Wikipromotion?: The use of Wikipedia to spread the World Cultural Heritage in Spain

Abstract

The purpose of this study is the analysis of the potential of Wikipedia as a key tool for the dissemination of information (Pentzold et al 2017) on Unesco World Culture Heritage from a multilingual perspective. This study proposes a framework that allows us to identify in what way a Unesco World Heritage asset is well represented in Wikipedia to favour its dissemination. Design and methodology– An empirical study was carried out on the Wikipedia entries relating to World Culture Heritage Assets identified by Unesco in Spain. Descriptive statistics were applied to describe structural differences. Wikipedia articles were researched taking into account aspects such as presence on the encyclopaedia, authority and accessibility Finally this study sets out a checklist (García-Santiago & Olvera-Lobo, 2017), which allows the identification of how the image of the Cultural Heritage assets can be improved in Wikipedia and, as a result, benefit their spread and visibility. Besides, entries in the encyclopaedia in languages other than English could be rated. This framework facilitates the quick identification of those articles that show weaknesses or a lack of exploitation of resources available via Wikipedia, which permit a better dissemination of the information on the cultural asset or to be adapted to other thematic domains.