Approach to Partnering

AI-BRIDGES is built through collaboration. The project brings together individuals, institutions, and communities that share a commitment to improving how data and knowledge are stewarded, connected, and reused in the age of generative AI.

Collaborations within AI-BRIDGES span open knowledge infrastructures, cultural, academic and governmental institutions, research communities, AI developers, and funders. A small group of Core Partners contribute across all three strands of work and remain engaged throughout the project’s development. They contribute sustained institutional capacity, strategic guidance, and technical expertise that strengthen the shared infrastructure and long-term development of the collaboration. Other collaborators engage in diverse and equally valuable ways, elaborated on below. Together, these partnerships reflect the project’s focus on bridging domains that are often disconnected in practice.

Contributors engage in different ways and levela, depending on their roles, capacities, interests and strategic goals. What connects them is a shared recognition that the challenges this project addresses cannot be tackled by any single organization, discipline, or region alone; they must be addressed collectively. If you wish to be added as a collaborator, please contact us at: [email protected].

Core Partners

Wikimedia Germany is a core partner supporting the development and alignment of work related to Wikidata and Wikibase infrastructures, drawing on long-standing experience in open knowledge, data modelling, and community-led technical innovation.

Wikimedia UK is a core partner contributing extensive experience in institutional partnerships, education, and public engagement, and supporting collaboration with cultural, academic, and research institutions in the UK and beyond.

Pleias is a core partner contributing expertise in the development of open-source language models and AI systems for public-interest and institutional use, supporting exploration of how open knowledge infrastructures can meaningfully inform generative AI.

Wikimedia Brazil is a core partner bringing deep expertise in Wikidata innovation, technical capacity building, and community development, with a strong focus on multilingual contexts, inclusion, and collaboration across diverse institutional and regional settings.

Wikimedia Switzerland is a core partner supporting the development of open, movement-aligned AI infrastructure, contributing organizational capacity and coordination to strengthen connections between institutional data, Wikimedia projects, and emerging AI systems.

Additional Contributors and Collaborators

In addition to the core partners, AI-BRIDGES collaborates with a growing network of individuals, communities, organizations and institutions that contribute their time, expertise and perspectives to different parts of the project.

Contributions take many forms, including sharing insights through interviews, providing metadata samples, engaging in design or technical exploration, research collaboration, participation in the AI-BRIDGES Open Forum and related events, helping connect partners and initiatives working on related challenges, giving valuable advice and sharing resources.

Many collaborators engage with the project across multiple roles and contexts. Rather than categorizing participation strictly by affiliation or sector, AI-BRIDGES recognizes this plurality and approaches collaboration as a flexible, evolving process shaped by shared interests and capacities.

This page acknowledges and thanks the individuals, communities, organizations and institutions whose contributions help shape and sustain the project.

Individuals (in no particular order..)

    • ​Mathias ​S​chindler: a German Wikimedian. Wikimedia Deutschland employee from 2009-2014, forging and managing partnerships with GLAM institutions and working on open data/open access friendly legislation.
    • Samuel J. Klein: Wikimedia; AI Commons; Public AI.
    • John Andersson: Executive Director, Wikimedia Sverige.
    • Dimitar Zagorski: Policy Director, Wikimedia Europe.
    • Jason Evans: Open Data Manager, The National Library of Wales.
    • Ewan McAndrew: Wikimedian in Residence, University of Edinburgh.
    • Dr. Martin Poulter: Wikimedian in Residence, Khalili Foundation.
    • Dr. Gustavo Candela: Universitat d’Alacant; GLAM Labs; DARIAH-EU WG DHwiki.
    • Dr. Iolanda Pensa: Senior Researcher and head of research for “Culture and Territory”, SUPSI.
    • Dr. Alek Tarkowski: Open Future Foundation; Wikimedia Europe; Public AI; Creative Commons. 
    • LiAnna Davis: Chief Programs Officer & Deputy Director, Wiki Education Foundation. 
    • Sandra Fauconnier: Wikimedian; Strategist and producer – Digital projects focused on Open Access and Linked Open Data in the cultural sector.
    • Dr. Finn Årup Nielsen: Associate Professor, DTU – Technical University of Denmark; Wikimedian
    • Dr. Anne Chen: Assistant Professor, Art History & Visual Culture, Bard College; IDEA project.
    • Dr. Lozana Rossenova: Postdoc Researcher and Team Lead for Wikibase4Research Services, Open Science Lab.
    • Jan Ainali: Chief Executive Officer, Open By Default; Wikimedian.
    • Albin Larsson: Senior Software Engineer; Wikimedian.
    • Siobhan Leachman: Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand and Manaaki Whenua; Landcare Research group of the New Zealand Bioeconomy Science Institute.
    • James Taylor: Online Collections Information & Partnerships Manager, Auckland War Memorial Museum.
    • Pru Mitchell: Manager information Services, Australian Council for Educational Research; Wikimedian.
    • Daan Van Ramshorst: Creative Technologist.
    • Alphaeus Lien-Talks: Heritage Scientist and Data Archivist, Historic Royal Palaces. 
    • Susanna Ånäs: Open Knowledge Finland; AvinGLAM; Wikimedian.
    • Helen Williams: Metadata Manager, LSE Library, The London School of Economics and Political Science.
    • Dr. Netha Hussain: Wikimedian; Sahlgrenska University Hospital.
    • Lane Rasberry: Wikimedian in Residence, University of Virginia.
    • Richard Knipel: Wikimedian in Residence, The City University of New York (CUNY).
    • Rosie Stephenson-Goodknight: Wikimedian; Women in Red.
    • Prof. Elena Simperl: Professor of computer science at King’s College London; co-director of the King’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence; director of research at the Open Data Institute.
    • Merrilee Proffitt: Director, Democracy’s Library, Internet Archive.
    • Mark Graham: Director, Wayback Machine, Internet Archive.
    • Renata Avila: CEO, Open Knowledge Foundation. 
    • Jon Lloyd: Director of Advocacy, Digital Public Goods Alliance.
    • Lea Gimpel: Director of Policy & AI Lead, Digital Public Goods Alliance. 
    • Dr. Ines Vodopivec: Secretary General, AI4LAM. 
    • Fiona Romeo: Director of Content Enablement, Wikimedia Foundation.
    • Dr. Leila Zia: Director, Head of Research, Wikimedia Foundation.
    • Dr. Miriam Redi: Senior Research Manager, Wikimedia Foundation.
    • Maryana Pinchuk: Principal Product Manager, Wikimedia Foundation.
    • Christof Schöch: Professor of Digital Humanities and scientific co-director of the Trier Center for Digital Humanities, Trier University, Germany.
    • Frida Berry Eklund, co-founder, KlimatKollen (Climate Checker) and EU Climate Pact Ambassador.
    • Ola Spännar, co-founder, KlimatKollen (Climate Checker).
    • Emma Green, Director of Development, Invest in Open Infrastructure. 
    • Dr. Aaron Halfaker, Principal Applied Scientist, Microsoft. 
    • Cynthia Alfonsin, Lead Data Manager (Coverage), Content Metadata team, BBC.
    • Duncan Chalmers: Senior Data Manager, Content Metadata, BBC.

      A hearty Thank You to some of the individuals representing our Core Partners:

      Lastly, a special Thank You to Ollie Nelmes from the Research Systems team at the University of London, for his ongoing support with this website; to all colleagues at the Digital Humanities Research Hub for the daily inspiration; and mostly to our one-of-a-kind Director, Prof. Jane Winters, whose vision and support made this project possible.  

      Communities, Organizations & Institutions

      Public AI
      Open Knowledge Foundation