The National Book Council has partnered with Wikimedia Community Malta (WCM) to host two Wikimedians-in-Residence.

Enrique Tabone and Katja Zahra Camilleri will jointly lead a pioneering initiative focused on the National Book Prize that will seek to improve the quality and availability of information about Maltese literature on Wikipedia, the world’s largest encyclopaedia, and its data repository arm Wikidata.

Maltese authors, translators, illustrators, books, and publishers all stand to benefit from the initiative, which will develop a comprehensive list of National Book Prize winners, along with biographical and bibliographical information.

This initiative is part of a broader effort to document the history of the National Book Prize since its inception in 1971. Through workshops, edit-a-thons, and collaborative activities, Tabone and Zahra Camilleri will work to expand the availability of reliable, structured information about prize-winning authors and literary works.

Tabone brings extensive experience in Wikimedia projects, having played a key role in WCM as a programme coordinator and academic researcher. Her postgraduate research on cultural heritage through Wikidata has been published in academic journals in the UK and Italy.

 

Zahra Camilleri, an expert in information management and research, focuses on controlled vocabularies and the preservation of Maltese ephemera, particularly Festa Programmes, reflecting her passion for cultural heritage.

Beyond their work on the National Book Prize project, Tabone and Zahra Camilleri are the founders of WikiNisa, an initiative dedicated to addressing the gender gap on Wikimedia platforms by highlighting the achievements of Maltese women. Last year, they also launched the Każini project, which documents Malta’s band clubs on Wikimedia, preserving their historical and cultural significance in a structured and visual format.

This Wikimedia residency marks a significant step in strengthening the digital representation of Maltese literary heritage. Those interested in contributing to the collaboration between NBC and WCM, particularly by helping document past winners of the National Book Prize on Wikipedia and Wikidata, can register at: http://wikimalta.org/kotba

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