PHOTO: Usman Nadeem
Organised by the Wikimedia Community User Group Pakistan, the WLM competition allows participants to upload photographs of cultural monuments until September 30; with results to be announced in mid-October for the local award and in December for the international awards.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, representative of Wikimedia Pakistan and lead co-ordinator for Wiki Loves Monuments Pakistan, Saqib Qayyum, urges all photographers -- professional and otherwise -- to participate in the competition.
"Unlike ordinary photo contests, WLM is not just about collecting photographs. It is actually aimed at gathering photos released under a free license - a license that enables the free re-use of photos," he said.
He added that "Most photos we find on the internet, particularly related to Pakistan, are copyrighted and cannot be re-used without the author's permission. Wikipedia has been working through the years to bring together as much human knowledge as possible, and sharing it with everyone across the globe."
Read: Wiki Loves Monuments comes to Pakistan
"Cultural heritage is a large part of Pakistan which needs to be shared globally so "photos of cultural heritage sites are needed to achieve the mission," Qayyum adds.
The user friendly portal is designed to encourage and motivate people to contribute to volunteer-led Wikipedia
"While it usually takes more time and energy to write or expand an article on Wikipedia, it’s pretty simple, fun and easy to take a photo and upload it. So WLM is certainly an easier way to begin contributing to Wikipedia," Qayyum explains.
The winners and many non-winners will also see their photos being used in Wikipedia articles which have a large audience. So whether or not people enter the competition with the expectation to win one of the prizes, their entry will contribute to documenting their locally built cultural heritage.
"They will have made their images freely available for future generations. They would have contributed to and become part of a a growing Wikipedia community that believes in making knowledge freely available to all."
Get clicking, and send your submissions here:http://wikilovesmonuments.pk/participate/
Here are some of the submissions so far:
Photo: Syed Gohar
Photo: Ali Mujtaba
Photo: Usmaan Khaled
Photo: Dar Nadeem
Photo: Muhammad Madni
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