Wikipedia launches largest photo contest

MANILA, Philippines — At the stroke of midnight of September 1 in the Philippines, Wikipedia launched what it’s targeting to be officially the world’s largest photo competition — the 2012 edition of Wiki Loves Monuments. Owing to the success of Wiki Loves Monuments in 2011 where over 5,000 participants uploaded over 165,000 photos of cultural heritage sites from across 18 European countries, this year’s Wiki Loves Monuments has gone global with 35 countries in participation, including the Philippines.

Wikimedia Philippines, the local chapter of the San Francisco-based Wikimedia Foundation, is spearheading the local campaign to gather images of Philippine cultural heritage sites until September 30 when the uploading period winds up.

The top 10 entries will advance to the international round of the competition where it will compete against the best cultural heritage photographs of the other participating countries. With about 690 officially declared cultural heritage and historical sites throughout the country, plus practically every 50 year-old structure as defined under the National Cultural Heritage Law, Philippine organizers are hoping that a good number of these sites and structures will finally have their freely-licensed photographs so that they can find their way to related Wikipedia articles and at the same time showcase the beauty and richness of the country’s cultural heritage as Wikipedia is consistently among the most visited websites worldwide.

The winners of Wiki Loves Monuments Philippines will be announced on October 20 with the top winner receiving a cash prize of ₱15,000 and an all expense-paid participation at the 2013 Wikimania in Hong Kong. Wiki Loves Monuments Philippines is being held in partnership with the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, the Department of Tourism and the National Parks Development Committee. – Roel Balingit/Wikimedia Philippines