GLAM/Newsletter/March 2026/Contents/Aruba report
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Celebrating 20 Years of Papiamentu/o Wikipedia
March marked a significant milestone for the Wikimedia movement in Aruba and the wider Caribbean: the 20th anniversary of Papiamentu/o Wikipedia, officially celebrated on 26 March 2026. This milestone highlights two decades of collaborative efforts to preserve and promote knowledge in Papiamentu/o, strengthening linguistic diversity within the Wikimedia ecosystem.
To commemorate this occasion, Wikipedia on Aruba organized a week of activities aligned with its ongoing community engagement efforts. On 23 March 2026, the project hosted its monthly Ban Wiki! edit-a-thon in collaboration with Fundacion Lanta Papiamento, focusing on strengthening the use and representation of Papiamento on Wikimedia platforms.
Continuing the celebrations, on 25 March 2026, Wikipedia on Aruba partnered with the National Library of Aruba, specifically its Arubiana-Caribiana division, to host a seminar under the theme “Celebrating 20 Years of Papiamento Wikipedia.” Arubiana-Carubiana, a specialized division with its own dedicated location, plays a vital role in preserving and providing access to Papiamento literature and cultural heritage.
The seminar featured a diverse programme highlighting collaborative efforts across institutions. The evening opened with a presentation by Fundacion Lanta Papiamento, which focused on the correct use of Papiamento in online spaces and its ongoing work in promoting and conserving the language. This was followed by Biblioteca Arubiana-Caribiana, which shared insights into its current community projects and showcased coleccion.aw, an open-source collection database that enables public access to heritage collections of Aruba.
UNESCO Aruba then presented on the organization’s role in safeguarding Papiamento and emphasized the importance of platforms such as Wikipedia in ensuring the language remains visible and relevant in digital environments.
The seminar concluded with a presentation by Wikipedia on Aruba, highlighting the role of the PAP-Wikipedia community and providing an overview of the achievements and developments over the past 20 years.
The seminar brought together cultural professionals, information specialists, and community members to reflect on the growth of PAP-Wikipedia and to explore opportunities for further collaboration between Wikimedia initiatives and GLAM institutions. The event underscored the importance of open knowledge in minority languages, and the critical role GLAM organizations play in sustaining and expanding these efforts.
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Ray-Anne Hernandez - Programme Specialist for Culture at the UNESCO National Commission in Aruba -
Zetsia Ponson - Information Specialist Department Arubiana-Caribiana Special Collections -
Ichmarah Kock - Digital Collection and Information Management (BNA) -
Ramon Todd Dandaré,- Fundacion Lanta Papiamento (FLP) -
Ginelly Quandt - Wikimedian in Residence Aruba (WoA) -
Ricardo Arends - Coordinator (WoA)
- From the team
- Albania report
- Aruba report
- Bolivia report
- Brazil report
- Colombia report
- Czech Republic report
- Germany report
- India report
- Italy report
- New Zealand report
- North Macedonia report
- Portugal report
- Serbia report
- Sweden report
- Switzerland report
- UK report
- Ukraine report
- USA report
- Biodiversity Heritage Library report
- AvoinGLAM report
- Memory of the World report
- Calendar