Wikipedia:GLAM/New Zealand Wikipedian at Large/Chch mosque shootings

A call for images documenting the Christchurch mosque shootings

Wearing my NZ Wikipedian at Large hat, I'm helping people and organisations donate photos relating to the 15 March 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks to Wikimedia Commons under an open license. Here's why it's important, and how you can help.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visits members of the Muslim community at the Phillipstown Community Centre on Saturday 16 March 2019, the day after a terror attack to two mosques left 50 people dead and dozens seriously injured in Christchurch. New Zealand Climate Minister James Shaw sits in the background with a bruised eye after being assaulted in Wellington.

When James Dann pointed out the photo of Jacinda visiting the mosque was an iconic image, I asked the Christchurch City Council if they would donate it to Commons; they agreed, so long as it was properly credited (📷 Christchurch City Council Newsline/Kirk Hargreaves). But we need more.

We need images of mosques piled with flowers; of people comforting and helping survivors; of police doing their job; of rallies and vigils and people standing together; of editorial cartoons and street art and graffiti. If you have these and can donate them, do.

• if you have street art or anti-terrorism graffiti/posters near you, could you document it with the best photograph you can? Some of this stuff is ephemeral and we need it archived before it disappears.

• We also need images of NZ police armed and standing guard, to document how unusual this is for NZ. In a positive context if possible: guarding worshippers going to a mosque, wearing flowers in their belt. In NZ it's perfectly legal to photograph police in a public place, but it's polite to ask permission and say it's for Wikipedia.

• If you're a member of a Facebook or Instagram group or a keen photography student, how about getting together with your colleagues and doing some citizen photojournalism? Photos released under an open licence end up being used in lectures and history books for years to come.

• If you're a cartoonist or a press photographer or a media outlet or just someone who has a good eye, we need some of your images donated to Wikimedia Commons under an open Creative Commons licence, not all-rights-reserved copyright; ideally CC BY SA. The goal is to create a gallery that anyone in the world can easily draw from and reuse, for free. Open licenses means photos get used and shared and become part of the enduring narrative.

Cartoon by Shaun Yeo, viewed 3.4 million times shortly after the attacks

Fine print: you have to be the copyright holder (you'll be credited) and be happy with any reuse, even by media outlets. Feel free to try uploading to Commons yourself (it's not tricky), using the Category:Christchurch mosque shootings. Get in touch if you get stuck and need help, but it's always easiest if the creator does the upload and licensing. Here's a guide. If you get stuck, I can help with the legal release form needed: I'm at giantflightlessbirdsgmail.com.

Poster in response to the Christchurch mosque shootings

Images are important. They'll define these attacks to people around the world, to our descendants, to the history books. Too often the only images repeated after a tragedy are ones of anger and fear and hatred. We need to make sure all the story is told.