INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The people behind the online encyclopedia Wikipedia are in Indianapolis this weekend for a 4-day conference to share ideas and talk about how to improve the site.

IU Indianapolis is hosting Wiki Conference 2024. It drew hundreds of people from around the globe, including James Popoola, of Nigeria.

“I contribute mainly on Wikidata, and also I have some African biographies on Wikipedia,” Popoola said.

Justin Clark is the digital initiatives director at the Indiana State Library. He said many of the people who contribute to Wikipedia do so on their own free time.

“You are being a part of a community,” Clark said. “They’re a community of editors, creators, writers, and experts across many different fields who collaborate together to do this kind of work in real-time.”

Diversifying the types of articles on Wikipedia is a big focus of this year’s conference. Nearly 80% of biographies on the site are of white men.

An effort is being made to include works from people of color, women, and the LGBTQ+ community.

Event organizer Dominic Byrd-McDevitt said anyone is allowed to edit or make contributions to Wikipedia as long as they follow the organization’s guidelines.

“Misinformation is one of the biggest issues Wikipedia deals with, and bias,” Byrd-McDevitt said. “When it comes to editing Wikipedia, there are a lot of policies that govern the content like neutral point of view.”

Popoola is also involved with the Wikivibrance project which encourages young people to get involved with initiatives affecting their countries. He’s looking forward to learning a lot at the conference.

“I think especially is how you can pick ideas from here and go plant it where ever you come from like taking action,” Popoola said.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett proclaimed Oct. 4 as “Wikipedia Day.” The IU Indianapolis Library received $280,000 from the Indianapolis Foundation Library Fund to improve Indiana’s digital heritage on Wikipedia.