting with these technologies and translating them into practices that are accessible to cultural institutions.
=== Open science, participation and the commons of knowledge ===
The programme also addressed the relationship between digital heritage, citizen science and the knowledge commons. Discussions centred on the importance of encouraging public participation in cultural projects, promoting open access to knowledge and strengthening communities around cultural data.
[[File:GLAM Labs Futures 2026 15.jpg|thumb|250px]]
These reflections reinforce the role of GLAM Labs as infrastructures that can contribute to more open, collaborative and sustainable models of knowledge production and reuse.
=== Learning from mistakes in innovation processes ===
Among the sessions was “Learning from failure: When Labs go wrong”, which focused on projects that failed to achieve the expected results despite their technical or conceptual soundness.
The session highlighted the value of learning from mistakes as a fundamental part of institutional innovation processes, particularly in contexts where experimentation forms part of the projects’ very design.
=== Wikimedia Spain’s involvement ===
Wikimedia Spain took part in a session dedicated to rethinking the concept of the GLAM Lab, its limitations and its opportunities in the current context.
The debate centred on a key question: when a cultural institution shares its data on Wikidata, is it returning knowledge to the public or helping to fuel new technological infrastructures based on artificial intelligence?
This reflection helped to open up a conversation about the role of free knowledge platforms within the GLAM ecosystem and the importance of ensuring that open data translates into access, re-use and the social return of knowledge.
=== An ecosystem undergoing redefinition ===
[[File:GLAM Labs Futures 2026 07.jpg|thumb|250px]]
GLAM Labs Futures 2026 showcased a well-established international community currently undergoing a period of strategic review. Digital heritage labs are no longer seen merely as spaces for technical experimentation, but as cultural infrastructures with organisational, social and political implications.
The challenge arising in this context is not only technological, but also institutional: how to sustain these spaces, how to integrate them securely into cultural structures, and how to ensure their long-term impact.
At Wikimedia Spain, we particularly value participation in this type of international gathering, which enables us to continue strengthening dialogue between communities, institutions and open projects centred on free knowledge and digital heritage.
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<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=July 2026|May 2026}}</noinclude>
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{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|GLAM Labs Futures 2026|By [[User:Rubén Ojeda (WMES)|Rubén Ojeda]]}}
== Wikimedia Spain at GLAM Labs Futures 2026 ==
[[File:GLAM Labs Futures 2026 17.jpg|thumb|250px]]
Wikimedia Spain took part in [https://www.glamlabs.io/events/glam-labs-futures-26 GLAM Labs Futures 2026], an international event held on 25 and 26 June at the [https://efi.ed.ac.uk/ Edinburgh Futures Institute], which brought together professionals and researchers from galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) to discuss the future of innovation labs in the field of digital heritage.
Representing Wikimedia Spain were Gustavo Candela, who was part of the organising team for the event ([https://www.ua.es/ University of Alicante] and a member of the Wikimedia Spain Board of Directors), and Rubén Ojeda (project manager at Wikimedia Spain), both of whom spoke at various sessions.
The event began with a key question that shaped the course of the sessions: how can GLAM Labs remain relevant and sustainable in a context characterised by artificial intelligence, data infrastructure and resource constraints?
The event took place at a pivotal moment for initiatives of this kind, characterised by advances in artificial intelligence, the consolidation of new data infrastructures and the need to rethink the sustainability of digital cultural projects.
=== A programme featuring leading international voices ===
The programme brought together some of the leading international voices in the fields of GLAM Labs, digital research and open knowledge infrastructures, cementing the event’s status as a key forum in this field.
The keynote sessions were led by Melissa Terras ([https://www.ed.ac.uk/ University of Edinburgh]) and Tim Sherratt ([https://timsherratt.au/ historian and hacker]), two key figures in the field of digital humanities, cultural data and experimentation with digital collections.
Alongside them, the event was attended by leading international figures such as Abigail Potter ([https://www.loc.gov/ Library of Congress, USA]), Alba Irollo ([https://www.europeana.eu/en Europeana]), Katrine Hofmann ([https://www.kb.dk/en Royal Library of Denmark]), Mahendra Mahey ([https://www.tlu.ee/en University of Tallinn]), Olga Holownia ([https://netpreserve.org/ Internet Preservation Consortium]) and Sally Chambers ([https://www.dariah.eu/ DARIAH-EU] and the [https://www.bl.uk/ British Library]), amongst others, who offered different perspectives on the development of cultural laboratories in Europe and the Americas.
=== Digital Heritage Laboratories in Transition ===
[[File:GLAM Labs Futures 2026 11.jpg|thumb|250px]]
Over the course of the two days, the debate highlighted that GLAM Labs are currently undergoing a process of redefinition. These spaces, which in many cases began as experimental initiatives, have established themselves as hubs linking research, technology and cultural heritage, but now face the challenge of ensuring their long-term sustainability.
Sustainability was one of the central themes of the programme. The discussions addressed the need to explore new organisational models, funding strategies and ways of integrating the laboratories into the permanent structures of cultural institutions, thereby avoiding their dependence on temporary projects.
=== Data, artificial intelligence and cultural infrastructure ===
Another key focus of the event was the impact of data infrastructures and artificial intelligence on the cultural heritage sector.
The sessions examined how open science initiatives, European cultural heritage data hubs and technological platforms are transforming the way in which digital collections are described, linked and reused. In this context, GLAM Labs are emerging as key spaces for experimenting with these technologies and translating them into practices that are accessible to cultural institutions.
=== Open science, participation and the commons of knowledge ===
The programme also addressed the relationship between digital heritage, citizen science and the knowledge commons. Discussions centred on the importance of encouraging public participation in cultural projects, promoting open access to knowledge and strengthening communities around cultural data.
[[File:GLAM Labs Futures 2026 15.jpg|thumb|250px]]
These reflections reinforce the role of GLAM Labs as infrastructures that can contribute to more open, collaborative and sustainable models of knowledge production and reuse.
=== Learning from mistakes in innovation processes ===
Among the sessions was “Learning from failure: When Labs go wrong”, which focused on projects that failed to achieve the expected results despite their technical or conceptual soundness.
The session highlighted the value of learning from mistakes as a fundamental part of institutional innovation processes, particularly in contexts where experimentation forms part of the projects’ very design.
=== Wikimedia Spain’s involvement ===
Wikimedia Spain took part in a session dedicated to rethinking the concept of the GLAM Lab, its limitations and its opportunities in the current context.
The debate centred on a key question: when a cultural institution shares its data on Wikidata, is it returning knowledge to the public or helping to fuel new technological infrastructures based on artificial intelligence?
This reflection helped to open up a conversation about the role of free knowledge platforms within the GLAM ecosystem and the importance of ensuring that open data translates into access, re-use and the social return of knowledge.
=== An ecosystem undergoing redefinition ===
[[File:GLAM Labs Futures 2026 07.jpg|thumb|250px]]
GLAM Labs Futures 2026 showcased a well-established international community currently undergoing a period of strategic review. Digital heritage labs are no longer seen merely as spaces for technical experimentation, but as cultural infrastructures with organisational, social and political implications.
The challenge arising in this context is not only technological, but also institutional: how to sustain these spaces, how to integrate them securely into cultural structures, and how to ensure their long-term impact.
At Wikimedia Spain, we particularly value participation in this type of international gathering, which enables us to continue strengthening dialogue between communities, institutions and open projects centred on free knowledge and digital heritage.
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026|May 2026}}</noinclude>
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GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Contents/Mexico report
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2026-07-06T11:02:04Z
Beat Estermann
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<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Open GLAM in Puebla|By [[User:Beat Estermann|Beat Estermann] & [[User:SandyEleJaguar|Sandra Palacios]}}
From June 10 to 12, the second edition of the [http://www.hackatonarpa.com '''Hackatón BAM BUAP'''] (Libraries, Archives, and Museums Hackathon) took place at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Mexico. The event was organised by the [https://arpa.buap.mx/ Faculty of Visual and Audiovisual Arts (ARPA)] and the [https://bibliotecas.buap.mx/ General Directorate of Libraries (DGB)] at the Central University Library, with the financial support from [https://wikimedia.ch/en/ Wikimedia CH].
=== Strengthening the Open GLAM Programme at BUAP ===
The opening night on June 10 was used to get the participants acquainted with the core ideas behind [https://openglam.org/principles/ Open GLAM] and the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_Collective_Memories/Cultural_Hackathons hackathon methodology]. Beat Estermann and Sandra Palacios presented the plan on [https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/promocion-y-transformacion-digital-del-patrimonio-cultural-con-open-bam-en-puebla/288014154 how to strengthen the Open GLAM Programme at BUAP]: The existing two pillars of the Open GLAM Programme, the annual hackathon and the CultureFLOW method are to be complemented by a WikiClub and by an Open GLAM Competence Network: While the WikiClub is oriented towards encouraging university-wide contributions to Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata, the Open GLAM Competence Network is intended as a community of practice among local heritage institutions and service providers, offering mutual assistance to local institutions in adopting and implementing open data and open access policies. These four pillars will be complemented by a [[:meta:Wiki_Loves_Collective_Memories|Wiki Loves Collective Memories]] campaign to channel the outreach efforts and sharing of know-how both on an international and on a national level.
=== Outreach Among Heritage Institutions Around the World ===
In the run-up of this year’s hackathon, heritage institutions with Mexico-related holdings in a variety of countries were invited to provide data and to submit a hackathon challenge. Two institutions decided to give it a go:
: '''[[:en:Rietberg_Museum|Museum Rietberg]]''' (City of Zurich) uploaded high-resolution photographs of 681 pre-Columbian artifacts from the [[:Commons:Category:Anne-Marie_und_Caspar_Reinhart_Collection_at_Museum_Rietberg,_Zürich|Anne-Marie und Caspar Reinhart Collection]], while publishing their metadata on Wikidata, thus providing a nice showcase for data publication that can serve as an example to other ethnographic museums in the future.
: The '''[[:en:Nationaal_Museum_van_Wereldculturen|Wereldmuseum]]''' (Dutch National Museum of World Cultures) pointed the hackathon participants to an interesting textile collection with valuable items of traditional handicraft in the Sierra Norte de Puebla and neighbouring Oaxaca, some of them representative of rare pre-Columbian techniques.
Apart from these very specific suggestions, the hackathon participants were pointed to the online catalogues of approx. 40 heritage institutions with Mexico-related holdings in Europe and the Americas that make content available under free copyright licenses or at least grant open access to their collection catalogues. The Wikidata-based [[:meta:Wiki_Loves_Collective_Memories/Monitoring#International_Monitoring_of_Heritage_Institutions|monitoring of institutions]], initiated at the occasion of this year’s hackathon, will serve as a basis for further outreach efforts to heritage institutions around the world. The goal is to promote open access to collections with a focus on ethical sharing, especially among institutions whose holdings are international in scope and therefore of special value to a variety of communities around the world.
== Highlights from this Year’s Hackathon Projects ==
During the two hackathon days, the xx participants, mostly from computational and artistic backgrounds, worked in 12 groups on an interesting kaleidoscope of projects, covering the following aspects:
* '''Exploring the Large Diaspora of Mexican Cultural Artifacts'''
: Four teams worked on the development of '''online applications for the exploration of Mexico-related heritage artifacts''' in collections around the world: '''Amatohtli''' (the term signifies “map” in Nahuatl) is an app presenting a collection from various perspectives, including games. The team managed to develop a fully-fledged prototype running on real data from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (visit [https://amatohtli-frontend-opal.vercel.app/ this link] and click on “Colección” to start exploring the 681 objects in the Anne-Marie und Caspar-Reinhart Collection). Three other teams proposed interesting extensions or variations on the same theme.
: Another team elaborated a concept for the implementation of an '''expert sourcing campaign''' to enhance and complement the catalogue entries of approx. 200 items from the '''textile collection gathered by Irmgard Weitlaner and Bodil Christensen''' during their travels in Mexico in the 20th century. Several domain experts have been located. The team is currently in contact with the Wereldmuseum to coordinate the upload of the images to Wikimedia Commons in preparation of the campaign. In addition to complementing the object metadata, the domain experts will be invited to contribute their know-how to improve related Wikipedia articles.
: And finally, one team tackled the challenge entitled '''“Through the Eyes of Strangers”''', which takes the short biographies of several anthropologists / ethnologists who visited Mexico during the 19th and 20th century as a starting point to study their attitudes and perspectives on the people and cultures which they encountered. As has been observed by various hackathon participants, the differences in character, attitude, and methodological approaches among the “visitors” from abroad are striking. The idea is to present an artistic treatment of the different portraits in the context of an application showing the itineraries and places visited, alongside the objects and/or information collected.
* '''A Wiki Club to Help Fill the Contributor Gap'''
: The initial members of the Wiki Club used the hackathon to get organised and to [[:meta:User:Beat_Estermann/Wiki_Club_BUAP|plan their activities]] throughout the rest of the year. A series of activities were listed that new contributors could engage in. One of them, the completion of Wikidata entries about Mexican museums based on the official database of the Ministry of Culture, was tackled by another project team whose members got acquainted with Wikidata and [[:wikidata:Wikidata:Tools/OpenRefine|OpenRefine]] in order to be able to conduct mass data ingests. A possible starting point for contributions to Wikipedia are the above-mentioned biographies about anthropologists and archaeologists who visited Mexico and left their traces in various heritage collections. A first example is the newly created article about the Austrian-Dutch physician and amateur archaeologist [[:en:Hans_Feriz|Hans Feriz]].
: One of the key goals of the Wiki Club is to recruit new active contributors from Mexico in order to help fill the contributor gap. Currently, in comparison to the speakers of other major European languages, speakers of Spanish and Portuguese are among the least likely to contribute to Wikipedia (Spanish Wikipedia only has 7.5 active editors per million speakers, compared to 26 for English, 40 for German, 17.5 for French, or 10 for Russian). Furthermore, among the Spanish speakers, Mexicans are among the least likely to contribute to Wikipedia (Mexico only counts 5 active contributors per million inhabitants, compared to 45 for Spain, 17 for Argentina, 7 for Colombia, or 13 per million speakers of Spanish worldwide)<ref>Sources: https://stats.wikimedia.org/; https://www.berlitz.com/blog/most-spoken-languages-world; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_where_Spanish_is_an_official_language. The Wikipedia Statistics are for May 2026. Note that there are important discrepancies in the official Wikipedia Statistics between the total number of active editors of Spanish Wikipedia (4200 editors with at least 5 edits per month) and the number of active editors of Spanish Wikipedia per country (totalling 6830 editors with at least 5 edits per month).</ref>.
* '''Chatty Mascots and Relatable Organisational Identities to Capture the Attention of Gen Z'''
: The [[:es:Archivo_Histórico_Universitario_(Benemérita_Universidad_Autónoma_de_Puebla)|Historical Archive]] of the [[:en:Meritorious_Autonomous_University_of_Puebla|Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP)]], which was founded in 1587 as [http://:es:Colegio_del_Espíritu_Santo Colegio del Espíritu Santo] and thus ranks among the [[:es:Anexo:Universidades_y_colegios_virreinales_en_Hispanoamérica|oldest institutions of higher education in the Americas]], is looking for a brand mascot that is appealing to the younger generations and can be used across a variety of online offers and communication campaigns to raise awareness about the archive’s holdings. Two hackathon teams responded to the challenge, proposing the mascots “MUMUR” (a savant-looking elf) and “MINO” (alluding to the Roman goddess Minerva, featured in the university’s coat of arms) respectively. The latter team also reflected on how the character could be used in the context of a chatbot, which would translate the information contained in a knowledge base in order to engage younger users in a colloquial interaction about topics related to the university’s history.
: A third visual identity, a ''Calaverita'' (a Día de Muertos style skeleton) travelling the world in the search of Mexico-related heritage holdings, was proposed by the project team “Umbrales” – it may be used in connection with one of the apps featuring Mexico-related artifacts from heritage holdings in other countries or as the mascot of the [[:meta:Wiki Loves Collective Memories|Wiki Loves Collective Memories]] campaign in Mexico.
''The video recordings of the final project presentations can be found at: ...''
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
mf28xzlzfapcort0o1x0npvpcwmn4he
277163
277162
2026-07-06T11:05:26Z
Beat Estermann
1772
277163
wikitext
text/x-wiki
<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Open GLAM in Puebla|By [[User:Beat Estermann|Beat Estermann] & [[User:SandyEleJaguar|Sandra Palacios]}}
From June 10 to 12, the second edition of the [http://www.hackatonarpa.com '''Hackatón BAM BUAP'''] (Libraries, Archives, and Museums Hackathon) took place at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Mexico. The event was organised by the [https://arpa.buap.mx/ Faculty of Visual and Audiovisual Arts (ARPA)] and the [https://bibliotecas.buap.mx/ General Directorate of Libraries (DGB)] at the Central University Library, with the financial support from [https://wikimedia.ch/en/ Wikimedia CH].
=== Strengthening the Open GLAM Programme at BUAP ===
The opening night on June 10 was used to get the participants acquainted with the core ideas behind [https://openglam.org/principles/ Open GLAM] and the [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_Collective_Memories/Cultural_Hackathons hackathon methodology]. Beat Estermann and Sandra Palacios presented the plan on [https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/promocion-y-transformacion-digital-del-patrimonio-cultural-con-open-bam-en-puebla/288014154 how to strengthen the Open GLAM Programme at BUAP]: The existing two pillars of the Open GLAM Programme, the annual hackathon and the CultureFLOW method are to be complemented by a WikiClub and by an Open GLAM Competence Network: While the WikiClub is oriented towards encouraging university-wide contributions to Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata, the Open GLAM Competence Network is intended as a community of practice among local heritage institutions and service providers, offering mutual assistance to local institutions in adopting and implementing open data and open access policies. These four pillars will be complemented by a [[:meta:Wiki_Loves_Collective_Memories|Wiki Loves Collective Memories]] campaign to channel the outreach efforts and sharing of know-how both on an international and on a national level.
=== Outreach Among Heritage Institutions Around the World ===
In the run-up of this year’s hackathon, heritage institutions with Mexico-related holdings in a variety of countries were invited to provide data and to submit a hackathon challenge. Two institutions decided to give it a go:
: '''[[:en:Rietberg_Museum|Museum Rietberg]]''' (City of Zurich) uploaded high-resolution photographs of 681 pre-Columbian artifacts from the [[:Commons:Category:Anne-Marie_und_Caspar_Reinhart_Collection_at_Museum_Rietberg,_Zürich|Anne-Marie und Caspar Reinhart Collection]], while publishing their metadata on Wikidata, thus providing a nice showcase for data publication that can serve as an example to other ethnographic museums in the future.
: The '''[[:en:Nationaal_Museum_van_Wereldculturen|Wereldmuseum]]''' (Dutch National Museum of World Cultures) pointed the hackathon participants to an interesting textile collection with valuable items of traditional handicraft in the Sierra Norte de Puebla and neighbouring Oaxaca, some of them representative of rare pre-Columbian techniques.
Apart from these very specific suggestions, the hackathon participants were pointed to the online catalogues of approx. 40 heritage institutions with Mexico-related holdings in Europe and the Americas that make content available under free copyright licenses or at least grant open access to their collection catalogues. The Wikidata-based [[:meta:Wiki_Loves_Collective_Memories/Monitoring#International_Monitoring_of_Heritage_Institutions|monitoring of institutions]], initiated at the occasion of this year’s hackathon, will serve as a basis for further outreach efforts to heritage institutions around the world. The goal is to promote open access to collections with a focus on ethical sharing, especially among institutions whose holdings are international in scope and therefore of special value to a variety of communities around the world.
=== Highlights from this Year’s Hackathon Projects ===
During the two hackathon days, the xx participants, mostly from computational and artistic backgrounds, worked in 12 groups on an interesting kaleidoscope of projects, covering the following aspects:
* '''Exploring the Large Diaspora of Mexican Cultural Artifacts'''
: Four teams worked on the development of '''online applications for the exploration of Mexico-related heritage artifacts''' in collections around the world: '''Amatohtli''' (the term signifies “map” in Nahuatl) is an app presenting a collection from various perspectives, including games. The team managed to develop a fully-fledged prototype running on real data from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (visit [https://amatohtli-frontend-opal.vercel.app/ this link] and click on “Colección” to start exploring the 681 objects in the Anne-Marie und Caspar-Reinhart Collection). Three other teams proposed interesting extensions or variations on the same theme.
: Another team elaborated a concept for the implementation of an '''expert sourcing campaign''' to enhance and complement the catalogue entries of approx. 200 items from the '''textile collection gathered by Irmgard Weitlaner and Bodil Christensen''' during their travels in Mexico in the 20th century. Several domain experts have been located. The team is currently in contact with the Wereldmuseum to coordinate the upload of the images to Wikimedia Commons in preparation of the campaign. In addition to complementing the object metadata, the domain experts will be invited to contribute their know-how to improve related Wikipedia articles.
: And finally, one team tackled the challenge entitled '''“Through the Eyes of Strangers”''', which takes the short biographies of several anthropologists / ethnologists who visited Mexico during the 19th and 20th century as a starting point to study their attitudes and perspectives on the people and cultures which they encountered. As has been observed by various hackathon participants, the differences in character, attitude, and methodological approaches among the “visitors” from abroad are striking. The idea is to present an artistic treatment of the different portraits in the context of an application showing the itineraries and places visited, alongside the objects and/or information collected.
* '''A Wiki Club to Help Fill the Contributor Gap'''
: The initial members of the Wiki Club used the hackathon to get organised and to [[:meta:User:Beat_Estermann/Wiki_Club_BUAP|plan their activities]] throughout the rest of the year. A series of activities were listed that new contributors could engage in. One of them, the completion of Wikidata entries about Mexican museums based on the official database of the Ministry of Culture, was tackled by another project team whose members got acquainted with Wikidata and [[:wikidata:Wikidata:Tools/OpenRefine|OpenRefine]] in order to be able to conduct mass data ingests. A possible starting point for contributions to Wikipedia are the above-mentioned biographies about anthropologists and archaeologists who visited Mexico and left their traces in various heritage collections. A first example is the newly created article about the Austrian-Dutch physician and amateur archaeologist [[:en:Hans_Feriz|Hans Feriz]].
: One of the key goals of the Wiki Club is to recruit new active contributors from Mexico in order to help fill the contributor gap. Currently, in comparison to the speakers of other major European languages, speakers of Spanish and Portuguese are among the least likely to contribute to Wikipedia (Spanish Wikipedia only has 7.5 active editors per million speakers, compared to 26 for English, 40 for German, 17.5 for French, or 10 for Russian). Furthermore, among the Spanish speakers, Mexicans are among the least likely to contribute to Wikipedia (Mexico only counts 5 active contributors per million inhabitants, compared to 45 for Spain, 17 for Argentina, 7 for Colombia, or 13 per million speakers of Spanish worldwide)<ref>Sources: https://stats.wikimedia.org/; https://www.berlitz.com/blog/most-spoken-languages-world; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_where_Spanish_is_an_official_language. The Wikipedia Statistics are for May 2026. Note that there are important discrepancies in the official Wikipedia Statistics between the total number of active editors of Spanish Wikipedia (4200 editors with at least 5 edits per month) and the number of active editors of Spanish Wikipedia per country (totalling 6830 editors with at least 5 edits per month).</ref>.
* '''Chatty Mascots and Relatable Organisational Identities to Capture the Attention of Gen Z'''
: The [[:es:Archivo_Histórico_Universitario_(Benemérita_Universidad_Autónoma_de_Puebla)|Historical Archive]] of the [[:en:Meritorious_Autonomous_University_of_Puebla|Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP)]], which was founded in 1587 as [http://:es:Colegio_del_Espíritu_Santo Colegio del Espíritu Santo] and thus ranks among the [[:es:Anexo:Universidades_y_colegios_virreinales_en_Hispanoamérica|oldest institutions of higher education in the Americas]], is looking for a brand mascot that is appealing to the younger generations and can be used across a variety of online offers and communication campaigns to raise awareness about the archive’s holdings. Two hackathon teams responded to the challenge, proposing the mascots “MUMUR” (a savant-looking elf) and “MINO” (alluding to the Roman goddess Minerva, featured in the university’s coat of arms) respectively. The latter team also reflected on how the character could be used in the context of a chatbot, which would translate the information contained in a knowledge base in order to engage younger users in a colloquial interaction about topics related to the university’s history.
: A third visual identity, a ''Calaverita'' (a Día de Muertos style skeleton) travelling the world in the search of Mexico-related heritage holdings, was proposed by the project team “Umbrales” – it may be used in connection with one of the apps featuring Mexico-related artifacts from heritage holdings in other countries or as the mascot of the [[:meta:Wiki Loves Collective Memories|Wiki Loves Collective Memories]] campaign in Mexico.
''The video recordings of the final project presentations can be found at: ...''
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
56hlfo2p3w8ekfjs1styovxvcb6jzi5
GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Contents/Serbia report
0
72773
277164
2026-07-06T11:26:34Z
Neboysha87
18316
Created page with "<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/{{subst::GLAM/Newsletter/Newsroom/Next}}/Header}}</noinclude> {{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Opening the Doors of Serbian Heritage: Wikimedia Serbia’s Recent GLAM and Wikidata Successes|By [[User:Neboysha87|Nebojsa Ratkovic]]}} Wikimedia Serbia has wrapped up a highly successful series of GLAM and Wikidata initiatives aimed at digitizing, structuring, and liberating the rich cultural and historical heritage of Serbia. Through two impactful museu..."
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text/x-wiki
<noinclude>{{:GLAM/Newsletter/June 2026/Header}}</noinclude>
{{GLAM/Newsletter/Title|Opening the Doors of Serbian Heritage: Wikimedia Serbia’s Recent GLAM and Wikidata Successes|By [[User:Neboysha87|Nebojsa Ratkovic]]}}
Wikimedia Serbia has wrapped up a highly successful series of GLAM and Wikidata initiatives aimed at digitizing, structuring, and liberating the rich cultural and historical heritage of Serbia. Through two impactful museum residencies and a targeted data competition, local history and global genius have been transformed into freely accessible digital goods.
=== Preserving Banat’s History: Wikipedian in Residence at the National Museum of Pančevo ===
During May 2026, an intensive one-month [https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0:%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%86_%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B6%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD Wikipedian in Residence program] was successfully completed at the National Museum of Pančevo. Experienced editor Nikolina Šepić focused on digitizing museum documentation, photographing exhibits, and expanding content across Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata.
[[File:Izložba Čuvari srpske baštine iz zbirke Dejana Kragića, Narodnog muzeja Pančevo 70.jpg|thumb|Helmet of the Serbian Royal Guard from the second half of the 19th century]]
The residency achieved remarkable quantitative results, yielding 164 new articles, 20 improved articles, and 164 newly created or enriched Wikidata items. Additionally, 570 media files were liberated and uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, including 272 files owned directly by the National Museum of Pančevo. [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikipedian_in_residence_-_National_Museum_of_Pan%C4%8Devo_2026 The newly available content] spans the museum's departments of archaeology, ethnology, history, and fine arts. Global audiences can now explore detailed articles on local archaeological sites, historical assets like the flag of the Serbian Vojvodina, and legacy collections of regional artists.
=== Commemorating Innovation: Wikipedian in Residence at the Nikola Tesla Museum ===
[[File:Nikola Tesla with wireless lighted globe.jpg|thumb|Nikola Tesla with wireless lighted globe]]
In parallel, Wikimedia Serbia expanded its GLAM footprint through another vital [https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0:%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%86_%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B6%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0/%D0%9C%D1%83%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%98_%D0%9 residency program at the Nikola Tesla Museum] in Belgrade. This residency focused on bringing the legacy of one of humanity's greatest inventors into the open knowledge ecosystem. By [http://Digitizing%20archive digitizing archive] materials, personal correspondence, technical documents, and historical photographs, the project has ensured that Tesla's monumental scientific and personal history is comprehensively integrated into the Wikimedia projects, making his genius a truly universal, public good.
=== Structuring Museum Data: International Museum Day Wikidata Competition ===
To celebrate International Museum Day 2026, Wikimedia Serbia organized a specialized [https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0:%D0%A2%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%9A%D0%B5_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B Wikidata Competition] aimed at semantic networking and improving metadata for galleries, libraries, archives, and museums. Over the course of the event, 3 dedicated editors actively participated in creating and enriching data structures. Their efforts resulted in 43 items written or improved on Wikidata. These structured entities now feature precise metadata, geographic coordinates, and official identifiers, significantly boosting the discoverability and interconnectedness of local and international cultural institutions within the global semantic web.
Through these combined efforts, Wikimedia Serbia continues to bridge the gap between traditional cultural repositories and the open web, ensuring that local history and world-changing heritage are just a click away for everyone.
<br />
<noinclude>{{GLAM/Newsletter/Comments|month=June 2026}}</noinclude>
89njlfkv0k2hl6xezgrdg5x047n09es